Chapter 20
Finn
Since we hadn’t slept much at the hotel, we tried making up for that on the flight back to Tabiq. Neither of us had much luck. Reesa obviously had something on her mind, and I had a feeling I knew what it was. Bennett reached out to me with a text message halfway through our flight. He informed me that Reesa had requested a meeting with him ASAP. Since she hadn’t mentioned anything to me about that, I had nothing to tell Bennett.
As we landed, I figured this was a good time to see if I could get her to talk to me. “What are your plans for the rest of the day? Are you heading directly to your office, or would you like to have dinner with me?”
“I…I have a meeting. Maybe we can have dinner tomorrow?” she said.
“You do remember that I’m supposed to be leaving in the morning,” I reminded her. It was scheduled, but since I already notified Murray that I was taking more time, I could stay longer if needed. Or wanted.
How could I be angry that she was keeping secrets from me, when I was doing the same. The only difference was, I knew. One of us had to give in and then hopefully the other would follow suit.
“Reesa, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about. Maybe we can sit in the jet a little longer?” I suggested.
She looked at me and said, “Of course. What is it?”
It was difficult not starting with what I knew about her. We needed to start with me. “I’ve been keeping something from you. I reached out to Murray and told him I needed an extension.”
“You did? When?”
“Before we flew out to see your family in the U.S.,” I admitted.
She smiled. “You did that for me, didn’t you? You thought I was going to need to stay longer than that.” She chuckled. “So did I. I cleared my schedule for the entire week.”
There was my opening. “Who are you meeting with then if it’s not work related?” I hoped my pushing wasn’t going to result in her shutting down.
She had the deer caught in the headlights look, then let out a long exhale.
“I guess I’ve been keeping something from you too. I’m meeting with Bennett,” she said.
I waited for her to elaborate on that, but she didn’t. Prodding again I asked, “Is there anything I can help with?”
Reesa exclaimed, “No! You’re the last person I want involved.”
Now I was insulted. I thought we’d grown much closer than this. But if she wants me out of it, then it was clear I didn’t belong here any longer.
“That’s easily resolved,” I snarled.
It was a tone I’d never used with her, and by her expression, she was surprised.
“Finn, it’s not like that. I have my reasons. Good reasons too. You’ll just have to trust me,” she said.
I laughed. “Your words say trust you, but your actions tell me not to.” That was harsh, but honest. In a more serious tone, I asked, “Which is it, Reesa? Because you can’t have it both ways.”
“Finn, that’s not fair.”
“Life isn’t fair, Reesa. But I thought we…had an understanding. I obviously was wrong.”
Her eyes teared up and she said, “It’s easy for you, because it’s not….not….”
Just say it Reesa. Tell me what’s wrong.
“Not your life that someone is…I don’t even know what they are doing. I just know someone is doing something,” she blurted.
She wasn’t as blind to what was going on around her as we had thought. I could only imagine how scared she must have been each time we left her alone. God, I’m such an ass. I should’ve ignored Bennett and told her right away.
“You’re meeting with Bennett to tell him what’s going on?” I asked.