Chapter 1 – Sizzling Shrimp
A/N: This story is A/U. There are elements that I've taken from Chuck, but there is no Intersect. No CIA past. No Bryce betrayals. The bad guys in the show aren't necessarily bad guys in this story. I'm sure I'll get some angry readers because of the way this story starts, I understand. I needed to write something different.
I want to thank nevr for being my beta for this story and encouraging me. I am not as far ahead as I'd like to be, but I just want to get this out. My goal is to post a chapter every two weeks.
Please leave a review or message me privately with your thoughts about the chapter.
Disclaimer: Don't own Chuck and making no money, but if I did, I'd still stick to my day job.
"Autopilot on," Chuck said.
Chuck watched Morgan reach up to hit the autopilot button as they both settled in for the almost two-hour flight back to Burbank. Today wasn't supposed to be like this, but in the back of his mind, Chuck suspected it would end up being this way. That's the life of a corporate pilot and who was he to complain. How many people can say that their office is at 41,000 feet with a breathtaking view, sitting in a chair that is sheep-skin lined, jetting across the sky at 525 miles per hour? Granted, stuffing his six-foot-four-inch frame in the cockpit still made for some interesting contortionist moves at times.
Chuck looked at the four screens in front of him and Morgan that displayed all the information needed to make sure they safely got from point A to point B. Point B was the current flight back to Burbank, California from Eagle, Colorado. The original plan was to drop the Volkoffs off the day after Christmas, take the jet back to Burbank, and then return the day after New Years to bring them back home. When whispers of a major storm system started that would impact the snow basin in Colorado, Chuck had a feeling that this day would end up with Morgan and him picking up the Volkoffs early from their annual family ski trip in Vail.
It started when his phone started buzzing at 10am. Alexei Volkoff's name showed on his phone and Chuck knew that whatever he had planned the rest of the morning and afternoon was out the window. Alexei was very apologetic on the phone, but wanted to get home to stay ahead of the weather and avoid disrupting any plans that he and Morgan may have had for the evening. Chuck did appreciate that, but the Volkoffs, and everyone else in Vail and the surrounding ski towns, had the same thoughts as well.
"Glad we got out of there when we did, we wouldn't have made it back in time to get the sizzling shrimp for tonight!" Morgan said sounding a little frazzled, "…and what's New Years without shrimp…?" Chuck's friend contemplated as he ran his hand through his beard.
Chuck's life-long friend—well, life-long since the age of six—Morgan Grimes, never passed up an opportunity for sizzling shrimp. More importantly, he never passed up a chance to be around his "girlfriend," Chuck's married sister, Ellie. For as long as Chuck could remember, Morgan worshipped the ground that Ellie walked on no matter how put off she was by Morgan.
"I know, Morgan, we probably would have had to cancel everything," Chuck said, giving Morgan a side glance to see if he could get his friend to bite.
"What…are you crazy, Chuck?!" he said as he spun towards Chuck, nearly throwing his headset off his head with an almost terrified look in his eye. "Did the high altitude back in Eagle mess with your head or something?" Morgan nervously looked at him making sure he was okay.
"Come on buddy, you know I'm kidding," he said, grinning as he saw Morgan realize what his best friend had just done to him.
"Chuck, you don't joke about THE shrimp…ever, especially for Ellie's New Year's Eve party! You know I would get blamed for not bringing it and it wouldn't even be my fault...then Ellie wouldn't let me come to the party…I'd be home all alone New Year's Eve knowing the great time everyone else would be having at Casa de Bartowski. Chuck.…" Morgan paused to look back towards the passengers realizing his spiraling was close to making a scene in the cockpit, something you don't do when the passengers are onboard and can see you, "…Chuck…" Morgan said with less of a wild look in his eyes.
Chuck, realizing that his poor buddy was about to have a New Year's meltdown over the saltwater arthropods quickly helped him out, "Morgan, it'll be fine. We'll land in Burbank around six and you can leave right away. I'll take care of the Volkoffs and the jet while you make the food run."
