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“That’s the highest honor, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t have anyone when I was in school, you know.” She curled her arms and rested her head on her pillow. “I imagine this is the feeling I would have had then.”

“Sounds lonely.”

Arianna shrugged. “I didn’t know what I was missing.”

The last thing Elle wanted was to end on that note. The thought of any young woman feeling so lonely at that age… no thank you. So she pulled Arianna closer, kissing her before the mood soured away from the frenetic lovemaking they had enjoyed only a few minutes ago.

It was exactly what the bedroom ordered. Before Elle knew it, she was on her back again, this time enjoying her turn in Heaven.

Chapter 13

Before her next flight out of Singapore, Arianna was pulled into the Royal Asia Airlines office where she met more than one higher-up she had never before encountered.

With her was her Fly Service Manager, Rachel. She was quite smug the whole walk up to the head office but wouldn’t tell Arianna what this was all about. I must not be in trouble. Was she about to be promoted? Switched to another route to be the Fly Service Manager? What in the world was her fate today?

“Miss Song!” Charlie Pheng, the Head of Personnel who signed and dated most of the documents crossing Arianna’s hands, greeted her with a wide grin as she walked in with Rachel. Since it was Sunday, they were both out of uniform, Arianna wearing the same blouse and jeans she had washed after her date with Elle. I probably shouldn’t be thinking about her right now. Arianna’s first thought after receiving a phone call asking her to come into the office was that they knew. Someone had seen her on a date with a passenger and tattled. The only question had been who? It couldn’t have been Charmaine, and Boss Tan was not the kind of woman to butt her nose into a woman’s business as long as she was sly about it. Rachel, though… had a lot to lose if she didn’t look like she was cracking down hard on misbehaving cabin crew.

Charlie looked happy to see her, and Rachel couldn’t be more pleased if she tried.

“We have a super exciting opportunity for you, Miss Song.” Charlie couldn’t wait for her to sit before he said, “How would you like to be featured in the next Royal Asia ad campaign?”

Arianna dropped her purse onto the floor before properly placing it in the basket beneath Charlie’s desk. “Ah… excuse me?”

Rachel tittered behind her. “How exciting! One of our own selected to represent the Asian flight attendants!”

“Did you know about this?” Arianna asked her.

Rachel did not immediately answer. She was instead focused on Charlie, who said, “I don’t have to tell you what a great opportunity this is for you, Miss Song. You’ll be paid for your time as well.”

“I’m sorry, but… what?”

“She’s shocked!” Charlie laughed, and Rachel was inclined to laugh even harder. Arianna felt like she was in the principal’s office back in Kuala Lumpur, only instead of berating her daughter, Pearl was the biggest buddy-buddy around. Arianna would be lucky to ever find out why she was in trouble. “To be fair,” Charlie continued, “it’s not every day a young lady is invited to become a professional model!”

“What exactly do you mean?” Arianna asked.

“Miss Song…” Charlie folded his hands on his desk, his grin the size of Rachel’s pride as she somehow took credit for this. “Royal Asia is preparing to launch a brand-new marketing campaign to usher the company into the rest of the year. No longer are we resting on the laurels of being a new and exciting airline that people should try because they’re tired of poor experiences with our competitors. Instead, we’ll be selling them on why we’re the best, beginning with our excellent customer service and, of course, the beautiful women we employ in every role the customer sees.”

I thought I left the obsession with looks behind… “Why me?” was all Arianna could ask.

“To be blunt, a higher-up recommended you to the head of marketing, Ollie Chen-Richards. I don’t know who. Besides, who cares? You’re the one Mr. Chen wants to represent our Asian flight attendants. If you’re interested, the filming and photoshoot will be in Los Angeles in two weeks. The commercials will begin airing across North America this summer.”

“So soon?”

“I’m afraid you don’t have much time to decide. If you wish to turn down this amazing opportunity, we must contact someone else. We need your answer now.”

Arianna had never been so gobsmacked in her life.

“Another drink for my sexy sister!” Kaylinn slapped her hand on the counter of the neighborhood bar near Arianna’s flat. “She’s going to be a model for Royal Asia Airlines!”

Nobody except Arianna heard her over the loud cocktail lounge that doubled as a gastropub. When Arianna made the grievous mistake of telling her sister what had happened, Kaylinn became more excited than an Economy passenger upgraded to First Class.

“How long have we been waiting for you to get some proper recognition somewhere, huh?” Already flushed in the cheeks, Kaylinn slapped her butt back down on her stool and picked at the seasoned fries left to cool between the sisters. “You studied your ass off in school to get that job at Singapura. Then you hustled your ass off there to raise in the ranks. Then you saw better pay and benefits over at Royal Asia and… hey, are you listening to me?”

Arianna had been hastily texting Elle, hoping she had the chance to meet up one last time before they both flew back to LA the next day. They had spent Saturday night together as well, watching movies, lounging in bed, and eventually making love until Arianna forgot her own name. Never in a million years did she think she’d return to her flat the next morning only to be summoned straight to Charlie Pheng’s office with Rachel hot on her heels. Originally, they were content to save the next round of fun for Arianna’s layover in Los Angeles before Elle had to fly back to Seattle. Now? Arianna had to speak with her, and she didn’t quite understand why.

But she couldn’t let Kaylinn see. Not even her sister was allowed to know who Arianna was seeing. Not yet.