Happy Mother's Day!

Siena’s fingernails dug into her hot palms as she watched and waited. Her heart thundered in her chest.

‘You may have heard that our Rome/Paris run,’ Max continued, ‘the leg that MaxAir began with ten years ago, the run of my heart, has been taking a beating from some of the o

ther bigger carriers over the past year. As such I want you there. I want an injection of delightful Australian youth. I want you to turn Rome on its head.’

Siena waited for the other shoe to drop, the shoe that was all about promotions and Cairns and staying put, when a waiter in a white suit appeared from nowhere with a fresh Martini for him and a pitcher of ice-cold lemon-flavoured water and a tumbler for her.

‘I will be basing you out of Rome,’ he said after the waiter disappeared as quietly as he had arrived, ‘putting you up in your own apartment. I like my Rome girls to be fresh so you need not work more than three days out of seven and two months out of three. I look after my Rome girls, Siena, so if you thought you were flying high now, you have no idea what you are in for.’

Her thundering heart dropped to her stomach, creating a hollow ache deep behind her ribs.

Rome. After all her worrying and concern and soul-searching, Max was actually giving her Rome—her dream, the pinnacle, the position that would prove to all and sundry that she had really made it.

‘Why me?’ she asked, suddenly unable to stop herself from looking as stunned as she felt.

Max smiled at her ingenuous question, though it never quite reached his eyes.

‘In all of our market research, you were consistently the number one most recognised face of all the boys and girls we have used over the spring. Your performance reviews have been consistently excellent. You have changed routes, crews, positions over and again without blinking an eye, without taking family concerns or boyfriends, or any of that jazz, into consideration as many of my girls have.You probably have no idea that you’ve only had—’ he looked down at a piece of paper that Siena hadn’t even noticed was there ‘—two sick days in seven years.’

It hit her as if he had just thrown the pitcher of ice-cold water in her face—the reason she’d never said no to a challenge was because, whereas her colleagues had been living well-rounded lives, she’d never had family concerns, or boyfriends, or any of that jazz to consider. Since the day she had run away from home she had kept on running and somehow she’d found herself employee of the millennium.

And suddenly she wasn’t sure why she wanted to be that person after all.

When she didn’t answer, Max’s eyes narrowed and his smile broadened. He unfolded a piece of paper on MaxAir baby-blue stationery, grabbed a gold pen from a hidden pocket in his smoking jacket, made a few alterations to the page, then slid it over to her face up. ‘This is my offer.’

Her head told her not to look, told her that it would be too good to be true and that she would drop to her knees and kiss his toes, while her heart told her to think on it.

But she was a sticky beak of the worst sort. Always would be. So she looked.

The money was double what she earned now. She would have free airfares with MaxAir anywhere any time for the extent of her contract. She would continue to have a driver—which Rick and Rufus would both be thrilled to hear!—and a moving allowance to take her to Rome within the week, which was why she hadn’t been emailed a new schedule.

The deal was so good a mighty swear word slipped loudly from her mouth.

Max grinned. ‘Do I take that as a yes?’

Siena’s mind was tripping. Overloaded. The deal was something that most people would have accepted without a second thought. It was a deal that a week before she would have accepted without a second thought.

For all Max’s kind words about loyalty, she was suddenly proving herself hard work. Trouble. Inconsistent. Just as Rick had accused her of being all these years.

She took the piece of paper, folded it twice and popped it into her handbag. ‘How long do I have to think about it?’

Max’s smile faded, but only slightly, before beaming back at her ever brighter. ‘Twenty-four hours ought to do it.’

She nodded. A day. She had her last day in Cairns to think about it. ‘I’ll have an answer by this time tomorrow.’ Max stood and shook her hand.

Siena felt a presence behind her. Rufus was back. She realised that meant it was time to go.

She grabbed her handbag and followed Rufus, wondering how he survived in a three-piece suit on a day such as this. She was sweating and weak under the heat of her cream summer-weight tweed. Or maybe she was trembling because she had just been handed her dream on a platter and found she needed time to think about it.

‘How did it go, Ms Capuletti?’ Rufus asked when they reached the huge marble lobby.

‘Perfect,’ she moaned.

He shot her a sideways glance, his beady eyes burning into her, and again she wondered if he was only moonlighting in this job until the army needed him for some special operation.

‘How do you feel about Rome?’ he asked and she was no longer surprised that he knew everything before anyone else did.

‘I love Rome. I adore Rome. The Trevi Fountain, the shopping, the cappuccinos, the prestige … It’s what I’ve always wanted. And I told Max I have to think about it. Am I nuts? Should I run back in there now and tell him I was kidding and yes please and thank you and I’ll pack the minute I get home?’