"Chuck, you're a lifesaver," Morgan said as he looked away misty eyed.
"Morgan—", Chuck started with a look of concern as his buddy was about to get emotional.
"Don't, Chuck. You know how I am about sizzling shrimp and…" Morgan looked back at Chuck cracking a smile.
Chuck knew that Morgan had given him a taste of his own medicine, "Mmmoorrrgan!" A sly grin appeared on Morgan's face.
"BOOM!" Morgan exclaimed, making a single fist pump in his seat like he had just taken out a whole enemy squad in Call of Duty, getting close to drawing attention from the back once again.
Chuck then glared at Morgan, nodding his head towards the back of the jet to help Morgan realize he was on the verge of making a scene.
"Sorry, Chuck, sorry." Morgan stopped the antics in his seat but still grinned as he looked ahead at the instruments to make sure he hadn't knocked anything on the panel during his crazy display.
"Let's just get back to Burbank without any more scenes so that our passengers can be relaxed and not have to worry whether or not their pilots started New Years a little early," Chuck half-grinned at Morgan.
Morgan ducked his head a little, more subdued now. "Good call, Chuck, good call."
Chuck looked ahead as oranges began to give way to darker shades of red after the sun had disappeared behind the horizon twenty minutes earlier. Suddenly, the thin layer of clouds above the jet began to glow the same orange and red colors that he saw in front of him.
"Wow," Morgan uttered softly as the real-time painting materialized right in front of them. "No matter how many times I see this it never gets old."
"Can't agree with you more, little buddy," Chuck said, taking it all in himself.
Some rustling from behind shook Chuck out of his admiring of the view. Chuck turned to look. There stood Vivian Volkoff, oldest daughter of the Volkoff family. Her eyes marveled at the view out the front of the jet.
Lifting one of the headphones and setting it behind his ear, Chuck asked rhetorically, "Coming to check out the view?"
"Chuck, it's so beautiful!" Vivian's voice seemed distant as she took in everything in front of her.
Chuck had always thought that Vivian was a beautiful woman, but off-limits because she was the boss's daughter. She was a medium-height brunette with an athletic build. The soft features of her face were accented by her high cheek bones and green eyes. Her red lips curled up in a soft smile, gracing her face as she looked on. The light from the sky added to her beauty, making Chuck stare a little longer than he normally would.
Before he could look away, Chuck noticed Vivian had caught him looking at her.
"Chuck," Vivian said in a questioning yet teasing voice, "is there something on my face?"
Chuck could feel the heat rise to his face immediately while he quickly turned to look straight ahead. "No, there's nothing on your face…I mean…everything's fine…perfect actually." Chuck felt himself spiraling and becoming more embarrassed after that last line came out of his mouth before he could stop it.
Chuck wondered why he always got this way around Vivian, actually any beautiful woman for that matter. He knew why, but hated to admit it to himself – he felt that they were out of his league. Ellie would smack him if she knew what he was thinking again. She had told Chuck on more than one occasion that it was the girl who was lucky to have Chuck's attention. Morgan said the same thing, but he had to, Chuck thought, he was Chuck's best friend. Just like Ellie had to because she was his sister.
He could feel Vivian give him a shoulder bump. "Come on, Chuck, lighten up a little. You know I'm giving you a hard time." Turning his head, Chuck could see the smirk Vivian had and the twinkle in her eye.
"I know, Vivian, I know," he replied, dipping his head a little. And Chuck knew very well. Vivian was always looking for ways to get him to turn different shades of red. Chuck thought back to the time when Vivian had dribbled some shrimp sauce on her shirt. She had come up to the front of the plane to grab some napkins from the galley. Chuck had asked if she needed any help, and without hesitating, she rotated her front to him so he could see where the shrimp sauce had landed and quickly asked, "I don't know Chuck, do I?" When Chuck had looked at where it was his eyes shot back up to her mischief-filled eyes. He knew the instant red in his cheeks was the reaction she was looking for. Shrugging one shoulder with a smirk on her face, she had grabbed the napkins and headed back to her seat.
