Flight SQA016 (The Flight Series)

by A. E. Radley

  Olivia thought about it for a moment. “I enjoy it, I don’t know if I would say I love it. There are days when…” She trailed off and her expression changed to one of distant reflection.

  “When?” Emily prompted.

  Olivia blinked. “Sorry, there are days when I don’t know what the purpose is.”

  “I think the purpose is to fill your time with things you enjoy. Sure we all have to do things we don’t like but, the rest of the time, you should be enjoying living your life.”

  Olivia opened her mouth to speak but the sound of her phone vibrating on the coffee table in the sitting room stopped her and she went to answer it. “Olivia Lewis.”

  Emily cleared away some things in the kitchen while she overheard Olivia speaking with someone and advising them that a deal hadn’t been brokered. She unloaded the dishwasher, which had recently finished, and quietly restacked it again with the used dishes and cups. She realised a mug was missing and returned to the living room where Olivia was off of the phone and typing on her laptop.

  “Do you want anything else?” Emily asked as she picked up the empty coffee mug.

  “No, thank you,” Olivia stifled a yawn. “I’m just sending these reports over to the bank and then I need to draft an email to the solicitor and then I need to divide up the employee list.”

  Emily regarded the woman for a couple of seconds before she nodded and returned to the kitchen, understanding that it wasn’t her place to tell Olivia when she should stop working.

  The sound of Henry crying pulled Emily from her thoughts and she rushed to the bedroom to check on him. Although the boy often slept through the night there were still times when he woke in the middle of the night with bad dreams.

  She climbed into bed and pulled a very sleepy Henry into her arms and cuddled him. Softly she sang a lullaby and swayed him gently to encourage him back to sleep. After a few minutes, he fell back into a deep sleep and she quietly left the room. Back in the living room, she grinned at the sight of Olivia slumped on the sofa fast asleep.

  Emily was well-versed in the art of waking sleeping passengers. She had even undergone a two-hour training course on it when she enrolled with Crown Airlines. She stood by the arm of the chair and gently put her hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “Olivia,” she said softly, “Olivia, wake up.”

  Olivia’s eyes fluttered open and Emily smiled at her. “I fell asleep.” Olivia started to get her bearings

  “So I see, and I’d only been gone a few minutes.” She took the phone out of Olivia’s hand and placed it on the table in front of her. “Turn the computer off,” she commanded gently. “You need to sleep.”

  Olivia didn’t argue. She saved her work and shut down the computer. She stood up and silently walked towards the bedrooms. At the door to her room, she turned to face Emily and gave a sleepy smile. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, now go to bed,” she bossed lightly.

  Olivia slowly nodded her head, entered her bedroom, and closed the door behind her.

  CHAPTER 20

  Emily awoke the next morning and quietly slid out of the king-size bed, trying not to disturb Henry, who had spread out during the night and was taking up much more room than a five-year-old should technically require. She grinned at the sight of her son sprawled out. She dressed in tight jeans, a bra and a white tank top, desperate for her first coffee of the day.

  As she exited the bedroom, she could hear Olivia in the kitchen on her phone and glanced at her watch to see it was seven thirty. Entering the kitchen, she saw paper strewn all over the dining table. Olivia was sat at the table with her phone pressed to her ear. She was dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, her hair and makeup, as always, completed to perfection.

  “As I say, Miss Dorchester, a letter will be with you shortly so…” Olivia paused as a female voice on the other end of the telephone began shouting. Looking over at Emily, she smiled ruefully before lowering her head onto her hand and closing her eyes at the stream of hatred that was being hurled at her down the line. The line went dead, and realising she had been hung up on, Olivia lowered the phone to the table. “I’m sorry, I’ll clean up the mess.”

  “No, it’s fine, it’s your kitchen,” Emily said as she looked around the disarray. “How long have you been up?”

  Olivia looked at the clock on the wall and calculated. “Two hours?”

  Emily nodded but remained silent as she knew it wasn’t her place to say anything about Olivia’s working schedule. “So, you started the calls?” She opened the dishwasher and started to gather the dirty mugs that lined the worktop.

