“Don’t pin that on me, Gideon. You’re the one who plays the role of Ricky; you’re the one who told me you wished you could live a simpler life. I just gave you a solution and it’s hardly my fault if that solution isn’t easy enough for you. Either you want it or you don’t, it really is as simple as that but I’m not going to keep hanging around like a lost puppy while you figure it out.”
“Will you still come with me? Can we still start again?” My heart is begging me to say yes but I can’t. I can’t just run away with a once billionaire and start life over again… can I? I mean, what about Allison? What about my life… What about…
“I don’t know Gideon. This isn’t exactly the whirlwind romance it was supposed to be.”
“But it can still have a happy ending?” He holds out his hand for mine and without thinking I give it to him. His fingers wrap around mine and he gives me a gentle smile before lifting my hand to his lips and kissing my knuckles. “Just give me a chance, one more chance, Melissa.” He starts to tug me back towards the annex. I follow him without putting up a fight, assuming he’s looking to take our more than public disagreement inside to prevent any more onlookers. “I want to show you something.” We breeze in the front door, past the two gentlemen who had watched us briefly and who were now sitting in the waiting room. Past the receptionist who had a look of pure intrigue on her face as she watched us head back in to Gideon’s office. I bet she’s never seen an interview quite like this before and I’m fairly certain that the two men from the parking lot have filled her in on the gossip.
Gideon closes the door to his office and I begin to wonder if he’s not just interested in another quick release and willing to do whatever it takes to get it.
“Come on” he waves as I pause at the chair in front of his desk, almost sitting down again. Gideon pulls me towards the glass door in the corner of the office; it leads out to the tarmac. The whirring of propellers assaults my ears as we step out on to the tarmac and Gideon leads me past an array of perfectly painted small planes. At the end of the row is a larger, more luxurious plane, that I soon find out is a private jet. Gideon tugs my hand and pulls me up the steps of the plane. He nods at the stewardess and takes me back to a pair of thick white leather recliners. “Sit, please.” He asks and tells me to sit at the same time before reaching down and snapping together my seatbelt. “I’ll be right back.” Gideon walks straight past the stewardess and in to the cockpit where I could only just see the top of two white hats. Gideon leans down between the two hats and his voice is too low for me to actually hear what he is saying.
“Are you sure, Sir?” I hear the pilot ask him and Gideon nods.
“Most definitely, James, more sure than I have ever been about anything else in my life. Now, let’s get this baby up in the air shall we?” He laughs lightly before heading back towards me. There is a scurry of activity by the plane’s crew and the stairs begin to fold up in to the plane.
“What’s going on Gideon? Where are we going?” He sits beside me and snaps his seatbelt together, placing his hand on mine.
“We’re starting over.”
“What? What do you mean starting over?” I feel my heart rate pick up and a million thoughts race through my head at once.
“You, me, a new home, new jobs, new lives.”
“No, Gideon. I can’t just do that. I have friends, I have family… I have a roommate. I don’t even have a bag packed. I can’t just up and go.” His face remains relaxed and he gives me a sweet slow smile.
“We’ll take care of it. We’ll take care of everything, Melissa. Right now all that matters is you and me and today, we’re starting again.” The plane begins to turn slowly on the tarmac and I peer out of the window and watch my old life disappearing behind me, wondering just what does lie ahead.
“But, where are we going?” The plane picks up speed and we hurtle along the runway before lifting in to the air. I turn to face Gideon again and he shrugs.
“Does it matter?” We sit in silence for a few more minutes as the jet climbs in to the sky and once it finally evens out Gideon unbuckles his seatbelt and stands up, his hand gesturing for mine. He takes my hand and tugs it while nodding at my seatbelt, I unclip it and he pulls me to the rear of the plane to a thin white door. As he opens the door a large bed greets us, neatly made with crisp white sheets and large overstuffed pillows. He doesn’t say a word but closes the door behind us and leads me to the bed. As he lays me down gently on the soft sheets his eyes soften, he leans down, pressing his lips against mine and running his fingers down the side of my face.