"Chuck, you ok? Are you feeling sick? You look flushed," Morgan said, shaking Chuck out of his memory. He turned to see Chuck all red-faced, a look of concern on his face.
"Yeah, Chuck, you're looking a little flushed. You ok?" Vivian quickly added, putting her hand on his shoulder with a knowing smile, her face positioned in a way that Morgan could not see it.
"Uhhh, yeah…I'm fine…I'm fine guys…" Chuck stumbled through his words, growing warmer by the second.
Vivian took her hand off of Chuck's shoulder and asked Morgan how much longer it was until they landed in Burbank. Chuck appreciated the distraction that Vivian created so that he could get ahold of himself and simmer down while Morgan told her it was about an hour before they landed.
"Good, should be enough time for a quick nap. Do you guys have any New Year's plans?" Vivian asked, an honest sound in her voice.
Without pause Chuck listened to Morgan launch into a rather animated description of New Years at the Bartowski house with all their friends and how it wasn't complete without the cherished shrimp.
"Sizzling shrimp?" Vivian asked, with a puzzled look on her face.
The look on Morgan's face was as if Vivian had just kissed him. Mouth agape and hitting Chuck on the shoulder, he exclaimed "Chuck, Vivian has never heard of those pieces of paradise!"
Chuck, without thinking, quickly followed with, "Vivian…how is it possible that you've never heard of sizzling shrimp for as much as you like shrimp and everywhere it seems to fall on you?" The slightest hint of rose came to Vivian's cheeks and her mouth opened in a look of disbelief.
Chuck realized what he had just said and covered his mouth with his hand while the heat this time shot up his neck and into his cheeks. "You little…" Vivian trailed off, punching Chuck on the arm as he turned his head and looked quickly away so Vivian couldn't see how rattled he was. Once again Chuck's mouth marched ahead before his brain could stop him from embarrassing himself. 'Where did that come from?!' he thought to himself.
"Whoa, whoa, Vivian…no need for violence," Morgan warned with a smile on his face as he turned to face Vivian.
"She's joking, Morgan, it's all right," Chuck added, not knowing that Morgan already knew. Turning back to face Morgan and Vivian, the heat once again subsiding from his face and neck, he said "Hey Morgan, maybe next flight we should cater shrimp for Vivian and the rest of the fam so they can see what they're missing."
Morgan's eyes shifted from Chuck to Vivian, nodding his head. "Chuck, what a great idea! Vivian, what do you think about that…sizzling shrimp for the next flight we do?"
Looking to have recovered from Chuck's moment of boldness, Vivian turned to Morgan and in an amused tone said, "That does sound like a great idea, Morgan. Whatever amount you think would be best for all of us, including you and Chuck," Vivian said, snapping the 'k' with a look that only Chuck knew was for him after what he had just said earlier. "The Volkoffs will have sizzling shrimp for the first time, properly, on the jet."
"Wow, Chuck! Shrimp on the plane, how can that be topped?" Morgan said absentmindedly, not realizing, yet, what he had just said. "Consider it done, Vivian. Chuck and I will make sure you guys are taken care of."
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you two," Vivian said warmly as she rested a hand on each of their shoulders, giving Chuck's shoulder a little squeeze.
"All right buddy, sounds like a plan," Chuck said a little more nervously than he wanted to as he straightened up quickly from the squeeze of Vivian's hand, "We'll make sure you guys are taken of," Chuck added as he turned to address Vivian, who had since taken the opportunity to get close to his face since Morgan had turned away to make a note for himself.
"I'll make sure I don't dribble this time, Chuck," Vivian said softly with a knowing smile on her face, making sure that Chuck was aware that she didn't forget about his moment of boldness from earlier.
With a nervous chuckle, Chuck broke the teasing look Vivian was giving him and turned to focus on the screen to keep himself from breaking out in a full-on sweat. Seconds later the weight of Vivian's hand was gone as she made her way back to her seat with the rest of her family.
