“Your keys,” I said, sticking out my hand. “We can’t exactly leave that car of yours on the runway.”
“Oh! Sure.” She pulled them out of her pocket and tossed them to me as she began up the stairs. I neatly caught them. “See you up there!”
Ava hurried up the rest of the stairs, running onto the plane like she owned it.
Well, at least she’s got confidence.
Once she was gone, I nodded toward one of the staff members.
“Take that car and box up anything of value for shipping. When it’s empty, drive it to the nearest parts lot.” I took out my wallet, giving the man a thin stack of hundreds for his trouble. With a quick “yessir!” he took the keys and hurried to the car.
After that, I stepped up the stairs.
“Holyshit!”
I winced at yet another display of Ava’s terrible language as I entered the plane. Ava stood in the luxurious main cabin of the plane, the space decorated with white and gold trim, looking like a slice of Versailles. There were comfy couches and seats, a full wet bar, and a large TV for viewing.I had to remind myself that she had not grown up with such amenities as she would have had her mother not taken her from Edoria when she was barely more than a baby.
“This is…wow. It’s like a museum up here!”
The door shut as the runway staff pulled the stairs away.
“This is all yours,” I said. “So make yourself comfortable.”
She hurried over to the TV and grinned at me. “Not a bad way to pass the time. How about a horror movie marathon? I bet you’dloveHellraiser.”
“Hellwhat?” I asked.
Without replying, Ava hurried over to one of the windows and watched as her car was driven off.
“I’ll miss you, girl.”
I smiled. “You’re more right about that then you know.”
Ava looked away from the window, narrowing her eyes at me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I took the liberty of having that beater of yours disposed of.”
“You what?”
“They’ll be selling that car for parts. Don’t worry, I asked them to make sure anything of value will be taken out for safekeeping.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Not at all. That machine of yours wasn’t fit in the slightest to be driven by a princess. Do you have any idea what kind of a field day the paparazzi would have if photos of you driving that thing were to get out? It’d be a royal embarrassment.”
Ava narrowed her eyes again, ready to open fire.
“Listen, asshole… I don’t know how things are done in Edoria but taking someone’s car and throwing it away just because you think it’s beneath them isn’t cool.”
“You’re telling me that you were happy driving that car? Ava, it’s no problem at all to find something more fitting for you, should you come back here.”
“That’s not the point!”
“Then please, explain it to me.”
“You took something that belonged to me, something that I worked hard and paid for with my own money and threw it in the trash!”