Chapter 1
Mary Jane Vasset stomped, as hard as she could, across the plane cabin in her flats. Though the sound was muffled by the carpeting. The luxury plane the firm owned, was a comfortable ride. Cushioned seats, a bedroom and small bathroom in the back. She should be enjoying herself, not having to fly commercial, with all the headaches that accompanied that form of travel. But, she worked for a jerk. A selfish, entitled jerk.
“Lucas Anderson for you, sir,” she tried to hide the disdain from her voice, while handing the cell phone over to her boss. She worked for Chance Danler, who was the attorney for Anderson Inc, handling their latest business acquisition in American Samoa. For the third time that month, Mary Jane had to cancel plans with her sister, to take a last-minute flight and be at his side. Apparently, he couldn’t handle travel without her accompanying him. She didn’t know how he had survived so long before hiring her three years ago. Chance Danler didn’t care about her family obligations or what she wanted. Who cares that it was her niece’s birthday and MJ had promised the five-year-old that she would be there. Not to mention, when they traveled, he always seemed to be in a foul mood. The cranky man snatched the phone from her hand and grunted, not bothering to look up from his paperwork on the table before him.
“Lucas,” he said loudly over the noise of the pane, turning on the charm as he shifted in his seat to put his back towards her. She sulked back to her seat across the cabin. Picking her kindle up, she just stared at the screen, seething, not actually reading the book. Chance was one of those billionaire’s who were focused solely on work, and didn’t care about other people, family, nothing but money meant anything. They worked long hours as it was. But the constant travel was really wearing on her. It was all about earning more to him, never having enough. He lived for his job, and employees were pawns, meant to be used however he wanted. And he certainly demanded a lot of them, especially her. She sighed, looking over at him. He was good looking. With sandy brown hair, cut neatly, close to his head, and blue eyes, she could see how women would find him attractive. He seemed to have a nice body, filling out the dress shirts and suit jackets he wore. She had only seen him dressed casual a few times, but even then, he wore nice polos and jeans that most likely cost more than her rent. He just didn’t do it for her. It was his attitude, that was a big turn off. He came across as someone who only cared for himself. Though that wasn’t entirely true. He did a lot of good for their community, sitting on the boards of several charities. But it seemed he had no life outside of work and those commitments.
The other women in the office, paraded around in tight clothes, high heels, showcasing their bodies as professionally as they could, all in hopes of catching the bachelor boss’s eye. At events they attended, she stood aside as women flooded to him. Tall, thin woman, who looked like models. All vying for the billionaire’s attention. She never saw him be more than polite with any of them though. Mary Jane, working close with him as his personal assistant, found it appalling. He was the last man on earth, she would consider being attracted to. Not that her love life was anything to brag about. She turned, looking out over the dark sky. She hadn’t had time to date, since he was so demanding. Lightning flashed, blinding her momentarily. She blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear her vision. The plane shook from turbulence. The stewardess came out of her private area between the pilot cabin and the rest of the plane. Her blue uniform fit her perfectly, blonde hair pulled back in a bun. Karen, her name was Karen, Mary Jane reminded herself. It seemed each time she flew, there was a different beautiful woman, there to cater to their every need. Not for the reason everyone would think, flings with the billionaire boss man. No, it was because he had made the last three girls cry and quit. Thankfully, Karie just smiled and gave MJ sympathetic looks. This was her second shift and MJ couldn’t be happier that someone finally stuck it out. Like a friend on the battle grounds that were working for Chance.
“I’m sorry,” she said, looking between them. Chance quieted his conversation, scowling at the interruption. “We’re hitting a storm, and need you to put the table up until we get around it. The pilot said we should be able to get through quickly and apologizes for the inconvenience.” Chance nodded, looking at Mary Jane. She huffed, getting up again. Shuffling the papers in front of him, she stowed them into his laptop bag, placing it into the bin above his head as he continued talking to Lucas. God forbid the man did anything for himself. The stewardess put his table down into the wall, as Mary Jane loaded her belongings into a bag and placed it in the bin above her seat. She sat back down, buckling her seat belt. Chance continued speaking to Lucas, ignoring everything else. The cabin lights flickered, as the plane shook more. Their stewardess closed her door, most likely to buckle in herself in as well. Mary Jane white knuckled the arms of her chair, looking over to Chance. He acted as if nothing was happening. She had never been a comfortable traveler. There was a bright flash of light, right near Mary Jane’s window. She blinked, trying to regain her sight once again. Why couldn’t they have waited until morning to leave? All they would do when they arrived was check into the hotel and sleep. There was no reason she should have had to cancel plans and be flying through a storm. She frowned. The man was so impatient though and didn’t bother offering an explanation for the rush to get there.
A sudden jolt felt like the plane had stopped midair. A loud crunching sound rattled her head. Lights flickered above them, and then went out completely, thrusting them into darkness. The sound of metal tearing was all she could hear. Her heart raced, pounding against her chest as she gasped for air. The plane then tilted backwards, like a nightmare carnival ride. A scream stuck in her throat, as she watched the front of the plane break apart from their cabin. The door to the steward room opened, and she could see Karen screaming, but heard nothing over the sound of the plane ripping apart. She reached towards Mary Jane, as if she could be saved. Mary Jane could only sit there in horror as the plane continued moving backwards. The pilot capsule ripped apart from the plane and disappeared into the pitch black night. She looked to Chance, whose face was ghostly white. His phone gripped tightly in one hand, and just stared at her. He tried to speak, but still, she heard nothing but the pounding of her blood, coursing through her veins. The storm raged on around them, lightning the only source of light to see anything. What was left of the plane they were in, did a barrel roll of sort, turning them upside down, and then back upright. It continued its backward slide. Finally, the scream tore loose, sounding as if from someone else, not her. The bins opened, spilling items on top of her and Chance. Something smashed into her head. She tried to close her eyes, her sight blurring. With a shaky hand, she touched the side of her temple, feeling something wet. Her vision blackened, head feeling heavy, and then nothing.