Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 245(@200wpm)___ 196(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 245(@200wpm)___ 196(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
“That’ll work. By the way, I’m sure Jude is already aware, but I’m booked for the next three months solid. I’ll be looking for attendants on a more permanent schedule, much like Jagger is.” When we sat down, I laid it all out on the table with a business plan of sorts. I told them what I had available in cash for the startup, what I’d need to make it work, and asked if they wanted to go in as partners before I outsourced to other options. Every last one of my friends took an interest without looking at the paperwork I provided. They’d been waiting on me to shit or get off the pot. The meeting today isn’t to see what I’m making or how things are going; that’s not how we work. This is about all of us being able to sit around, get shit off our chest, and talk about anything. If there is work to discuss, we tend to take care of that first, then fuck around for a bit, and head home.
“Do it. One less thing to worry about instead of using an agency. Probably need to think about bringing on another pilot in case you or Liam need a day off. Now that you’ve got work coming in, you can look at adding more employee benefits, too,” Matthew suggests.
“Yeah, going to do that. I’ve got back-to-backs the next three days, then a day off. I’ll work on it then.” Maybe by then, I’ll grow a pair of balls and ask what needs to be asked.
“Jude, you’re good to use it at the club. You already run the security here, have at it. I only ask you keep it away from Night Moves. There are too many well-known people who could potentially be run through your system, and the last thing they need is to be outed in a way we could lose business.” Johnny makes a good point, one I didn’t think of, and if the way things are going with taking private clients to and from, I’ll be in the same boat before too long.
“Anyone have anything else?” Trent asks.
“I think that’s all from me,” I say.
“Good on my end,” Matthew replies.
“Nothing new to report here. Same shit different day.” Crew’s quieter than normal, and I make a mental note to track him down later to make sure everything is alright.
“I’m back to normal hours at the firehouse. I’ll work with Jagger when I can,” Asher states.
We finish our conversation, and everyone heads out except for Johnny; he’s here until his manager takes over. I decide to hang back. The way my head is, I’ve gotta talk to someone about Maci in order to lock my shit down.
3
MACI
“You did great today,” Samuel, my fellow flight attendant, tells me once we see the last of the passengers off the plane. There’s a fast turnaround time between this flight and the next one coming. Which is why we’re making sure there aren’t any belongings left behind as well as trash that we can clear before the ground crew comes in for the major cleaning.
“Thanks, though I almost spilled the drink I was handing to a passenger.” I wince at remembering how Samuel and I worked together, him on one aisle, me on the other. I let my guard down thinking I’d be fine. Well, turbulence decided to say surprise, bitch. A passenger almost wore their soda, and I almost made a complete fool out of myself.
“It happens, even to seasoned vets like me.” Samuel meets me with a trash bag in his hand, and I’ve got my own assortment of items that were left behind.
“I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worry more that it could happen again,” I admit. I’ve got some over-the-ear headphones dangling from my wrist, one of those expensive cups that are trending in one hand, and a paperback in the other. Hopefully, someone claims their items before they’re taken to the area where things turn up online and the public can buy them at a discounted rate.
“Either way, you recovered and got through with it. Now, are you ready to go grab a bite to eat before we’re back in the air?” My stomach decides in that moment to give out a loud growl, responding to the need for food. The iced coffee left my system hours ago. I was too nervous to eat anything, but the cold sweetness with that strong bite of coffee does have a chokehold on me.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Let’s go to this new bistro they opened up. It literally looks like something off a movie set with its pink and black striped awnings, glass cases full to the brim of sweets, sandwiches, and pasta salads.”
“I’m so hungry right now I could eat my arm and be happy. Please lead the way.” I allow Samuel to proceed me. I’ll stop at the kiosk to drop the lost items off, and even though I should have packed my lunch to save a few dollars, I wanted to see the lay of the land before doing so. Plus, it’s not like I’m pinching pennies. Okay, I kind of am, but that’s only because financial security is a big deal to me, and I racked my cards up quite a bit when things went down with Chad the chode. The hotel room bill, the flight out, and sending all of my things home via shipping means one of my cards is on the verge of being maxed out and my backup is what I’m currently using until I get the ball rolling. My last paycheck covered the bills I had going out, like my phone bill, my subscriptions for streaming services, and toiletries to make life easier. I’ve now canceled all of them. And then there was my portion of the power and water, which don’t get me started, because yes, I paid that like the idiot I am. It’s now off my accounts, and the rest of that check is sitting in the bank as a cushion just in case this doesn’t work out.