Road to Casablanca (28 page)

The girl simply smiled and shrugged her shoulders, which made Erick even more angry.

“I apologize, sir. There is no way that I know of other than the flights you checked and they are all gone for today, sir.”

After leaving the airport he couldn’t think about business any more.
 
His mind was locked on the only thing that mattered to him now:
Cindy
.
 

“Hello.
 
Everything okay, Mr. Redmund?”

Erick turned toward the familiar voice and clutched his forehead, unable to hide his angst from his potential business partner.

“Mr. Jibade…”

“What seems to be the trouble, sir?”

“It’s my…wife…Cindy.”

“Ah, a little trouble in paradise, is it?”

“Yes, sir.”

Erick turned away, nearly incapable of looking the man in the eye, lest he should discover his horrible secret and the burden in his heart.

“Why don’t you marry her then, sir?”

Erick stood there and looked straight into the eyes of the wise older man.
 
Had he really known all along about the charade?
 
Erick felt like a fool.
 
How could he have known it?
   

“You mean you…”

“Of course, Mr. Redmund; isn’t it obvious?” Jibade laughed a bit as he said it.

“But how did you…”
 
For the first time in his life, Erick felt ashamed of himself.

“It’s a look, Mr. Redmund.
 
The look of the hunter.
 
You still have that look in your eye when you see Miss Cindy.
 
You, sir, are still on the hunt.
 
It isn’t quite the same after you marry as it is when you are still on the hunt, engaged in the game of pursuit.”
 

“It isn’t?”

Erick wanted to know more, to understand the wisdom this man seemed to embody, but for now, all he wanted was Cindy.
 
If Jibade could help with that, fine; if not, he needed to get moving.

“It is wonderful to be married, Mr. Redmund.
 
I love my wife, our family and our life together.
 
It is God’s greatest gift to me, but it is not the pursuit anymore, Mr. Redmund.
 
That is a special time, one you must treasure, one you must never take for granted.”
 

“But I’m not…”

“You must pursue and you must take action to get what you want, lest you lose it and destroy your chance for a happy and peaceful life, sir. Real peace comes from love, and love alone.
 
Your business cannot bring you happiness, sir.
 
My money and partnership cannot bring that to you. Only love can.
 
Only the love of a good woman who understands you.
 
When you find that you must grasp it tightly, with both hands and never let it go.”

Erick nodded and said nothing as he listened and contemplated what the older man was saying to him.
 
As he considered Jibade’s wise words, Erick realized he had never had anyone speak to him like this before.
 
Not ever.
 
Not even his own father was as wise as his new friend.

“I need to go home today, sir, but I have no way to get there and I realize we still have another meeting tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, you do, Erick.”

Jibade called him by his name for the first time, which impressed Erick since he didn’t know Jibade even remembered it.

“But how?
 
We have our meeting tomorrow.”

“You need not worry about the meeting tomorrow because you have my blessings and my money for your partnership.
 
Just do the right thing and take care, not of me and your business, but of what matters most to you. If you do that, I would be privileged to be a business partner with you.”

For the first time in his adult life, Erick thought he might burst into tears. He wanted to hug this man.
 
It seemed his heart was suddenly opening and a floodgate of new emotions were starting to take him over.

 
“Thank you, sir.
 
How can I ever repay you?”

Jibade grabbed Erick’s shoulders and gave him a strong masculine embrace, a fatherly squeeze that Erick had never received from his own dad, but one he needed now, when it mattered most.
 
Erick respected Jibade now more than ever, and was determined to make this man proud of him so he would be able to respect him as his own father never had.

“Your happiness is all I want to see.
 
You may use my jet to go to
London
, but from there you will have to get another plane to take you the rest of the way.”

Erick’s eyes grew wide in disbelief at Jibade’s generosity, especially since Erick had been lying to him the whole time.

“Are you…are you sure?
 
I couldn’t ask you to do…”

Jibade raised his palm to silence Erick.

“Mr. Redmund, did you not come here to ask for my money for your company?”

Erick nodded.

“And I have given it to you, but there can be no company unless you get back home, correct?”

Erick nodded again.

“Then you must accept my offer and use my plane.
 
I can make an arrangement to have it fueled for you in an hour if you can get to the airport by then.
 
Besides, no good businessperson ever turns down a good offer.
 
And I do believe you to be a good businessman, Mr. Redmund.”

“Thank you, sir, I don’t know what to say…thank you so much!”

