Fare Game Read online

  “You’re quite a pitcher. Did you play in college?”

  “Um, thanks. Yeah, I did.” Riley glanced back into her beer. “You’re a pretty good player yourself. That one ball you dove for out in left field, that was amazing. I can’t believe you caught it.”

  Kay seemed pleased by this comment. “I may have been showing off a bit.”

  “Oh?”

  “Hoping you would notice.”

  Riley wasn’t sure she’d heard Kay right. Did she really just say that? She got her answer when their eyes met again. Kay’s eyes were full of warmth and something else…lust. The tiniest ray of hope bubbled up inside Riley. Maybe Kay Corbett liked ladies, and maybe, just maybe, she liked Riley.

  Chapter Five

  As soon as the gang from Logan Airlines landed at Tokyo’s Narita airport, they were whisked to their hotel downtown, just a few blocks from Kamadori’s headquarters. When it was her turn, Riley approached the hotel check-in counter. She was exhausted from the long flight but mustered a smile. “Hi. Checking in. The name is Riley Bauer.”

  In typical Japanese fashion, the check-in process was exceptionally efficient. The clerk handed over an electronic key card. “All set, Ms. Bauer.” He gave Riley a broad smile. “I’ve upgraded you to one of our Club Deluxe rooms with a balcony. You should have an excellent view of the city.”

  “Wow, great.” Riley peeked down at the man’s name tag. “Thank you, Aki.”

  The elevator zipped her up to the twentieth floor and when she waved her key card in front of the door marked 2025, it clicked open to reveal a breathtaking view of the Tokyo skyline. “Holy macaroni.” She beelined for the balcony, shedding her bags as she crossed the massive room.

  It was a crystal-clear afternoon and Riley shielded her eyes from the sun as she scanned the skyline. The gardens of the Imperial Palace sprawled beneath her, and in the distance, the Tokyo Tower sprouted from the sea of glass skyscrapers. It was difficult to tear herself away, but she only had forty-five minutes to unpack and grab a shower before she had to meet her coworkers back downstairs for a cocktail reception.

  She was scheduled to be in Tokyo for four nights, and although she’d made a valiant effort to pack light, she’d failed miserably. She chuckled as she unzipped her bulging suitcase. “You can take a girl out of the South, but you can’t take the South out of the girl,” she said as she neatly organized everything in the small closet.

  A representative from Kamadori appeared in the hotel lobby promptly at six p.m. and ushered the team from Logan to a small library-type room on the second floor of the hotel where there was a large table piled high with hors d’oeuvres and a makeshift bar in the corner. After proper introductions, a line quickly formed in front of the bartender. Riley opted for a glass of white wine although, given her jet lag, sparkling water probably would have been a better choice.

  She spotted Kiko, her counterpart at Kamadori, and wandered over to say hello. While Kiko rattled on about the various revenue calculations associated with the Logan/ Kamadori joint venture, Riley noticed Kay standing alone in the corner with her phone pressed up against her ear. It was obvious she wasn’t enamored by the person on the other end. There was a lot of eye rolling.

  “…agree with all of the assumptions?”

  Riley returned her attention to Kiko. “I’m sorry, what were you saying.” Riley tapped her watch. “Jet lag. The time change is killing me.”

  While Kiko continued talking, Riley struggled to stay engaged, and as much as she liked her, she was relieved when Kiko’s boss called her away.

  Riley jumped at the opportunity to get something to eat, hoping it would give her a much needed second wind. She piled her plate high with spicy edamame, shrimp tempura and pork potstickers and sidled up to one of the tall white tablecloth-clad tables sprinkled around the room. While she was wrestling a piece of shrimp off a skewer, Kay sauntered up next to her. “Hey Riley. Looks like that shrimp is playing hard to get,” she said with a smirk.

  Riley tried not to laugh as she swallowed. “Dainty has never been my strong suit.”

  “I love that you’re so self-deprecating.”