  “Well, I started with paperwork until it was a reasonable hour to call people. That was the third. The first was out, the second cried and the third…Well, she wasn’t happy. Understandably.”

  “Let me make you some breakfast. What would you like?”

  Olivia shook her head as she attempted to straighten some of the papers on the dining room table. “I’m not hungry.”

  Emily frowned. “Have you eaten anything since the sandwich I made you last night?”

  Olivia shook her head as she moved papers around, seemingly making the haphazard pile worse rather than better.

  Emily watched her thoughtfully for a moment before folding her arms. “Olivia, while I did agree to stay here, I think you also need to understand that this has to be a suitable environment for a child, yes?”

  Olivia looked up at Emily in concern. “Well, yes, of course…”

  “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Emily lectured. “And I don’t want Henry to think that he can get away without having breakfast, especially when he’s recovering from surgery. If he sees you are skipping meals then he will want to do the same, you must know how he looks up to you.”

  Olivia looked slightly ashamed. “Oh, yes, of course…Well. Oh. Maybe I can eat something small? Just to set a good example.”

  “Good, thank you.” Emily turned around to fill the kettle, a smile forming on her face. “Henry usually doesn’t get up for another half an hour so we can all eat breakfast together then. If you’ll still be here, that is?”

  “I will. I’m going to work from home this morning,” Olivia said. “I’d rather make these calls here.”

  “Okay, if you want some peace and quiet, let me know. More coffee? Or should I be cutting you off?”

  Olivia looked at her seriously. “More coffee.”

  Emily laughed and set about making it. “So, three down, how many left to go?”

  “Thirty-five.” Olivia picked up her phone and began to dial a number. “Wish me luck.”

  Emily quietly got everything ready to make the coffee and listened to Olivia’s opening spiel.

  “Good morning, may I speak with Roger Lincoln?” Pause. “Hello Mister Lincoln, my name is Olivia Lewis and I’m calling from Applewood Financial. We are the administrators for TCA Engineering.”

  Emily could hear the man on the other end of the phone erupt with anger and Olivia attempted to calm him down and explain the situation but it was no good and he continued to rant and rave. At one point Emily could hear him demanding Olivia tell him how much money she was making from the insolvency. Over and over he asked the question while Olivia continued to calmly attempt to provide him with pertinent information.

  Eventually the call was over. Olivia took a deep breath and ticked a name on her spreadsheet, making a short note before dialling the next number, and the cycle continued.

  “Good morning, may I speak with Stephen Walker? Thank you.” Olivia waited to be handed over. Emily approached with the coffee and placed it on the only space available on the table in front of Olivia. She returned to the worktop and finished making her own drink.

  “Oh, hello Mister Walker, my name is Olivia Lewis and I’m calling from Applewood Financial. We are the administrators for TCA Engineering.” This person sounded calmer and Olivia managed to get through everything that she had to say. She apologised for the situation and explain
ed what had happened, what they had done, and what was happening now. She advised him that the company was in the process of selling off assets and when that was complete, they may be able to pay him the redundancy package they were required to provide by law, but in the event that the sum required was not raised, he had the right to go to court. He asked a few questions and Olivia answered them and soon the call was over.

  “If they were all like him, that would be a lot easier,” Olivia commented as she ticked another line on her spreadsheet and made another note.

  The sound of Henry padding through the suite made both women look up. He appeared in the doorway in his giraffe pyjamas and stopped dead when he saw Olivia. He looked around for Emily, and the second he saw her he rushed towards her and threw his arms up to be lifted.

  “Morning, sweetheart,” Emily said as she put her coffee down and lifted him up. His legs wrapped around her waist and his head burrowed into the crook of her neck as she folded her arms around him.

  She softly threaded her hand through his hair. “Henry’s a little shy when he wakes up, aren’t you sweetheart?” she told Olivia, who was watching with raised eyebrows. Henry tuned his face away and nuzzled into his mother so Olivia wasn’t able to see his face.

