AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Great, great.” The man turns to the others with him. “Henry is the man who’s working with Altech to expand bioengineering farms in the area that will provide more local jobs. It’ll be great for our economy and health since we all know that bioengineered crops are better for human consumption.
“I’ll have to disagree.” The words jump from me without a second thought.
All eyes turn to me when I speak up. The men look at me as if I am a green alien.
“The issue with genetic engineering is that we don’t fully understand the potential consequences of interfering in natural processes. Biotechnology has the potential to benefit mankind, but it can be risky if there’s a slight mistake made or if someone has malicious intent.“ I bite my lip when I realize their frowns have deepened.
“I don’t see how reducing human exposure to pesticides—chemicals with known toxicity—is a problem,” the man says with a condescending chuckle.
“Of course pesticides are harmful, but I think it’s important—with anything—to understand limitations and allow nature to take its course instead of playing God.”
“Who is this?” Another man points at me, a glass of whisky in hand.
“This is Sage, my girlfriend.” Tristan proudly states, wrapping an arm around my waist.
I tense at the more intimate posture and look over at him. He’s smiling widely, with no concern about our closeness.
“Well, Sage, it seems you are wise.“ The man laughs at his own joke.
“That’s what I said when we first met,” Tristan says, laughing politely. “Turns out she hates the joke.”
I cough at his honesty. It’s true. It gets old after twenty-five years.
“Impressive.” Alexander nods. “Quite smart.” The way he says it echoes with disbelief.
I don’t know if that speaks more of me or of Tristan for meeting someone with my understanding of science.
“She’s more than quite smart, Father,” Tristan defends. I guess he heard the same tone. “We need to get going. We have a prior engagement we committed to before I heard from you this week.” He frowns apologetically, and I almost believe him.
“Come by for dinner one night,” Alexander says. “With Sage.” He looks at me.
Oh, boy. I think we either sold our relationship too well, or his parents are going to put us to the test.
“I’ll be in touch,” Tristan says, the ever-polite son.
We say goodbye to his mother, giving the same excuse, and leave the house. I finally let out a deep breath and look at Tristan. We both start laughing at the same time.
“Prior engagement?” I look at him.
“Sure. Wanna grab dinner? I’m starving. I really didn’t want to eat what would likely be something too fancy for my tastes—some exotic fish or venison.”
“Oh, I do like venison,” I say.
“Really?” Tristan’s face twists in disgust.
“Yes,” I laugh, slapping his arm. “My dad used to hunt. I was brought up on it.”
“I hate it.” His face screws. “I’d rather have a burger. I’m going to call my brother and see if he and Lex want to join us.”
He opens the car door for me, and I almost twist my ankle as I slide in. Tristan grabs my arm above the elbow.
“Careful there.”
I nod, take a breath, and slowly sit. These heels are dangerous. And the idea of meeting his brother intimidates me more than meeting his parents.
“Does he know about our deal? Your brother?” I ask when he’s seated in the driver’s side.
“Nope, and I’d rather keep it that way for now, if it’s okay.”