  Riley blushed. Kay looked at her intently and she felt her legs go weak. She gripped onto the table to steady herself. She flashed back to what Kay had said at the softball game, about how she’d been showing off in hopes Riley would notice. She and Kay had spent countless hours in meetings together, but since the softball game, the dynamic between them had shifted. Kay’s body language was different—more relaxed, more inviting. Riley wiped her mouth with a napkin and gave Kay a shy smile. “I saw you on the phone earlier. Is everything okay?”

  Kay tensed. “Yes. Everything’s fine. A small crisis at the office.”

  Riley looked at her watch. “It’s five a.m. in Atlanta. You must have some seriously dedicated people on your team.”

  Kay let out a nervous laugh. “Ah, yes. Very dedicated.”

  Riley decided to shift gears. “Everyone seemed to get along pretty well tonight, don’t you think?”

  Kay took a sip of her wine before answering. “Yeah, I’ve been through a few of these joint venture deals, and knock on wood, this one’s gone extraordinarily well, at least so far. Obviously, it’s a win-win for both airlines. The only thing we really went to battle on was how to bucket fares.”

  “Bucket fares?” Riley asked.

  “Oh, sorry, pricing jargon. Sometimes I forget you’re from the finance side. We put fares in virtual buckets, which we can open and close as needed. That way we can control how many fares we sell at each level. Flights would sell out way too fast if we made every seat available at a discount. We’ve got to protect or set aside some seats on every flight to make sure we have some left over for the high-paying business travelers who book at the last minute. The trick is not to have too many left over and go out with empty seats. It’s a delicate balance.”

  Riley’s financial brain began to churn. “How do you determine how many cheap seats to sell?”

  “It’s complicated,” Kay said, “but basically it comes down to simple economics, good old supply and demand.”

  “You mean kind of like how at Thanksgiving it’s always impossible to find a cheap ticket because everyone and their mother wants to fly then?”

  “That’s the gist of it. Lots of algorithms are involved, need I say more?”

  Riley started to respond but Kay held up her hand. “Enough shop talk. Did you manage to get any sleep on the flight?”

  “Some, but I’m beat, and I’m definitely looking forward to getting a good night’s sleep.”

  “Yeah, same here,” Kay said and grabbed an edamame off Riley’s plate. “Oh, shit, this stuff is spicy.”

  Riley laughed. “I know. It made my eyes water.”

  “How’s your room?” Kay asked. “I hope it’s okay.”

  “Oh gosh, it’s more than okay. It’s amazing. I must have drawn the lucky straw. They upgraded me to a deluxe suite. My room has this massive balcony with an incredible view of the city.”

  “Wow, lucky you. To have a view like that. I find city skylines so captivating, especially at nighttime.”

  A pang of guilt shot through Riley. After all, Kay was a superior. She probably should’ve gotten the upgrade. Note to self. Resist urge to broadcast your upgrade. She was about to mumble some sort of apology, but Jill walked up before she got the chance.

  “I’m exhausted, think I’m going to call it a night.”

  “I should probably head up too,” Riley said.

  Kay gently touched her arm. “It was really nice talking to you. Sleep tight.”

  When Riley got up to her room, she slapped her hand on her forehead. She was such an idiot. She’d totally missed the hint. Kay had wanted to see her view.

  * * *

  The next two days were jam-packed. Meetings all day, cocktails and marathon dinners each night. Mercifully, Thursday’s agenda was a little lighter. Riley’s morning was free until she, along with the rest of
the Logan team, was scheduled to tour Kamadori’s airport facilities in the afternoon. She decided to use her limited free time to sneak in some much-needed exercise. She power walked the 5K loop around the Imperial Palace, and even though the temperature was still fairly cool, she worked up a pretty good sweat. As she neared the hotel, she slowed her pace.

  “Hey, Riley!” a voice called.

  Riley glanced over her shoulder. Kay was a few paces behind her and had apparently just finished a run. Her cheeks were flushed, and her muscles glistened with sweat. She looked Sports Illustrated-amazing in her cropped tank top and skimpy running shorts; however, Riley was struck by how thin she was, almost too thin. It wasn’t as noticeable when she wore one of her power suits, but now, scantily clad, it was clear Kay needed to log some serious time at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

  Kay smiled broadly. “What are you doing up so early on our morning off?”