  “Should I?” Olivia pointed to another room, clearly worried she was upsetting Henry.

  “No.” Emily shook her head. “He’ll be okay soon; he just needs to wake up a little.” She sat down on a chair and Henry tilted his head slightly and squinted sideways at Olivia. Olivia smiled at him and he regarded her sombrely.

  “So, will you be joining us for lunch again today?” Emily asked Olivia. “I told Henry that if the weather is good, we might have a little picnic in the park by the hospital before his appointment.”

  “I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Olivia said. She pensively watched Henry, clearly worried that she had somehow fallen out of favour with the boy.

  “Henry, do you want Olivia to come with us on our picnic?” Emily asked softly as she kissed his hair. Henry continued to silently watch Olivia as if evaluating her and wondering what she was going to do, before slowly nodding his head. “There you have it,” Emily said. “Henry at his most grumpy still wants you to come with us, if you have time, of course?”

  Olivia sipped her coffee and distractedly made some notes on a piece of paper. After a while, Henry started to fidget and Emily whispered in his ear to go and get dressed while she made him breakfast. Slowly, he slid off her knee and went back to their bedroom.

  “He seemed scared of me,” Olivia said the second he was gone.

  “He’d just woken up. It takes him a while to get with it. He always wants to sit with me and cuddle when he first wakes up, even at home with Lucy, who he adores. It’s just a kid thing, don’t take offence.”

  “So, he’s like that every morning?” Olivia asked.

  “Yep, he tears out of his bedroom, bleary-eyed and half asleep and no matter what I’m doing, I have to stop everything and hold him for a while. Then he goes to get dressed and he wakes up a bit more. When I’m not at home, apparently he runs downstairs and looks around before running back upstairs and hugging Tiny for a while until he’s ready to get up.”

  “It must be hard for him when you’re not there.”

  Emily took a deep breath and mentally counted to five before replying. “Yes, it’s hard for both of us.”

  “But, as a child, he doesn’t understand why and—” Olivia continued.

  “Olivia,” Emily said, cutting her off. “I get it. Now, what would you like for breakfast? Toast? Cereal?”

  Olivia hesitated for a moment, unsure whether she was in Emily’s bad graces. “Toast, please.”

  Emily smiled but it was mainly for show. She could see Olivia struggle with the understanding that she had been insensitive and relented a little. Henry returned wearing pull-up jeans and his giraffe hoodie which never seemed to be out of his sight. Tiny was under his arm and he was sucking his thumb. He looked from Olivia to Emily with uncertainty.

  Olivia looked back to her laptop to give him some space and time to acclimatise to the new day, company, and surroundings. Emily watched as Henry regarded Olivia thoughtfully and then ran over to her. He pulled Olivia’s arm out of the way and silently struggled to climb into her lap, Tiny still clutched to his side.

  “Henry, Olivia’s busy,” Emily said.

  “Do you want to sit on my lap?” Olivia asked.

  At his insistent nod, she lifted him onto her knee, Tiny included. Emily smiled as Henry adjusted himself to sit sideways and tucked his head under Olivia’s chin while she worked around him.

  Soon the toast was ready. Emily placed butter and jams on the table and told Henry, “Time to eat. Go sit on your own chair.”

  “I don’t mind,” Olivia said softly.

  “He’ll cover you in butter and jam.” Emily pulled out a chair and looked at Henry.

  He shook his head and burrowed in closer, turning away from Emily and wrapping his arms around Olivia as he pressed his face into her chest. Olivia dropped her pen and slowly looked down at Henry in surprise, before putting her arms around him. Emily smiled and went to get him some milk from the fridge. She hadn’t missed the panicked look in Olivia’s eyes that told she had never interacted with a child this closely before. Taking her time, Emily allowed Olivia to get used to the contact. She fussed over cleaning the kitchen worktop for as long as she could before placing Henry’s glass of milk on the table.

