I did my best to remain calm and collected, but inside I could hardly wait to have Lilah all to myself on the plane. Even if it was just for five hours. It was more time than I’d had with her combined in three weeks.
“Okay, then. I'll send my driver over to pick you up. Sorry again about Meg. I hope she'll be all right.”
“She’ll be okay. I’m more concerned about the nurses who will be taking care of her,” she joked. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
An hour later, we were in the air, just Lilah and I on my plane. I had employed two private flight attendants for the trip, but they had been given strict instructions to make themselves scarce unless called for through the intercom system. They had been doing just that.
As the captain was preparing to take off, Lilah and I lounged in our large, plush seats and talked about how the VIV perfume campaign was going and my thoughts on opening an office in Europe.
“Would you like a drink to get this little vacation started?” I asked.
“That sounds lovely,” she said with a smile.
So, I pressed the intercom button.
“What can I bring you, sir?” the flight attendant’s voice echoed back.
“I'll have a scotch on the rocks,” I said. “Lilah?”
“A glass of wine. No preference. Just surprise me.”
“Coming right up, sir,” the flight attendant replied.
She arrived shortly with the glasses, and I selected a movie to play on the big screen as we drank. By the time the movie had finished, Lilah and I had not only finished our drinks, but we’d also finished her bottle of wine and an entire bottle of champagne. I was pretty buzzed—buzzed enough that the filter on my mouth wasn’t working so great, and I asked about Savage.
“Lilah,” I said, “I know it's probably not the right time to talk about this, but . . . Look, I just have to ask. Savage: you're seeing him, aren't you?”
A mischievous smile crept over her beautiful lips. “He thinks I am.”
I gave her an inquisitive look. “You’re going to have to explain that one.”
“Look, I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark about this. Yes, I have been seeing him. But, it’s not what it probably looks like from the outside. I am actually on a fact-finding mission.”
I was taken aback. “A fact-finding mission?”
“Yep. I'm sure he's behind the leaked tweet and the break-in. I've gathered some insight that supports my thought process. I just need the proof,” she explained.
I felt a surge of satisfaction spreading through me as she talked.
“Maybe if we combine what you know with what my private investigator has discovered, we can build a solid case against Savage,” I said. “Please tell me you haven’t put yourself in any compromising situations, Lilah. I would never forgi—”
“Asher! Of course not! I haven’t even let the sleaze ball kiss me. He’s lucky I let him touch me at all.”
Relief set in. The last thing I wanted was for Savage to know anything intimate about Lilah. I didn’t want to share that with anyone, especially not him.
“I can't believe that you were doing this! You're . . . you're something else, Ms. Maxwell. I never should have doubted you.”
“Doubted me? What exactly have you been doubting?” she asked pointedly, putting me on the spot.
I was pretty quick though, even in my tipsy state. “That you would even give the likes of Brendan Savage a second thought. I really should have known you’d have a plan. How’d you get to be so resilient, anyway?” I asked with a cheeky grin.
“Growing up in a family of boys, without a mother, and being raised by a distant father. That's how,” she replied. A sad look entered her eyes.
“I'm sorry,” I said. “You know I can sympathize. Hell, I can relate. You’re the only person I've ever told about my situation growing up. Maybe I somehow knew you’d understand.”
“It wasn’t just my childhoo
d,” she said. “I was . . . I was in love once. Madly in love.”