The CEO’s Jet Broke Down Again — Her Assistant Whispered, “I Think She Just Wants the Mechanic Back”
Chapter 14
Six months later, the old Sterling jet sat quietly on the runway.
Ava stood beside it.
Mason was underneath the wing.
Again.
Lily walked up carrying two coffees.
“You know,” she said, “the jet hasn’t broken down once in six months.”
Ava smiled.
“That should make you happy.”
“It does.”
Lily handed her a coffee.
“But I’m disappointed.”
Ava raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“Because I liked watching you panic and call Mason.”
Ava laughed.
“I never panicked.”
“You once called him at 4:12 a.m.”
“The cabin pressure system looked strange.”
“The system was off.”
Ava smiled.
“Details.”
Lily looked toward Mason.
“He knows you still do it.”
“Do what?”
“Find reasons to be around him.”
Ava didn’t deny it.
Mason emerged from beneath the aircraft.
“You two talking about me?”
“Absolutely,” Lily said.
Mason looked at Ava.
“You fixing something?”
She smiled.
“I might need help.”
“With what?”
Ava walked closer.
“My schedule.”
He laughed.
“You have an assistant.”
“She can’t fix everything.”
Lily lifted her coffee.
“Finally. Someone admits it.”
Mason shook his head.
Then his expression softened.
“Come here.”
Ava stepped closer.
He gently touched her hand.
“Are you happy?”
She thought about the question.
Six months ago, she would have answered with revenue.
Growth.
Quarterly targets.
Now she answered differently.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I finally stopped running.”
Mason smiled.
“And because you got your mechanic back?”
Ava laughed.
“No.”
She looked into his eyes.
“Because I realized I never wanted the jet fixed.”
He understood.
She wanted the man who had stood beside her when everything else was falling apart.
That evening, Mason handed her a small box.
Inside was an old wrench.
The same one from the workshop.
Engraved on the handle were new words.
For the machine that finally learned where home is.
Ava looked at him.
“You kept this too?”
He nodded.
“I keep important things.”
She kissed him.
Behind them, Lily turned away dramatically.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that.”
Mason laughed.
Ava rested her head against his shoulder.
For years, she had built a company so large that nothing could threaten it.
But the greatest thing she ever built was much smaller.
A life where she didn’t have to pretend she could do everything alone.
