“Thanks. I appreciate that. And I’ll check on the New York office while I’m there.”
“No problem. You are not far if we need you back.”
Connor got up and walked out of Shaun’s office. Even before he entered his own, he was already texting the pilot that he was a go. It wouldn’t be that long before he retrieved Krista and returned to Henderson Corp. There was a plus side to having a helipad on the rooftop of your office building. You didn’t need to stop working until it was time to leave.
The day seemed to have started off on a good foot. But convincing Shaun why he needed to do this most likely was the easy part. Things were going to become a lot more challenging when they arrived in New York.
He still wasn’t sure Krista was going to be able to convince the hospital to release the names and contact information. Connor knew how these things worked. It took money and pressure. If she didn’t pull it off, he could call Shaun for that help he offered. It was the last thing he wanted. Being indebted to a Henderson would feel like a nail in his coffin. Connor never owed anyone anything. Once you do, that is when they had you by the balls. With the Henderson family, that could be a dangerous place to find yourself. But the Hendersons weren’t the only influential family he knew.
The Lawsons live in New York. But I’m not sure owing Ethan would be much better.
Right now he was forced to put his trust in Krista, a woman he really knew nothing about. With any luck, that could be rectified on the flight from Boston.
Krista knew she should not have had any coffee this morning. Her heart was racing enough, and the flight from Montpelier to Boston only made it worse. Now sitting in the helicopter waiting for Connor to come up and join her only gave her even more time to think. And, that wasn’t good.
There were reasons why she didn’t want to speak to reporters and they weren’t things that Connor needed to be concerned about. As a practicing physician, one is always worried about being sued. She had delivered a baby, provided medical care, and then just vanished.
Krista had spoken to the EMT’s and felt confident that both the mother and baby had been doing fine. But in the world of medicine, there was a huge difference between thinking and knowing. Returning to New York, going to the hospital, was going to reveal that answer.
The helicopter door opened and Connor climbed inside. “Hello. How was your flight from Vermont?” he asked.
“Nerve wracking,” she replied?
“Really. The weather is great. Clear day, no wind.”
“Oh God. You’d never have gotten me here if it wasn’t,” she declared. “I’m not much of a flyer.”
“Would you rather we drive? It’d take longer, but if you want…”
“No. I’ll be fine. Might need to talk the entire way so I’m not thinking about…” crashing.
“I have no problem with that. Gives us some time to get to know each other,” he said.
She looked at him and said, “You do know this isn’t a date right?”
Connor chuckled. “Gee, you don’t hold back any do you?”
Krista blushed, something she rarely did. “Sorry. I don’t know what is wrong with me. I guess you bring out the…bad manners.”
He smiled and said, “If this you is at your worst, you must really be the sweet woman everyone says you are.”
“What do you mean? Everyone?” Who had he been talking to besides Mikie?
“I’m guilty of reading the reviews of you as a doctor. Your patients adore you,” he stated.
“Have you ever been to Montpelier?” she asked. He shook his head and she continued. “Very low population. I can’t think of one person I don’t like there.”
“And if there was, you probably wouldn’t tell them. Unless I lived there,” he joked.
Her mouth gaped open and trying to defend herself, she said, “I don’t dislike you. I don’t even know you.”
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
She hadn’t even thought about it. Krista had been so focused on avoiding reporters, that there hadn’t been time for much else. Where do you start when you know nothing about a person?
Connor added, “Please don’t ask them all at once.”
He shot her a wicked devilish grin and she couldn’t help but giggle. “Okay. I know you’re not from Boston, but where are you from?” That was simple and not too personal. Start slow and then go from there. Like if you’re single. Not that she was really interested…but under any other circumstance and she would be.
“I was born and raised in Florida. But my mother married my step-father and I spent my troubled teenage years in Miami.”
“Troubled? Like jail?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Not because I was a saint, but because I didn’t get caught. I was kind of rebellious back then.”
“Many teenagers are. And I’m sure having a step-father come into your life during that time made it even more difficult.”
“I hardly saw him. Ralph worked so much and when he was home, he was with my mother. And he came with a daughter. She was just a kid back then. God, she was annoying.”
“Kid sisters usually are. I know I was to my older brother. I think I followed him around all day just asking him questions.”
Connor laughed. “You mean like you’re doing to me?” he teased.
“No. This is different. You told me to,” she smiled. “So what is your sister's name?”
“Kollette. She actually just got married a few months ago and now they’re expecting their first child.”
She couldn’t help it. Krista beamed. “Really? When is she due? Boy or girl?”
Connor shrugged. “I have no idea, and I assume it will be a baby.” Krista huffed and he added. “Hey, I’m a guy. I don’t ask questions like that.”
“I can’t believe your sister didn’t tell you,” Krista stated.
“She may have. I probably wasn’t listening. I’m a…”
“I know. It’s a guy thing. I hear it all the time from my patients.”
“Wait a minute. I listen. Okay, maybe a bit of selective hearing at times, but I do listen,” he laughed. “Okay. I think we should talk about you for a while. Have you always lived in Montpelier?”
“Yes.”
“Ever live anywhere else?” he asked.
“Only when I went to college. Montpelier is where I want to be. Thankfully, the OB/GYN that was here before me retired. Actually I have a feeling he retired just so that I would have my own practice here. Because Dr. Phillips was in great health and could’ve practiced many more years if he had wanted to.”
“Yet he knew you’d be the one who he could trust taking over his patients. I’m sure if he didn’t, then he wouldn’t have retired,” Connor said.
That really was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. Krista didn’t want to like him, but he was making it very difficult not to.
“Okay, that’s enough about me. Let’s go back to you,” she suggested. “How long have you been working for the Henderson family?”
“Less than a year.”