Romantic Acquisition (13 page)

“Good morning,” he said and kissed her quickly.  He then took her keys and opened her trunk.  “Where’s the rest?” he asked as he pulled her small, overnight bag out of the trunk.

Kate was confused by the casual way he kissed her. 
“The rest of what?  Where are we going and why aren’t we getting onto a plane?
  I thought you said
Houston
this morning but I was still groggy so I might have misunderstood.
”

“We are.  That’s our plane,” he said and gestured towards a relatively large, private jet. 

Kate looked around his large frame and took in the beautiful jet with stairs already in place and the passenger door open.  She shook her head at the idea of getting onto the plane. 
“Nope.  I’m not getting on that.  That’s too small.”

Carlo was already walking towards the plane.  When he heard her statement, he stopped and turned around to watch her.  H
e came back and stood in front
of her, his eyes roaming her face.  “Kate, are you afraid of flying?”
he said gently. 

She was uncomfortable with his quiet tone.  “I’m not afraid.  I’m concerned.  I don’t like it.”

He smothered a smile at her response.  “If I assure you that the pilot is very careful and extremely experienced, would that ease your fears?”

She shook her head. 
“I told you,” she said, using her hands for emphasis, “I’m not afraid of flying.  I just don’t like it.”

“How about if you meet Ted and see for y
ourself that he’s very safe?
  He flew in
Vietnam
and knows just about everything there is about flying.”

Kate sighed. 
“Why do we need to fly on that one?  Why can’t we fly on one of the commercial planes?  They are big and safe and have two pilots plus that other person that does whatever he or she does on a plane.”

“Are you talking about the navigator?” he asked.

“Yes, the navigator.  Don’t you need a navigator on this thing?”

“No.  The pilot knows where he’s going.  And there’s a co-pilot as well.  His name is Jim and he’s a very experience pilot as well.  Kate, I promise that this plane is much safer than the larger commercial flights.”  He took her hand in his big one and pulled her along the tarmac towards the plane.  “Besides, this one goes exactly where we want it to go.  We don’t have to worry about commercial flight schedules.  Whenever we’re ready to leave, so is Ted.”

She could tell by his set expression
and his gentle but firm grip on her hand
that he was not going to relent about getting
o
nto that plane. 
After a few, awkward and slow steps, Kate allowed herself to be led towards the plane, deciding it was better to be professional about this and not give David something else to criticize about her. 
“No.  I’ll be fine,” she said.
With that in mind, Kate
started moving towards the plane
at a slightly quicker pace, but without enthusiasm
. 

At the bottom of the stairs, she took a deep breath and ran up the steps.  Once inside, she didn’t even notice the luxury.  She strapped herself into a large, leather chair that was more like a
lazy boy
than an airplane seat.  She closed her eyes and pretended to fall asleep. 

Carlo followed her in and strapped himself into a chair, but not before having a quick word with Ted who nodded and disappeared back into the cockpit. 

He chose the seat right next to her and watched her face.  The plane took off and
Carlo took her hand in his.  T
he only evidence of her fear was a slight
squeezing
of
his
fingers as the plane
’s tires left the asphalt as it became airborne.
  To be honest, Ted was such a good pilot, and the plane was so well constructed, there were very few indicators that the plane had taken off the ground except for the angle of the plane as it climbed higher into the sky. 

Because it was a private plane, there were no connections or delays.  The flight took a little over two hours.  Kate remained in her seat with her eyes closed for the whole flight.  She breathed a sigh of relief when they touched down on the
Houston
tarmac.  She was also the first one off the plane and was grateful to be standing in the bright,
Texas
sunshine. 

Carlo followed behind her
more slowly
,
taking a moment to thank
Ted for the uneventful flight
and easy take off and landing
.  He descended the stairs and met her a few feet away from the plane where she’d been standing, waiting for him.

He followed her to where a rental car was waiting for them.  He stood in front of her and noted the pale cheeks and almost white lips. 
“Are you okay?” he asked,
wishing
the color
would
come
back to her cheeks. 
She usually had beautifully rose tinted cheeks because of her constant movement and high energy. 

She looked up at his concerned expression and was grateful for his support and understanding.  She knew he probably considered her fear of flying silly but he accepted it and had helped her through the experience. 
“Yes.  Thank you
,” she replied, then looked away, overwhelmed by the look in his eyes
. 
“
Why are we here so early?” she asked.   “The stores won’t be open for several hours.”

“Have you had breakfast?” he asked.

“No, I’m not hungry,
”
she said hurriedly.  The thought of food after her recent flight made her queasy. 