“Go now; catch your flight and allow your heart to be captured.”
 
Jibade turned and walked away.

Erick was awestruck by the wisdom of his new business partner.
 
Jibade was right. He had to get back the one thing that made his life worth living, Cindy, and he would not be able to refuse Jibade’s offer for help at this stage in the game.
 
He needed to get back to the States, get to
Dallas
, and find Cindy as soon as humanly possible.

Erick was ecstatic about the offer to use Jibade’s private jet. He immediately returned to his room and packed his things after demanding a key to Cindy’s room so he could make sure he had everything that belonged to her.

When he entered in her room and looked into the closet, he was stunned to see all of the dresses still on their hangers and the jewelry sitting in boxes on the bathroom counter.
 

Of all the bimbos and users he’d dated over the years, the one who was about to get away was the only woman in his entire thirty-two years who seemed to be dating him for him, and not for the money.
 
It was a stunning revelation and made him want to find her and straighten this mess out even more.

His driver was still waiting for him outside when Erick left the hotel, bringing both his things and Cindy’s with him. The driver rushed to the private landing strip for Jibade’s plane.

On the way to the airport, Erick needed to make arrangements to have a flight from
London
to the states and fortunately was able to reach Gloria on his cell.

“Hello?”

She sounded groggy.
 
Erick realized it was probably the middle of the night there.

“Gloria?”

“Yes, who’s this?”

“It’s Erick, and I need your help.”

She acted surprised and waking up more now. “Erick? I thought you weren’t coming home for another two days.”

 
“I had a slight change of plans and now I’m going to need a flight from
London
to
Dallas
.
 
I need to be booked on one as soon as possible, within the next eight hours and it would be even better if I could book a private plane to take me.”

“We’d already arranged for your pilot to pick you up in two days and take you direct, sir.”

“I know, but I am on my way to
London
now and I need the flight.
 
Cancel the jet.
 
I’m not going to need it anymore.”

“I’ll be happy to do that, sir, but I won’t be able to get to it for at least another six hours, because nothing is open now.
 
It is the middle of the night, you know.”

“Well, then, get on the phone to
London
and book something for me there.
 
It’s not the middle of the night over here.
 
Do it and call me back!”

Erick hung up on her, and as soon as he did, he regretted it.
 
He was the one at fault here — not Gloria, not Jibade, not anyone but him.
 
And maybe the paparazzi.
 
Still, he needed to be kinder.
 
He could not get over the fact he had access to a jet tonight at all, and for that, he was grateful.

Just before Erick arrived at the private landing strip, his phone rang and Gloria was on the line.
 
The connection was crackling, but Erick could make out what she was saying.

“I got a direct flight reserved from London Heathrow direct to
L.A.
and it leaves exactly nine hours from now.”

“I’m not going to
L.A.
; I need to go to
Dallas
!
 
Get me another flight, and I want something private.
 
What about the Supersonic?
 
Can’t I just rent that and get there in an hour?
 
I don’t care what it costs, you hear me?”

“Sir, the supersonic is no longer flying now, so I’m afraid at this short notice, commercial air is all you will be able to get.”

Erick took a breath and tried to calm himself down.
 
Gloria was right, there was nothing anyone could do, and he knew she was doing her best.

“I understand, Gloria, and I’m sorry.
 
I’ve just had a very rough day.
 
I appreciate what you’re doing and I know it’s not your fault.
 
Just please try and help me, will you?
 
It’s the most urgent matter I’ve ever had.”

“Yes, sir.
 
Do you mind me asking what it’s about?
 
Maybe I can help.”

Erick could only imagine what Gloria was thinking of him as she spoke to him in her most matronly tone.
 
She had known him since he was practically a kid, a motherless one at that, and had witnessed much of his father’s bad behavior firsthand through the years.
 
There was no telling what she thought of him after all of that, so he figured it might be okay, and possibly even helpful, to go ahead and let her in on what was really going on.

Erick recalled Jibade’s words only an hour earlier and knew how helpful he had been and he also knew Gloria was an older, potentially wiser person, so he decided to confide in her and listen to what she would have to say about it.

“Cindy, my date…you know, the blind date?”

He knew perfectly well she did, although she was discreet enough to never mention it directly to him.

“Yes, what about her?”

“She got upset.
 
She misunderstood a mess I got into here with the media and a model, and…oh, I don’t know…the whole damn thing sounds completely ridiculous and I don’t even know where to begin.”