"Morgan, so, having sizzling shrimp on the plane can't be topped? I thought maybe with Ellie…"
"Well, uh, you know Chuck, nothing tops having any food with Ellie, but I didn't want to make Vivian feel bad. Just don't tell Ellie I said that, ok?" Morgan interrupted Chuck with a nervous look on his face.
Chuck knew this wasn't something to mess with Morgan about. "I knew what you meant Morgan, don't worry." Chuck saw Morgan visibly relax.
A few minutes of silence passed by when Morgan turned to Chuck and nonchalantly said, "Vivian is pretty cool and doesn't treat us like underlings or something. Some pilot crews out there have bosses and their families treat them like crap and are disrespectful to them. Others don't even consider that you have a life outside of their flying job and call you to fly whenever they want. I know, I know…" Morgan could see that Chuck was going to say something about that since this wasn't the first time he and Morgan considered themselves lucky because of how well the Volkoff family treated them. "That's why we get paid as much as we do, we sacrifice our personal lives to be available for them. But still, there is still a level of respect—well, at least there should be—that helps to have with the boss and their pilots."
"You're right, Morg," Chuck agreed, "we do have it pretty good here. You hear the horror stories. Well, take us for example, I was with Shaw for a couple of years. That was a nightmare. And you were with Quinn…honestly, I don't know who was worse. They're both pretty bad guys."
As both Morgan and Chuck's words hung in the air, they absentmindedly started dimming their screens, Chuck flipping the day/night switch to turn the backlighting on for all the buttons and labels in the cockpit, as twilight was fast approaching.
"Well, that's interesting," Morgan said under his breath, making Chuck look at the screen that was the apparent reason for Morgan's comment. "I see you filed a different arrival into Burbank tonight."
"Yeah, I figured since it was going to be after sunset by the time we went over Vegas I'd test and see if they'd let us fly this one so the Volkoffs could see the lights of the city," Chuck said, referring to the route he filed in his flight plan. Typically, ATC had preferred routes when flying into more congested airports and since Burbank was near enough to LA to take this into consideration, ATC sometimes changed the filed flight plan if it wasn't a preferred one, but that wasn't the case tonight. "It looks like we got away with filing this route this time, pretty lucky for us."
"Fist bump, buddy, nice move," Morgan said putting his fist out for Chuck, showing his support for what his friend had done for the flight home. "Sometimes, Chuck, even in the madness of everything, you're still able to think about other people and go the extra mile to squeeze out that little detail. Speaking of squeezing, man, Chuck, squeezing some lemon on those sea creatures later tonight…can't wait, just can't…" Morgan trailed off as Chuck just shook his head starting to laugh, giving his best friend a fist bump.
"Morgan, you'd bathe in that stuff if you had the chance."
"Who told you?" Morgan quickly turned to Chuck, narrowing his eyes.
"I'm joking, man. Whoa, calm down, little buddy!" Chuck responded, unsure if his friend was joking or not.
"Of course, of course," Morgan waved a hand towards Chuck, dismissing the idea. Chuck wasn't so sure what to think of Morgan's response, but decided to leave that thought alone since it would be an image that would be difficult to erase from his brain. After more conversation about Morgan's plan of leaving as soon as the plane was shut down to the coveted shrimp restaurant, a call from LA center instructed them to descend via the arrival into Bob Hope Airport.
During the descent, both Chuck and Morgan turned to see their boss, Alexei Volkoff opening the drawer to throw the garbage away from the back. Looking up with a large warm smile on his face, he nodded to both of them. "Chuck, Morgan, looks like we are starting our descent into Burbank?"
Morgan was the first to speak up, "Hey, Alexei, yeah, we're starting our descent. Did you guys have a good time in Vail?"
Chuck heard the garbage bin close. Alexei rested one elbow on Morgan's chair and another on Chuck's. "Yeah Morgan we had a great time, just too bad we had to leave early. Vail always has fireworks that are shot off the ski hill and all the instructors ski down one of the hills carrying a flare in each hand. Seeing this long winding snake of red flares coming down the hill does sound strange, but it is quite the sight to see. It seems like the whole town of Vail comes to Vail Village to watch everything making for a warm and festive atmosphere."
