A Winner's Circle

He asked me to stay the rest of the night with him but, I explained that if I did not go back to the Sahara that Linda would be worried. We got dressed and I was driven back to the hotel. Rich walked me to my door, kissed me good night and said he would call me later on for dinner the next night and perhaps try something a bit more casual.

The following night, Rich and I did have dinner again, and again he insisted on a good restaurant. I thought it a bit odd that we had the same limo driver as the night before. Unless of course Rich requested for Ray to drive us for this night also.

Over dinner Rich told me he had something to tell me. He told me that yes his job required travel, and "would I consider doing some traveling with him?" He said that he wanted to spend much more time with me and for us to get to know one another as much as possible. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. He handed it to me. He said "this is for you, I want you to have it." I opened it. In the box was a 3 strand pearl necklace, a choker design. It was beautiful. But I told him that "I could not accept such a gift from him at this time." He responded by saying, "Please, I really do want you to have it. Just a reminder of the wonderful time we had together." It really was a beautiful necklace, and quite frankly I never in my life owned a genuine pearl necklace. I smiled back and said "thank you Rich. I will treasure it."

This was my last night in Vegas and because of this man, I dreaded leaving. I had to get back to my hotel and pack for our drive back to SoCal. I had a flight out of Lindbergh Field tomorrow night at 9pm to New York and needed some sleep before we started driving back home from Vegas. I hated to leave Rich this way but I had no choice. I wanted badly to make love again with him. Ray drove us back to the Sahara and Rich walked me to my room. He kissed me and then gave me his cell phone number and asked me to "please keep in touch." I said I would do that. He kissed me, said goodbye and I entered my room.

Rich made such an impact on me. My mind and my heart was filled with this incredible man. I knew that if I spent more time with him that I would fall head over heels in love with him. But then I thought too, that he probably has an entire list of women ready to jump hoops when he gave them some attention.

While packing, I shared my feelings with Linda about Rich. She told me one thing that stuck with me. She said, "Barbara. Life is too short not to take chances. If you feel like this now, perhaps this relationship could and will grow into something positive." She encouraged me to call him when I got to New York.

We awoke early the next morning and were on the road back to SoCal by 7am. We figured the latest we would be back home would be by 1pm if we drove straight through, and we did.

I got to my apartment, unpacked and took a shower. My thoughts were only of Rich. I found myself standing in the shower touching myself thinking of him. I thought of the soft touches on the balcony, and how the breezes touched my breasts and added to the sensuality. Soon I found myself moving toward an orgasm. I massaged my breasts and thought of him. I played with "her" and thought of him. Before long I was having an intense orgasm envisioning his touches. No man has made me feel what I felt and made me explore my own body like this in search of an orgasm with only him on my mind. I knew that once I got to New York on the flight I was working later that night, that yes I would call him. I had to do that. I just had to do it.

My flight was at 9pm that night and if I did not at least take a nap, I would be exhausted. It was about 2:30pm now, and I set my clock for 6pm. Enough time to nap, get dressed and be at Lindbergh in plenty of time for my flight to New York. I lived in the heart of beautiful San Diego overlooking the bay. It was merely a 15 minute drive for me to get to work.

My alarm sounded at precisely 6pm. I dressed, packed my flight bag, grabbed a bite to eat and I was on my way to Lindbergh. Once there I picked up my schedule which included a 2 day layover. I could not have been happier. I was hoping that when I did call Rich, that he had no plans and we could spend time together. I took one last look at my rose that Rich gave me the first night, and placed it back in the bud vase and left for the airport.

At 8:00pm I boarded with the other 2 attendants to prepare for the passengers flying with us. The flight deck crew were already aboard, and I was happy to see this familiar crew. I had flown before with the captain, the rest of the flight crew and the other attendants, and knew it would be a pleasant flight.

