Chapter Eight

SAGE

TITAN barked and ran around Sage as he circled the plane for pre-flight checks. There was something about Miss. Derrick that moved him. He wasn't sure what it was, but Titan 's relentless urge to bark at him didn't help him organize his thoughts.

He bent down and patted Titan 's head.

"Be quiet, my boy. I need to focus," he said.

As he circled the plane, he saw Miss. Derrick and Joseph. They are talking and smiling. Seeing their joy upset him. But then that feeling stopped him. What's the matter with him? The day had just begun, and he was already grumpy.

"I just finished my final inspection," he said, clearing his throat and nodding his head toward the plane.

Irena stared at him.

"Sage, are you a pilot?

Sage smiled. This plane is his child. It is his second home. A gift from her father on graduation day. It's ironic because his dad hates that he went to flying school instead of Harvard.

"Kennedy 's going to Harvard, Sage."

To this day, her father's voice still rings in her ears.

But now is not the time to think about that father. There's no need to stir up those emotions as well.

"Yes. Isn't she a beauty?" he said, placing his hand on the outside of the plane.

Irena kept staring at him. "Will you fly this to Greenland?"

Why is it so hard to believe?

"Yes. I'm a pilot. I came and – before you asked me – yes, I graduated from flight school."

Her cheeks flushed red. It accentuates those damn freckles.

She leans over to Joseph.

"Did you fly with him?"

Joseph sneered.

"He's an excellent driver."

Irena looked at Sage then walked back to the plane.

Suspicious enough, Sage stepped forward and grabbed the railing of the stairs and knocked them both down at once.

"Let's go," he said as he stepped onto the plane.

Familiar sights and scents relax him. That's exactly what he needed. He sighed as he took off his vest and hung it over the back of one of the chairs.

A loud thud from the plane's entrance grew louder. Irena walked out the door with a suitcase in hand and a displeased look on her face. Sage started moving to help her, but then he shook his head. He even doubted that she would accept his help if he offered.

And right now, he didn't want to be rejected by Irena Derrick.

Instead, he turned around and took a bottle of water from the mini fridge

.

"Where am I sitting?" she asked.

He turned to her and glanced around.

"Choose a seat. Any chair is fine."

She looked at him. Then step onto the chair furthest away from him.

"Did you steal everything? Or do you have a copilot?"

Sage glanced at her. Did he detect the sound of hope in her voice? He jerked his head toward the cockpit.

"Just me and Titan."

Titan barks.

"Is your dog your copilot?"

"Best around."

She laughs.

"I guess you don't care about the FAA. You feel like you're above the rules" she said under her breath.

Sage stopped and stared at her.

"What?"

She looked at him.

"What?"

"You mean I'm above the rules?"

She pursed her lips.

Disappointment boiled in him. She watched the news. Well, he should have expected that.

"Perhaps you should try asking questions and find out the truth before you assume, Miss. Derrick," he said.

She frowned and leaned back in her chair.

"Are you telling me you're going to tell me the truth?"

He took a step forward, inches away from her. There's nothing he hates more than people assuming everything about him. He was not her father, and he was not the father of her past.

"You'll find that I'm more permissive when you ask." His voice was lower than expected.

"How can I believe you're honest?"

"I'm sure you have feelings for me and my family. But your review is not what I paid for in your magazine. Pick yourself up and do your job." He pulled away from her and headed for the cockpit.

His muscles tightened. Who is she to make such judgments about him? She doesn't know him.

"Sorry?" She almost shouted after him. "Mr. Kennedy, this is not judgmental. This is a matter of right and wrong."

His gaze fell on her.

"And you're an expert on right and wrong?"

"I like to think people pay me to be an expert. That's the job of a journalist."

Sage snorted as he turned around and started preparing for the flight. I looked at their magazine. He knew they were in trouble. Amanda thought that Kennedy Outdoors would definitely get a standout story if they offered the Magazine a substantial amount of money. Irena seemed pretty haughty with the items they took out.

"Seven ways to please your man?" Are you an expert on this? He looked at her.

"It wasn't my paper," she said, leaning back and crossing her arms.

He could tell he was shaking her. Her cheeks flushed pink.

He forced a smile. All journalists are the same. Good and complete sense of their own.

"Sure. We'll agree.

"What about you? Pretending to love the outdoors, but secretly hunting illegal animals with your dad?"

His chest tightened at the mention of his father. He turned and stared at her.

"Don't talk like you know me or my dad."

Her eyes widened for a moment, then crossed her arms.

"All billionaires are the same."

"Yeah? Well, all reporters are the same."

She opened her mouth, and he could see the reporter word forming on her lips. But Joseph appeared behind her and raised her hand. hands up.

"Joseph, come in please." Sage said as he looked at Irena and walked past her and the rest of the plane.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, but Amanda called you on my phone. Looks like she can't reach you?" Joseph hands Sage the phone.

Sage picks it up and walks away. towards the stairs

"Hello"

"Sage?"

"Yeah."

"What's going on? Why don't you answer my call?"

"Relax, Amanda. I'm just preparing for the plane. Miss. Derrick and I will be leaving in less than twenty minutes."

She was silent for a moment.

"Joseph said he heard you arguing. Are you arguing with Miss. Derrick?"

"No."

Amanda sighed.

"Stop arguing with her. We need her to write a positive article."

Sage shrugs. Amanda wants him to play nice, huh? But Irena Derrick is just that annoying. He took a deep breath.

"Alright."

"Good. Call me as soon as you arrive in Greenland. We have a lot to do.

"Yeah." He ended the call and got on the plane. "Here Joseph," he said, handing her the phone.

Joseph picked it up and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Well, I should go. I will see you when you come back." He nodded and slid out of the plane.

There was silence as Sage gathered his thoughts. He didn't want to apologize to the angry woman in front of him. But he knew it was his duty now. Embrace those who hold their future in their hands.

"Miss. Derrick, I think we may have started the wrong way."

She scoffed at him.

Frustration built up in him, but he exhaled.

"Can we continue?

She studied him. He flinched under her scrutiny. Finally, she sighed and sat up.

"Let's move on," she said, holding out her hand.

Sage glanced at it then caught his gesture. Small sparks shot out from his arm as he felt his skin. It used all its strength not to back down.

At the end of the allotted time, he let go.

"We should move."

A glance crossed her face, and for a moment she seemed to have felt something, too. Lam shook his head. He is ridiculous. There is no feeling between them.

Looking at his watch, he whistled. Titan thundered up the stairs.

"Time to go, man," he said, patting his dog's head. Titan turned around and started licking Sage 's hand.

Sage sat up and finished preparing the plane for take-off. Irena's words flashed through his mind.

The things she said about him and his father... made his stomach hurt. No matter how much he tried to push them away, they stayed.

As he closed the plane door, he sighed. That's not what he wanted to do right now. He should never have allowed people into his life, even if she was there to help him. Experience has taught him that when you are alone, you will never hurt yourself. And Sage was determined to never get hurt again.