Charles almost slapped himself in the face in that moment.
Five months ago, when he had first reached out to the CEO of Starlight Airlines and asked for Kaija Sepala's contact information, he had been coldly rejected.
"We are responsible for protecting the personal information of our employees, along with their flight schedules, for aviation safety reasons, Mr. Kosonen," the CEO had said.
When the call ended, the rich and powerful Charles Kosonen experienced, for the first time in his life, the frustration of realizing there were things money and power still could not buy.
Hence, he had prepared his mind and his schedule for the next few months of his life: to fly exclusively with this airline, until he encountered the girl with that mesmerizing voice again.
Every time he failed to meet the person he was looking for, he left behind a long trail of irritated complaints, ensuring the airline would not assign the same attendant to his flight again.
Five months of constant travel and being cramped between strangers later, it seemed his effort had finally paid off.
And yet, the moment he recognized the girl in the flight attendant uniform, the moment those deep blue eyes turned his way, all words drained from him.
Instead, they were replaced by a question so irrelevant, if not outright stupid, that it slipped out from him in a moment of sheer surprise.
Worse still, before that foolish question, he had been so irritated by the unpleasant meeting earlier that morning that he had left his luggage in the aisle, only to realize too late that it was her who had come to lift it for him.
Now the girl was down on one knee before him, her blue eyes blinking up slowly, as if still processing his question, or choosing the right words to respond.
"Could you please say that again?" she asked, the smile never once leaving her face.
With no way to retreat now, Charles reluctantly repeated himself, his tone as calm as ever. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
He could see something instantly stiffened in that bright smile the moment he finished his words.
"Yes, Mr. Kosonen, I have a boyfriend." she replied, her tone calm despite the strange question.
For a moment, no reaction came from Charles, not even a response.
His face remained blank as ever, though inside, something sour twisted in his chest.
Seeing no reaction from him, Kaija's smile faded slightly. "May I serve you a welcome drink?" she added, ever dutiful. "Today we have watermelon juice, lemon ju—"
"No need," he cut her off. "May I have your number instead?"
This time, the smile vanished completely from her face.
"We're not allowed to share our contact numbers, as per operational guidelines, I'm afraid," she said, watching every change in his expression closely.
"I'm aware," he replied. "I've already spoken to your boss, and he gave me the same answer."
Kaija's eyes narrowed slightly.
She stole a glance at the purser in the galley, who was watching her every move, then turned back to him.
"You've been looking for me?" she asked in a low voice. "May I know why?"
Her subtle concern didn't escape his keen eyes.
He pulled out the note tucked inside the inner pocket of his vest jacket along with his pen, quietly lowering them to her level, out of the purser's sight.
"I can see that we're not in the right place to discuss what I need to discuss with you, Kaija," he said. "I can only tell you now that I have an offer to make.
"If you're interested, write your number on this note, and I'll make arrangements to see you later."
Kaija fell quiet as she considered his words.
As much as she didn't want to break company rules, she also didn't sense any bad intentions in the way those silver eyes looked down at her.
Earlier, when Charles Kosonen had boarded the plane, the silver in those eyes was as cold and emotionless as steel.
Now, all she could see was calm sincerity, with a hint of strange softness at their depths.
"Just don't tell anyone that I gave you my number," she said quietly, reaching for the note and pen in his hand and scribbling her number onto the small piece of paper.
The corner of his mouth curved faintly as the note and the pen landed back into his palm.
"When does your duty end for today?" he asked, tucking the note away. "Will you be laying over somewhere, or returning to Z City within the day?"
"This is my last flight for the day, Mr. Kosonen," she replied. "But please note that I'll only be free after 6 PM today."
"Then I shall reach out to you after I return to my hotel," he said.
"Take your time," she replied with a slight nod, rising to her feet. "If there's nothing else I can help you with, I'll excuse myself and return to my duties."
He gave her a slight nod along with a faint smile in acknowledgment.
A friendly, commercial smile appeared on her face in return, before she turned on her heels and made her way back to the galley.
For the rest of the flight, they didn't exchange another word.
When the plane landed, though Charles had left his luggage for her to stow at the beginning of the flight, he finally corrected his clumsy mistake by retrieving it from the overhead compartment himself.
Then he left the plane with the same steely expression he had boarded with, though on his way out, Kaija thought she caught a glimpse of those silver eyes glancing her way one last lingering time.
"What did the VVIP say to you at the beginning of the flight?" the purser whispered as they stood bidding farewell to departing passengers.
"Nothing important," Kaija replied evenly, not feeling inclined to share a single detail. "He asked about the departure time, flight duration, and what was on the menu. That's all."
"Did he make any complaints? Anything that displeased him?" the purser pressed.
"Nothing at all," Kaija replied quickly. "He didn't even want the welcome drink. Didn't want any meal either."
"Good," the purser nodded curtly. "If Flight Service contacts you about any complaints from him, tell them exactly that."
Kaija nodded slightly, lips spreading into an obedient smile as if she had taken in every word.
In her mind, now that both flights were done, she couldn't care less about Charles Kosonen and his complaints, or whatever intentions he might have had when he took her number earlier anymore.
Now, she had a more pressing problem called Niklas and Marja on her mind.