  “Just trying to stay fit.”

  While she took a long pull on her water bottle, Kay gave her a not-so-subtle up and down. “I’d say you’re doing pretty well in that department.”

  “Um, thanks.”

  “Wanna grab a bite to eat? I stumbled upon this cute café just around the corner from the hotel.”

  Riley was a little surprised at the invitation. “Yeah, sure.”

  Breakfast in hand, Riley and Kay settled at a table outside in the sun.

  “So, do you think the meetings with Kamadori went well?” Riley started.

  “Um, yeah. I’d say I’m generally pleased with the way things went.”

  “Well, that’s good to hear.”

  Kay shifted gears. “So, is this your first time to Japan?”

  “No, second,” Riley said, hesitating as she decided how much to reveal about herself. “I came to Tokyo last year with my now ex-girlfriend.”

  Kay’s eyebrows arched ever so slightly. “Ex-girlfriend, huh?”

  Riley nodded.

  “I hope it wasn’t a bad breakup?”

  “Nah. I kind of freaked when things started to get serious. It’s a long story. She’s a good person, but, well, you know…”

  Kay gave her a knowing smile. “She just wasn’t the one?”

  “That, and she was lukewarm about having kids. Having a family is pretty much paramount to me.”

  “I’m with you on that. I adore kids.”

  “Oh, do you have children?”

  “Nope, but I hope to someday.”

  Unconsciously, Riley looked down at Kay’s bare ring finger. “You’re not married,” she blurted and immediately covered her mouth with her hand to prevent any additional crass comments from escaping.

  If Kay was offended, she didn’t show it. “No, I’m not. I’m divorced.”

  “I’m sorry.” Riley had a million questions but figured it was safer to keep her mouth shut. She was a bit surprised they were having such a personal and frank conversation. It made her feel somewhat uneasy. She was doing her damnedest to view Kay strictly as a coworker, not someone she lusted after, but the tall, thick stone wall she’d tried to build between them was threatening to crumble down.

  “No need to be sorry. It’s okay. We got married right out of college. I was young and stupid. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize, or more likely hadn’t accepted, that I was gay until after we were married.”

  A smile crept across Riley’s face. “Oh.”

  The two women ate in silence until Kay eventually asked, “So, how long have you been with Logan?”

  Riley was still reeling from the fact that Kay was into women. “A little over four years,” she stammered. “I worked for an aviation consulting firm when I first got out of college and Logan was one of our biggest clients. Long story short, Gabe Suarez, the VP of Finance, pulled me aside one day and asked if I’d consider coming in-house. I jumped at the chance.”

  “Well, Gabe must have been seriously impressed with your work if he just came out and offered you a job at Logan.”

  Riley glanced down at her hands. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Gabe’s a really good guy,” Kay said.

  Riley nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, he’s great. He’s really taken me under his wing. I feel extremely fortunate to work for him.”

  The expression on Kay’s face changed slightly. “You’re lucky to work for someone you respect.”

  Riley detected a sadness in Kay’s eyes that hadn’t been there moments earlier. Without meaning to, it appeared her comments about Gabe had touched a nerve. Kay reported to Greg Brandywine, and as far as Riley knew, he was the cat’s meow at Logan. Was Kay implying otherwise? Riley may have been reading too much into it, but she didn’t think so. Kay seemed less relaxed; her posture was more rigid than it had been just moments before. Riley sipped her coffee before asking, “How about you? How’d you end up at Logan?”

  The sparkle in Kay’s eyes quickly returned. “My dad was a pilot for Logan. Retired last year.” Kay chuckled. “Aviation runs in my blood. It was basically a forgone conclusion I’d come to work for the airline after college.”

  “That’s so cool that your dad’s a pilot.”

  “Yeah, he taught me to fly when I was a kid.”

  “Wow, that’s awesome,” Riley said. “Whenever I fly in the cockpit jumpseat, I close my eyes during the landing. Guess I wouldn’t make a very good pilot, huh?”

  Kay laughed. “Yeah, not so much. They typically recommend you keep your eyes open during the landing.”

  “I have no issues when I’m seated back in the cabin, but it just freaks me out to actually watch the plane hit the runway.”

