“Mr. Darrow,” Diana interrupted him, a knowing but playful smile crossing her lips, “with all due respect, go home. You’ve had a long day.”
Henry wanted to groan.
Of course. They all just spent the last two hours sitting on a tarmac, not to mention the four-hour flight here. They don’t want to spend any more time with me than they already have.
“Right. You’re right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to force you into spending more time with me than you already have.”
Diana merely shook her head at him while the captain’s hand shook his shoulder hard.
“We’ll see you soon, Mr. Darrow. No need for the glum face.”
He gave Henry another hard slap on the arm before moving around him and heading up the stairs.
“Eric! Let’s get this thing cleaned up so we can put her to bed!”
“Yes, Captain!”
Limply, Henry blinked up the stairs. His hand was still outstretched out with the bills clutched between his fingers. Inside the plane, he could hear a vacuum and the sounds of crumbles being sucked up. He looked over when he felt the bills being tugged out of his hand.
“I’ll make sure to sneak this into his pocket when he’s not looking.”
Henry couldn’t help but give her a warm smile. “Thank you, Diana. I appreciate that.”
She winked at him and stuffed the money into her breast pocket. “He’s serious about the fiesta food, though.”
He laughed a little. “Somehow, I’m not surprised. I’ll make sure to let you guys know if I’ve got a conference call the next time I fly.”
“Good.” She patted him gently on the shoulder. “You take care of yourself, Mr. Darrow.”
“Thank you. I hope you all get home safely.”
She gave his arm a small squeeze and headed up the stairs. He watched her disappear inside the cabin and then turned to head to his car.
True to their words, they’d packed his overnight bag as well as his carry-on suitcase into the back seat of the car. He opened the door and tossed his laptop bag inside, not caring if it clattered onto the floorboard.
The trip home was otherwise uneventful, with long boring stretches of road that wound throughout the outskirts of the city. He’d been avoiding going home for a while now and had extended his stay in Atlanta to over two weeks.
At the time, he’d told himself that he’d wanted to explore the city. Go places he hadn’t gone to while at the conference. But now that he was back in his home state, he knew he was reluctant to go home for a deeper reason.
The cold silence in his penthouse had been getting to him lately, more so than usual. He’d found himself avoiding the place altogether. He wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that he was in desperate need of a change or if the stress from work was slowly getting to him and leaving him feeling unfulfilled.
But either way, it was frustrating. His mind was tired, and so was his body. And he really wasn’t sure what was going to make him feel better at this point.
On the fifth time heading back through the city, Henry pulled up his contacts on the center console and pressed his finger over the first one. He tapped his fingers against his steering wheel while it rang.
“Hello?”
He smiled a little. “Hi, Mom. Just wanted to call and let you know I’m back.”
“Henry! How was your trip?”
“It was good. Longer than I planned.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re back home safe and sound!” There was some rustling on the other end. “Nicholas! Your son is on the phone!”
Henry winced at her volume. If his mother had one thing going for her, it was her set of lungs.
“Tell me about your trip. I want to hear all about it.”