The CEO’s Jet Broke Down Again — Her Assistant Whispered, “I Think She Just Wants the Mechanic Back”
Chapter 3
Ava was standing at the hangar entrance when Mason arrived.
For one second, neither of them moved.
Six months disappeared.
She remembered his hands.
His voice.
The way he used to lean against the workbench while explaining something about the jet she pretended not to understand.
Mason remembered everything too.
But his face showed none of it.
“You came,” Ava said.
“You asked.”
Her eyes dropped briefly to his toolbox.
“Can you fix it?”
“I can inspect it.”
Ava stepped aside.
He walked past her.
Lily watched the CEO’s eyes follow him.
Then whispered under her breath, “Definitely wants the mechanic back.”
Ava ignored her.
Mason spent twenty minutes checking the hydraulic system.
Then another ten examining the electrical panel.
Finally, he opened a maintenance access compartment beneath the cockpit.
His expression changed.
“What?”
Ava moved closer.
“Don’t touch anything.”
Mason looked at her.
“I’m not.”
He pointed.
“See this?”
Ava saw a small connector.
“What about it?”
“This was replaced.”
“By the maintenance team?”
“According to the log, no.”
“Then who?”
Mason crouched lower.
“There are tool marks around the housing.”
Ava’s face hardened.
“Could it have failed naturally?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“I rebuilt this exact system after the first failure.”
Ava stared at him.
“The first failure wasn’t natural either.”
Mason looked up.
“You knew?”
“No.”
“You should’ve.”
She flinched.
He stood.
“I told you the first time.”
“I know.”
“No. You didn’t listen.”
Ava swallowed.
Mason walked toward the rear compartment.
Lily exchanged a nervous glance with Ava.
Mason suddenly stopped.
“Who authorized this inspection?”
Ava frowned.
“What?”
“The maintenance contractor.”
“AeroCore.”
“Who signed the contract?”
“Victor Hall.”
Mason’s expression darkened.
“Your COO?”
“Yes.”
He pulled out his phone.
“There’s something you need to see.”
He opened an old photograph.
It was taken on the day he had been fired.
Ava looked at it.
“What is this?”
“The aircraft before I left.”
He zoomed in.
A tiny seal had been removed from the same access panel.
“That wasn’t there before.”
Ava stared.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“The night you fired me.”
Her face changed.
“I wasn’t firing you because of the jet.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
Mason looked directly at her.
“Because you told me you didn’t want a mechanic confusing personal feelings with work.”
Ava said nothing.
His voice softened.
“You were right.”
She looked away.
Mason closed his phone.
“I’ll tell your people not to fly until this is inspected properly.”
Ava caught his arm.
He stopped.
Her hand remained on his sleeve for one second too long.
Then she released him.
“Mason.”
He waited.
“I didn’t mean what I said that night.”
His eyes met hers.
“Which part?”
Ava couldn’t answer.
Before she could, a sharp metallic click came from inside the aircraft.
Mason turned.
“Everyone out.”
“What?”
“Now.”
He grabbed Ava’s hand and pulled her away from the jet.
A second later, something exploded inside the engine compartment.
Smoke filled the hangar.
And Mason realized the aircraft wasn’t merely breaking down.
Someone was trying to make sure it never left the ground alive.
