“What’s going on?” Ellie asked.
“We’re going to my helicopter; it’s parked on the roof.”
“But why?”
“Because you’ve never been in one. There’s nothing like it. Come on.”
“But you have a meeting at two.”
“Which I’m prepared for. We’ll be back in an hour at most.”
Ellie bit her lip and then nodded her head slowly. “All right.”
The elevator finally stopped and they stepped onto the roof. Harsh gusts of winds nearly knocked Ellie to the ground. Her long, white hair covered her face and became knotted. Edric, in contrast, look mostly unfazed. Then again, he wasn’t wearing stiletto heels like Ellie and she speculated that he weighed twice as much as her.
There was a shiny, jet-black helicopter parked on the roof, as promised. Edric quickly walked over to the helicopter and popped the door open. Ellie followed but stopped when she got to the helicopter door.
How am I going to get in this helicopter with these high-heels and my tight pencil skirt?
“Do you need a lif—?”
Before Edric could even finish the sentence, Ellie turned her back to the helicopter and sat down on the floor of it. Then, in one fluid motion, she skirted her knees out in front of her and propelled herself to a standing position.
“Ta-da!” She announced, clapping her hands together.
“Congrats on getting onto the helicopter. You look quite proud of yourself.”
“They don’t design women’s clothes for efficiency, unfortunately.”
“Then why did you buy the skirt and shoes if you think they’re inefficient to wear?”
“N-no reason,” she stammered, “I just saw it and tried it on and Cassie said that I should get it and um…um…” Ellie’s voice trailed off.
“Have a seat.” Edric gestured to the seat on the left.
“But I thought…”
“The seats on the right are the pilot seats. It’s the opposite of cars.”
Ellie sat down in the seat and she fumbled with her safety harness. After thirty seconds of struggling, she was all buckled in. Edric handed her a headset with ear muffs on it and she plopped it on her head.
Edric looked quite in his element. She could see dimples on his face—the dimples that he only got from smiling. She thought he was quite handsome with the headset on his head—he looked like one of the dashing fighter pilots that she had seen in some black-and-white movies. All he needed was a pair of goggles, a helmet, and a scarf.
Ellie couldn’t help herself and let out a giggle. Edric looked at her and flashed a wide grin.
“You’re in for a treat.”
“Where are we going?”
The man shrugged. “Just around the city for a quick spin.”
She watched him in awe as he turned his attention to the dashboard and started hitting all sorts of buttons. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that she would ride in a helicopter for fun. Sure, when she was younger she thought that she might have to get medi-vaced from her home when she was very sick, but Ellie never thought that she would be riding in a helicopter with a handsome CEO for fun.
Finally, the helicopter took off towards the heavens and Ellie looked out the window and watched the whole city get smaller and smaller. The whole thing amazed her. Even though she had seen plenty of aerial-styled photographs, the vividness of the colors and looking at the open sky before her was like nothing she had ever seen before.
The thing that Ellie was most impressed with seeing was the handsome man sat to her right. He looked oddly at peace. Besides her sister Cassie, no one had ever done anything like this before—she was shocked that he would do something so kind.
“What do you think?” Edric asked. He glanced over at his assistant quickly and then continued to look out the window.
“Thank you, Mr. Kensington.”
“Come on, Eleonore. That’s not an answer. Tell me what you think.”
“Of what?”
“Of this.” He gestured out to the wide-open sky around them.”
“I-it’s amazing. It’s even more striking than the pictures. It’s one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever seen.”
“Just look at all the detail—the small cars and tiny houses.”
Ellie squinted her eyes. They were quite hard for her to see. She could see blurry colored boxes of different sizes but nothing resembling a car or a house.
“My distance vision isn’t very good.”
“Why don’t you wear glasses?”
“It can’t be corrected.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be.”
“Huh?”
“I’m luckier than most—I can still drive and get around. And I can see the things in front of me just fine, most of the time. I just have trouble with distance.” Ellie turned to Edric and smiled. He returned the smile.
“Wait, then how is seeing this in real life better than seeing it in the books? You probably see less detail now than you do by looking at an aerial photograph.”
“That’s true, I don’t see the details that well but the colors are different and the feeling of being up here is indescribable. And…”
“What?”
“And…well…um. No one besides Cassie has…” Ellie mumbled incoherently.
“One step forward, two steps back.” Edric mumbled under his breath.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, what are you trying to say?”
Ellie exhaled sharply and brought her hands to her cheeks, hoping that her hands would disguise her burnished cheeks. “What I mean to say is thank you.” Ellie finally spat out.
Why is this so hard? Ellie thought.
“You’re welcome, Eleonore.”
After that, the conversation died off. Ellie resumed staring out the window while Edric flew the plane. She was silently cursing herself for not expressing herself better. After about ten minutes, Edric spoke up.
“Do you want to fly it?”
“Pardon?”
“The plane.”
“I-I don’t know how to…”
“Come on, put your hand on the stick my right hand is holding.”
