Come Fly With Me (9 page)

Allison
leaned
over
to
kiss
her
mother
warmly.
“I’m
sorry
Mom.
I’ve
been
acting
unpleasant
and
disrespectful.
It’s
just
one
shock
after
another.
I
can’t
take
it."

“I
know
sweetheart—we'll
figure
it
out."
She
smoothed
down
Allison's
hair
and
kissed
her
on
the
forehead.
"You
just
go
back
to
your
apartment
and
get
your
bearings."

“I’d
love
to
do
that
more
than
anything.
But
unfortunately,
I
have
a
more
pressing
matter.
Tomorrow
morning
I’m
heading
to
RossAir
Industries
to
find
Dad’s
replacement.
I
dread
it,
but
the
sooner
I
get
this
over
with
the
sooner
things
can
return
to
some
semblance
of
normalcy.”

Allison
stood
on
busy
Sixth
Avenue
and
flashed
back
to
the
times
when
her
mother
used
to
bring
her
up
to
the
office
to
visit
her
father
on
her
days
off
from
school.
She
loved
the
commotion
of
the
city,
having
been
raised
in
the
quiet
of
the
suburbs.
Her
father’s
office
was
a
block
from
Radio
City
and
Rockefeller
Center.
They
would
go
to
see
the
Rockettes
and
then
go
ice-skating
at
the
famed
rink.
Then
they
would
top
it
off
with
one
of
her
favorite
things
to
do
in
the
area.
She
would
walk
hand
in
hand
with
her
mother
down
the
fabled
Forty-Seventh
street,
oohing
and
ahhing
over
the
sparkling
diamonds
in
the
windows’
showcases.
Allison
would
select
her
favorite
diamond
ring
and
then
replay
a
scene
in
her
mind
all
the
way
home,
of
her
Prince
Charming
as
he
slipped
the
flawless
stone
onto
her
finger.

Well,
that
isn’t
happening
anytime
soon,
Allison
thought,
as
she
worked
her
way
through
the
revolving
doors
of
the
massive
skyscraper.
She
didn’t
think
Prince
Charming
existed,
which
was
fine
with
her,
because
she
wasn’t
wasting
her
time
looking
for
him.
It
had
been
a
number
of
years
since
she
had
walked
through
these
doors,
and
she
did
her
best
to
calm
the
butterflies
flitting
around
in
her
stomach.

She
rode
the
elevator
to
the
thirty-third
floor,
stepped
through
the
double
glass
doors,
walked
down
the
long
corridor
to
Natalya’s
desk,
and
re-introduced
herself.

“Of
course
I
know
who
you
are!
You’ve
grown
quite
a
bit
taller,
but
the
eyes
are
the
same,”
Natalya
said,
coming
out
from
behind
her
desk.
Her
coarse,
blonde
hair
was
scraped
back
into
a
neat
ponytail,
accentuating
her
round
cheeks.
She
pulled
off
her
reading
glasses,
letting
them
hang
from
their
chain,
as
she
took
Allison’s
hands
in
her
own.

“I’m
so
sorry
for
your
loss.
It
is
a
terrible
shock
for
us
all.
I’m
sure
things
will
seem
overwhelming
at
first,
but
I'll
be
right
here
to
assist
you
in
any
way
that
you
need,
dear,
to
make
for
as
smooth
a
transition
as
possible.”
Natalya
was
several
inches
shorter
than
Allison,
but
there
was
no
mistaking
who
had
the
upper
hand
now.

“I
appreciate
that,
Natalya,
and
I’m
sure
I’ll
be
calling
on
your
knowledge
of
my
father’s
business
dealings
as
I
try
to
figure
out
my
next
step.”

Allison
walked
crisply
toward
her
father’s
former
office
and
opened
the
door.
She
sat
down
behind
the
desk
and
swallowed
the
hysterical
bubble
that
threatened
to
surface.
The
desk
was
pin
neat,
as
if
her
father
had
expected
to
show
up
for
work
at
any
moment.
There
was
a
beautiful
picture
of
him
and
her
mother
taken
at
last
year's
Thanksgiving.
It
was
in
the
frame
she
had
bought
him
for
Hanukah.
The
sentimentality
of
it
caught
her
by
her
surprise.
It
was
unlike
her
father
to
keep
anything
personal
at
his
office.
She
didn't
know
why
she
was
so
unsettled
by
the
idea
that
he
might
have
done
something
thoughtful
and
without
motive.
Maybe
I
hadn't
really
seen
who
Dad
had
become
lately.
Maybe
he
was
trying
to
focus
more
on
family,
on
things
other
than
this
business—this
business
that
seemed
as
demanding
as
a
third
child
would
have
been.
Her
eyes
lit
on
the
computer,
and
she
stared
at
the
blank
screen.
Allison
tried
all
the
obvious
ones,
family
names,
birthdays,
anniversaries,
knowing
that
it
wouldn't
be
any
of
those