The Job Offer

By mutual agreement, everyone decided to remain at the inn that morning. After showering, Anne and Ben went downstairs and had breakfast with Ben's family before splitting up to pursue their own activities. Ben had work he was trying to get a jump on before Monday when he went to Asia for his business trip. He explained to her the night before that he needed to make an unexpected early trip to China to straighten out some paperwork that could not be done by someone else or from a distance. Since the tailor was also coming around noon to deliver the tuxes for the wedding, and Lily and Melissa were having final fittings for their dresses that morning, too, the entire Carlson party was staying close to the inn.

  Anne had business of her own to see to so she was not unhappy by missing time with Ben. They made plans to meet for lunch at one and go for a bike ride to Orcas Village that afternoon. When she finished with her breakfast, Anne went in search of her mother and informed her about the job offer and that an employment contract was being faxed to her at the inn's number. Her mother promised to call her when it came through. While she waited, she went onto the patio and read the mystery that she had picked up at Boston's Logan Airport in a little store so that she would have something to read on the flight. She didn’t get much of a chance to read it while flying out to Seattle but made a serious dent in the book yesterday. Between reviewing her notes for the interview and an overly talkative man in the seat next to her on the flight, she only had half of the first chapter read by the time the plane touched down at Sea-Tac. Yesterday, she got all the way to chapter nine before she decided on a swim.

  A few minutes after nine, her mother found her on the patio and handed her the fax that had just come through. The cover sheet bore the logo of Stanford Enterprises. She didn’t want to read the contract outside, so she carried it into a quiet meeting room and looked through it. The contract terms were more than fair. Her starting salary was about what she had been making at her old company, and the benefits were good. She would start out with two weeks of paid vacation that she could start to use after the first six months. She reached the final page and saw that Benjamin Stanford III, Ms. Tomlinson, and Dr. Rudolph had already signed the contract. There was a spot for her to sign, and she used the pen that she borrowed from the office to sign her name "Dr. Jane A. Conner" on the paper. Then she left the room so that she could fax it back to Stanford Enterprises in the office.

  While carrying the fax with her, Anne went through to the lobby and was bumped by someone from behind. The contact caused her to drop the contract on the floor. When she knelt down to pick up the scattered papers, she saw a woman's hand grab the cover sheet that showed the company logo and listed her name as the recipient. Anne looked at the woman, saw that the other woman was Chelsea Riverton, and groaned. Chelsea had a smug look on her face that Anne would have loved to wipe off. She probably bumped into her on purpose.

  "I'll take that, please." Anne took the cover sheet immediately out of Chelsea's hand and stood up.

  "What are you doing with a fax from Stanford Enterprises?"

  "That's really none of your business, Chelsea. If you will excuse me, I have some things to attend to." After she stood, Anne took the fax, walked back to the office, and used the fax machine. Then she waited until it went through then called Ms Tomlinson to confirm that the fax was received.

  After she took care of her business, Anne took the contract to her parents' house and put it in her briefcase that she had sitting on the floor next to her dresser. Then she smeared sunscreen on her face, neck, and arms and went for a walk so that she could get away from the inn for a while. She took off down the drive until she came to Ocean’s Drive then turned left. Following the path that led to Eastsound, she continued walking and enjoyed the clear morning sunshine. It was a comfortable temperature and a nice breeze stirred the grasses of the watershed area that she walked through on her way into Eastsound. As she walked she thought about her discussion with Ben the night before. She could already feel that her emotions were involved.

  Their relationship was not just about sex. At least not to her, it wasn’t. What she felt for him in the past seemed like a child’s crush compared to what she felt now. When the week ended, she knew that she was going to be hurt, and she realized that she needed to think about how she could protect her heart from further pain before Ben left on Sunday. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to be with him. But he made it clear last night that he would not want to take their relationship further than this week.

  As difficult as it would be, she would not contact him once she moved to Seattle. Since he didn’t want to see her again, there was also no point in telling him that she was moving in the first place. With more than 3.5 million people in the Seattle metro area, it was doubtful that they would ever run into one another.

  The thought of never seeing Ben again after Sunday made her walk faster to chase away her heavy feelings. It dawned on her suddenly that she had fallen in love with him, and the knowledge robbed her of breath. Her chest hurt, and she groaned. How stupid could she get! No wonder her heart hurt at the idea of not seeing him again. Her logical scientist's brain was telling her it simply was not possible. It was far too close to love at first sight, something she simply did not believe in. It didn’t matter that she had been attracted to him years ago. But she knew what she felt, and if she and Ben had more time together, she knew that they could have something special.

  That stopped her. She was not going to ask for more from him. He liked her. Yes! But he did not feel the same way about her that she felt about him. She was not going to turn into another Chelsea.

  She stopped walking and looked around her. She recognized the point. She had walked almost six miles to the east and could see the gates for Morgan State Park up ahead and Mount Constitution in the distance. The mountain was the highest point in the San Juan Islands, and if she had more time, she would keep walking until she reached the observation tower at the summit. But that would take far too much time. As it was, she needed to head back to the inn. She forgot her watch, but could tell by where the sun was in the sky that it was already past noon. She doubted that she and Ben would have time to bike down to Orcas Village, but they could take a short trip if they set out once she got back.

