During the short transfer to the hotel my mind went back to the woman who’d caught my attention for most of the flight and I wondered why she had been the first passenger to be allowed off the plane. I was a little surprised when the pilot asked us to remain seated for a few minutes and she was invited to leave by the cabin crew.

When she rose from her seat and gathered up her belongings, she looked directly at me and saw that I was watching her. I gave her a warm smile when we made eye contact and hoped for the same in return; however, she appeared to look right through me and wore a look of disdain on her face.

I recognized that look. I’d seen it plenty of times before and her snotty attitude pissed me off. I wondered whether she treated most people like that, or, if she knew who I was, she’d judged me on the reputation the media had formed of me. It was a pity because I found her highly attractive, but her arrogance stank.

It irked me because I felt she had somehow prejudged me and deduced I wasn’t worth knowing simply because I sang in a band for a living, and frankly, her austere manner left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

Luckily, I didn’t have time to dwell on it because I was second in line to disembark. I hated layovers, but I hated non-stop long haul more and was thankful for the quick transfer to the hotel in Dubai.

Less than an hour from leaving the aircraft I stood in the shower, thankful to have made it there in one piece. After I washed and felt a little better, I noticed the wet bar menu and scanned the room looking for the small cabinet that held it inside.

A slight tremor shook my hand as I swung open the door and found an assortment of sodas and ice teas. I sighed with both relief and a tinge of disappointment because true to form, Annalise had ensured all forbidden temptation had been removed from it. It wasn’t her responsibility to keep alcohol out of my clutches; she was following orders from my manager to help keep me dry.

I pulled out a root beer and slammed the door shut, pulled the tab on the ring pull and slugged it down like it was all I really needed. Taking my drink with me I climbed onto the bed and lay naked under the colonial fan with my legs spread wide and my arms above my head. It wasn’t long before the journey took its toll and I fell asleep.

* * *

Night had fallen by the time I woke and although I felt groggy, the pangs of hunger dragged me to my feet. I grabbed a fresh pair of jeans and pulled on a plain white t-shirt before texting Eamon to let him know I was on the move. I then sent another to George, one of my band mates, and Annalise, to meet me for dinner.

When I exited the elevator on the ground floor, I was stunned to see the same woman from the aircraft sitting directly in front of me when the doors opened. She glanced up and as she did I swear she winced in disapproval at my appearance before she went back to whatever she was doing on her laptop.

By then I was convinced she was stuck up and well connected. She’d been the first to leave the plane which was an obvious tell of her status. Usually, it was me who did that; the cabin crew normally gave me a head start on the passengers to ensure I arrived safely through immigration with the least amount of commotion to the other passengers. Again, I stared at her and considered what it was about her that I didn't know but all the airline staff did.

For a few seconds I considered ignoring her and heading straight to dinner, but I knew it would have bugged me if I never took the chance to change her mind about me. So, I decided to burst her bubble and show her what a gentleman I could be instead.

With time to kill and a challenge to keep me occupied, I figured no matter how I did it; I was determined to show her the kind of guy I really was and to change her bias view of me.

“Excuse me, I couldn’t help noticing you were alone on the flight. As we have some time to kill I wondered if you’d mind some company… if you’re not expecting anyone of course?”

When she glanced up at me her face was contorted with an angry expression. She looked horrified and dismayed to see me standing in front of her.

“I do mind. I have nothing to say to you,” she snapped and pulled all her shit together without looking up.

It had been years since I’d faced rejection by any woman in conversation and I figured I at least deserved an explanation for the hostility she appeared to harbor toward me.

“Have we met before? I’m sure if we had I would have remembered such a beautiful looking woman,” I asked trying again to be civil.

“Are you fucking serious? Leave me alone,” she demanded, and became more visibly distressed as she sprang to her feet and hurriedly shoved her E-reader and cardigan into an oversized purse.

“Wait—”

“Stay away from me,” she shrieked loudly as she hurriedly moved past me.

Without thinking I reached out and grabbed her forearm, “Hold on a minute, there’s no need—”

Swiftly, she tugged her arm free, gave me a terrified look, and rushed toward the elevator. I stood stunned and watched as she rapidly pressed at the call button like she was desperate to get away from me. Glancing around, I saw Eamon walking toward me, his head turned and watching her, then I glanced around the hotel lobby. I cringed when I saw her reaction had attracted attention.

I ran my hands through my hair and turned back to look at the elevators and I was surprised when I saw her exchange words with Annalise who was in the elevator. I was even more stunned when Annalise appeared to know her. My confusion was increased when the woman appeared to reach out and slumped distressed into my assistant’s arms as the doors closed.

