WRECKER by Sasha Gold Page B

Marshall.
    Jack’s airline company served wealthy clients who jetted between their homes in LA or Manhattan and the upscale ski resorts nestled in the Rockies. Aspen. Vale. Jackson Hole. Passengers liked the small personal touches that made the airline different from the bigger carriers. Jack liked his pilots to make a point of saying hello and good-bye to every passenger and children always got a little souvenir.
    As Savannah and the children neared Jack, he took two airplane models from his coat pocket and gave one to each child. “You two kids are getting escorted by the prettiest flight attendant we’ve ever had.”
    Savannah fought the urge to roll her eyes. This was part of the game they always played, where he acted like the charming pilot and she was supposed to keep her mouth shut and smile at anything he said.
    “She mixed up a special drink for us,” the little girl said.
    The captain blinked in surprise, his lips tugging into a smile. He lifted his gaze and held hers for a moment. “Is that so, Miss Michaels?”
    “It was a Shirley Temple.” Savannah felt herself blush. “ Sir .”
    He held her gaze and then bid the two children good-bye. She ushered them out the door and down the stairwell. Icy winds cut her skin and the children ducked their heads against the brutal cold.
    Inside the small airport, she found the children’s grandparents waiting. She handed them off, telling the elderly couple how well behaved the children had been. They thanked her and walked away hand in hand with the children to the baggage claim.
    The rest of the passengers were disembarking and she waited till the last stragglers got off. Just as she was about to go back to the plane, Jack came down the stairs and across the tarmac, leading the rest of the flight crew. He carried her coat and pulled her suitcase.
    “I have your things, Miss Michaels.”
    When he played this game he made it doubly hard on her to keep up the façade. But she had to. Her job depended on it. At twenty one, with no degree and no resume’, she needed to do everything she could to keep the boss happy. He handed over her coat and held on to the handle of her rolling suitcase. Heidi and the rest of the crew waved as they walked away.
    Savannah nodded the direction of the other crew members. “Where are they going?”
    “To their hotel. You and I are staying at The Montgomery.”
    “The Montgomery…?”
    He stared down at her with his usual irritation. It made her shiver and she wondered what she’d done to annoy him now.
    “That’s right,” he said. “For once don’t argue with me.”
    The normal protocol she adhered to was to speak to him as little as possible. He’d set that precedent, explained that even though he employed her, their relationship was professional. That code extended her living arrangements too. She rented a small guest house on his property in Salinas Pass. It had a separate entrance from the main house where he lived. She came and went without seeing him. They lived separate lives, for the most part, and when they had to interact it was almost always formal and impersonal.
    Now, without warning he was taking her to a hotel? Alone? When had he changed the rules?
    “Come on. I’m hungry,” he said.
    She followed him wordlessly. Her job was a three month trial. He’d offered it when she was at one of her lowest points in her life, cut off without a penny from her father. It was no secret that she was a terrible flight attendant. Heidi and the others covered for her when she forgot drink orders, or airline procedures. They surrounded her like a protective flock of aunts.
    Everyone always acted like flight attendant work was easy. Go over the floatation device procedures. Tell people to buckle up. Serve some drinks and food. And that was pretty much it. Or so they said. But it was hard. Tiring. People whined and complained. Sometimes they were rude. Other times they were overly friendly. Often there was turbulence and she