“You know what’s funny?” I’d continued. “3 years ago, when I missed Christmas, you all decided it was because I couldn’t afford the plane ticket. The truth is, I was in Tokyo personally negotiating a contract that brought 2,000 manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
“Last year, when I couldn’t make Derrick’s wedding, you assumed I was working extra shifts to make rent. Actually, I was in Germany opening our newest facility that now employs 1,500 people.”
Dererick had looked like he might be sick.
“Miss Anderson,” David had interrupted gently. “The helicopter.”
I’d nodded.
“I really do have to go. Singapore doesn’t wait. And there are a lot of people depending on this deal closing successfully.”
As I’d moved toward the exit, the room had parted around me like I was visiting royalty.
The same people who’d been pitying me 5 minutes ago were now staring with a mixture of awe, confusion, and what I was pretty sure was embarrassment.
At the door, I turned back one last time.
“For what it’s worth, Marcus, I hope you and Patricia are very happy together. Marriage should be about loving someone as they are, not as you assume they should be. Maybe that’s something worth remembering.”
The elevator ride to the roof had been silent except for the soft jazz playing through the speakers.
David had held the door for me as we stepped onto the hotel’s helipad, where my pilot was waiting with the rotors already spinning.
“How was the wedding, ma’am?” David had asked as he’d helped me into the helicopter, having to raise his voice over the noise.
“Educational,” I’d replied, buckling my seat belt and putting on the headset.
As we’d lifted off, I could see people gathered on the hotel’s lower terraces, looking up at the helicopter with obvious confusion.
My phone was already buzzing with calls and texts.
Marcus. Derek. Aunt Susan. Numbers I didn’t recognize.
I turned off the phone and looked out at the city lights below.
Tomorrow, I’d be back to managing supply chains and board meetings and the thousand small decisions that kept a global company running smoothly.
Tonight had been a reminder of why I kept those worlds separate.