Ellie leaned forward and grabbed the joystick in front of Edric. Her hand was very close to his but she made a point not to touch it. The awkward stretch hurt Ellie’s neck and back a bit but she was too focused on flying the helicopter to notice.
“This is the cyclic stick. It moves us forwards, sideways, and backwards. Now grab the stick that I’m holding with my left hand.”
Ellie wondered how she could possibly do that; her body was contorted enough with having to lean over to grab the cyclic stick. With some readjusting, she managed to grab the top of the joystick that Edric- was holding. She was too nervous to move; she had this fear that she would sneeze or twitch and then send them both plummeting down to the earth.
“This is the collective stick. It brings us up and down.”
“I’m letting go.”
“Wait—”
Edric slowly released both sticks. His hands still loitered close by.
Ellie was surprisingly calm steering the helicopter. She held the sticks steadily and let the helicopter move straight ahead.
“You’re doing well, Eleonore.”
“I’m just going forward.”
“Now bank to the right.”
Ellie veered the helicopter slightly to the right so they were moving over the bay. She couldn’t help but to let out an airy giggle.
“It’s fun, huh.”
“Yes, it is. I can see why you like doing this so much.”
“Whenever you want to fly, let me know.”
“Could you teach me?” Ellie asked, not daring to look away from the sky.
Edric was silent. She took that slight pause to mean that she somehow made a mistake. She felt her heartrate climb and heat rise to her face.
“I mean. I…” Her voice trailed off.
>
Just focus on the helicopter, Ellie. Don’t try to think about how you seriously just stepped out of line. Oh, he probably hates you and feels bad for you and is trying to get out of this as gently as possible…
“Pull up a little more.”
Ellie pulled the collective stick up. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry.”
“If you pull up, you’ll go higher. If you push down, you’ll go lower. See that gauge over here? It’s important to trust the equipment here—your senses might be off.”
“But…”
Edric laughed. “I thought you wanted to learn how to fly the helicopter.”
“I do. I just didn’t think it through. I hate to impose on you and put you in a spot where you feel pressured.”
He laughed again. “Eleonore, do you think I’m the type of person who would just go along with something because I feel bad? If I didn’t want to teach you how to fly then I wouldn’t do it. I like these sorts of things. You’re getting low again. Pull up more.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll work on steering for now. Next time I’ll explain all the switches to you.”
“Next time?”
“Of course. Not even you can learn how to fly a helicopter in one sitting. We’ll go on Mondays. It will be a nice way to start up the week.”
“It will be.” Ellie smiled. “I wish there was something that I could teach you.”
“I’m sure there is. I just don’t know you well enough to know what that is.”
“There’s probably not much that I know that you don’t know.”
“Come on, Eleonore. We both know that’s not true. You just graduated with a master’s degree and you’re only twenty-one. We both know you’re smart.”
“I’ve just read a lot of books…” Ellie mumbled to herself.
“You probably have a higher IQ than I.”
“But…”
Edric sighed. “We probably should be heading back.” He announced. “Now, you steer us over and then I’ll land us. Since your distance vision is poor—no offense—I’ll give you a heads-up if you’re going to crash into something.”
“Okay.”
***
For the next ten minutes, Ellie guided the helicopter over towards the large building known as the Kensington Corporation. It was the tallest building in the entire city so it was quite easy to spot. That and it was made entirely of glass. When they were close to the building, Edric took control of both joysticks and slowly landed the helicopter. He pressed lots of switches, explaining each in full detail to Ellie, who listened with rapt attention.
The helicopter finally landed on top of the building. Ellie returned her headset to Edric and unharnessed herself from the seat.
“Be careful getting out of the helicopter.” Edric warned.
Edric stepped out first. Leaping down from the helicopter was no big deal for him. He turned around and saw Ellie’s trepidation. What he wanted to do was grab her by the waist and lower her down but that seemed to be much too intimate a gesture. He figured that doing such a thing would send Ellie into a quiet panic, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.
Before Edric could think of what the best course of action, Ellie was already seated on the floor and prepared to skootch down to the ground that way. Her legs dangled several inches above the ground and her heels did not enable her to land properly.
“Here.” Edric extended his hand out for Ellie to take. He figured that this was a nice compromise between grabbing Ellie by the waist and letting her get down by herself. Ellie paused for a minute, which Edric expected, and then finally took his hand and pushed herself to the ground.
Ellie landed well at first but her heels prevented her from maintaining balance for long. Her left heel rolled off to the side and started to plummet to the ground. Edric quickly pulled Ellie into an awkward hug to stop her from falling onto the ground.
“Shit, are you all right, Eleonore?”
“I-I’m fine.” He could tell that she was choking back her tears.
“Your ankle rolled out.”
Ellie nodded her head before kicking off her high heels.
“Let’s get you inside.” He moved to stand beside her and he wrapped his hand around her slender waist. “Wrap your arm around my shoulder.”
