Though she wished she could hide the ridiculously stupid career move. Brandy was a homemaker now, tending to her two tweens while her husband, Brad, worked as an engineer at GM, but she had been in the work force earlier, an engineer herself. She would know what a stupid thing Camilla had done by getting involved with her new boss.
“No, it wasn’t in the ranger’s station. I mean, it was in the ranger’s station, but even before that.”
“For God’s sake, Cammy, it was your first day. How did you manage to fit in one time, let alone a couple? And weren’t you busy almost crashing?”
Despite her sister’s laugh, Camilla didn’t think it was so funny right now.
“On the plane,” she admitted.
“While it was crashing? Wow, your boss is cute, but that wouldn’t have been the first thing I went for in that situation. I suppose there must have been a certain erotic allure, going out with a bang and all, but me, I would have gone for the oxygen mask instead.”
“Not while it was crashing.” She took a sip of the water. “Right before actually. And right after.”
“You go, girl!”
“Oh stop!” But she couldn’t help but smile. Sugar always made her feel better no matter how dire the circumstances. She should have lunged for a piece of candy when the plane was taking its precarious dips. And talking to a sister made her feel better. Always had. “I really screwed up, Brandy. And I have all those loans to pay off still.”
Her sister frowned. “Your boss better not be threatening to fire you, the asshole. Isn’t there some legal term for that?”
“No, of course not. He didn’t even seem to know sleeping with an employee was wrong at first. I had to explain it to him.”
Brandy raised an eyebrow.
“Well, I am his lawyer.”
She scoffed between downing handfuls of popcorn. “I didn’t get to talk to him and he seems cute, but he’s pulling the wool over your eyes, kid. He probably hits on women executives on their first day or something. A perverted kind of orientation.”
She shook her head, certain. “No, it’s not that. He’s…different.”
“Did you hit on him then?”
“No!” She took her sweater off and tossed it on the bed, then pulled her blouse out of the waistband of her jeans. “Of course not. I, ah, went along.”
Her sister frowned, the laughter gone. “This doesn’t sound good, Cammy. If there’s something you’re not telling me, if he hurt you somehow or pressured you, then you need to do something about it.”
She was the one who laughed this time. “The only pressure he put on me was asking me outright if I’d sleep with him when I’d already been noticing how cute he was and was starting to even like him.”
Brandy set the popcorn on the nightstand and took her hand. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
“I know. I can’t believe I did it. I didn’t fall into bed with him, into his lap I mean, right away,” she hastened to add. “First I was really mad and he tried to drop it, but I needed to explain to him that it was illegal and confirm that there were no pending, or incipient, suits.”
“God, now you sound just like a lawyer.” Nobody was a fan of lawyers, even in her own family.
“I am a lawyer.”
“That’s your problem.” Brandy pushed a strand of Camilla’s hair away from her eyes. “Your hair looks like shit, by the way.”
She laughed and pulled her hand away, standing up. “I’m calling Carly.”
“No, you don’t!” She snatched the hotel cordless phone up. “I was the closest one locally when Mom and Dad were a nervous wreck. You know how Dad always said his worst nightmare would be to lose a child, and he prays to God he dies before any of us do. So I’m the one who was on the plane reassuring them to keep their hopes up and keeping Joey from getting scared.”
“I know, I know.” Camilla leaned down to hug her. “And I’m so thankful.”
“Hmmph,” her sister huffed. “Dee Dee wanted to come, but she was getting her hair highlighted today.”
Camilla slapped at her arm, both of them laughing. “You are so mean!”
“I’m kidding of course. Dee Dee, everybody, was terrified. But no calling Carly. Why should she get all the juicy stuff? I’m older than her anyway.” She relinquished the phone, tossing it aside. “But I have to tell you, honey, that lecturing the man about not having sex with you after his proposition, while you were alone, was probably not the wisest idea.”
“Why not?” she objected, kicking off the clunky boots she realized she still had on. “I had to. It was my fiduciary obligation to my client.”