  “Henry?” she said in a lightly warning tone. This only caused the boy to tighten his hold on Olivia. “Henry, if you don’t eat your breakfast then you won’t be able to watch the morning cartoons.” Carefully he slid off of Olivia’s lap and climbed onto the chair that had been pulled out for him.

  “Thank you,” Emily said and prepared him a slice of toast with butter and jam while he drank some milk. She looked over at Olivia. “Toast?”

  Olivia shook herself out of her daze and nodded as she picked up a slice of toast from the rack that Emily held towards her. They all continued to eat breakfast in comfortable silence, both women regarding the sleepy boy fondly. When Henry had eaten as much as he could manage, he looked at his mother with big pleading eyes and Emily laughed. “Go on, then.”

  He quickly slid off of his chair and ran towards the sitting room and, a few moments later, the muted sound of cartoons could be heard.

  Olivia smiled. “He’s a curious thing in the morning.”

  “Yep, he’s shy in the morning,” Emily said. “In fact, he usually doesn’t take to people as quickly as he has to you.”

  Olivia gave Emily a surprised look. “Really?”

  “Really,” Emily confirmed. “He obviously has good taste.” She stood up and cleared away the breakfast things while Olivia sat silently in thought.

  “Well, back to it, I suppose.” She picked up the phone and started to make more calls.

  Emily opted to wash the dirty dishes in the sink rather than stack the dishwasher as it allowed her to spend more time in the kitchen and listen in.

  She fumed over the next twenty minutes as she overheard call after call where Olivia apologetically and politely explained to people what had happened, only to receive abuse back. She occasionally glanced at Olivia and saw the changing expression from business-like perseverance to hurt etched on her face. As Olivia was sworn at yet again, she hung up and lowered the phone to the table. Taking a deep breath as she ticked another line off of the spreadsheet. With a swallow, she began to dial another number. Emily stepped forward and snatched the phone out of her hand. “No way, you need a break.”

  Olivia looked surprised that Emily was holding her phone to ransom. “But I have to make these calls.”

  “I know,” Emily agreed. “But no one deserves to listen to thirty-odd people spewing abuse at them one after the other. Take a break.”

  “I don’t have time for a break,” Olivia said as Emily pulled over the paperwork and started to dial the next number. “What
are you doing?”

  “I’ve listened to your patter enough to know the routine. If they’re just going to be insulting and swear, then it doesn’t matter who’s making the calls.” Emily shrugged as she put the phone to her ear. Olivia watched in amazement as Emily started the call. “Good morning, may I speak with Zara Blake?”

  “Hello Miss Blake, I’m calling from Applewood Financial. We are the administrators for TCA Engineering.” The woman immediately began blaming the administrators for not helping the little people, and ended with calling Emily an expletive before hanging up. Emily took the pen from Olivia’s hand and ticked Zara Blake from the list and made a note by the side.

  “You don’t need to do this,” Olivia said softly. “I can manage.”

  “I know you can,” Emily said as she dialled the next number. “But it doesn’t mean that you have to. Does it really matter which one of us is being sworn at? Your job is to try to make people aware of the situation. If they don’t want to know, you can’t make them listen. I’ll do the next one and then you can do one and we’ll share the rest of the list, okay?”

  Over the next half hour, they raced through the calls. Some were simple hang-ups, some were abusive, and some people were upset but sensibly wanted to hear what Olivia had to say. If Emily made a call to someone who wanted more information, she would hand the phone to Olivia who would go through the technical and legal details with them. It was obvious to Emily that Olivia was exhausted from the lack of sleep and the emotional toll the whole insolvency case was having on her.

  With just three more calls to go, Emily looked at Olivia and said, “I’ll take these next three. Would you mind sitting with Henry for a bit and check that he’s okay? If I need you, I’ll come in.”

  Olivia hesitated to leave Emily with what was essentially her work. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m kinda enjoying it. I’ve not done anything work-related for nearly two weeks; I’m feeling like a grown up again!”

  Olivia paused in thought and then nodded her agreement. “Okay, I’ll sit with Henry.”