"Hey, I hope I'm not late" Olivia said as she dragged her suitcase up to where Stacy was standing.
The day had finally come to depart to Paris. Olivia was genuinely excited for the first time in her life! She didn't look like it, but she was.
"Nah, you're right on time" Stacy said looking at Olivia. Olivia wore a comfortable yet decent pair of black leggings, a white t-shirt and black jacket on top of that. Her hair was left open, her eyes were covered by tinted glasses and she had light make up on. Olivia felt awkward as Stacy checked her out.
"You look good in casuals, it's totally your thing" Stacy commented. Olivia didn't know if it was a compliment or Stacy made a remark on her attire being too casual.
Stacy noticed Olivia's confused face and to ease the poor girl's tension she said "It's a compliment, jeez" rolling her eyes.
Olivia chuckled as Stacy laughed.
They did their security check, handed over their luggage. Olivia noticed that their checks and luggage drop ins were not happening with the normal crowd. They were in a private area. She looked around wondering when Stacy interjected her thoughts. "Brace yourself, we're going on a private plane. The company's" she added.
Olivia's jaw dropped,well mentally.
Woah, private plane? That's cool, she thought. She became extremely nervous and cautious that she would be in a compact space now. Atleast better than a commercial flight sitting with strangers, she thought.
Olivia was excited and thrilled when they finally pulled up to a majestic private plane on the runway. She was glad she was selected for this trip, she was experiencing a lot of new things.
Stacy and Olivia climbed into the plane through the door near the rear of the aircraft. Just when Olivia was about to board the place, she turned to see boarding from the door near the head of the plane. He was talking over the phone, he seemed to be in a busy conversation almost annoyed that he couldn't hear properly because of the noise.
She walked into the aircraft and if she could be more surprised, she was. Everything was so plush and luxurious. She even wondered if this was the right place for them. She saw Stacy and other people accompanying her,take their seats and she sat next to Stacy.
The plane took off in the next fifteen minutes as Olivia picked up a magazine and started reading.
Once they were in the air, she reclined her seat back and got comfortable. She removed her jacket and placed it on a small shelf next to her seat. She saw one of the guys was already asleep, others were either on their phones or chatting. Stacy was on her laptop, working.
Nine people were accompanying the CEO to Paris on this business trip. It was one of the most important conferences, Olivia knew. And she was grateful for this experience. She smiled a little to herself and was lost in her own world when she heard someone say "champagne"
"Ma'am, would you like some champagne?" A pretty air hostess asked standing near her.
She looked at Stacy who already had a glass for herself and she nodded. The woman poured her a glass of champagne and left. Olivia looked around to see that few except for Stacy accompanying them were chit-chatting, enjoying with a bottle of wine.
Stacy closed her laptop, as if to drink her liquor in peace.
"So, is it fine?" Olivia asked, showing her glass.
Stacy made an expression like "why not?"
"I thought, you know we were on the company aircraft, like we can't drink or something" Olivia said, seriously.
Stacy chuckled and said "One thing about working for this company, is flexible enjoyment policies" she said as she took a sip from her glass.
Olivia smiled in amusement and took a sip herself. Well, this won't be that long of a flight then. She can get a buzz and then doze off. She was glad!
Olivia and Stacy joined into a conversation the others were having. They enjoyed talking about the company, their work with adequate wine complimenting their conversation.
Olivia didn't talk much, but she listened to everything, whatever they had to say. She enjoyed the company, weirdly. Because Olivia was not a person who liked to make conversation, she kept to herself.
Amidst all the laughter and giggles they didn't realise it was dinner time until the hostess announced. They all had comfortable, delicious meals.
After a full stomach, everybody was tired and reclined their seats to the point they were flat enough to sleep. Olivia did the same. They were to land in Paris at seven in the morning, so if she could get some sleep, she would be fresh tomorrow and possibly avoid the annoying jet lag.
Fitz sat there with a glass of scotch on the table in front of him. He kept staring into space. He saw Olivia board the jet, reminding him once again that she would be around him the next few days. He couldn't help but let his mind wander over the details of their encounter, no matter how disgustingly real they were. Just when he thought of her tear-stricken face, those torn clothes she was desperately trying to cover her body from, he felt terrible and closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his fingers.