What in Hell’s name is going on? I sank down into the seat vacated by the woman and waved the waiter for a drinks service. “Soda and lime,” Eamon piped up as the waiter attempted to take my order. “You didn’t wait for me before you left your room,” he offered, stating the obvious when he’d gone there to find me. I ignored him and sat still watching the bank of elevators and waited for Annalise to come back.

“What the fuck was that about?” he asked.

Shaking my head, I shrugged and continued to watch the doors of the elevators until Annalise came back down to the lobby. My drink arrived seconds before the elevator carrying her did and she walked toward me with a deep frown creasing her brow.

“Care to tell me what the fuck that was about?” I snapped in an aggressive tone. Annalise wrung her hands and her expression told me I wouldn’t like what she said.

“Please don’t be mad with me. I had every intention of telling you, but Steve said it had to wait until we got home.”

“Tell me what? What the fuck am I missing? I’ve never seen that woman before in my life. Whatever she’s accusing me of, she’s a liar.”

“Calm down. She isn’t accusing you of anything, Noah, and I’m sure she’ll view you differently in a couple of months.”

“View me differently? She doesn’t even know me. What the fuck is she judging me for? I’m telling you I’ve never even met her before.”

Annalise wrung her hands again like she always did when she was about to tell me something she knew would upset me.

“Her name is Maggie. Her sister worked as a styling assistant until recently.”

“So, she got fired?”

“She died. Choked on her own vomit.”

The air I had in my lungs, instantly wasn’t enough. I inhaled sharply as the shock of the news stopped me short of breath.

“She did what? She was one of my crew and she… died? Died as in dead? What the fuck? And nobody thought I should know about this?” I rose from the chair and tried to keep my voice down. “When did this happen?”

“It happened a few days ago—and of course I thought you should know. I argued that you had to be told, but Steve insisted it was a bad idea with the flight home n’all, and ordered me to wait until you were back in the USA. He knows how you feel about flying and—”

“And because Steve knows better, you did what he told you instead of what was right? Damn, Annalise, I thought you could handle my needs. Maybe you should go work for Steve instead of me. I needed to know about this… not find out about it this way.” I glanced at Eamon, “You knew as well? Maybe I need a new team that will have my back,” I bit in an angry outburst.

My temper rose at everyone knowing but me, and I banged my fist hard on the coffee table. It rattled my glass on the table and attracted more attention from those close by. “Very clever of you both. What was her sister’s name?” I asked feeling totally inadequate because I knew nothing about her.

“Shona Dashwood.”

“I didn’t meet her, did I?” I asked and felt disgusted I hadn’t.

“She only joined the crew a couple of weeks ago.”

“What’s the sister’s name again?”

“Maggie Dashwood… there’s something else, Noah. She arrived here yesterday to formally identify and accompany Shona’s body home.”

A jolt of electricity shocked my heart. “And we’re all on the same fucking flight? No wonder she can’t stand the sight of me. I can’t believe you thought our paths wouldn’t cross. What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I didn’t have time to think. I didn’t know Shona’s body would be released so quickly and Steve had warned me not to tell you—” Annalise tried to argue in her defense, but I was too furious to let her finish.

“Now, I bet this Maggie woman thinks I couldn’t give a shit about anyone on my crew.”

“I’ll explain.”

“Explain? I think you’ve done enough harm. I don’t care how you do it, but I want a meeting with her. Make it happen or leave. I want to speak to her. And I want as much detail about Shona as we’ve got. I take it there’s a file?”

“There’s not much to tell. She joined the crew around two weeks ago. She was in her mid-twenties, good looking, well liked, and a fun member of the crew. I had very little contact with her myself. She was vetted by some agency.”

“What were the circumstances around her death?”

“She had been drinking with another crew member, got drunk, fell unconscious, and choked as far as we know. The guy she was with is no longer with us because we found he’d been using class A drugs.”

I stood up and shook my head in disbelief, distressed by the news. I ran my hands through my hair. Eamon stood at the same time, like he thought I was going somewhere.

“Right. This is what you’re going to do. You’re going to go to her and come clean. You need to tell her I knew nothing about any of this. I can never make this right for her, but I can do my best to cover whatever she needs.”

“We’ve already been doing this.”

