Crash Landing by Lori Wilde

shrugged, kept her voice even. What was she supposed to do? She specialized in taking tourists around Cordillera of Tilarán. It was her niche market. There were a couple of other bush pilots in the area, but it was not super competitive.
    “It probably won’t put you out of business completely,” he said. “You might suffer a drop in income, but you can make up for it in other ways.”
    “You think so?”
    He looked uneasy. “Sure.”
    “You know nothing about my finances. I have to make a certain amount to afford fuel and insurance and upkeep on the plane. That drop in income that you shrug off like it is inconsequential would be enough to ground me.”
    “There will always be people who want to fly over the mountains,” he said. From the expression on his face, he thought this was a lame assurance, too.
    “People come to Costa Rica for the ecotourism. Why take a gas guzzling old plane when they can hop on Gibb Martin’s spectacular green transportation system.” She hugged herself, leaned in closer to the fire.
    “It might not even work. The project is a big gamble.”
    “If you didn’t believe in it, you wouldn’t have thrown your time and money into it.”
    “This transportation system will transform the way people travel, Sophia. It will benefit millions.”
    “And only a few bush pilots will be out of a job.”
    “It will create more jobs and Costa Rica will be at the forefront of the technology.”
    He was right. She knew it. Slap a “selfish” label on her. She’d found the one thing in the world she loved more than anything else and the man sitting across from her was putting it in jeopardy.
    “I know it’s a shock, but you have years to adjust. The track won’t even be completed for at least two years, possibly much longer since we’re in Costa Rica.”
    “Score one for me,” she said, trying to joke, but it came out sounding sarcastic.
    “I’ll help you get another flying job. Hell, you could work for me,” he said.
    “Oh, I’m sure your current pilot would love having a little bush pilot in the cockpit with him.”
    “You’d need to have more training, of course, but it’s a thought.”
    “I get it. When you run into a problem, you throw money at it and expect it to go away.”
    Gibb stood up and stalked over to her. He grasped her chin and gently but firmly forced her to look at him. “That’s not what this is about.”
    She wrenched away from him. “It sure feels like it. You tell me your project is going to implode my world and, by the way, here’s some money, go get more training and then come work for me?”
    “I’m trying to forge a relationship here, Sophia. Between you and me. I made a mess and I want to clean it up. Earlier today you accused me of caring more about my goals than people. I’m trying to show you that’s not true.”
    “Giving me a job to prove you have fantastic relationship skills doesn’t make you people oriented. With you, making money will always come first.”
    “You don’t know me well enough to make that assumption.”
    She raised both palms, got to her feet. “You’re right, I don’t know you personally, but you’ve been on my radar for two weeks and I have to say, actions do speak louder than words.”
    “Sophia, I regret that I’ve hurt you—”
    “I’m fine. I’m walking away from this discussion. You’re going to do what you’re going to do and it’s up to me to take care of myself. I’ll find an answer on my own. I’m not your problem.”
    “It doesn’t have to be like this. There’s a solution.”
    “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” She strode back to the plane. Rich men. Pfttt.
    She reached El Diablo, rested her head on the wing. She was accusing Gibb of a lot of things, but she had her faults, too. Chief among them, she hated change. Life was easy for her. She was her own boss, set her own hours. She was only twenty-six and owned her own plane. She liked her life and did not want to adjust to a