Chapter 3
"Ug, I hate Mondays."
Ryan looked at the pile of work that needed to be done. It seemed that the work load had doubled ever since he first got the job as a public defender for kids living in the New York Area. He always wondered why Sandy had to work so late at the office, and now he knew why. There were too many cases of kids and teenagers who desperately needed help. Ryan looked at the agenda that was hanging on his office wall. There were five court hearings coming up. He sighed and ran his fingers through his blond hair. One of his cases was of one teenager named Lee Harris. Lee reminded so much of himself, Lee had a bad family and home and stole a car for his mother to sell for drug money. Ryan had been lucky, if only he could do what Sandy did for him. Of course, this was out of the question, considering the fact that Ryan was barely getting by with his meager public defender salary and he didn't marry a rich wife whose father owned everything in town. But, without Sandy, he wouldn't have gotten to where he was now. He would probably end up in jail, just like his brother Trey. Ryan never would have met Seth, his old best buddy, led a privileged life where there was no limit to the money, and fallen in love with Marissa. . .
Marissa . . . his heart leapt. He wondered how she was doing. He really wanted to reunite with Marissa, see how she was doing after a decade. But, in his heart, he really knew that she probably wouldn't ever want to meet Ryan again.
"What would the hottest actress in the world want to do with me, a poor public defender? Especially since I broke her heart all those years before." Ryan said to nobody in particular.
Just then, a call rang to break his reverie.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ryan, it's Seth!"
"Oh, hi." Ryan was a bit stunned, he hadn't talked to Seth for a really long time. He couldn't blame him though, running a top-notch company and having a family was pretty distracting.
"Hello? Ryan are you still there?"
"Yea I am, why are you calling me?"
"Can't an old buddy ever call in to find out how his friend is doing?" Seth replied, with a bit of irritation. Something was up Ryan's butt today.
"You would only call me if something was wrong."
"Yea, you're right. Marissa's mother died in a car accident. I'm taking the family to her house to console her. Summer has been terribly worried for her, so of course, I had to get a private jet and fly her to Marissa's, ASAP. I think Summer is getting terribly high-maintenance. Anyways, I wanted to know if you could come down and visit and maybe baby-sit the kids. I know that sounds like I'm using you just to baby-sit my kids, but Summer will be hanging out with Marissa a lot, and I need to get to work on a new deal that the company is sorting out. It's in the works, and I am definitely stuck in a quagmire with this company. The stupid CEO won't sell the company to us for less than 95 mil. Stupid, cheap Dan Jaffroid. Anyways, what do you say?"
"Oh."
Seth was out of breath after talking for a whole 5 minutes, and all Ryan could say was "Oh."? He was just about to say a very angry remark in the phone when he realized that he was talking to RYAN. Ryan never talked much, but Seth always made up his silence with his endless jabber.
"So? Hate to break to you, but Ryan, that was a yes or no question and your answer will not be accepted." Seth deadpanned.
"Well I guess I need to take a vacation, so sure, I'll come."
"That's the Ryan I know. I know how you hate flying planes, but sorry you need to come soon. I'll wire the ticket soon."
"I have to fly? Oh, c'mon Seth, I'm afraid of heights! I'm going to be on a plane for six hours???"
"Calm, down Ryan, it won't kill you. The seat is in first-class, it's pretty roomy."
"I'm not claustrophobic like you, I don't need space. I just don't want to get off the ground. God didn't give me wings for a reason. We, humans, are supposed to stay on the ground."
"Ryan, just listen to me. I need a buddy to help me out in this frenzy that's going on. Just take a sleeping pill. You will go to sleep for the whole flight. But just remember to ask the flight attendant to wake you up when the plane lands in here."
"What? Are you kidding me? That's embarrassing!"
"You are a big boy, you can handle it, I need to go now, bye."
"But –"
"Bye, Ryan."
"Bye, Seth."
Ryan reluctantly hung up the phone. What an interesting flight it was going to be. He hoped the flight attendant was nice and wasn't going to give him a sympathetic look for him being afraid of heights. This had happened more then once.
An email notification popped up in his Outlook.
Ryan clicked it open and his mouth dropped open in shock.
Hey Ryan-
Here is your identification number, 4502544785251. Just give to the people at the counter, and they will let you on board. The plane's departure is at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. A limo will be waiting for you outside the gate. We are staying at Marissa's house. Well, technically it's not her house, but she wanted to get out of her residence, so we rented the top floor of the Four Seasons in L.A. Marissa and the family will be staying there. Hope to see you soon. Bon Voyage –Seth
Did Seth really think that he could get off work that easily? He guessed he would just have to take leave and give his cases and court hearings to Micheal. At least he could still attend Lee's hearing this afternoon. But as he read more carefully, he noticed that he would be staying in the same place as Marissa! Didn't Seth realize how awkward it was going to be? Ryan guessed he would just have to suck it up and deal.
