The Case for Jamie by Brittany Cavallaro

Author:Brittany Cavallaro
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-12-29T05:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

Charlotte

STARWAY AIRLINES WAS ONE OF THE OLDEST IN THE BUSINESS. They’d been one of the few not to go bankrupt in the early years of the new century, and they had responded by doubling down on their luxury offerings (leather seats, free checked bags, a steam room in the airport lounge) while the other airlines cut their costs. They specialized in long-haul flights, nonstop to Dubai and Melbourne and Kyoto, trips that took days and were expensive to begin with, and they decked out those planes with beds and masseuses.

Which is to say, one couldn’t look cheap for an interview to work as a Starway gate agent, not if one wanted to represent their brand. I slicked my hair back into a high bun and put on false eyelashes. I put on the skirt suit I’d pressed and prepared for the occasion. In short, I looked the part. There was pleasure in that.

At the airport, I gave my credentials at the Starway information desk.

“The recruiter will come and walk you there in about fifteen minutes,” the kind-eyed clerk said.

I asked him the exact time, and then where the toilets were, scrubbing out my accent into the Queen’s English. For whatever reason, Americans love the English. The clerk smiled and pointed the way, and now I knew he would remember both me and exactly when we’d met.

I had spent some time with the airport map these last few weeks. Starway had the smallest presence of any airline at this airport; their desk was at the far end of the terminal, and there was no one in line for the kiosks or for an agent, not at 9 a.m. on a Wednesday for an airline that had so few commuter flights. I waited until the only agent on duty stepped off for a break, and then, in my skirt suit and pumps, I stepped behind the counter and up to their monitor.

Thankfully, the agent had left himself signed in. I didn’t have to try the clearance code I’d watched an agent enter at Heathrow; it had been the weak point in my plan, and I was relieved to dispense with it.

Once in, I needed a moment to get myself oriented. The screen was black, with scrolling white text, and the only way to navigate was with keyboard shortcuts. It took several false starts before I even got myself into the right system. Above me, cheerful pop music was playing, and I tapped my foot along with it to steady myself.

There. Future reservations.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the desk agent approaching, hands in his pockets, looking out the giant windows at the end of the terminal. And then he focused his gaze on his destination. He saw me at the monitor, and he began to walk faster.

I’d assumed this would happen. I’d styled my clothes as closely as I could to the existing Starway employees so that, from a distance, any employee would have a moment of doubt that would keep them from immediately calling in the police.

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