And So I Ran - Complete

Chapter 6

I stood up and walked out of the meeting I was in, grinning like an idiot. I waved my hand at the Department Head, indicating he was to continue. I'd been like a bear in a cage all morning until Ana responded to my email of the previous day. Then I'd been bitterly disappointed that she had declined my invitation for this evening. I'd spent the next two hours raging until I called Taylor to my office to let him know we wouldn't be traveling to Portland this evening.

Understanding from my instructions and demeanor that Ana had declined my offer, Taylor convinced me to re-read her message. If Ana weren't at least a little interested she would have told me to leave her alone, he'd argued.

While I wasn't willing to share Ana's words with Taylor, looking back at it, I decided perhaps it wasn't quite as dismal or dismissive as it had initially appeared. Phrases like 'very kind of you,' 'appreciate your offer,' 'I'd like to accept' and 'thank you for thinking of me' all suggested a familiarity and fondness that was promising.

I spent my lunch hour mentally crafting the perfect response. Ideally, I'd have suggested dinner on Friday to celebrate the end of Ana's first working week, but a series of recalcitrant emails from Taiwan had made a trip there seem more and more likely. In fact, now I knew Ana had plans for the weekend, I'd made the unhappy decision to fly out tomorrow. I resented having to travel halfway around the world to bash out terms that could easily be done via email, but I'd come to the realization that a decisive display of force would bring things to the quickest and most satisfactory conclusion.

Of course, the timing could not have been worse. With everything up in the air with Ana, and Leila still unaccounted for, I was loath to leave Seattle. Being so far away from Ana made me nervous, especially since I'd had the paperwork drawn up to make a play for SIP. Knowing Ana would never forgive me if she discovered I was buying her workplace before I had a chance to tell her, it was a perilous time to be away.

Andrea was making the necessary preparations for me to fly out. Because of the distance, it was going to be quicker for me to travel in a commercial airplane, something I hated to do. I'd become used to flying in my own plane, but for trips to Asia, the distance made using my smaller craft impractical. I was booked on the 7:00 am flight out of Sea-Tac, which would see me arriving at midday Saturday Taipei time. That would give me Sunday to meet with our local representatives, and Monday morning I'd be ready to visit the offices of the company with whom I was negotiating. I was hoping our discussions would take a day or two at the most – so I was planning to be back in Seattle by the middle of the week.

I'd used the Department Head of Finance's longwinded presentation to respond to Ana's email. I wanted her to know I was thinking of her, and that she was still very important to me. Only half-listening to what was going on in the boardroom, I'd used my Blackberry to type the message, making a point of telling Ana how much I wanted to see her.

This time Ana's reply had been only a few minutes coming – and I was overjoyed when she seemed to consent to dinner and admitted she'd like to see me too.

"Everything arranged for my flight to Taipei?" I asked Andrea on the way back through to my office. Ros could pay attention to the presentation in the boardroom and give me the CliffsNotes version later on.

"Yes Mr. Grey, I've booked your seat and the one beside it in first class, and I'm just about to book a seat for Taylor," she replied, ever efficient. I hated having to endure mindless conversation, particularly with travelers who'd never flown first class before so felt the need to comment on every single thing, so the protocol was I would fly first class, with a vacant seat beside me. Taylor usually traveled business class.

"Don't bother. Taylor can have the seat beside mine."

Andrea looked at me in surprise. The only person who ever flew next to me on a commercial flight was Ros.