She called her boss ugly and tyrannical… not knowing he was sitting right beside her on the plane
The CEO Reveal and Office Whispers
The plane lifted off and Lily gripped the armrest so tightly her knuckles turned white. Beside her, Brandon glanced over with concern.
“Nervous flyer?”
He asked gently.
“Is it that obvious?”
Lily tried to laugh but it came out strained.
“Only a little,”
He said with a reassuring smile.
“We’ll be at cruising altitude soon. The takeoff is always the worst part.”
For the next 20 minutes, Brandon kept up a steady stream of calm conversation. He asked about her trip, sharing a funny story about his own travel mishaps and generally distracting her from her fear. Lily found herself relaxing despite herself.
There was something soothing about his presence, something genuine in the way he listened when she talked. Then the turbulence hit. It started as a few bumps, nothing unusual, but within minutes the plane was shaking violently.
It dipped and rose in a way that made Lily’s heart leap into her throat. The seat belt sign dinged urgently. Even the flight attendants looked concerned as they rushed to secure the cabin.
“Oh god, oh god, we’re going to crash!”
Lily whispered, her breathing becoming rapid and shallow. Without thinking, she grabbed Brandon’s arm, her nails digging into the expensive fabric of his suit jacket.
“Hey, look at me,”
Brandon said firmly but kindly, turning in his seat to face her.
“We’re not going to crash. This is just rough air. The pilots handle this all the time.”
Another violent jolt sent a carry-on bag tumbling from an overhead compartment somewhere behind them. Lily felt panic overtaking her rational mind. When she was scared, she talked. She talked fast and without filter.
Right now, with adrenaline flooding her system, every anxious thought came pouring out.
“I can’t die now,”
She babbled, still gripping Brandon’s arm like a lifeline.
“I haven’t done anything significant with my life. I work at this job where I pour my heart into campaigns and next week some horrible new CEO is taking over who is probably going to fire everyone and ruin everything we have built.”
“Everyone says he is a monster, completely heartless, just buys companies and tears them apart without caring about the people whose lives he destroys.”
Brandon’s eyebrows rose slightly, but he did not interrupt. Lily barely noticed.
“Brandon Sterling,”
She continued, her voice rising slightly as another bump made her stomach drop.
“That is his name. Sterling. How pretentious is that? I bet he is one of those rich guys who has never worked a real day in his life, who just inherited everything and thinks money makes him better than everyone else.”
“My friend Jaime said he looks like an uptight corporate robot in his photos, probably old and bald and mean with a permanent scowl. The kind of person who would fire a single mother right before Christmas just to save a few dollars on the quarterly report.”
She was aware she was rambling, aware that she was probably making no sense, but she could not stop. The words kept flowing as the plane continued to shake.
“I worked so hard on the Grand View Hotel’s campaign,”
She went on, tears now forming in her eyes from a combination of fear and frustration.
“Six months of research, focus groups, creative briefs, and this Sterling guy probably will not even look at it before deciding to bring in his own people.”
“People like that do not care about creativity or passion or the fact that real human beings are affected by their decisions. They just see numbers on a spreadsheet.”
Brandon’s hand covered hers on the armrest, warm and steady.
“Tell me about your campaign,”
He said quietly.
“Distract yourself. What makes it special?”
