standards set by management. But don’t tell anyone I told you that, OK?”
“Of course!” She giggled in recognition of this shared secret that she now had.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I need to radio back to the base to let them know you’re on the way.”
“Oh, be my guest.”
He reached forward to a button below the radio without taking his eyes off the road.
A garbled voice came through the tiny speaker below the radio. Stella could barely make out the sound of the voice on the other end. She was pretty sure that the voice said, “Driver ID number,” but she wasn’t sure if her confidence was the result of the driver saying “This is Driver ID 47” immediately after that, or if she’d actually heard it. The driver continued. “I have customer number…” He paused as he glanced at a sticker he had placed on the dashboard. “1326771. ETA in 40 minutes. Any road conditions I should be aware of?”
The voice on the other end of the speaker was soft and garbled enough that Stella didn’t even try to understand what was said.
The driver responded, “Roger that.”
The person at the control station said something else.
“Negative. Request permission to make the necessary alterations.”
The garbled voice said, “Granted,” or at least that’s what Stella thought the voice said. Stella couldn’t figure out exactly what came after that, but the driver said, “Roger that. I’ll contact you if I run into any problems en route. Over.”
Stella cleared her throat after the driver terminated his communication with whoever it was at the other end of the communicator.
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes. I heard you ask about the road conditions on the way back but I couldn’t tell what they said.”
“Oh, there’s some congestion -- maybe an accident but we don’t have that degree of detail -- at the nearest exist to the resort, so I’ll get off a little bit earlier. It should add about ten or fifteen minutes to the drive, but nothing horrible.” He glanced at his watch. “If we were to stay on the highway until we got to the exit, it’ll probably add closer to a half hour or forty five minutes to our travel. You understand, of course.”
“Oh, yes.”
“So I take it the ‘necessary alterations’ are the planned route?”
The driver paused and grinned slyly. He knew that Stella couldn’t see his grin and hoped that his tone wouldn’t betray his thoughts. “Yes. There’s a GPS in here, so if, for example, I were to stop at a local shopping mall, they’d know.”
“Oh, that makes sense. This must be an official company car, so…”
“Exactly. Are you sure you don’t want a glass of that champagne? The glasses are in the small refrigerator by the door.”
“Positive.”
“Very well, then. If you don’t mind, I’m going to close this window between us so I can concentrate on the road. If you need me, of course, you can open it again, but I’m really not supposed to have any small talk with our clientele.”
“Oh, of course!” Although Stella was conciliatory in her tone, she felt a bit sad that she couldn’t keep talking with the driver. There was so much she wanted to know…
After the driver closed the window that separated him from Stella, a high-pitched ringing filled the limo. Stella raised her hands to her ears to block out the sound but this act did little to mute the sound to her aching ears. Her face slackened as the pitch -- much like the sound she had heard when she received the original phone call -- filled her very being.
After a few seconds, the sound stopped and Stella lowered her hands. She looked around the limo and opened the refrigerator. When she saw two champagne flutes, she said to the limo at large, “Oh, why not? Nothing’s going to happen here.”
She picked up one glass and drank it quickly. The cold liquid went down her throat and
“Of course!” She giggled in recognition of this shared secret that she now had.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I need to radio back to the base to let them know you’re on the way.”
“Oh, be my guest.”
He reached forward to a button below the radio without taking his eyes off the road.
A garbled voice came through the tiny speaker below the radio. Stella could barely make out the sound of the voice on the other end. She was pretty sure that the voice said, “Driver ID number,” but she wasn’t sure if her confidence was the result of the driver saying “This is Driver ID 47” immediately after that, or if she’d actually heard it. The driver continued. “I have customer number…” He paused as he glanced at a sticker he had placed on the dashboard. “1326771. ETA in 40 minutes. Any road conditions I should be aware of?”
The voice on the other end of the speaker was soft and garbled enough that Stella didn’t even try to understand what was said.
The driver responded, “Roger that.”
The person at the control station said something else.
“Negative. Request permission to make the necessary alterations.”
The garbled voice said, “Granted,” or at least that’s what Stella thought the voice said. Stella couldn’t figure out exactly what came after that, but the driver said, “Roger that. I’ll contact you if I run into any problems en route. Over.”
Stella cleared her throat after the driver terminated his communication with whoever it was at the other end of the communicator.
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes. I heard you ask about the road conditions on the way back but I couldn’t tell what they said.”
“Oh, there’s some congestion -- maybe an accident but we don’t have that degree of detail -- at the nearest exist to the resort, so I’ll get off a little bit earlier. It should add about ten or fifteen minutes to the drive, but nothing horrible.” He glanced at his watch. “If we were to stay on the highway until we got to the exit, it’ll probably add closer to a half hour or forty five minutes to our travel. You understand, of course.”
“Oh, yes.”
“So I take it the ‘necessary alterations’ are the planned route?”
The driver paused and grinned slyly. He knew that Stella couldn’t see his grin and hoped that his tone wouldn’t betray his thoughts. “Yes. There’s a GPS in here, so if, for example, I were to stop at a local shopping mall, they’d know.”
“Oh, that makes sense. This must be an official company car, so…”
“Exactly. Are you sure you don’t want a glass of that champagne? The glasses are in the small refrigerator by the door.”
“Positive.”
“Very well, then. If you don’t mind, I’m going to close this window between us so I can concentrate on the road. If you need me, of course, you can open it again, but I’m really not supposed to have any small talk with our clientele.”
“Oh, of course!” Although Stella was conciliatory in her tone, she felt a bit sad that she couldn’t keep talking with the driver. There was so much she wanted to know…
After the driver closed the window that separated him from Stella, a high-pitched ringing filled the limo. Stella raised her hands to her ears to block out the sound but this act did little to mute the sound to her aching ears. Her face slackened as the pitch -- much like the sound she had heard when she received the original phone call -- filled her very being.
After a few seconds, the sound stopped and Stella lowered her hands. She looked around the limo and opened the refrigerator. When she saw two champagne flutes, she said to the limo at large, “Oh, why not? Nothing’s going to happen here.”
She picked up one glass and drank it quickly. The cold liquid went down her throat and
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