Ellie’s arm hovered over his shoulder, barely even touching it. Edric couldn’t help but notice that her face was bright-red and her eyes were tearing up.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Ellie frantically repeated.
“Eleonore.” He said sternly. After he spoke, he realized that he should have taken a gentler tone.
“I messed up...”
Edric sighed. “Don’t apologize. These things happen. Are you all right?”
“Yes, I can tell that nothing’s broken.”
“Just a bruised ego?” He teased.
“Very.”
“Let’s check out your ankle when we get back at the office. Do you have your cell phone on you that I can use to call the nurse? Mine’s at the office.”
Ellie shook her head.
“I’m going to call a nurse when we get back to the office.”
“Thank you.”
The two began to walk over to the elevator. Ellie leaned half of her weight on the much taller man as she continued to limp. Edric wanted to swoop her up bridal-style and carry her that way but he knew that was entirely off limits with Ellie, seeing that she reluctant to even wrap her arm around his shoulder.
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing, Eleonore. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“But I’m ruining your morning.”
“Not at all. Now come, on, let’s get you inside.”
“Wait, we need to go back.” Ellie frantically said.
“Why?”
“My shoes are on the ground over there.” She pointed to the two shiny black objects that were twenty feet away.
“You seriously want to wear them after this?”
“No, but I hate to litter.”
“Forget it. Someone will come by later and pick them up. I’ll make sure of it. You can leave them.”
When the two stood together in the closed elevator, Edric’s mind began to wander. She was standing so close to him—his hand was wrapped around her waist and he could feel the heat radiating from her body. And she was wearing that suit, no less—the one that showed off her slender hourglass figure. He felt himself pulling her closer but then he consciously stopped himself and cleared his throat.
The elevator doors eventually opened and Edric walked through the lobby to his office with Ellie propped up next to him.
Several staff members stared at them and he knew exactly why; they did not expect to see Edric display that sort of care and affection to anyone, never mind his assistant.
“Gladys, I’m going to need you to send up the nurse. Have her bring some crutches and an ice pack. Eleonore twisted her ankle.”
“Yes, Mr. Kensington.”
“Thank you.” Ellie muttered.
Edric nodded his head curtly to the woman. “Thanks.”
As soon as they were inside Edric and Ellie’s personal office, he kicked the door closed behind them and helped Ellie to the couch.
“Lay down and elevate your foot.”
“Okay.” Ellie positioned herself on the couch. “Could you hand me my laptop so I can get some work done?”
“Seriously?”
“Y-yes. I want to make sure I do my job.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Please? It’s the least I can do for you.”
“If anything, I should be thanking you. But, since you insist, I’ll get your laptop.”
He slowly walked over to Ellie’s desk and picked up her light-weight laptop, then sauntered back and handed her the device.
“Thank you….” She muttered. “And I’m really sorry.”
“Eleonore. You don’t have to apologize for anything.”
“I
do want to thank you though.”
“You don’t even have to thank me, Eleonore.”
“But you gave me a flying lesson and brought me back here…” Her voice trailed off.
“I had fun.” Edric replied. The more he thought about his comment, the more he understood how sincere it was.
Ellie smiled up at Edric. He had to fight every instinct in his body not to lean down and plant a firm kiss on her soft, pink lips. Instead, he nodded curtly and retreated behind his desk.
Chapter Eleven
The next few weeks were uneventful. By the sixth flying lesson, Edric noticed that Ellie already had a rudimentary understanding of how to fly the helicopter. The flying lessons went so well they went from being a Monday morning event to Fridays as well, when Edric’s busy schedule permitted it. It became the highlight of his week, even though he wouldn’t admit that to anyone—especially Ellie.
He spent virtually all his free time coding. Cassie’s weekly criticisms inspired him to make the game better and better.
Edric was looking forward to Cassie’s visit on Thursday. He made his largest overhaul of the game yet. He and his designing and coding team of a hundred people. When Cassie barged through the door, he couldn’t help but smile a bit. But seeing the scowl on her face and clenched fists wiped the smile off his face.
“Cassie!” Ellie exclaimed.
That was another reason why Edric was looking forward to Cassie’s visit, he liked seeing Ellie happy.
When Edric saw the look on Cassie’s face, he knew that this visit wasn’t going to be a pleasant one.
“Ellie!” She smiled at her sister. It was a fake smile. “I have something very important to discuss with Edric. Could you leave us for a few?”
Ellie blinked. She looked at Cassie and then at Edric, who nodded his head slightly.
“Come back in about fifteen minutes. That’s all I need.”
“I’m going to get a cup of tea. Do you two need anything?”
“I’m all set, Eleonore. I have my coffee pot over there.” He gestured to the ever-expanding kitchenette in the corner of his office.
“I’m all set too.” Cassie said.
“Cassie, is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” Cassie responded with a false cheeriness that Edric could hear. “Now go get your tea, and close the door behind you.”
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