Soon we were ready to board passengers. The first class passengers began their boarding procedure and down the jet way to the plane. As usual I stood inside the door greeting all that came aboard with the usual "hello and welcome aboard Conus." I could see one passenger that was in effect lagging a bit behind. Soon he came into view and I was shocked! It was Rich! I could not believe my eyes. As he stepped aboard, he smiled at me and said nothing. I wanted to talk to him but I also had a job to do, but I know I was grinning ear to ear. He took his seat.

I could see Rich watching every move I made. I was chuckling inside and felt like a teenager that was caught up in "puppy love." Soon all were aboard, the safety check was done and the onboard FAA regs and emergency procedures were read. We disembarked from the gate area and were told by the captain to "prepare for takeoff and take our seats." Rich had the seat directly across from my jump seat, and every time I looked at him he smiled. He also made it clear that he liked the view by winking at me. This was an 8 and a half hour flight and I could not have been happier about Rich being aboard.

Once we leveled off and were at cruising speed, the seatbelt sign was turned off. I began to prepare the cart for drinks in first class. As I was doing so in the galley, Rich walked up to me. He said "I realize that you are working, but I made a special effort to make sure the seat next to me was empty because I reserved both seats in anticipation of perhaps visiting a bit with you before we land in New York." I told him that "perhaps a while into the flight, passengers would be settled and maybe we could do that." He smiled and went back to his seat.

About 4 hours into the flight, we started the movie. Some people were sleeping while others chose to watch the screens. I wanted badly to sit next to Rich and talk and visit with him. It seemed to be a good time so I sat down next to him. The first thing I asked him was, "how did you know I had this flight or did you not know and this was coincidental?" He told me that he took a flight out of Vegas that afternoon and knew what time my flight was to New York because I had mentioned it to him. He booked himself with Conus and "wanted to see me again." I said, " but how did you get a last minute flight and of all things 2 seats so close to flight time?" His response was simple. And his response was this, "I own the company." I said, "what company?" He said, "the company you work for." I was shocked. Have I fallen in love with my own boss? The big Kahuna?

He smiled at me and said, "I hope this does not put a damper on a possible relationship for us." I was speechless. I asked him, "why didn't you tell me?" He told me that he wanted me to like him for himself", and not because of "what status he represented." He asked me if "we could just continue to get to know one another and go from there." I told him "I would think about it."

I went back to the galley and prepared the service cart for drinks and snacks in first class. This man is the first man in a very long time that seemed honest and sincere and yes I was falling deeply in love with him. Oddly though, I did not think I could be comfortable in a posh lifestyle. I had always dreamed of a nice house yes, but with a husband, kids, and a dog running around the yard in middle class America.

Rich and I chatted a bit more before landing at JFK in New York. He asked me if we could "have a late dinner and then talk." I did agree to that only if I could pick the restaurant and he agreed.

We landed in New York and Rich waited for me to deplane. No one else recognized him for who he was because he always did keep a low profile within the company. No one actually even knew who he was aboard the flight but me. I told him where the crew was to be staying that night and he said he would drop by in an hour and pick me up for dinner.

He came to the hotel and phoned me from the lobby. I had changed into jeans so I would be comfortable. I came downstairs to meet him and he told me I "looked cute in jeans". I smiled. He asked me where would I like to go to dinner?" His car was waiting and I asked him if we "could just take a cab." He said, "yes we can do that" and smiled.

We hailed a cab and I told the driver to take us to "Pizza Hut." Rich laughed and on we went.

During dinner I told him that "the way I am now is the way I am comfortable" and that "I could not take a steady diet of a posh lifestyle and what he obviously is accustomed to." He told me that the next time I see him "he will be wearing jeans too." He then asked me if we could work on a relationship, and when I got to know him better, then I could decide what would be best for me and for both of us." I told him that "yes, we could work on a relationship but he must never pull strings for me and single me out in the company. Our relationship must remain private for the time being because I loved my job."

In the following months, I relocated from SoCal to New York, and now New York is my hub. I see Rich on a regular basis and we are working on our relationship. He has his life in the fast lane with his business and I have mine, and we both are working on "ours". Someday perhaps it will be just "our" life together.