Becky looked nervously at him. “I- I’ll call her when I get there. I need time to prepare my apology.”
Mary nodded as she looked at Ben. “Do you do this often?”
“What?”
“Rescue damsels in distress,” Mary said with a curious look.
Ben looked away and sighed. “Apparently, it’s something I do.”
“As hobbies go it’s pretty awesome. I don’t remember too much about what happened in the bar last night. Flashes only. You hit that guy BD, right?” Mary asked.
Ben looked her straight in the eye. “I took steps to protect a woman from imminent gang rape. The steps I took involved a short demonstration of my resolve to stop them. It worked.”
Becky was grinning widely. Mary looked back at him, impressed. “Ok, that works for me.”
The food arrived which put conversation on the back burner as they enjoyed their meals. Becky managed to polish off almost all of her food. She finally sat back and sighed happily.
“That was the first full meal I’ve had in over a month!” she said.
Ben settled up the bill and went back up to the room so he could get his bags. He checked out of the hotel and met the ladies by Mary’s truck. She drove them to a bank machine for Ben then to the office. She told them she’d see them later and headed home to get changed.
When they entered the lobby Evie looked up with a relieved expression.
“Mr. Shepherd! Mr. Blake has been trying to reach you!” she gasped.
Ben raised his eyebrows. “Really? Where is he?”
“In his office.”
“I’ll go right up. While I do that could you do me a huge favor?” Ben said.
“Of course!” she said excitedly.
“This is Becky. Becky, this is Evie. Could I ask you to take Becky to a shop where she could get a few outfits? Like that lovely dress you’re wearing?” he asked.
Evie’s grin threatened to split her face. “It would be my pleasure!” She forwarded the phone to the voice mail system, grabbed her purse and car keys and walked around her desk. Ben handed her a wad of folded up bills. Her eyes widened in surprise.
“There should be enough here for a number of dresses and some underthings. If you wanted to get something for yourself feel free but I need Becky back by 1PM at the latest. Alright?”
Evie looked again at the money in her hand then beamed at the other young woman. “This will be fun!”
“1PM?” he asked again.
“Yes! 1PM!” Evie nodded and Becky grinned excitedly at him.
The two young women rushed off and Ben watched them with a smile. Then he headed for the elevator. He knocked on Don’s door and entered when he heard the man call out. When he went inside the man slumped in his chair then jumped up and rushed around to meet Ben halfway.
“First off I’d like to apologize if the boys made you uncomfortable last night for bringing you to a place like that! It was my first time as well and I’m-”
“Don, let’s sit down.” Ben interrupted.
The man didn’t look good. He probably had a hangover and he was still in his clothes from yesterday and sporting some lipstick on the collar. He looked nervously at Ben then nodded and they took their seats.
Ben leaned forward. “There’s one thing you should know about me. I don’t lie. You were right yesterday when you said I had no time for bullshit. I won’t lie to you and I expect the same back from you. That wasn’t your first time at that club and truly, I don’t care. What you do on your personal time and in your marriage is your own business. When it comes to our business dealing however I do have expectations. First and foremost, always be honest.”
Don nodded and fidgeted. “Right, sorry. I’ve been there a few times with the boys. The food and drink is great and the… entertainment, is lovely. I think Henri is sweet on one of the girls, a red head. I know Bryan is going to be dating one after last night.” His voice tapered off as he looked at Ben nervously. “I haven’t screwed the pooch, have I?”
“Not at all. As long as we maintain a relationship based on honest communication we’ll have a very profitable future. It would have been smart to ask me if I wanted to go to a strip club first.” Don winced. “Mistakes were made, acknowledged…” Ben looked pointedly at the man who nodded. “… and we move on,” Ben assured the man.
Don smiled with relief and nodded.
“Let’s talk business,” Ben said with a smile as he flipped open his laptop to set up a contract.
When Ben went back down to the lobby at 1PM with Don, Evie was back at her desk and Becky was sitting with her. The moment Becky saw them she leapt to her feet and rushed over to give Ben a hug as she squealed excitedly. She was wearing a pretty red sun dress and matching slipper shoes. She looked lovely in the new dress and Ben smiled and hugged her in return.
Evie followed her around the desk and smiled at Ben a little nervously. “I’m afraid we spent all of the money you gave me,” she said timidly.
“That’s ok. I wasn’t expecting change,” he replied. He looked at Becky. “Are you ready to go?”
The girl’s smile dimmed a little but she pulled her shoulders back and nodded.
