Chapter 5
"Dammit, where is that hat?" Helena muttered to herself. The car was waiting downstairs to take her to the airport and her suitcase was almost packed. She discovered her Nook buried underneath a pile of scripts, but she couldn't find her favorite Michael Kors floppy hat and she was not leaving without that hat. After destroying several rooms of her condo, Helena found the hat on her microwave. Not having any time to ponder how that could have happened, she threw the hat in her suitcase, zipped it up and handed it to the driver waiting in her atrium.
She hadn't bothered to contact MacFarlane after she discovered the text. She didn't owe him anything. If he really wanted to apologize, he would find a way. At this point, Helena was over it. Time to move on and move up. No more time would be spent thinking about Cartoon Boy. As they drove to the airport, Helena read through her e-mails one last time, as she planned to turn her phone off the minute she got on the plane and not turn it back on until she was back in L.A. exactly one week from today. There would be no reading of scripts, no auditions, no phone calls, no dinners with producers, no press calls. This was going to be a week of relaxation and her only company would be booze and sex.
The driver pulled up to a private airfield just outside L.A. When the executives at Universal found out about her trip, they offered their private jet to take her away, of course if she agreed to a dinner with a producer about a potential role. Helena decided it was a small price to pay for the luxury of private air travel. As the driver handed her bags off to the attendant, Helena grabbed her bag and made her way up the staircase into the jet. Nothing could prepare her for what she saw next.
"Uh…hi! Helena! I've been wanting to talk to you…"
There he was, in all his arrogant asshole glory. Seth motherfucking MacFarlane. On her private jet that was suppose to take her on her vacation to let her forget about him. Great.
Stunned, Helena stood in front of MacFarlane, who was already buckled into his seat. Every instinct in her body told her to leave, run; but something kept her feet planted where they were. She threw down her bag and hat before speaking.
"Is this some attempt at an apology?" she snorted at him.
"Look, Helena…"
"Save it, MacFarlane. I knew this flight at strings attached, but not this."
"Please, Helena. You wouldn't return my calls, texts and e-mails. Your agent didn't seem very responsive either. Please, hear me out. I had no business speaking to you the way I did. It was disrespectful. I know better. I honestly don't know what came over me, but that is no excuse. Please, accept this ride as some attempt at an apology. I know I have much more to do to make up for my behavior. Please, sit down. Have a drink. Once we land, you never have to speak to or see me again. It's your choice. Just please know I am sincerely sorry. "
Helena didn't know how to respond. He appeared sincere; there was no hint of sarcasm in his voice. He could have blown her off, but he didn't. Reluctantly, she sat down and buckled her seatbelt. Seth smiled, relieved. Soon, a flight attendant offered her a drink and prepared them for take-off.
"I will sit here quietly, reading and listening to music. You don't have to talk to me and I won't force you. Please, make yourself comfortable. Forget I am here." Seth smiled and settled in. Helena nodded, still shocked. She had no idea what was happening. Instead of figuring it out, she popped in her earbuds and settled into her Nook.
She figure this all out later.
