Unexpectedly Expecting the Sheik's Baby - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,13

toiletries on a corporate account!

Melanie pressed the button on the elevator while Cassy opened the file explaining the details and pictures of the house…er…palace. She could see why it was considered a palace! The house was incredible! Twelve thousand square feet, indoor pool, ten bedrooms…the list went on and on. “This is gorgeous!” she breathed, flipping through the pictures included in the file.

Melanie sighed. “Tell me about it. My little seven hundred square foot apartment could fit into one of those bathrooms.”

Tom drove through the heavy afternoon traffic, heading west out of the city. Heading west on any highway at the end of the day was asking for a several-hour nightmare. Commuters were jockeying for position, cutting people off, drivers enduring complete stops for several minutes then some magical break occurred in the traffic which allowed everyone to go from a complete standstill to a wondrous five miles per hour, only to come to a standstill again, a half mile later.

Tom seemed to have a secret, mysterious way of getting around traffic. Of course, he avoided all the major highways, using back roads that Cassy had never even heard of before. He drove through neighborhoods with huge houses right next to small homes, then through commercial areas and more residential areas. Thirty five minutes after she stepped into the car, he turned onto the access road that would take them right up to the airport.

Cassy checked the time, shoulders tense as she watched the seconds tick by. “I’m still going to miss the flight, aren’t I?” she asked, sitting on the edge of her seat and glancing through the windows, wondering how he got around the cars so fluidly.

“It won’t leave without you,” Tom assured her.

Cassy wondered how he could possibly know that as he drove past the main terminal and through a guarded gate. “What are you doing?” she asked. “Where are we going?”

Tom drove up to a large, private plane. “Why are we stopping here?” she asked, her nervousness increasing.

“This is your flight, ma’am,” he explained with a quick glance in his rear-view mirror. As soon as he came to a stop, Tom jumped out of the car and held the back door open for her.

“I’ll take her luggage,” someone called, hurrying up to the town car.

Cassy stepped out and looked around, hoping that she didn’t look like a bumpkin as she stared at the huge plane with a rolling staircase pushed up to the open door. A private plane? A flight to Zurich on a private plane? Was she dreaming? Cassy actually pinched herself, sure that she wasn’t awake.

“Ma’am, do you have any luggage?” a worker in a navy uniform asked politely when she continued to stare at the private plane.

Someone touched her arm and she jumped. “Excuse me?” she asked of the man standing beside her.

“Do you have any luggage? The back of your vehicle was empty.”

Luggage? Did she have luggage? The question pinged around her numb brain for several moments as she tried to process the question. Luggage. Clothes. Stuff she would need!

“No. No luggage,” she explained. “I only learned that I was flying to Zurich less than an hour ago.” She tried to pull herself together, shake herself out of her shock. “I believe this is just a quick trip.” She missed the confusion on the worker’s face as she headed for the stairs. Even as she climbed, Cassy looked around, a surreal sensation surrounding her.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Flemming,” a flight attendant greeted Cassy as she stepped aboard. “We’re ready for takeoff whenever you are.”

Cassy nodded and sat down on one of the luxurious seats, feeling silly and self-conscious. When the flight attendant started to shut the plane door, Cassy sat up a bit, not sure what was going on. “Isn’t anyone else taking this flight?” She’d never been on a private plane before so all of this was all new to her.

The flight attendant smiled and shook her head, carefully locking the door. “No ma’am. You are our only passenger.” The pilot nodded briefly to Cassy after coming out of what was most likely the galley area and then settled into his seat, closing the cockpit door. The next thing she knew, the plane was speeding down the runway.

As soon as they were airborne, she tried to relax into the large, comfortable chair.

As much as she wanted to savor the unanticipated luxury of the flight, less than an hour into it, Cassy fell sound asleep. She hadn’t been sleeping well so it was