He didn't know why but it mattered so much to him, that if he wasn't there that night, what could've happened? It's scary, it's bone chilling. Fitz had seen the worst of humanity in his line of work but, that incident, with her is something he could never forget. He didn't know why he cared so much. It was borderline creepy, he realised when he found himself thinking about her again and again. And the fact that right now she was just a door away didn't help either. He wondered if she was fine...she would be, he thought.
He wasn't getting any sleep, so he drank the rest of the scotch in his glass at once hoping that in a while his senses would feel heavy and sleep would envelope him. Till that came, he opened his laptop to distract himself with work.
Almost, as if fate had planned all this, he heard some movement from the door. He saw the door knob turning again and again three times until it stopped. He was in a private chamber on the plane. It had a bed, a small sofa, table and a small closet to hang clothes, apart from other amenities.
He looked at it curiously, he got up and when he reached it, it turned again. He always thought the worst of the situation, because that's all he'd seen in his life. Thing may look perfect in one second and then it may all go to hell the next second.
He approached the door slowly, careful not to make any sound. He could hear the blood gushing through his veins. His rational mind told him repeatedly that it was nothing but he always was prepared for the worst.
He put his palm around the door knob and waited for exactly three seconds before he turned it around and opened the door suddenly, wanting to startle anybody in front of him, and he definitely did.
There was Olivia, panic all over her face ready to scream when he pulled her towards himself and closed her mouth with his palm. She was against the wall of his room, the door was closed. It was just them and their hearts out of rhythm.
He let go in a second and moved away but gestured her to stay quiet. To his surprise she was fine, she was only startled by the door stunt not by him. He was glad, he didn't mean to hurt her, never.
"I'm so sorry, I ...got paranoid I guess" he confessed and immediately regretted it. It must've sounded so weird, he thought.
"Are you okay?" He asked her softly this time. Her breathing was still ragged, they were dead close to each other given the space was compact already.
"Yeah. I'm so sorry, I didn't know..this was your...your" she looked around and didn't know what to call it. A room? She didn't know. She was too embarrassed already.
"It's fine, I should apologise. I got worried who was turning my door knob so aggressively" he chuckled to lighten the mood.
She was embarrassed and just gave him a small smile. He realised he stared at the blush on her cheeks longer than he should have.
"I was just trying to find the bathroom. This place is confusing" she said with a nervous giggle.
"Oh, you can use mine" Fitz said as he pointed to a small silver door opposite to where they were standing.
"Oh...no, I'll be fine, thank you, that is very kind..umm...but I'm sure there's one outside I probably didn't see clearly" she said, she hated herself for talking to casually, or so ...you know, like she was nervous. She hated being nervous but that's how she was. And Fitz made her more nervous, something about his persona, it excited and scared her.
"Really, it's no problem. You can use mine" he said, this time more assertive and Olivia looked at him before she nodded and walked to the washroom in his room.
Fitz's lips curved into a small smile, almost unnoticeable as he saw her retreating figure. But he was bothered about how she was around him. She was nervous, he should do something about it.
Wait, what?
Why should I do something about it? Why the fuck do I give a fuck? He thought and dismissed his thoughts by shaking his head, as if his thoughts would fly out and never bother him again.
He sat back on his sofa and grabbed his laptop again. He tried not to think about the fact that she was in his washroom just a few feet away.
Few minutes later, she walked out, her body language stiff , the embarrassment and anxiety still evident.
"Thank you, and I'm so sorry again, for disturbing you" she said standing right in front of him as she played with her fingers.
Fitz got up and gave her a warm smile and said "It was no problem, Olivia"
"Good night" he added.
"Good night" she replied as he saw her ease out and her nerves seemed to be down. She gave him a smile, an actual blown out smile, the smile that seemed genuine and from the heart. He felt something warm spread across his body when he saw her smile. He gulped and gave her a tight lipped nod before she excused herself out.
After she went, he stood there with his arms crossed. He was acting like an immature teenage boy, he could feel it.
Olivia walked back to her seat slowly,not making any noise. She sat back and pulled up her blanket to her chest. She could still hear her heart beating loudly. She saw the bottle with some left over champagne, she poured it into her glass and took a swig.
She had stared to realise that being around Fitz was affecting her. Not negatively, her mind immediately reminded. It was a mix of strange comfort and a fear of the unknown.
God how badly she wanted to smoke right now, it would really help her clear her thoughts. She let a frustrated sigh escape her lips and closed her eyes after she felt the alcohol give her a soft buzz.
She closed her eyes and curled up her knees as sleep slowly took over.