“Don’s offered to drive us to the airport so let’s go,” Ben said.
Evie gave him a hug and he realized she was wearing a new outfit as well. He nodded approvingly and she blushed.
They put their bags in the truck and climbed in. Don got them going and soon they were on their way to the airport. Ben enjoyed the view more this time as he wasn’t hunting for the streets he had to turn on.
Once they reached the airport Don helped them get their bags onto the curb and shook Ben’s hand vigorously.
“I’ll have my lawyer review the contract and once he’s vetted it we’ll get the final version to you as soon as possible for a signature,” Ben said.
“Looking forward to doing business with you!” Don said. Ben and Becky waved and went into the airport. They made their way to check in and got in line before the AusJet ticket desks. Ben drew some looks just because of his size but Becky seemed to be drawing attention away from him as she looked truly lovely in her dress. Ben relaxed and shuffled forward. Finally it was there turn and they moved up to the desk.
“Good day, passports and tickets please,” the woman said with a pleasant smile.
“I just have a driver’s license,” Becky said and the woman smiled and nodded accepting the small card from her.
Ben handed her his passport and ticket then showed her the e-ticket for Becky on his cell. She scanned the barcode from his phone then smiled.
“It will be just a moment.”
Ben looked at Becky and saw the girl was nervous. “Are you ok?”
The girl looked up at him. “Yes, I- I still don’t know how to apologize to mom.”
He nodded. “Just keep it simple. Just tell her you’re sorry and you love her.”
Becky nodded but her lashes were filling with tears and her bottom lip was trembling.
“Hey now. No tears. It’s over and you’re going home,” Ben said gently.
She leaned her head against his arm and he smiled down at her as he felt her begin to calm down. She took a deep breath.
Ben looked forward and the ticket agent was staring at him, wide eyed. He saw she had his passport open in her hand. “Is there a problem?” he asked.
“No! Uh, not at all, Mr. Shepherd, sir,” the woman said. She looked at Becky’s license and keyed the details into her screen. She froze again as she looked at her screen. “It will just be a moment,” she repeated then glanced over to a doorway at the end of the row of ticket desks which opened. A man in an AusJet uniform, the vest struggling to stretch over his round belly, hustled towards them with a wide grin on his face. His mustache was trimmed so much it just looked like a dirty line above his lips and Ben watched his approach with trepidation. The man looked just a little too happy.
“Mr. Shepherd? I’m Reggie Mills, regional manager for AusJet here in Melbourne. I just wanted to personally thank you for choosing our airline for your flight to Sydney today!”
“You’re welcome?”
“And your traveling companion today is…” he said smiling at the young woman.
“Becky Law,” she said to him and the ticket agent nodded, holding her driver’s license.
“That’s excellent! I do hope you enjoy your flight and thank you again for choosing AusJet!” the man said gleefully. With a final nod he turned and rushed back to his office.
Ben watched him go in stunned silence. When the door closed behind the man Ben looked to the ticket agent. “What the hell was that?”
The woman merely shrugged and gestured for him to put his luggage on the belt.
They finished up and walked away with their boarding passes. Going through security was less hassle than the ticketing had been and soon they were sitting in a small restaurant by their gate. Ben got them a couple of sandwiches, water for himself, and a chocolate milk for Becky. They ate their lunch then heard the boarding announcement.
The flight to Sydney was thankfully short as the plane was cramped and uncomfortable for Ben though Becky was dazzled with her first experience in a plane. Somehow the ticket agent had changed their seating assignments and they were in the first row. The plane had no first class seating but being at the front gave Ben a little more leg room.
The flight attendant was very friendly and before he knew it they were landing in Sydney.
Ben and Becky were let off the plane first and made their way into the terminal. He looked back and none of the other passengers had been let off. He thought that was pretty odd.
Then they stepped into the terminal and a wall of sound and light.
Music began to blare and a white haired man in a dark blue suit walked up to Ben with a huge grin and shook his hand. The man turned to the crowd and raised Ben’s hand in victory as he looked on in confusion. Flashes were going off and Ben saw TV camera crews and reporters waiting to pounce.
When his eyes adjusted he saw a huge AusJet banner behind the crowd. On it was roughly printed, ‘Welcome Back Becky! AusJet and Ben Shepherd. Heroes again!’. He had no idea what that meant.
Ben looked down at the stunned face of the young woman. It was plain to see she knew nothing about this. Then he saw her mouth drop open in surprise.
“Mom?” she squeaked.