The Translator

Chapter six.

I woke up halfway through the flight to have my in-flight meal. Sebastian had woken up a few minutes after to eat his meal.
"I'm starving" He commented as we waited for the flight attendant to bring our meal to our seats.
"Me too, it's been a while since our last meal," I said, agreeing with Sebastian.
"Chicken is not my favorite but I guess I'll have to deal with it," He said, making conversation.
"I love chicken, so bring it on," I joked.
"There are better cuts of meat," He said smiling at my joke "I must have a more expensive taste"
"I would too if I had the money to eat like a king every night," I said
" I don't always eat like a king but I can appreciate a quality meal" He elaborated.
"That's fair, I just thought that since you're a billionaire that you could afford amazing food" I explained.
"Aster, I think that you may be casting some unfair judgment on me with that last statement,you're " He said, looking only mildly insulted.
"Really? How so?" I regretted my last comment.
"Did you know that they did a study a while back that proved that making more than $75,000 does not increase happiness?" He asked calmly
"I heard that! I think I read that in an article in the paper or online several years ago" I answered
"This company would not be successful if I decided to take an exorbitant salary while the rest of my employees made minimum wage. People would suffer financially, they would not be able to live happy lives and provide for their families. My company would have a high turnover rate, which is costly. Don't you agree?" Bash explained"Kind of like Walmart," I said following his train of thought"Kind of like Walmart," he agreed. "All my employees get paid well, I provide a great health care plan and benefits. That is why very few people leave. Knight Enterprises is a great place to have a career for life. We have a reputation for treating employees well. I never have a shortage of people who want to come work for me. I make a reasonable amount of money for my salary. Sure it's much more than $75,000 but not as much as you probably think"
"I had no idea, Sebastian. Most CEOs are paid large salaries and bonuses" I said pleasantly shocked.
"It's just good business, Aster" He stated humbly.
"You are amazing Sebastian, That's so selfless and brilliant" I gasped
"I need them just as much as they need me, that is the reason that I'm successful" Sebastian commented
"Sorry for the harsh judgment" I apologized
"no harm done. I'm glad I had the chance to correct your preconceived notions" He said taking a bite of his chicken.
"We still have 7 hours more of this flight" I sighed
"Yes, we do," He agreed. "I plan to have another nap. Tends to make the time pass faster"
"That sounds like a good idea to me," I said "think I will do the same"
We finished our on-flight meals and returned the tray to the flight attendant as she came around to collect them. Both Sebastian and I curled up in our reclining seats and fell asleep with our backs facing each other. At first, I had a hard time falling asleep, but soon my body relaxed and I felt tired. Sebastian and I both slept a majority of the flight back home. I awoke 20 minutes before the flight landed in Manhattan before my alarm went off. Sebastian and exchanged basic pleasantries as we left the plane and into the airport to get our luggage. There was a part of me that felt a deep sadness at the possibility that everything would go back to exactly the way things were before. Sebastian and I had an incredible weekend together, which I could not stop thinking about. I knew that my life would never be the same. Any man that I dated after this I would always compare to Sebastian, and they may never add up. I had boyfriends before but I have never had such chemistry and lustful desire towards another man so quickly. I was not sure if I was in love with Sebastian or if I would end up dating Sebastian the moment that I came home. I wanted him so badly that I would definitely not be able to say no to him if he asked. Sebastian had made an impact on my being and even if nothing else happened between us I knew that I would need time before I could go on a date with anyone else. The team and I waited in silence until Sebastian's driver Taylor showed up driving the same black Audi that I had been picked up in initially. Sebastian kept to himself the majority of the ride back to Knight Enterprises. Sebastian and I piled into the back and Matt sat in the front seat. Ros and Clark had hopped in an airport taxi as soon as we had left the airport. I was at a loss for words. How do you say to your boss that you would love to continue to date him without looking like a young girl searching for a sugar daddy.
"We're here." He started with a sad sigh as the car came to a stop.
Sebastian got out of the car to get my luggage from the trunk. We stood there for a moment just staring at each other, smiles spread across our faces.
