Billionaire

Chapter 41

I zip up my suitcase with more force than is probably necessary, somehow managing to balance my phone and a generously large cup of coffee in my other hand as I drag myself out of the door. Refusing to look back, I march out of the hotel lobby like a woman on a mission as I speedily call a taxi and chuck my belongings in the trunk.

"The airport, please."

The female driver surprises me by raising her eyebrows in response.

"Running from something, darling?"

"You could say that," I reply through a smile, masking the sad undertone to that statement somewhat effectively as we pull onto the main road.

The sun is only just rising above the towering skyscrapers of Washington D.C., and I can relax for what feels like the first time since the events of last night. I decided to give the company laptop and phone to Alejandro this morning, along with my resignation, because obviously facing Benjamin is the last thing I want to do. I was thinking of writing a note of some kind too, but I decided against it.

Although I received an email late last night saying that he'd already bought me an airplane ticket home, I decided to ignore that and buy my own, feeling as if the sooner I stop relying on him, the better.

"Here we are, doll."

I'm snapped out of my thoughts by the driver's voice, and I hand her the money as we pull up in front of the terminal. We exchange a smile that's unfortunately rather fake on my behalf as I march purposefully through the automatic glass doors of the airport. I make it all the way past the Starbucks and the McDonalds before something inevitably goes wrong, but just as I'm finally approaching the security check, Alejandro suddenly emerges from behind the KFC.

"Miss Leverton."

A scowl forms on my face as he approaches me with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Your ticket." He says matter-of-factly as he holds out a glossy ticket which clearly has the words "FIRST CLASS" printed boldly across it.

I simply raise my eyebrows.

"No, thank you."

"He was adamant, miss."

I roll my eyes as I move to walk away.

"For him."

It's the desperate tone of those two words that causes me to finally give in, and we share something of a bittersweet goodbye smile as I finally make my way past security.

"Passport, please."

I hand the man my passport and boarding pass in a daze, my mind still all over the place. Soon enough, I'm grabbing myself another coffee and settling down at my gate. I sincerely hope that being in first class isn't as intimidating as I'm imagining, because when the announcement goes off asking for all first class passengers to board, my heart is in my mouth and I'm overwhelmed by nerves.