White Lies (Book 1)

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

"Are you fucking out of your mind?!"

"James, I'll explain it all when we get back—"

"You filed a flight plan with my FBO and organized to fly the jet all the way to Nevada? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"It'll make sense once I talk you through it in person—"

"And then you called my assistant pretending to be me! So you could organize for my pilot and crew – not fucking yours, by the way – to refuel and get ready for take-off! You completely went over my fucking head – I didn't authorize any of this! Do you think this is some sort of game? I can't believe you—"

"James, listen—"

"—it's the company fucking jet, Nate! That is not a toy for you to play with. It's used to fly clients in for important meetings, not for gallivanting around the country! It costs me six thousand dollars an hour to keep that thing up and running just so you don't crash and die in the Mississippi River! Why can't you just take coach, you asshole? And why on Earth are you and Jesabel heading to Vegas anyway? What could have possibly possessed you to abandon Peter and Angelica at this time?"

"Don't say anything to them yet—"

"Like hell I won't say anything – what, you think that I'm just gonna keep your little rendezvous a secret? Fuck right off! And what the am I supposed to do with this fucking phone you've left on my desk? Why have you gone and ransacked my things?"

"That's Noah's phone. He left it in his locker – make sure you give it to Peter, track the missed call, find a location and keep searching—"

"No, YOU keep searching! Turn that thing around right now. Mom is beside herself."

"It's a bit too late for that now, James."

"Jesus Christ!"

"We took off an hour ago."

"Unbelievable – this is the worst thing you've ever done, by far. I can't believe you'd do this – you're fucking insane—"

"There's some turbulence up head – gotta go, Jamie."

"Come home, Nathan – NOW."

Nathan began to make some unconvincing turbulent noises with his mouth. "What was that? Cchrshk – gotta go – shhrk – thanks for the call—"

Then he abruptly hung up on his very furious brother.

Nathan seemed completely unfazed by having his ear chewed out – he appeared to have found the call a pleasant surprise, albeit an amusing one. He reclined further back against his seat, lazily sipping his orange juice. "You okay, Jess?"

"I don't know," I admitted weakly. "This is kind of a lot." I had also been reluctantly enjoying the spacious leg-room which the aircraft offered. Nathan was seated directly across from me, and the plane itself was quite cozy and small. An up-right table divided the space between us, filled with drinks and snacks and – dare I say it – a chilled bottle of champagne. An extremely helpful flight attendant hovered in the background, ready to offer his services at the drop of a hat. This was the type of premium, gold-class service that most people would never experience in their lifetime.

I had never been on a commercial plane before, let alone a private jet. The supreme comfort and luxury that the aircraft offered felt as if it had been designed to accommodate persons of a much more important status than either of us qualified for. I couldn't help but feel as if all this gaudiness, this display of opulence had been wasted on me. I couldn't even begin to appreciate it in the way that others might.