Chapter 24
Ian’s voice came drifting into Sage’s ear when she was in the midst of stomping on the gas pedal. She raised her head immediately, only to find out that Ian was already standing next to her car.
Yes, she might be embarrassed because of what happened, but she wasn’t so immature to turn down his helping hand at a time like this.
Sage pouted as she undid her seatbelt and got out of the driving seat.
Ian got into the driving seat and spun the steering wheel around casually. Then, he threw the gear into reverse and slammed his foot onto the gas pedal. Just like that, he was able to back the tire out of the pit effortlessly.
Soon, he got out of the driving seat. “You can continue practicing now.”
Sage pouted once again as she got back into the seat. The moment she buckled her seatbelt, she was surprised to see lan getting into the front passenger seat.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded with a frown.
Ian shot Sage a glance. Instead of answering her question, he asked, “Why did you style your hair like this?”
Sage gazed at her shoulder–length wavy hair in the rearview mirror.
“It’s my hair. I do as I please to it. It has nothing to do with you.”
Ian’s expression crumbled slightly at Sage’s response.
“Is there anything else you’d like to talk about? If not, then get out of my car. Can’t you. see that I’m busy?”
Sage didn’t hesitate to chase lan out of her car.
Ian forced his anger down for the time being. He put on his seatbelt before snapping coldly, “Aren’t you going to practice your driving skills? What are you sitting around for?”
Sage could tell what Ian was up to. “Mind your own business. I’m fine with practicing
on my own.
Ian huffed in response. “In that case, how the hell did you get your tire stuck in a pit just now?”
1/5
“It was too dark. I just so happened to not notice the pit,” Sage grumbled stubbornly. “Are you sure you’ll be driving to brightly lit places without any obstacles in your way from now on?”
“I”
Just as Sage was about to refute, Ian cut her off impatiently. “I don’t want to be the one cleaning up your messes every time you fuck up! Now, start practicing already!”
Sage was rendered speechless. It was true that she was in the wrong for what had happened last time.
She decided to not argue with Ian anymore as she turned her attention back to the windshield. Then, she stepped down on the gas pedal.
No matter how reluctant Sage was to put up with Ian’s teaching, she had to admit that it was easier to drive thanks to him giving her occasional driving tips.
Soon, Sage was starting to get the hang of actions such as driving forward, turning the car around, and reversing the car.
“I’m tired, so I’ll continue practicing next time.”
Sage wasn’t just weary from the practice. Mimosa’s matters still weighed heavily on her mind. She couldn’t help but wonder if Shane had already gone through the initial draft of her proposal.
“Get out of the car, then.”
Sage parked her car next to lan’s.
Ian didn’t budge from his seat at all. Instead, he remarked casually, “Leave your car here. The driver will pick it up tomorrow morning. I want to see how skilled you are at reversing my car into the garage.”
Sage opted to not say anything about it.
When she finally drove back to the estate’s garage, she was bummed out by the
difficulty of having to reverse into the garage.
Even though there was a rearview camera helping her out on the monitor, she still couldn’t park the car properly in reverse.
“Pay attention to the yellow lines sketched on both sides of the tires. You should adjust the car’s angle while turning the steering wheel around slowly.”
To Sage’s surprise, lan actually leaned over to grab one of her
the steering wheel. She could feel his warmth seeping through the back of her hand. At the same time, she felt lan’s rock–hard chest resting against one of her shoulders.
The senation of lan’s warm breath hitting Sage’s ear made her extremely uncomfortable. She wanted to withdraw her hand while ducking to the left in order to avoid him, but she didn’t expect him to press his hand down onto hers.
“Focus. You’d better learn well,” he said seriously.
Once again, Sage fell silent.
Fine. She’d treat lan as a driving instructor who offered his services free of charge. In fact, she’d view him as a tool at her own disposal. She had to bear with him for the time being for the sake of learning how to drive.
Sage silently chanted those reasons like a mantra as she followed fan’s instructions dutifully. She started adjusting her car’s angle by spinning the steering wheel around. She looked incredibly serious during her practice. A light frown graced her features as she stared at the points of fixation seriously. Beads of sweat started to form on the tip of her nose from the intensity of the practice.
Ian could feel Sage’s soft hand under his own. At the same time, he could smell the light fragrance from her hair wafting up his nostrils.
For some reason, he found himself getting attracted to her.
Finally, Sage spun the steering wheel to the neutral axis and reversed the car into the garage once again. This time, the car was successfully parked within the slot.
“I did it!”
Sage raised her head happily, only to realize that lan was staring right at her. She could see her wide smile being reflected in those deep eyes of his.
They were awfully close to each other at that moment. Heck, they were so close that they could feel each other’s breaths.
It was Sage’s first time being so close to lan without quarreling with him. Her mind had gone blank at that moment. All she could do was stare at lan in a daze.
Ian slowly dipped his head toward Sage. She could see his handsome face slowly magnifying before her eyes. She could make out every strand of his thick and curly eyelashes as well as the outline of his lips…
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Sage finally snapped out of her stupor when Ian’s lips were about to touch hers. Her first instinct was to shove him away from her hastily.
“Did you get kicked in the head?” she roared, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and anger washing over her senses.
After that, she darted out of the car as quickly as she could.
Sage slapped herself in the head several times in a row. She mentally chastised herself for being pathetic and weak in front of Ian.
All he did was get awfully close to her. How the hell did she get so smitten with him?
They were about to get a divorce, damn it!
Once Sage reached the dining room, she saw Wanda, who was waiting for her and Ian to show up for dinner.
“Mrs. Holcomb, the staff from Holcomb Manor had brought over some corn chowder earlier. They said Mrs. Holcomb Senior was the one who specifically prepared it for you, so you must finish everything.”
Linda had a habit of having the staff at Holcomb Manor bring over some homemade dishes to Solaris Estate every now and then.
Sage used to love using Linda as an excuse to get lan to visit Holcomb Manor. Now, she refused to be in the same room as him.
“I’m not hungry, Wanda. I’m going to skip dinner tonight.”
“I thought you were anemic. Sit down and have dinner with me,” Ian spoke up at that
moment.
But Sage refused to acknowledge Ian’s order. She soon disappeared up the stairs.
“Sir, I’ll put away some leftovers for Mrs. Holcomb. She can have dinner later when she’s hungry.”
Ian disliked Sage’s flippant attitude greatly. “Don’t bother keeping any leftovers for her. She doesn’t want to have dinner, after all.”
Wanda dared not say anything after that.
Ian sat long enough to finish a bowl of corn chowder. He was still frustrated at that
time, so he threw his spoon onto the bowl in a loud clatter.
“Keep some leftovers. I’ll have them for supper.”
After that, lan left for the study.
Wanda looked quite puzzled at that request. Ian wasn’t the type to have supper at all.
Once Sage was done with her shower, she opened her inbox.
Shane had already shot her an email by then. Not only did he acknowledge her skills and capabilities, but he also made a few reasonable suggestions to help improve her proposal.
It turned out that Shane was a quick and efficient worker despite looking like at hedonistic playboy.
Sage knew very well that she needed to go over many generic aspects if she wanted to draft a detailed investment proposal. She was now pumped and ready to start working on the proposal.
Suddenly, a dull thud echoed from outside the room.
