Page 17 of A Rebel's Shot

He got the impression that she hadn’t been there long. So how had she remembered so many people’s names? And not just the supervisors or the workers in the office. Some of the people he’d met today were just normal Joes like him.

Grunts.

And she had talked with them like they were the most important person at the site.

All while maintaining this cool façade of control.

Was that something rich people trained into theirkids? Or did it come with the knowledge that anything they wanted was within their grasp?

Anything.

Because with the type of money the Harland family was made of, buying spots on Elon Musk’s Mars colony wouldn’t even put a dent in their bottom line.

He shook the thought off and focused on the landing procedure. The sun glittered off the Arctic Ocean. A humpback breached in the distance, levitating out of the water and crashing down with a splash. The plane vibrated with energy under him and filled him with peace.

That’s what he loved about flying.

Creation’s proclamation of a creator was never more evident than while soaring through the sky. It was the same with hunting. High in the air and deep in the bush, Tiikâan could just be.

No comparing.

No shortcomings.

Just himself.

“Well, how was the first day?” Merritt’s cool question crashed into his peace, and in that half dreamlike state he spewed the first thing that popped in his head.

“‘Life swings like a pendulum backward and forward between pain and boredom.’” He inwardly groaned as he turned his face away, pretending to check gauges.

He’d found the Arthur Schopenhauer quote in middle school and had used it every time he had to do something mind-numbing in school. It’d spilled into his daily thoughts during his service in the Air Force.

But saying it to the person who with one word couldmake sure his clawing out of the pit of bankruptcy didn’t happen probably wasn’t smart.

A startled laugh jumped from her. “That bad?”

He shrugged it off. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Well, a pendulum of pain and boredom certainly isn’t good.” She shook her head, her fingers going to her necklace like they seemed to do when she was nervous.

He slid the plane onto the runway and kept the conversation up while he made his way to his rented spot.

“I found that quote by philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer when I was eleven. Shocked the heck out of Mom when I used it during my grammar lesson one day.”

“I bet.” She turned her face toward him.

“The next time I said it, she came back with ‘Only boring people get bored.’” He cringed.

“Ouch.” Merritt chuckled.

He looked at her with a mock expression of offense and waved his hand up and down his body. “Do I look like a boring person to you?”

The way her fingers froze on her necklace as she scanned him had him straightening his spine. When her cheeks pinkened and her muscles tensed before she turned to pack her computer in her bag, he inwardly preened.

“No.” The word whispered out all airy, and Tiikâan’s own breath snagged in his chest.

Nope.

He would not let his restlessness create more trouble. He couldn’t afford to look at Merritt any other way than ashis boss.

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