You Don't Know Us

Chapter Two

I have never been to L.A. before. In fact, I've never been west of the Grand Canyon, and before that, I had never been west of Amarillo. But when I stepped off the plane, I could tell that this was not a place I wanted to stay for very long. The air was sticky with god knows what and everyone was very loud.

I walk towards the doors to exit when I see an older man in a suit holding an iPad that read, "Kathryn Wilson."

"Um, excuse me. I'm Katie Wilson," I say tentatively. I've never had a driver before. The fanciest thing I have ever had was an Uber ride.

"Hello, Ms. Wilson," the man smiled, kindly. He had warm brown eyes that reminded me of a grandfather. Not my grandfather, but a grandfather. "My name is Harris. I'll be your driver for the duration of your stay, here in Los Angeles. Did you check any bags?"

"No, sir. I just have this," I smile, patting my Cowboys duffel bag, fondly. If there was anything anyone needed to know about me, it was my being a Dallas Cowboys fan. Don't mess with my Boys.

"Well, I can take that for you, ma'am. If you'll follow me to the car, we'll get you to your hotel."

I hand over the bag, but hang on to my purse and follow Harris out the door to a black SUV. He opens the back door for me to get in, then puts my bag in the trunk. I pull out my phone to text Terry that I'm here.

Me: I'm in LA!

Terry: Yay! How was the flight?

Me: Uneventful. Getting off the plane was weirder. I have a driver...

Terry: No way! Like a limo?

"Do you have any music preferences that you would like me to play, ma'am? Any temperature preferences?" Harris inquires.

"Um, no," I say. "Everything is fine. You can play whatever you want, I'm fine with whatever."

"Very good, ma'am."

Me: No, it's an escalade SUV. Apparently he's my driver for the whole trip. I've never had a driver. Do I tip him or something?

Terry: No, I don't think so. The company he works for should cover that.

Me: Phew! Okay. Thank, girl! I'll call you tomorrow after my meeting.

Terry: Okay! Good luck or whatever you need for this weirdo thing... Love you!

I smile and set my phone down to look out the window. There's only a 2-hour time difference between Dallas and LA, but the sun was already setting on the horizon, leaving the sky a sherbet orange. Palm trees lined the people filled streets.

"Have you ever been to Los Angeles, ma'am?" Harris asks, filling the silence in the car.

"No, I've actually never been to California."

Harris meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. "Well, then you'll be in for a treat this weekend. If there is anything in particular you're wanting to see, you let me know. I'll be sure to take you."

"Well, thank you, Harris," I smile. "I appreciate that."

"Of course, ma'am," Harris responds, his eyes crinkling in the mirror. "I was told to inform you that you're meeting has been changed to 10am tomorrow. I'll be sure to pick you up at 9. While the studio is only 2 miles away from your hotel, the traffic will delay us."

"An hour to only go only 2 miles? I could just run there and be there in 15 minutes." Even Austin didn't have traffic that bad. And Austin had the worst traffic I'd ever been in.