(Later)
Ryan was all ready to go. He had no idea how long he was going to be away, so he packed heavily. He also made sure to get presents for the kids. He took the train to the airport, cabs were too expensive. Thank god, Seth had every expense taken care of in L.A.
At the counter, he presented his id number and was let on board. He walked down the corridor. "This is strange." He thought. There was a velvet red rope that a huge bodyguard was holding. Slightly intimidated, oh who was Ryan kidding, Very Intimidated, Ryan shakily showed his ticket to the dressed-in-black bodyguard. After some considerable time scrutinizing to make sure it was legal, the bodyguard lifted the rope and Ryan was given permission to proceed. He walked down the carpet where he had to take a small shuttle to a closed off section near the runway. After several more bodyguard encounters, he finally got to the steps of the plane. It was near the middle of the runway so the planes taking off gave a tremendous roar as they took off seemly a mere few feet above Ryan's head. Ryan shuddered. Ryan was starting to get the idea that this was a very private service, because no ordinary person would have to go through all this trouble.
Ryan climbed up the stairs, just expecting a normal plane. . .
Well there he was wrong. His suspicions were correct because the plane was pure luxury. There were recliners and tables. There were mini-offices where people could do work. There were computers for people to check on the internet. In the middle, there were several rather comfortable looking couches facing the biggest plasma television he had ever seen. Ryan chuckled to himself, the biggest T.V. he had ever seen was on a plane! There was even a bar in the corner with a smartly dressed bartender serving people. Now, he knew what Seth meant by first class. It wasn't first class on a plane, like opposed to economy, but first class as in there was nothing better than this. The people looked rather distinguished. They all chattered to each other freely, just like all those typical rich and famous people who acted like they were best friends with everyone else who was rich and famous. Ryan even thought he saw Chelsea Clinton.
In a few minutes, the pilot announced that the plane was going to take off. Everyone looked non-plussed by the fact they held martinis are merlots in their hand. They calmly sat down on some of the easy chairs or couches. Ryan was a bit perturbed. He sat down on one of the leather chairs and got the sleeping pills out of his carry-on bag. He was about to take them, but then realized he didn't have a seatbelt on. He scrambled around, looking for a seatbelt. He finally realized that there wasn't a seatbelt, but not before he had caught everyone's attention. They were all looking at him strangely, and the whole plane was silent.
"Um, I'm just looking for my um. . . new diamond rolex, that I um. . . thought I dropped, but I just realized it was at home."
Everyone "oohed" in realization.
Ryan tried to stifle a laugh. His lame excuse was so . . . lame. Only rich people would have believed that. Regular people would have thought he was crazy.
He held the bottle of sleeping pills in his hand and was about ready to take one when he realized the plane was lifting. After 30 seconds, the plane stabilized. Everyone stood up and resumed whatever they were doing. Ryan threw the bottle back in his bag because he knew this trip was too good to miss.
A very beautiful blonde haired woman came up to him.
"Hi, my name is Cindy Ford. I totally sympathize with your watch incident. I once thought I left my 5 carat diamond earrings in a bathroom in Vermont, so I made my assistant fly all the way there. But, then I found out that they were actually just in my penthouse in New York." She chuckled.
Ryan tried hard not to laugh. Who would ever forget where they put a pair of diamond earrings that were 5 carats? She was still beautiful, so he thought that continuing the conversation could lead up to some pretty interesting things later. She probably thought he was rich and famous, just like everyone on the plane did, but in truth, he was just a public defender.
"Hi, I'm Ryan."
"Nice to meet you Ryan! Want to get some drinks?" She motioned towards the bar.
"Sure."
They walked to the bartender. Cindy asked for a Cosmo, while Ryan just asked for gin. Ryan pulled out his wallet and was about to hand out cash.
The bartender and Cindy looked at him interestingly.
"You do know that your ticket paid for all the tips and drinks and food and whatever else you get on this plane, right?"
Suddenly, Ryan felt a bit stupid. He blushed, but needed tried to make up an excuse. "Oh, I know, I just wanted to see how much cash I had in my wallet before I land in L.A."
"Oh, of course. I'm so stupid sometimes."
They both laughed.
This was going to be one interesting trip.
****************************
Please continue reviewing! Thanks!
