The CEO’s Jet Broke Down Again — Her Assistant Whispered, “I Think She Just Wants the Mechanic Back”
Chapter 1
The first sign that something was wrong came fifteen minutes before takeoff.
The private jet was already sitting on the runway beneath a pale gray morning sky when Ava Sterling noticed the warning light.
She stared through the terminal window.
“Why is that light on?”
Beside her, her assistant, Lily Carter, glanced at the maintenance crew.
“It was cleared last night.”
Ava’s jaw tightened.
“Then why is it on again?”
Lily did not answer.
Neither did the pilot.
Ava grabbed her phone and walked toward the hangar.
The CEO of Sterling International had a reputation for solving problems before anyone else even realized they existed. At thirty-four, she had built a technology empire from the company her grandfather founded, turned three failing divisions into profitable ones, and survived more boardroom battles than most executives twice her age.
But aircraft maintenance was not supposed to be one of her problems.
Especially not this aircraft.
The same Gulfstream had broken down four times in eight months.
And every time, there had been one mechanic who fixed it.
Mason Reed.
Ava stopped outside the hangar.
The new lead mechanic was already crouched beneath the jet.
“Ms. Sterling,” he said, wiping his hands. “We’re still checking the hydraulic system.”
“How long?”
“Could be an hour.”
“Aaron, we have investors waiting in Chicago.”
“I understand.”
“Then get it done.”
He nodded quickly.
Ava turned away.
Lily followed her.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Lily said quietly, “You know who could probably fix it in twenty minutes.”
Ava stopped walking.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say his name.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Lily looked at her carefully.
“You’ve been asking about him for six months.”
Ava’s expression hardened.
“I have not.”
“You asked security whether he still has access to the south hangar.”
Silence.
“You asked HR whether he completed his contract.”
Another pause.
“And last Thursday, you spent twelve minutes staring at his employee file.”
Ava turned.
“Are you done?”
Lily smiled faintly.
“No.”
Ava gave her a look that could stop an entire executive meeting.
Lily lowered her voice.
“I think she just wants the mechanic back.”
Ava blinked.
“Excuse me?”
Lily lifted both hands innocently.
“The mechanic, Ms. Sterling. Not the jet.”
Ava opened her mouth.
Then the warning siren from inside the hangar screamed.
Everyone froze.
The pilot rushed toward them.
“Ms. Sterling!”
“What happened?”
“The hydraulic pressure just dropped to zero.”
Ava stared at the plane.
Then at the rain beginning to fall beyond the hangar doors.
For some reason, one thought entered her mind.
Mason.
Six months earlier, he had stood in almost exactly the same place.
His dark hair had been soaked from the rain. His sleeves had been rolled up. His hands had been covered in grease.
And she had told him to leave.
Not because he was incompetent.
Not because he had made a mistake.
But because she had been terrified of what she was beginning to feel for him.
She had called it professionalism.
He had called it rejection.
Now, six months later, her jet had failed again.
And the only person who had ever made the warning lights disappear was gone.
Ava looked at Lily.
“Find him.”
Lily’s eyebrows rose.
“Find who?”
Ava hesitated.
Then she whispered the words she had refused to say for half a year.
“Mason Reed.”