"It does sound like a good time, Alexei," Chuck chimed in. "I wish the weather would have been more cooperative for you. You don't get to vacation as much as you'd like with your family, so this probably stings a little."
"It does, but we did have a good time," Alexei said. Chuckling, he added, "I'm glad that you guys are better at your job than the weatherman predicting the weather. We wouldn't last very long flying around the mountains."
Both Chuck and Morgan looked at each other, raising their eyebrows. Chuck answered, "Right?! Morgan and I have talked about that on more than one occasion."
Alexei laughed harder. "I bet you two have. Can't really be wrong in your job, things wouldn't end very well. I just want to say that the family and I really appreciate everything you guys do for us. Vivian came back earlier and said something about you guys catering sizzling shrimp for our next trip. Sounds delicious, and I'm looking forward to it."
Morgan piped up, "You're going to love it Alexei! At least I hope you do, but if you don't I guess I'll eat whatever you guys don't." Chuck put a hand on Morgan's forearm to keep him from getting carried away about his shrimp addiction.
With a hearty laugh Alexei patted both Morgan and Chuck on their shoulders and said he was looking forward to it as he turned around to go back to his seat. "Oh hey," Alexi added, Chuck and Morgan both turned to see Alexei giving them a thumbs up, "Vegas looked pretty awesome. The girls and I really enjoyed that."
Chuck gave Alexei a smile. He nodded and watched Alexei head back towards his seat.
The descent into Burbank was uneventful. Chuck listened as Morgan wrote down the current weather conditions at the airport, noting the runway they would be landing on. Morgan input the data into the flight computer and looked at Chuck to confirm that everything was entered correctly. After Chuck nodded, Morgan pushed the execute button and told Chuck he was going to radio the FBO to make sure the Volkoff's SUV was planeside once they landed.
The lights of the Los Angeles Basin glowed brightly as the evening firmly settled into southern California. Chuck confirmed with Morgan that the final checklists were complete as they lined up for runway 26 at the Burbank airport. "Ahhhh," Morgan sighed audibly, "I just love seeing the runway lights tonight. It's a pathway to our sizzling friends." There was a contented look on his face.
"Well, Morg, in about an hour we'll be bathing in the smell and eating to our hearts' content. And I have to admit, the runway lights look a little sweeter tonight because that means we will be celebrating Bartowski-style after all," Chuck said. He felt himself relaxing a little knowing the flight was almost completed.
"That's the spirit, Chuck! I was wondering why you've been holding back all afternoon!" Morgan wiped away fake tears with a smile on his face.
"OK….OK, let's just get on the ground so that you can get going, I can take care of the Volkoffs," Chuck said shaking his head with a smile on his face.
Once the handoff from SoCal Approach to Burbank Tower took place, Chuck and Morgan were all business. "Bob Hope Tower, this is 884 Hotel Juliet, five mile final for runway 26." Chuck smirked to himself when he heard Morgan announce in his "professional" voice, as Morgan liked to say.
A few seconds of silence passed on the radio when Chuck heard the words that were music to his ears: "884 Hotel Juliet, Bob Hope Tower, you're number one for runway 26, runway 26, cleared to land. Welcome back, guys."
"Runway 26, cleared to land…glad to be back Tim," Morgan replied. Chuck, hearing that a friend of theirs was in the tower tonight added, "Something is waiting for us in the very near future."
Chuck and Morgan both grinned when they heard Tim already laughing, "Morgan, when isn't sizzling shrimp in your very near future?"
"Good point," Morgan replied, trying to sound professional. Chuck saw Morgan flip the other landing light switch as a visual reminder that they were cleared to land. Morgan also flipped the switch to illuminate the emergency lighting to let Alexei and the family know that they were on final approach and just a couple minutes from landing.