"Ug, I hate Mondays."
Ryan looked at the pile of work that needed to be done. It seemed that the work load had doubled ever since he first got the job as a public defender for kids living in the New York Area. He always wondered why Sandy had to work so late at the office, and now he knew why. There were too many cases of kids and teenagers who desperately needed help. Ryan looked at the agenda that was hanging on his office wall. There were five court hearings coming up. He sighed and ran his fingers through his blond hair. One of his cases was of one teenager named Lee Harris. Lee reminded so much of himself, Lee had a bad family and home and stole a car for his mother to sell for drug money. Ryan had been lucky, if only he could do what Sandy did for him. Of course, this was out of the question, considering the fact that Ryan was barely getting by with his meager public defender salary and he didn't marry a rich wife whose father owned everything in town. But, without Sandy, he wouldn't have gotten to where he was now. He would probably end up in jail, just like his brother Trey. Ryan never would have met Seth, his old best buddy, led a privileged life where there was no limit to the money, and fallen in love with Marissa. . .
Marissa . . . his heart leapt. He wondered how she was doing. He really wanted to reunite with Marissa, see how she was doing after a decade. But, in his heart, he really knew that she probably wouldn't ever want to meet Ryan again.
"What would the hottest actress in the world want to do with me, a poor public defender? Especially since I broke her heart all those years before." Ryan said to nobody in particular.
Just then, a call rang to break his reverie.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ryan, it's Seth!"
"Oh, hi." Ryan was a bit stunned, he hadn't talked to Seth for a really long time. He couldn't blame him though, running a top-notch company and having a family was pretty distracting.
"Hello? Ryan are you still there?"
"Yea I am, why are you calling me?"
"Can't an old buddy ever call in to find out how his friend is doing?" Seth replied, with a bit of irritation. Something was up Ryan's butt today.
"You would only call me if something was wrong."
"Yea, you're right. Marissa's mother died in a car accident. I'm taking the family to her house to console her. Summer has been terribly worried for her, so of course, I had to get a private jet and fly her to Marissa's, ASAP. I think Summer is getting terribly high-maintenance. Anyways, I wanted to know if you could come down and visit and maybe baby-sit the kids. I know that sounds like I'm using you just to baby-sit my kids, but Summer will be hanging out with Marissa a lot, and I need to get to work on a new deal that the company is sorting out. It's in the works, and I am definitely stuck in a quagmire with this company. The stupid CEO won't sell the company to us for less than 95 mil. Stupid, cheap Dan Jaffroid. Anyways, what do you say?"
"Oh."
Seth was out of breath after talking for a whole 5 minutes, and all Ryan could say was "Oh."? He was just about to say a very angry remark in the phone when he realized that he was talking to RYAN. Ryan never talked much, but Seth always made up his silence with his endless jabber.
"So? Hate to break to you, but Ryan, that was a yes or no question and your answer will not be accepted." Seth deadpanned.
"Well I guess I need to take a vacation, so sure, I'll come."
"That's the Ryan I know. I know how you hate flying planes, but sorry you need to come soon. I'll wire the ticket soon."
"I have to fly? Oh, c'mon Seth, I'm afraid of heights! I'm going to be on a plane for six hours???"
"Calm, down Ryan, it won't kill you. The seat is in first-class, it's pretty roomy."
"I'm not claustrophobic like you, I don't need space. I just don't want to get off the ground. God didn't give me wings for a reason. We, humans, are supposed to stay on the ground."
"Ryan, just listen to me. I need a buddy to help me out in this frenzy that's going on. Just take a sleeping pill. You will go to sleep for the whole flight. But just remember to ask the flight attendant to wake you up when the plane lands in here."
"What? Are you kidding me? That's embarrassing!"
"You are a big boy, you can handle it, I need to go now, bye."
"But –"
"Bye, Ryan."
"Bye, Seth."
Ryan reluctantly hung up the phone. What an interesting flight it was going to be. He hoped the flight attendant was nice and wasn't going to give him a sympathetic look for him being afraid of heights. This had happened more then once.
An email notification popped up in his Outlook.
Ryan clicked it open and his mouth dropped open in shock.
Hey Ryan-
Here is your identification number, 4502544785251. Just give to the people at the counter, and they will let you on board. The plane's departure is at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. A limo will be waiting for you outside the gate. We are staying at Marissa's house. Well, technically it's not her house, but she wanted to get out of her residence, so we rented the top floor of the Four Seasons in L.A. Marissa and the family will be staying there. Hope to see you soon. Bon Voyage –Seth
Did Seth really think that he could get off work that easily? He guessed he would just have to take leave and give his cases and court hearings to Micheal. At least he could still attend Lee's hearing this afternoon. But as he read more carefully, he noticed that he would be staying in the same place as Marissa! Didn't Seth realize how awkward it was going to be? Ryan guessed he would just have to suck it up and deal.
