Right after Paige hung up with Karla, making sure she understood how busy Paige was going to be on her business trip—and that she wouldn’t be able to talk to her very much at all this week—Paige parked inside O’Hare’s multilevel ramp. Then she got out of her car, removed her luggage, and headed toward the elevator. Once she stepped inside of it and pressed the terminal button, the door closed and she realized she was that much closer to Las Vegas. When she arrived upstairs at the check-in terminals, she swiped her credit card, waited for her reservation information to display, and followed the instructions. To her surprise, a first-class upgrade offer appeared on the screen, and she quickly accepted it. The cost was only one hundred fifty dollars, and she was ecstatic over it. Camille and Pierce flew first-class regularly and loved it, so she always tried upgrading as often as she could, too.
After she received her boarding pass and made it through security, preparing to walk to her departing gate, her phone rang. It was Derrick, calling from his office.
“Hey, D,” she said in a chipper tone.
“Hey, how’s it goin’?”
“Great. On my way to sunny Las Vegas.”
“Really? For what?”
“To be with Pierce, of course.”
“Excuse me?”
“He’s there on business this week.”
“And he invited you to come stay with him?”
“Not exactly. But when I told him I was going to be there with one of my clients for a few days, anyway, he said we should try to have dinner or drinks.”
Derrick cracked up. “Okay, but let me guess. There’s no client anywhere near Vegas, right?”
“Of course there isn’t. But Pierce doesn’t know that.”
“You’re too much,” Derrick said, laughing more intensely. “First you fake being raped so you could move in with them, and now this.”
Paige didn’t see anything funny.
“So, you’re actually going to try to lure this man into bed, aren’t you?”
“You make it sound so pathetic.”
“Well, it kind of is.”
“I thought you were my friend, Derrick.”
“I am, and that’s why I’m so concerned and wish you wouldn’t do this.”
“Then why did you help me that night? Because you knew full well that the only reason I had to resort to something so outrageous was because I couldn’t find any other way to ruin Camille and Pierce’s marriage.”
“I helped you because you threatened to tell Andrea about all of my affairs, remember? Not to mention, I felt like I owed you for all those times you let me bring certain women to your condo. But now that I see how obsessed you are with taking your sister’s husband, I regret everything I did.”
“Obsessed?” Paige said a little too loudly, and the woman walking in front of her turned around and looked at her. “Who’s obsessed?”
“You are, Paige. You’re taking this thing way too far, and as God is my witness, no good is going to come from it.”
“I disagree, and that’s why I’m going to do everything in my power to be with the man I love.”
“I wish you’d reconsider.”
“Not gonna happen.”
“I hate to hear that.”
Paige sighed. “Look, Derrick, I know you’re worried, but I promise you, everything is going to be fine. So why can’t you just be happy for me?”
“Because I know a disaster waiting to happen when I see one.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“I’m sorry you won’t listen to me.”
“Hey, all I’m doing is living out my destiny. I’m doing what everyone in the world should do before it’s too late.”
Derrick didn’t say anything, so she said, “I think I’m gonna grab a latte, so I’d better go now.”
“Take care of yourself, Paige.”
“Count on it.”
* * *
Paige stored her laptop bag in the overhead bin and sat in the third row next to the window. She knew it would be a while before those seated in coach finished loading, so she decided this would be a good time to call Camille. It was the perfect time to talk about her fabricated trip to New York and how excited she was to be going there.
“Hey, honey,” Camille said when she answered.
“Hey, how are you?”
“Okay, I guess. Are you on your way to New York?”
“On the plane now. I’m so looking forward to it and wish you were going, so we could spend some time on Fifth Avenue together.”
“I do, too, but I know you’ll have a wonderful time.”
“I know I will. And how are the children?”
“Not great. We told them about the separation, and it didn’t go over too well.”
“I’m sure the news must have been very shocking and painful for them, but the good thing is that children are very resilient. More so than adults even.”
“I hope that’s true, and interestingly enough, PJ is the one who is taking this the hardest, even though he’s the oldest.”
“Yeah, but that’s sort of understandable because he’s always been a Daddy’s boy.”
“He has, and I’m sure that’s why he’s so upset. He cried most of Saturday.”
Paige casually flipped through the airline magazine she’d just pulled from the seat pocket in front of her. “You know, as much as I hate saying this, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look at Pierce the same, because what man leaves his wife and children over a few petty email messages and a flower delivery?”
“He left because he says he has proof,” Camille said in a disheartened tone. “He was already upset and believing I was having an affair, but when he received whatever proof he’s talking about, that’s when he turned completely cold toward me. That’s when he completely shut down and decided he wasn’t coming home.”
Paige looked up when she saw a flight attendant approaching her and was glad she had an excuse to end this depressing phone call.
“Hey, sis, I hate to cut this short, but I have to go now. I’ll call you this evening, though.”
“Okay. You have a safe flight.”
“Thanks, I will. Love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Paige set her phone on her lap.
“Can I get you something to drink?” the flight attendant asked.
“Just ice water, please.”
“No problem.”
Paige leaned back in the spacious leather seat and relaxed. There was nothing like flying first-class or being treated like a first-class person. Life just didn’t get any better than this, and once she married Pierce, she’d fly this way from here on out. Not as a result of some random last-minute upgrade offer. She would do so because Pierce could afford it.
Paige exhaled with the utmost relief—until her phone rang and Owen’s name displayed on her screen. He was the last person she wanted to speak to, but she also didn’t think it was in her best interest to ignore him.
“Hello?”
“You got my money yet?”
“No.”
“Well, I suggest you get it, because if you don’t, I’ll have to tell your sister about that photo you’re carrying around and drooling over.”
“Tell her what you want,” Paige said, knowing she didn’t mean that.
“Fine with me. Talk to you later.”
“No, wait,” she hurried and said.
“Yes?” he sneered.
“I’ll get you your money when I’m back in town.”
“From where? And when?”
“Where is none of your business, but I’ll be back this weekend.”
“I’ll call you on Saturday,” he said and hung up.
This thing with Owen wasn’t good, and while she didn’t have the kind of cash he’d spent on her, she knew she had to figure out a way to pay him. She had to fix this before Owen did something stupid and ruined everything.