“Fuck. I can’t believe this. I’m having a hard time that everyone kept this from me. Don’t you get this? This is a huge fucking catastrophe, and I had no idea.” I reflected on the incident with the fan on the plane and in a heartbeat I felt like shit. No wonder she stared at me like I was the shit on her shoe. She must have thought I was an insensitive asshole. “We were in the same cabin on the flight, for Christ’s sake.”

I was at a loss for how to make amends. I never thought I could. I continued to digest the tragic news and ran my hands through my hair again. “Go. I’m not doing anything else until I’ve spoken to her.”

Annalise looked worried, like the task I’d set her was impossible. “Maybe we should wait—”

“I’d go to her myself if I didn’t think it would upset her further. Get me a meeting if you want to keep your job.” Without waiting for her to respond, I strode toward the elevator and headed back to my room with Eamon close behind.

Almost two hours later, my cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw it was Annalise.

“Speak to me.” I said, in an irritated tone.

“Maggie has agreed to meet with you, but not in her hotel room or your suite. I’ve booked another—eleven forty one. It’s on the floor above the conference suites and is reserved solely for conference attendees. She’s making her way over there if you want to meet me there. Don’t worry it’s very private. There hasn’t been a conference today, so the floor is completely empty.”

Relief flooded through me, followed swiftly by apprehension. I was glad for the opportunity to set the record straight, but I also wanted to offer my support personally for what she must have been going through.

My only problem was I wondered how I could convey my condolences and support the family of the girl I never knew. I felt a huge sense of responsibility toward Maggie and her family and I hoped she understood my concern was genuine. I was pulled out of my thoughts when Eamon knocked on the door and I realized Annalise must have alerted him that the meeting was about to take place.

* * *

I saw my assistant leaning against the wall further down the corridor when we stepped out of the elevator. She quickly pushed herself off the wall and stood straight when she saw us come into view. Handing Eamon the key card, he opened the door.

When I looked past Eamon into the room, I saw the woman in profile, leaning against a piece of furniture. She was staring out of the window and her presence filled the whole room with sadness.

I moved past Eamon and signaled for him to wait outside. As I closed the door, I cleared my throat and expected her to turn to face me. When she didn’t, I knew it was because she blamed me for her sister’s demise.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Maggie. I appreciate you giving me the time to explain. Please accept my heartfelt condolences at this sad time for your family.” Maggie eyed me with a guarded expression then looked back out of the window again, so I continued. “I’m very sorry to have met you under these circumstances, and I apologize for the way I approached you downstairs. I genuinely had no idea about Shona’s death.”

When I called her sister by name Maggie’s head jerked in my direction and her eyes searched my face. The sorrow in her eyes pierced my heart. When she didn’t reply, I moved closer until I stood directly in front of her.

“I really am so sorry for your loss and I feel pretty inadequate to know what to say to you. I know this is hardly the time either, but be assured I will be supporting all the financial obligations connected with Shona’s death. It’s the least I can do.”

For a few seconds Maggie continued to stare directly at me but I noticed there was no animosity in her expression like there had been before.

“I only learned what happened after you became distressed downstairs and left. No one had told me of the terrible incident involving your sister. It was very wrong of my manager to advise Annalise to keep me in the dark until we were back in the USA.”

Standing quietly, I watched as she hugged herself, her fingertips blanching as she squeezed her upper arms. Tears began to stream down her face, and I became aware of the weight of the burden she carried. I wanted to hug her… to comfort her, but I held back and folded my arms, instinctively knowing the move would feel wrong to her.

“Would your family like some support to plan the funeral?”

“I’m angry. So fucking… incredibly angry,” she said in a sudden outburst. At first, I wasn’t sure if she meant angry at me, then I realized it was a general statement directed at no one in particular.

“I can’t begin to imagine—”

“No, you can’t,” she sobbed, wiping her tears roughly from her face. “My sister was infatuated with you. You have no idea the trouble it caused us. She walked away from her responsibilities at home and flew around the world just to ensure you had a pressed outfit to wear on stage and she had an opportunity to be close to you.”

Maggie dropped her arms, shook her head, and waited for my response.

“Responsibilities? I thought Annalise said Shona was single?”

“Yeah, she was single. I mean she had no partner… but she was a mom. Now it falls to me to take care of Molly… her daughter. So, if I sound bitter and have no time for you doing your duty here, you’ll forgive me.”

“Fuck.” I muttered in disbelief. The burden of the situation was felt by me, yet I had no understanding what it would feel like to have someone else’s child to care for in the wake of their death. Maggie was grieving the loss of her sister and had become a mother figure the moment Shona died.

My heart squeezed at the terrible situation Maggie had found herself in through no fault of her own.