Chuck prided himself on smooth landing. When the Citation Sovereign crossed the end of the runway, he slowly pulled the throttles to idle and gently coaxed the jet back to earth. After the main gears touched the ground, Chuck lowered the nose gear to the ground, pulled the lever for the spoilers and then followed with pulling the levers for the thrust reversers. Tonight, the jet wasn't loaded down so it didn't feel like it was lumbering as much as Chuck slowed the plane down before turning off the runway to taxi to Atlantic Aviation, "home" for the jet.
"Another nice landing, Chuck," Morgan commented before he replied to the tower to taxi to parking.
"Thanks, buddy," Chuck responded. "Hey, after you're done with the checklist and we're stopped, head back by the door and give Alexei a heads up that you have to leave right away."
"I was thinking the same thing…but you're sure you got everything covered?" Morgan questioned to make sure Chuck was serious about his leaving right away.
Chuck waved off Morgan telling him it was fine and to open the cargo door so the ground personnel could start unloading the Volkoff's luggage before he took off.
After the jet was stopped, Chuck brought the left throttle to cutoff, stopping fuel to the engine. Morgan shot out of his chair patting Chuck on his shoulder. "See you in a little while," Morgan said excitedly. Chuck heard Alexei send off Morgan and saw him running around the wing to open the cargo door. Once Chuck had confirmation that the jet was secured, he shut down the other engine but left the battery on so the main cabin lights were still illuminated. Chuck got out of his seat and headed back to help unload the Volkoff's carry-on items from the cabin. He handed them to the two ground personnel waiting at the bottom of the flight stairs. Alexei, his wife Martha, and their youngest daughter, Evelyn, had already exited the plane, leaving Vivian in the main cabin.
"Any fun plans tonight, Vivian?" Chuck asked breaking the silence that he felt was getting uncomfortable.
"Not sure since we were supposed to be in Vail yet, but I'm sure I'll find something fun to do."
"Uh, are there any other bags I could help carry for you?" Chuck blurted out, changing the subject and looking away before he got any warmer because of the look she was giving him. Chuck scanned the back of the plane. Seeing nothing left behind, he turned towards Vivian, whose face suddenly filled his entire vision. A surprised "Whoa!…" escaped his lips. Before he was able to regain his composure, Vivian leaned forward and gave him a gentle, warm kiss on the cheek, just missing his lips.
Looking up to him with her sea green eyes, Vivian said in a soft, gentle voice, "Happy New Year, Chuck." Before Chuck could process what had just happened, she turned away. Their eyes locked for a split second before she made her way down the flight stairs. She glanced at him with a small grin on her face just as she got to the bottom.
Chuck stood there in the cabin of the jet by himself trying to understand what had just happened. If he was honest with himself, the whole trip back from Vail had been strange. Sure, Vivian had always found ways to embarrass Chuck over the past couple of years, but this trip definitely felt different. And Chuck wasn't sure what to do about it.
The sound of someone clearing their throat brought Chuck out of his thoughts. Alexei was standing on the air stairs, half his body leaning inside the jet. Chuck noticed Alexei hesitate for a second. Then he said, "If Vivian keeps giving you a hard time, like she has been, just let me know and I can talk to her. I see how she looks for ways to embarrass you."
Chuck was caught off-guard with Alexei's comment and could feel his face warm "Yeah, she sure does, Alexei. But it's fine, as much as she gets me all red in the face, I know it's friendly banter."
"You sure about that, Chuck?" Alexei cut in, throwing Chuck off. Seeing the confused look Chuck had on his face, Alexei continued, "I don't see her very often bantering with a lot of other guys. Chuck, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you are a very charming guy and I know this because my daughter does not get charmed very easy. I've watched you two over the past couple of years get more comfortable with each other and I'm okay with it. I also know, by the look on your face, that you had no idea how you've affected my daughter. I don't think she does, which makes this conversation so much easier to have. You're a genuine, honest guy Chuck, and I know you would not purposely hurt my daughter. I also know that your sister Ellie is moving to Chicago for her job sometime before the end of next summer and I don't think you'll be far behind…you two are very close."
