Chapter 4
I wasn't going to wait for Daniel to set the boundary himself.
That afternoon, I waited in a public lounge area at the airline's
offices until Rachel finished her meeting.
Her steps slowed when she saw me, but only for a second.
"Claire. "
"I want to talk to you. "
She nodded. "Of course. "
People were still moving in and out nearby, so I didn't bother with
small talk.
"I'm not going to interfere with you flying with Daniel. Work calls,
normal coordination-I'm not interested in policing any of that. "
Rachel watched me quietly.
"But the late-night calls, using his personal habits to show me how well
you know him, and letting people assume the two of you are together
without correcting them right away-that stops here. "
Her expression didn't change.
"I've never asked Daniel for anything outside of work. "
"Then keep it that way. "
The last two people nearby pushed through the door and left.
The second it closed, some of the politeness disappeared from Rachel's
face.
"You really think you understand his world?"
I said nothing.
She stepped a little closer and lowered her voice.
"Do you know who sits next to him when something goes wrong at thirty
thousand feet?"
She paused.
"Not you. "
I looked at her.
"Then stay at thirty thousand feet. "
Something shifted in her eyes.
"Don't try to follow him home. "
She gave a small laugh.
Then Daniel's voice came from behind me.
"What are you two talking about?"
Rachel's smile vanished instantly.
By the time she turned toward him, her voice had softened.
"Nothing. " She lowered her eyes. "Claire just wanted to talk to me about
boundaries. "
Daniel glanced at me.
Rachel continued, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made her uncomfortable.
From now on, I'll try not to contact you unless it's about work. "
"Rachel. " Daniel frowned. "You don't have to do that. "
She didn't answer.
Daniel turned to me.
"Why do you have to make this into something?"
I met his eyes.
"Ask her what she said before you walked over. "
Daniel looked at Rachel.
She kept her gaze down and said nothing.
Standing there like that, she didn't look like someone who had just
challenged me.
She looked cornered.
Daniel's face tightened.
"Claire. "
"I'm done. "
I didn't stay to explain myself.
That evening, Daniel got home before I did.
His tablet was charging on the kitchen counter when the screen suddenly
lit up.
A synced notification appeared.
1716 again?
I stopped.
That was all it showed.
No full conversation.
I had just picked up the tablet when Daniel walked in from the living
room.
The moment he saw the screen, he stopped.
Then he reached over and swiped the notification away.
"What's 1716?" I asked.
"What?"
"That message. "
Daniel unplugged the charger and took the tablet from my hand.
"Could be a room number at a crew hotel. Could be some joke in a group
chat. "
"Could be?"
"Claire, I get dozens of crew messages a day. I don't remember every
single one. "
"Then why was deleting it the first thing you did?"
His hand paused.
"I was clearing the notification. "
"Why did it say again?"
Daniel looked up.
"Are you checking my notifications now?"
"It popped up in front of me. "
"You've turned this whole Rachel thing into an investigation. "
"Your itinerary didn't match what you told me. She knows things you
don't tell me. And now there's a message you deleted the second you saw
it. "
Daniel set the tablet back on the counter.
"You're turning everything into evidence. "
I looked at him.
"If you keep lying to me, this stops being about Rachel. "
Daniel said nothing.
So I asked again.
"What does '1716 again' mean?"
He still didn't answer.
He simply flipped the tablet over and left it facedown on the counter.