John reluctantly boarded his private jet. After a few minutes it took off from Boeing Airfield in Seattle, headed for Zürich, Switzerland. Why must I always go on these business trips? Why can’t someone else go instead? The company doesn’t always need to be represented by the CEO; there are other high level executives that could share the responsibility.

John opened up his laptop and started writing an email. After he sent it, he noticed his stomach growling. “Samuel, please have the food brought in,” called John hungrily. “And tell the flight attendant not to forget the wine.”

“Yes, Sir,” responded the Personal Assistant, a very close friend and respected advisor of John’s.

John started working on a presentation for his meeting in Switzerland while he was waiting for his meal. Samuel returned with the flight attendant. “Thank you for the food,” said John, “Samuel, please sit down.”

As he sat down, the Personal Assistant replied, “As you wish, Sir.”

“Samuel, do you know what the problem is? I dislike my job. All these meetings and conferences, why can’t they send someone else for a change? I know I’m the CEO but it doesn’t always have to be me. Samuel, I want to be somewhere I’m happy. What do you think I should do Samuel? You seem to have good ideas,” said John in between bites of native Washington Chinook salmon and sips of Washington’s Chateau Ste. Michelle wine.

“You could retire, Sir?”

“I’ve thought about that but I couldn’t bear to let the company out of family control. The Smith Family has owned Smith Industries since they founded it in 1923.”

“Why don’t you transfer ownership of the company to another family member, Sir?

“Because my last living relative, my cousin Edward, was killed serving the U.S. in Iraq.”

“Sir, have you thought of finding yourself a wife?”

“The problem is, Samuel, there aren’t that many great women out there.”

“You should just give it a shot, sir,” said the Personal Assistant with encouragement.

After he finished eating the salmon, John said, “That’s not a bad idea, but most rich women have either found someone or have a personality and/or ethics I don’t like.” 

“Sir, do you realize that there are many women in the world who aren’t rich?”

“Yes I do, Samuel but I fear that many of them will try to marry me just for my fortune. I want to find someone who loves me for who I am. I don’t want to be like my grandfather who was married for his money and found out after it was already too late.” 

“Well Sir, I hope you’ll find someone,” Samuel replied. “I have some phone calls I need to make.”

“Ok, Samuel. Please have one of the flight attendants take the dishes.” John watched his Personal Assistant exit the room and then opened up his laptop and resumed working on his presentation.

****

One of the flight attendants, Jacob, had been silently waiting outside the door to the main cabin eavesdropping on John and Samuel. When he heard Samuel’s footsteps coming in his direction, he quickly snuck back to the plane’s kitchen. When Samuel told him to clear John’s dishes he obliged. Jacob exited the kitchen, only to return a few minutes later, carrying the dishes from John’s meal. He carefully placed them in a rack so they could be cleaned after landing. He then crept into a small room and picked up the phone. He dialed a number and waited while it rang. No one picked up so he left a message, “Hi, it’s Jacob. I think I’ve found the one. Call me back when you get this message.” He waited five minutes and then decided to check on Mr. Smith. When Mr. Smith required nothing, he returned to the room and waited once more. After half an hour the phone started ringing. He quickly seized it and began to speak, “Hello?” “Good, it’s you, I’ve been waiting.” He held the receiver to his ear and quietly listened to the response from a charming female voice. “Yes, I’m sure, He’s the one. Rich, and desperate what could be better?” “All you have to do is act nice and not seem to care about his money.”  “Head to an airport and get the first flight possible to Switzerland. We’ll be there. Call me back in forty-five minutes so we may continue this discussion.” Jacob gently put down the phone and checked on Mr. Smith once again. This time Mr. Smith requested some snacks and munchies for him to eat while he worked on his presentation. After bringing out the requested food, Jacob retreated to his lair. After closing the door to the small room he sat down and waited. He began scheming but drifted off in deep thought. After pulling himself back to the present he resumed his plotting. The next thing he knew a ringing noise interrupted his evil schemes. He realized it was Alison calling him back. He hesitated for a moment and then picked up the phone. “I told you, I’m sure.” “Yes, meet me in the lobby of the hotel, and then we can go from there.” He listened as the female voice questioned him. “I’m not sure which hotel they’re attending but I’ll find out and let you know. Are you at the airport yet?” “Hurry up! You need to get there ASAP so we can rendezvous and figure out the details.” “Yes, ok. I’ll see you in Switzerland.”