Chuck was speechless about everything Alexei had just said about Vivian and even more baffled about the knowledge of Ellie moving to Chicago. "Alexei, I, uh, I really don't know what to say about Vivian right now, but my sister…how did you even know about that? If you don't mind my asking."
Alexei grinned and said, "I have a good doctor-friend that works at Westside and I stopped in there a couple weeks ago to pick him up for lunch. He had told me that their best up-and-coming neurosurgeon was offered a position at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. It didn't take me long to figure out that it was your sister. And I'm okay if you end up moving to the Midwest as well. Whenever the time comes and you need me to give a recommendation, just let me know and I'll call them personally."
Chuck could hardly believe what he was hearing. His boss, and the owner of the company, was telling him that he knew Chuck wasn't going to be his pilot for much longer and had his blessing to go. Blinking a couple times to recover from the bombshell that Alexei just dropped, Chuck realized that Alexei was waiting for Chuck to respond. With the weight of what Alexei just said still rolling around in his head, he said with gratitude, "Alexei, I…I wasn't sure what I was going to do with Ellie and Devon moving to Chicago. For everything you've done for me, I was torn on the decision I would have to make because I didn't want to leave you down a pilot. Thank you."
A raised hand from Alexei stopped Chuck. "Chuck, why do you think I brought it up to you? I knew you would have struggled so I just took care of that for you. My only concern is Vivian." Alexei sighed and continued. "That daughter of mine likes to push the limits and she sometimes gets herself hurt. I watched her on the flight back and also saw what she just did before she got off the plane a few minutes ago. Sometimes she can be so timid and other times, well, she can be overwhelming," Alexei chuckled as he ran his hand through his hair.
It was Chuck's turn to raise his hand. "Alexei, I get it. I have no poker face around her, any woman for that matter." Both men chuckled. "But I deflect the best I can when it comes to Vivian. She's your daughter, the boss's daughter."
"Chuck, stop," Alexei cut in, raising Chuck's eyebrows. Chuck's eyes grew big expecting a tongue lashing. Alexi continued, "My daughter is a grown woman who can make her own decisions, and yes, you are an employee of mine, but, you and Morgan see things in our family that most others in the company don't. I trust you two and I know you, in particular, will do everything you can to keep Vivian at bay. I've watched you, so…well, she'll learn either way. I haven't told her about Ellie. I think that is something you should tell her so that she understands you won't be around forever."
Looking at Alexei, Chuck smiled, more relaxed now after the vote of confidence that his boss had just given him.
"Be aware Chuck, I heard her and Evelyn whispering something about 'Casa de Bartowski', so those two are scheming."
Why would Vivian and her younger sister be talking about their place? Chuck thought to himself. "Wow! Ok, the surprises just keep coming," Chuck nervously laughed.
"Like I said, she can be overwhelming."
"Yes, she can."
After a moment of silence, Alexei waved his hand at Chuck while stepping out of the plane, "Happy New Year Chuck. Don't want to keep you from your plans and–what was Morgan saying–sizzling shrimp?" His comment drew a healthy laugh from both.
"Yes, Morgan is obsessed. Happy New Year, Alexei. And again, thank you." Chuck walked to the entrance where Alexei was just moments ago and saw him wave his hand above his head while he continued to where his SUV and the rest of his family were waiting for him.
When Alexei opened the door to his SUV, Chuck observed two younger women in the back seat looking out at Chuck. As the Volkoff vehicle slowly pulled away suddenly the back window opened and in unison two young female voices floated out, "Bye, Chuck!" followed by more giggling.
Chuck stepped down the flight stairs, shaking his head with a smile. He waved to the SUV. "Bye, ladies."
Fifteen minutes later Chuck walked out to his car after finishing the post flight inspections, having decided to finish the paperwork the next day. Once in his car, Chuck let out a large sigh, wondering what the rest of the night had in store for him.