Despite the lateness of the hour, Republic Airport was busy and noisy as Gordon drove the car straight onto the tarmac. A light plane was about to land, and a jeep sped out of a nearby hangar to greet it. Another plane was set to take off and closer at hand a small black helicopter sat like a squat beetle, its rotors suddenly whining and whipping up the air around them.
Cassidy ducked her head against the downdraught, moving quickly toward the set of airstairs connected to Logan’s private plane. Strands of her hair had come loose from the downdraught and she pushed them back, missing one of the steps as she did so.
Logan immediately clamped his strong hand around her elbow, sending a bolt of sensation up her arm.
Disturbed by even that small touch, Cassidy thanked him and quickly scrambled to ascend the stairs.
Taking in the plush leather interior in one quick glance, she settled into one of the armchairs by the window, buckled her seat belt and handed a customs official her passport to check.
Once they were cleared to fly, Logan took the seat on the other side of the glossy table from her.
Ignoring the way her heart sped up, she scrolled through her boss’s schedule and fired off a few quick emails, cancelling the most obvious meetings.
Then she worked through the various emails on her tablet. So far there were none relating to the scandal in Arrantino, but Cassidy knew that it was just a matter of time. ‘Once we’re airborne we’ll need to go over my schedule for the week and decide which meetings to delegate and which ones to cancel.’
‘I’ve already worked that out,’ she said without looking up. ‘I’m just not sure what to do with the stakeholder meeting for the new Westgate tunnel development on Thursday morning. It’s still two days away so we can wait, but I don’t want to cancel at the last minute because there’s a very real chance that the Peterstone Organisation will get cold feet and pull out before then.’
Which would undermine the whole process, not to mention render all the work they had done winning over the relevant Australian government agencies over the last eight months to be the front runners to win the bid to build the new tunnel. It was a ten-billion-dollar deal, but they needed the equity that the Peterstone Organisation was looking to invest to cover the debt. She knew it was an important deal to Logan because it would launch the Arrantino bank into a whole new market.
Everyone had said that he wouldn’t be able to pull it off, which had only made him work harder, and she’d hate to see all that effort go to waste.
‘If they pull out because I can’t make it then they pull out,’ he said dismissively. ‘The future of my country is more important than one deal.’
Knowing he was downplaying how disappointed he was at the prospect of losing the coup, she nodded. ‘I’ll draft a response and put it on hold until you’ve had a chance to speak with your brother.’ Her fingers flew effortlessly across the keyboard, only pausing when the plane set off down the runway.
Cassidy glanced out the window and gripped the armrests with both hands.
‘Are you a nervous flyer?’
Unaware that Logan had been watching her, she glanced up, a wide smile curving her lips. ‘No.’ She sounded breathless, a warm buzzing feeling in her stomach as the jet rocketed down the runway. ‘I love flying. Particularly take-off. I’ve only ever flown once before and I don’t want to miss a single part of it.’
Peta had won an all-expenses-paid trip to Cancun on the radio after arriving in New York and for one blissful week she, Peta, and the twins had soaked up the sun and sipped mocktails by the swimming pool. It had definitely given Cassidy the travel bug, but since then she’d had little time or money to set aside for holidays.
Suddenly the plane lifted off and her stomach bottomed out. ‘Does it always feel that way?’
‘I don’t know,’ Logan said with a frown. ‘I barely take any notice any more.’
‘Well, I definitely want to experience that again.’ She released a rushed breath, and then coloured when she noticed the frown on his face. ‘Sorry. You’re probably used to travelling with women who are a lot more sophisticated. Shall we get back to work?’
‘Actually, it’s probably best if you turn in and get some sleep. There’s a bedroom at the rear of the plane. You can use that.’
Cassidy could feel the weight of the whole day bearing down on her and she groaned softly when she mentally went through the clothing she had packed and realised that she had been so distracted by her discussion with Peta that she hadn’t packed anything to sleep in. In fact, the only thing other than suits and clean underwear she had packed was her dobok, and she’d only grabbed that because it had been lying on the end of the bed freshly laundered. She hadn’t even packed a change of shoes.
As if sensing her frustration, Logan glanced up from the reports he had spread out on the table. ‘What’s wrong?’
Reluctant to go into the specifics, she shrugged lightly. ‘I forgot to pack something to sleep in.’
His eyes caught and held hers for a moment. ‘I have plenty of shirts on board, you can use one of those.’
‘No, that’s fine.’ She already borrowed an item of his clothing today and it was more than enough. ‘Just tell me how many hours are left in this day.’
‘Two.’
‘I think I’m going to sit here and count the seconds before I move again. I swear I must have walked under a ladder or a black cat crossed my path this morning without me noticing it.’
His brow quirked. ‘You’re superstitious?’
‘No.’ She sighed heavily. ‘But how else do you account for a day like today?’