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Chapter One

AMANDA snatched a second to glance up, checking thethe date and location of construction, on the upper inside of the door frame Yes, it was real, it had been built in a proper factory and fingers crossed it wouldn’t fall out of the sky with her in it Only once she’d scanned it did she step over and onto the plane She’d never board without seeing that little rectangle offirst

Ritual reassurance achieved, her gaze dropped again, right to the floor, thus avoiding the censorious glares of the air stewards as they griestured to her seat She knew they were cross, had heard the huffing and puffing fro two steps down the narrow aisle she could feel the equally burning glares of the passengers—having held therand scheers She could hear theirdiscontent

Too bad She tilted her chin and tried harder to ignore the on her Thank heavens for her old university buddy Kathryn who’d got her onto the flight last round staff to hold the plane for her as she’d sprinted down the corridor One second later and that door would have been shut And if she hadn’t got this, the last flight out today, she ht not haveThe risk of fog in the early reat So she’d made the hour drive fro tial speed liic

Without sotheseat next to her aisle one, she pushed her laptop bag into the stowage coain as soon as they had levelled out and get to work The flight was only a little over an hour but every minute counted This pitch had to be perfect—the company needed the business to stay afloat and she needed to keep her job Money

She snapped together her safety belt; the plane was already taxiing down the runway and the stewards were quickly covering the mandatory safety basics She could just about recite the phrases with the made this trip too many times in the last two months It was only then that she noticed that she was seated in the small business class section She hadn’t travelled in this exclusive section of a plane in years

Bless Kathryn

But as the plane paused at the head of the runway the old anxiety sharpened She put her head back, closed her eyes and ures and hoas planes actually stayed up in the air…

It didn’t work The cold sweaty feeling spread

She’d think about the pitch—that would take her mind off it

Impossible

She’d think about Grandfather