“Well, I am.  Come on,” he said and took her hand to lead her around the rental car and handed her into the passenger seat.  “
Let’s get breakfast, check into the hotel and then we’ll head off to the
Houston
store.”

A
shiny SUV
was available for their use.  Carlo got into the driver’s seat while one of the airport workers stowed their suitcases into the
back
. 

The hotel
he took them to
was beautiful.  The lobby had a
four story glass atrium
and
,
even though it was only
seven o’clock
in the morning, it was busy with business men and wo
me
n moving about.  Carlo checked them into their rooms and a bell hop brought their luggage up while they ate in the dining room.  Kate drank coffee and picked at her muffin while Carlo ate a huge helping of eggs and
fruit
from the breakfast buffet.  She wished her stomach would calm down so she could also eat. 
Her mind was also concerned about the sleeping arrangements for the night.  She was pretty sure Carlo had gotten her a private room but there was a small amount of doubt. 
She was too embarrassed
to ask him so she went on the assumption that he hadn’t put them in the same room.

They were at the store at
nine thirty
when the employees started arriving.  Kate introduced Carlo to the store manager who was an old friend.  “
Nancy
, this is Carlo At
tracelli from
ATI
.  He’s trying to get information on the
Jamison department stores for
a project.”

Nancy
smiled and shook Carlo’s hand, then turned to give Kate a big hug. 
“That sounds interesting.  Why don’t you guys come on into the store, wander around then come on up to my office when you have questions?”

“Thanks Nancy
,” Kate said, grateful for her friend’s lack of questioning the situation.  She wasn’t sure how much information Carlo wanted publicized about the possible sale.  Since David had only sprung the future sale on the headquarters employees about a month ago, she wasn’t sure if the store employees knew. 

“No problem.  By the way, how’s that hottie you were dating the last time I was up in
Washington
? What was his name?” she asked as the three of them walked into the store rooms, the initial area for the employee entrance. 

Kate didn’t look at Carlo to see his reaction to
Nancy
’s question. 
“That was
Ed.  We’re still friends,
”
was all she said. 

Nancy
’s eyes snapped back to Kate’s. 
“Oh no!  Not the friend issue again.  I thought you really liked him
.  Why didn’t things work out between the two of you?
”

Kate could feel the anger building in Carlo behind her as
Nancy
talked about a previous boyfriend.  “I did.  I still do.”

“So you’re still seeing him
, romantically
?”
Nancy
asked hopefully. 

“
I see him occasionally, but we’re just friends
,” she said
again
. 

Nancy
’s secretary rushed up to her at that moment and
explained
an ordering snafu
that
Nancy
would have to deal with immediately
.  “Well, I gu
ess I’d better get back to work,” she said and turned to walk away.  After a few feet, she turned back and called out to Carlo and Kate, “
What are your plans for dinner tonight?”

“
W
e
don’t have any specific plans,” Kate explained quickly, not wanting
Nancy
to think something was going on between herself and Carlo. 

“You do now,” she said firmly.  “Come on over to the house tonight and we’ll throw something on the grill,” she ordered and then she disappeared
into the shelves filled with stock for the store
.

“Let’s get down to business,”
Carlo
snapped.

Kate wondered why he was so irritated
suddenly
.  He had to know she wasn’t dating Ed anymore.  Good grief, she’d been working so many hours lately she hadn’t even had time to e-mail her friends. 

They went through the store, Carlo exploring all the various aspects of the store’s operation.  He snapped questions at her regarding the purchasing trends and the store’s security. 
She answered them as quickly as she could but as soon as she answered one question, he was onto another subject, barely giving her time to think.  When he
asked
about security, s
he couldn’t answer
his
questions and he turned around and glared at her.  “Why don’t you know?”
he demanded, his eyes shooting fire at her. 

Kate was tired of his snappiness.  She was tired from waking up too early and starving, having not eaten breakfast.  It was now well past lunchtime and her stomach was starting to violently protest her lack of food.  She put her hands on her hips and turned to face him.  “Because I’m in charge of purchasing, remember?  When did that ever include security?”
she snapped right back at him, not caring about the store employees that were witnessing their argument. 

Carlo wasn’t letting up. 
“You seemed to know all about it at the other stores we went through.  Are they exclusive to your world?  You just ignore everything outside the
Washington
,
D.C.
area?”

“I knew the answers to your questions because I’d worked in those stores
,” she shot back.  “
I’m not in charge of the entire chain so I’m not privy to every aspect of the operations in the site stores.  If you want someone more knowledgeable, I’ll be happy to go back to
Washington
and you can find a better person to answer your questions.”