His For A Price - A Bought by the Billionaire Romance (Billionaires of Europe Book 4)
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I had never been on a plane before—something I’d refrained from mentioning to any of my coworkers—so I had watched countless videos online of what to pack for an international trip and what going through security would be like. I didn’t want there to be any surprises.
The real surprise, however, came when I disembarked the plane in Athens, Greece. Walking through the airport, the energy felt heightened. I couldn’t understand the things people were shouting into their phones and at the airline employees, but I gathered that people were angry.
Signs were posted at each of the desks and on various message boards along the main lobby, but they were written in Greek. I pulled out my phone and powered it back on to open the translation app I’d downloaded in preparation for the trip.
I didn’t end up needing it. As soon as my phone turned on, three email notifications buzzed in at the same time. I opened the one from the airline first.
There has been an unforeseen delay in your flight plan. Due to an air traffic control strike, we can no longer guarantee your departure flight on Tuesday…
The second email was from Diane.
Maxine. Just read about the strike. Not sure how this will impact the conference. Call me when you land.
And the third email was from Diane again.
See forwarded email below. So sorry about this.
The email was from the company hosting the conference. As soon as they’d caught wind of the likely strike, they’d canceled the event.
My heart began to race. What did this mean? Was I trapped here? Did I still have a room at the resort, or would I have to find other accommodations?
I could feel myself working up into a panic. This was the first time I’d left the state of Wisconsin, and now I was in another country with no idea what my plans looked like. I suddenly wished I’d prepped a bit more than simply downloading a few apps. How was I going to figure out what was going on if I couldn’t talk to anyone? I didn’t even know how to ask where the bathroom was.
I took a deep breath and called Diane. The company had paid for international minutes on my cellphone plan, thank goodness.
“Maxine,” she said, her voice business-brusque as always.
“Hi, Diane. What’s going on? What do I do?” I asked, not bothering to hide the panic in my voice. I was alone in a foreign country. I had every right to be a little freaked out.
“Don’t panic,” she said. “Everything is fine.”
Her words did little to soothe my concern, but I took another deep breath, anyway. “Okay.”
“From what little I’ve been able to fine online, the air traffic control workers are on strike, meaning a lot of flights are canceled or postponed. The company hosting the conference decided it would be better to reschedule.”
“What does that mean for me?” I asked.
She hummed for a few seconds. “I guess it means you get a company-paid vacation.”
I let Diane’s words sink in, let some of my panic subside until a bit of excitement began to peek through.
“A vacation?”
“The conference has been canceled, and we can’t fly you back because of the strikes. The resort is paid for and you will be reimbursed for all your meals, so I suggest you try and enjoy yourself. I’ll have you booked for the next available flight, though I don’t suspect that will be for a few days.”
“Okay,” I said, hardly able to believe my luck.
A paid vacation? In Greece? Who could say they’d been lucky enough to experience that? I could eat amazing food, see all the sights, and kick back by the resort’s pool all day while my coworkers plodded away in Madison. I imagined the annoyance on Stephen’s face when he found out the news, and that added an entirely new layer of enjoyment to my circumstances.
“I’ll make the best of it, then.”
“You do that, Maxine,” Diane said. “Talk to you soon.”
We hung up and I looked around, seeing my surroundings with new eyes. I was in Greece, the sun was shining, and I didn’t have a single commitment. I’d slept for a few hours on the plane to try to counteract the jet lag, so even though I’d left Friday afternoon and it was now noon on Saturday, I felt surprisingly awake.
Grabbing my bags, I strode confidently through the airport towards the bus stop that would drop me off at the ferry I would take to the island. I had three days to do what I pleased in paradise, and I didn’t intend to waste a single minute.
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