****

Meanwhile, John had finished his presentation and was sending it to his Secretary to check it and turn it into an elaborate PowerPoint presentation. John proceeded to make some business phone calls. After contacting several people, he started working on a presentation for a meeting the next week. He continued to work on this presentation for the rest of the trip. When the plane landed he packed up his belongings and exited. He then boarded a private car he had reserved and was taken to his hotel. When he arrived there, he had his personal assistant check him in and he continued to his suite where he went to bed. In the morning he and Samuel woke up and walked outside where they got into the private car and were driven to his meeting.

****

 Jacob awoke in the same hotel, because he had followed John and Samuel the night before. He walked downstairs to enjoy a luxurious continental breakfast. After he ate his fill, he returned to his room where he called Alison once again. She told him that she was three hours away and would meet him in the lobby as soon as she arrived in Switzerland. After talking to her, Jacob spent the next two and a half hours of his morning relaxing. He then went downstairs to the lobby and read a book while he waited for Alison. She arrived within the next hour. The two then decided to leave the hotel and find somewhere else to go. They found a nice little coffee shop that was mostly deserted in which they could talk privately.

“Alison, I’ve got it all thought out. I’ll follow him around after his meeting and figure out which restaurant he’ll be eating at tonight. I will then call you and tell you which restaurant he’s going to. You will then proceed to the restaurant and enter. After a little while, you will start a conversation and act as friendly and kind as possible and try to get him to like you. If things go well, you will ask him out for the next night and we will go from there. You need to get him to propose to you before you leave. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” responded Alison.

“Good, then I’ll see you tonight. I have to go to the meeting now so I can be there when he leaves.”

“Goodbye,” said Alison.

After the meeting finished, Samuel told John about reservations at a sushi restaurant. John got into his private car and rode to Sokah’s Sushi. He had been stalked to the restaurant by Jacob, who contacted Alison with the name of the restaurant.

While dining, John couldn’t help but notice a beautiful young woman that entered through the stained glass door. Her light brown hair glimmered in the dim light and her gorgeous, bright blue eyes and fair skin caught John’s eyes. He couldn’t resist the urge to speak to her so he started a conversation with her to see what she was like.

“Hello, my name is John. What’s yours?”

The woman responded in a sweet, charming voice, “My name is Alison, nice to meet you.” When John reached forward to shake her hand, there was a slight scent of a floral fragrance and he felt her small, delicate hands. “Where are you from?”

Alison replied, “I’m from the United States. How about you?”

“I’m also from the United States, Seattle area. What area are you from? “

“I’m from Portland, Oregon.”

The two talked for a few hours about their lives, passions, interests and each other while eating their delicious sushi dinners. John couldn’t take his eyes off of Alison the whole night because of her beautiful appearance and his passionate affection towards her.

“So it’s a date?” asked John.

“Certainly. How about tomorrow night, back here?” said Alison.

“That’s fine with me.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Good night.”

John got into the private car and was driven back to their hotel. The next day John got up and back into the private car and returned to the meeting. That night John met Alison back at the same restaurant.  John and Alison had a romantic evening together in which they shared stories and laughed as if they had known each other for years. At the end of the night, John invited Alison to join him on his plane ride back to Seattle the next evening and move there so they could see each other more often. 

In Seattle two months later, John proposed to Alison at the end of a date. When John arrived at work the next morning he excitedly announced to Samuel how he was getting married.

“Don’t you think it’s a little early to be proposing, Sir?” questioned Samuel.

 “Samuel, you don’t need to call me Sir all the time. And I don’t think it’s too early. I know she’s the one and she’s such a beauty. I love her so much.”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s a wise decision, but it’s not my choice to make so whatever you think.”

A few minutes later, John received a phone call from Alison.

“Hello,” said Alison charmingly.

“Good morning,” responded John.

“John I couldn’t sleep last night. I’m worried. If something were to happen to you I would not be able to survive. I’ve given up my job and house and have no security without you. This last week I talked to a friend of mine whose fiancé died but thankfully put her in his will so she was able to keep going.”

“Don’t worry, Alison, I’ll call my lawyer right away so you don’t need to be concerned about that. But don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen to me. ”

“Great, honey. Now that that’s off my mind, I will focus on our wedding plans. I can’t wait to see you tonight.”

John then joyously called his lawyer. All day, John couldn’t concentrate because he kept thinking of Alison. As soon as he was done for the day, he rushed outside and called for his limo. The driver said he was a few minutes away and would arrive as soon as possible. While he was waiting, John couldn’t help but notice a sense of danger in the air. He didn’t think much of it because he spent every moment thinking of Alison. As he saw the limo pulling into view, he walked a few feet to where it would pull over. He suddenly heard a gunshot behind him. He turned around and glanced at Alison’s gorgeous face as he heard another gunshot. He felt severe pain for a moment before everything went black.