(Later)
Ryan was all ready to go. He had no idea how long he was going to be away, so he packed heavily. He also made sure to get presents for the kids. He took the train to the airport, cabs were too expensive. Thank god, Seth had every expense taken care of in L.A.
At the counter, he presented his id number and was let on board. He walked down the corridor. "This is strange." He thought. There was a velvet red rope that a huge bodyguard was holding. Slightly intimidated, oh who was Ryan kidding, Very Intimidated, Ryan shakily showed his ticket to the dressed-in-black bodyguard. After some considerable time scrutinizing to make sure it was legal, the bodyguard lifted the rope and Ryan was given permission to proceed. He walked down the carpet where he had to take a small shuttle to a closed off section near the runway. After several more bodyguard encounters, he finally got to the steps of the plane. It was near the middle of the runway so the planes taking off gave a tremendous roar as they took off seemly a mere few feet above Ryan's head. Ryan shuddered. Ryan was starting to get the idea that this was a very private service, because no ordinary person would have to go through all this trouble.
Ryan climbed up the stairs, just expecting a normal plane. . .
Well there he was wrong. His suspicions were correct because the plane was pure luxury. There were recliners and tables. There were mini-offices where people could do work. There were computers for people to check on the internet. In the middle, there were several rather comfortable looking couches facing the biggest plasma television he had ever seen. Ryan chuckled to himself, the biggest T.V. he had ever seen was on a plane! There was even a bar in the corner with a smartly dressed bartender serving people. Now, he knew what Seth meant by first class. It wasn't first class on a plane, like opposed to economy, but first class as in there was nothing better than this. The people looked rather distinguished. They all chattered to each other freely, just like all those typical rich and famous people who acted like they were best friends with everyone else who was rich and famous. Ryan even thought he saw Chelsea Clinton.
In a few minutes, the pilot announced that the plane was going to take off. Everyone looked non-plussed by the fact they held martinis are merlots in their hand. They calmly sat down on some of the easy chairs or couches. Ryan was a bit perturbed. He sat down on one of the leather chairs and got the sleeping pills out of his carry-on bag. He was about to take them, but then realized he didn't have a seatbelt on. He scrambled around, looking for a seatbelt. He finally realized that there wasn't a seatbelt, but not before he had caught everyone's attention. They were all looking at him strangely, and the whole plane was silent.
"Um, I'm just looking for my um. . . new diamond rolex, that I um. . . thought I dropped, but I just realized it was at home."
Everyone "oohed" in realization.
Ryan tried to stifle a laugh. His lame excuse was so . . . lame. Only rich people would have believed that. Regular people would have thought he was crazy.
He held the bottle of sleeping pills in his hand and was about ready to take one when he realized the plane was lifting. After 30 seconds, the plane stabilized. Everyone stood up and resumed whatever they were doing. Ryan threw the bottle back in his bag because he knew this trip was too good to miss.
A very beautiful blonde haired woman came up to him.
"Hi, my name is Cindy Ford. I totally sympathize with your watch incident. I once thought I left my 5 carat diamond earrings in a bathroom in Vermont, so I made my assistant fly all the way there. But, then I found out that they were actually just in my penthouse in New York." She chuckled.
Ryan tried hard not to laugh. Who would ever forget where they put a pair of diamond earrings that were 5 carats? She was still beautiful, so he thought that continuing the conversation could lead up to some pretty interesting things later. She probably thought he was rich and famous, just like everyone on the plane did, but in truth, he was just a public defender.
"Hi, I'm Ryan."
"Nice to meet you Ryan! Want to get some drinks?" She motioned towards the bar.
"Sure."
They walked to the bartender. Cindy asked for a Cosmo, while Ryan just asked for gin. Ryan pulled out his wallet and was about to hand out cash.
The bartender and Cindy looked at him interestingly.
"You do know that your ticket paid for all the tips and drinks and food and whatever else you get on this plane, right?"
Suddenly, Ryan felt a bit stupid. He blushed, but needed tried to make up an excuse. "Oh, I know, I just wanted to see how much cash I had in my wallet before I land in L.A."
"Oh, of course. I'm so stupid sometimes."
They both laughed.
This was going to be one interesting trip.
****************************
Please continue reviewing! Thanks!