"I'm not going to lie to you Sebastian, Kiss me may not make it to work tomorrow morning" I said trying to start a real conversation.
"I would understand if you needed a day to rest," He agreed.
"Hopefully i will see you around the office" I commented hoping for some indication that we would have contact.
" I would enjoy that," He smiled.
He gave me a smile and a wave and got back into his black Audi in the passenger's side and sped off. Leaving me in front of Knight Enterprises alone with my luggage.
I let out a long sigh after Sebastian's Audi sped off. It was over. I called a taxi to take me back home. As I waited on the bench just outside of Knight Enterprises I felt a small sense of loss. The fairytale has ended. Back to School, back to work, back to life. I felt as though the high had ended and I was going through withdrawals. As soon as I got home I unpacked my clothes and put them all away. I didn't have a large luggage so it didn't take me long to finish. I felt exhausted for some reason, so I looked at the clock. It was almost 630 AM. I called Knight Enterprises and left a message saying that I got back late to come to work in the AM. Then slipped into my Scooby Doo pj's and went to sleep. I finally understood why people complain about Jet Lag. It really sucks.
I woke up feeling confused and disorganized. I was not used to sleeping during the day. I looked at the clock at 2:30 PM. Wow, I must have needed sleep. I still felt drowsy, but I was famished. I sauntered down to the kitchen to make myself an omelette. I sat down to eat my omelette at the table. For some reason I felt like going right back to bed. I looked at my phone to check to see who had texted me during my rest. Mom, Jessica, my sister and an unknown number.
Thank you for an amazing trip. Can't wait to see you at the office.
Sebastian
I saved Sebastian's number into my phone. How did he get my number? Did he check my employment file when he got back to the office? I must have made an impact on him l. I could not wait to go back to work after reading his text. Would he come down to the file room to see me? Would he have lunch with me or was his schedule too busy for that? I tried to push all of that from my mind. If Sebastian started to show me attention at work I know that it would look really suspicious. Relationships between a boss and his employees never look good. Sebastian I did not want to taint his reputation by publicly dating his employees, I'm sure. Still the text was really sweet of him.
I Went to school the next day, daydreaming of Sebastian in each of my classes. His muscles, His lips and his sexy voice filled my mind as I tried to concentrate on the lecture. After my last lecture of the morning I went down to the Registrar's Office to hand in my Clinical placement form. I ran into my friend Jessica on the way to the office, she needed to hand in her form as well.
"How was your trip?" Jessica asked with curiosity.
"It was really cool" I said "Russia is quite the place"
"Did you take some pics?" She asked "I thought that you would have posted something to Instagram or something"
"I didn't really have much time" I lied "I was mostly working"
"There was no time for sightseeing?" She asked, sounding disappointed.
"I spent most of my time in my hotel room or in meetings translating" I said
"Meet any hot guys while on vacation?" She asked with curiosity
"Most of the men I ran into were too old for me," I said.
"That's too bad" She sighed " I'm still really jealous though."
"I definitely would go back to Russia for pleasure, it's a really neat place" I said
"Where are you requesting to go for clinical" Jess asked
"Cardiology or Pediatrics. I love kids. Peds is pretty popular so I may not get it" I answered "How about you?"
"Plastics or maternity i think" she said
"I just want to survive school, i don't really care about where i go as long as i pass" I said honestly.
"I feel the same way" She agreed.
We both handed in our clinical placement forms, then headed off to the last class of the day. I took the bus home after class. I found it a hassle to drive because of where the school was, the bus also gave me time to read. I had most of the reading done by the time I got home to my townhouse. I grabbed the mail from the mailbox without thinking about picking through the envelopes for important mail that needed to be opened right away. Before I could open the doorknob to the house I noticed a post office notice stating that I had a package waiting for me at the post office. I was not expecting anything. I hadn't ordered anything online recently. I was too curious, I didn't even bother to go in the house. I went straight to my little Toyota Corolla in the parking lot and headed down to the post office to see what was waiting for me.