Page 13 of Terms of the Flight

“But it’s not real, and they would never believe it.”

“Where is the card he gave you?” Da’ana asked.

I groaned and reached into my pocket, then handed her the card. She tapped around on my phone before handing it back to me. His number was at the top, saved as Mr. Big, with a text ready that all I had to do was hit send.

Me: You can count me in.

I shook my head with a laugh and deleted it. Then I typed a new response.

Me: So… should we have our first meeting at the mall? There’s a Birkin bag with my name written all over it.

I turned my phone to show her my new response, and she laughed with a roll of her eyes.

“I can’t wait to tell my godchildren how ghetto their parents’ first date was.”

I nudged her shoulder and hit send before I could talk myself out of it. Then I went into my family group chat.

Me: I have a boyfriend. Goodnight everyone.

I put my phone on DND and locked it.

Doll: So… should we have our first meeting at the mall? There’s a Birkin bag with my name written all over it.

I smirkeddown at my phone before shaking my head. I wasn’t sure she would go for it, but I hoped she would.

Me: Maybe that can be our second date. But the first is going to be a private dinner at my place. We have a few things to go over. But that Birkin soon after.

I locked my phone and placed it on the nightstand. I’d stayed at the office for a few more hours to appease my father, after my meeting with Khaleya. He wanted me to take over the bank so damn bad it didn’t make any sense. I guess when you follow thetradition of having just one son to take over the mantle, it makes retiring hard.

Especially when the only person who can take over doesn’t want it. I don’t know why the men in my family started the trend of having just one child and one son. A daughter hadn’t been born in the Blackwell family for the past few centuries. It was just in our genes—Blackwell men had sons. But something told me I wouldn’t fit the bill.

I would be the first to break every barrier they worked so hard to create. That was one thing I was sure of.

I stripped down and walked into my bathroom to brush my teeth and take a much-needed shower. When I worked at the bank, the shit took more out of me than when I was at my jewelry store. They made sure I put those damn degrees to work.

After I stepped out of the shower, I grabbed my towel from the hook outside, then wrapped it around my waist before heading back into my bedroom. I noticed my phone lit up, so I walked over to the nightstand to check it. A message from Khaleya was front and center, along with a few from my dad requesting my presence at his place for breakfast.

Doll: You wish. You better find a nice restaurant and book a private area or somewhere other people will be present.

I chuckled because this woman was a character. It was refreshing to be around a woman who wasn’t concerned with impressing me. She didn’t give a damn what I thought, at least that’s how she was playing it now.

Me: That defeats the purpose of us getting this contract together, Doll. You’re going to have to trust yourself alone with me at some point.

I knew that would get her to see things my way. I was having a bit too much fun with this arrangement already. It hadn’t even started yet.

Doll: Stop calling me that, what does it even mean. I would have never guessed you would be this annoying. How old are you anyway?

I shook my head and clicked her contact. I was tired of doing the back and forth through text. If she needed to interrogate me, she would have to do it over FaceTime while I got ready for bed.

I called, and her phone rang for a while, as if she wasn’t going to answer, until she finally picked up. Her forced frown was the first thing I noticed. I could see her mouth twitching to raise at the sight of me.

She wasn’t as irritated as she wanted to play like she was.

“You do know you can’t just call people on FaceTime without asking, right?”

I chuckled and placed my phone into the holder, then walked over to my dresser.

“It seemed like you had more to say, and a text just wasn’t going to do. Not to mention, I’m not a big texter.”