  “Well, we usually try not to hit the runway,” Kay said with a wry smile. “The goal is to gently touch down.”

  Riley scraped the bottom of her yogurt container with her spoon. “Maybe I could go up with you one day. You can show me how it’s done.”

  “I think we can arrange that.”

  After the tour at the airport, the group from Logan disbanded. Most folks had flights back to the US that evening and a few were headed to London for another business meeting. Riley wasn’t flying out until the next day, so she grabbed dinner at a ramen place before heading back to the hotel. As soon as she stepped on the elevator, her phone vibrated. Her flight back to Atlanta the next day had just been cancelled.

  She had Logan reservations on speed dial and was already working her way through the airline’s brain-numbing automated phone system by the time she got back to her room. When a human finally came on the line, Riley explained her situation and waited patiently as the agent pulled up her reservations and looked for alternative flights back to the US.

  A tap, tap tap echoed over the phone line as the agent’s fingers skittered over her keyboard.

  “I’m afraid things are pretty booked up,” the agent finally said in a heavy southern drawl. “It looks like I can get you on a flight out tomorrow afternoon but hold on…” More typing. “Unfortunately, you’ll have to connect in New York. If you want to take the nonstop, you’ll have to wait and fly out the following day.”

  Riley didn’t have any big plans for the weekend, and it would be nice to have a day to play tourist in Tokyo. “I’ll wait and take the nonstop.”

  When she hung up with the airline, she called down to the front desk to make sure she could keep her palatial room for one more night. She wondered how long Kay would be in Tokyo. Maybe she’d get to show her the beautiful view from her room after all.

  Chapter Six

  Riley woke up early the next morning, grateful she had the whole day in Tokyo to herself. After another power walk around the Imperial Palace, she showered and made her way to the Ginza Shopping District. Her ex, Brianna, hated to shop which meant Riley hadn’t even stepped foot in the famous shopping district the last time she was in Tokyo. She wandered into a few stores but mostly gazed in the extravagantly decorated shop windows. The district’s main street was closed off to cars and people streamed down its wide boulevard. In Riley’s opinion, the people watc
hing was far more interesting than anything the shops had to offer. She admired all the fashionable outfits, some of which were downright weird, and giggled when she spotted a woman towing her cat down the street on a skateboard.

  A little after dark, she made her way back to the hotel. Her heart jumped when she saw Kay stepping off the elevator into the lobby. She was dressed in black jeans and a white T-shirt. Her long, dark hair hung loosely over her broad but boney shoulders. Kay didn’t often wear her hair down, and Riley loved the way it framed her face and set off her rich brown eyes. If possible, it made her look even more beautiful.

  “Riley, what are you doing here?” Kay asked as she approached. “I thought you were flying back to Atlanta today.”

  “I was supposed to, but my flight got cancelled. I’m not flying back until tomorrow. What about you, why are you still here?”

  “I decided to spend an extra day in Tokyo—that was my original plan—before I head off to London to join the rest of the pricing gang for another meeting.” Kay ran a hand through her hair and cocked her head to the side. “Do you have plans for dinner? I was just heading out to find a place to eat.”

  Riley smiled at the invitation. “Um, sure, that would be great.” She glanced down at her jeans and sneakers. “Do you mind if I run up to my room super quick to freshen up? I’ve been out all day.”

  Kay shook her head. “Not at all.” She waved her hand toward the far corner of the lobby. “I’ll wait for you in the hotel bar.”

  Riley zipped up to her room, stripped out of her clothes, touched up her makeup and ran a comb through her long blond hair. She pulled on her favorite mini skirt and reached for the small shopping bag on the bed. She’d made one purchase in Ginza—a blue V-neck shirt with small flowers stitched on it. It was a splurge for her but now she was happy she’d bought it. It was perfect for her impromptu dinner date with Kay. Okay, maybe date wasn’t the right word, but Kay had seemed almost shy when she’d asked if Riley had dinner plans.

  When she wandered into the hotel bar, she spotted Kay sitting at the far end, a martini glass perched in front of her. “Is this stool taken?” Riley asked in jest.