  At least their families were not expecting them that night. Anne and Ben were planning on skipping dinner with the families so that the rest of the afternoon and evening would be theirs. With only a few short days, she didn’t want to miss any more time with him. The clock was ticking. They only had about seventy-two hours before he left for good, and she wanted to spend as much of those hours with him as she could before they said goodbye.

  It took her a few more hours to walk back, and her feet hurt long before she limped up the drive to the inn. Her canvas shoes may work for everyday wear, but they were the wrong shoes for a long walk, especially without socks. She could already feel the blisters forming on her heels and big toe. She chastised herself for her mistake. She should have changed into walking shoes before she left, but she just did not expect to walk for so long. She also had left her cell phone in the suite, so she couldn’t even call for a ride. Limping into her parents' house before going to Ben's suite, she pulled off her shoes and reached for a few bandages. Then she grabbed a pair of socks and her walking shoes and put them as she grimaced at the pain.

  After taking a bottle of water from her parents' refrigerator, she slipped up the back way and let herself into Ben's sitting room. He wasn't in the suite, but she simply could not walk anymore to go find him, and she did not have his cell number. Her feet were throbbing, so she dropped down on the couch and put her feet up. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew Ben was sitting on the coffee table watching her. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, and she felt suddenly overwhelmed by the tender expression she saw in his eyes.

  "Hi. What time is it?" She sat up and pushed her hair back from her face.

/>   "It's after three. I was worried about you. We were supposed to meet in the dining room for lunch. You never showed. Then when you didn’t come, I went looking for you. I checked up here twice, your parents' house once, and everywhere else I could think of. I wasn't sure if you had changed your mind about being with me anymore." His gaze was intent upon her face, and a worried line appeared between his eyebrows. "Did you change your mind?"

  "No. I went for a walk to clear my head and lost track of the time. I forgot my watch. I'm sorry to have worried you." She was becoming confused by the look on his face. Perhaps he cared more than she thought.

  "It's alright." He leaned forward and kissed her softly then leaned back again. "Did you eat anything?"

  "No, and I'm pretty hungry."

  "I'm sure you are. I didn’t eat anything either. Come on, we’ll get something to eat in the dining room." He reached across to help her stand, but as soon as she stepped down with her full weight on her feet, she gasped in pain. "What is it, Anne?" He helped her sit back down again.

  "It’s nothing. I didn't change my shoes before I left for my walk, and now I've got a few blisters. If you don't mind, I think I'm going to forego biking this afternoon." Ben helped her put her feet on the table, and she leaned back against the couch and sighed. "You'll have to go without me."

  "No, I'll stay here. Did you put some antibacterial cream on the blisters?" At the shake of her head, he frowned. "Did you do anything?"

  "I put on bandages."

  Ben sighed then told her to stay put, as if she was going anywhere, she thought. He picked up the room phone and ordered sandwiches, diet sodas, and popcorn from the dining room. Then he called the front desk and asked for some first aid supplies and a footbath to be brought up to the room. After that he walked into the bathroom and returned a minute later with a towel and her shorts. He put the towel on the floor in front of her, then sat down on the table and began untying her shoes.

  "I can do that," she told him lazily, but she made no move to do it herself.

  "I know." He pulled one shoe and sock off. After looking at her bandaged foot, he said 'tsk' and made her smile before he removed the bandages. Then he removed the shoe, sock, and bandages from her other foot, before he set her foot down and reached for the snap of her jeans.

  "I can do that, too." She stopped his hands and looked up at his face.

  "I know that, too." His hands made short work on the snap and zipper before he helped her pull the jeans off. Then he reached for her shorts that he had set on the couch next to her.

  "You know. I can dress myself. I've been doing for a number of years now." The man was just too much at times, she thought lightly, but he gave her a playful smile that caused her heart to flip.

  "Humor me," was all he said with that charming smile that revealed a dimple before he lifted one leg and looped her shorts over her foot before he did the same for the other leg. Then with him kneeling in front of her, she helped him slide the shorts up her legs and zipper the fly before snapping them closed. "Admit it. You enjoyed that."

  "I did not." She spoiled it by laughing.

  "You'll enjoy it more when I take them off of you, later." She laughed again at the exaggerated leer he gave her when he said that.

  "You're terrible. What's the popcorn for?"

  "Since it looks like we won't be going anywhere for the rest of the day, that would make this movie night, or afternoon as the case may be. Have you seen the new James Bond movie?"

  "Twice, but I can watch it again."

  "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

  A soft knock sounded at the door, and Ben stood up to answer it. The food, drinks, first aid supplies, and footbath were all delivered and placed where he indicated. Then he tipped the two employees and saw them out. The footbath felt heavenly on her sore feet, and she soaked them in the warm Epsom salt water while she ate her turkey sandwich. Ben pulled up the menu for the on-demand movie streaming service the inn used, and as she soaked her feet, they watched the latest Bond movie. The food was delicious but she especially enjoyed the popcorn. What was it about popcorn with a movie? About midway through the movie, Ben pressed the "pause" button to stop the movie and dried her feet before he saw to her blisters. He certainly liked to spoil her, she thought. But she was not going to complain.

  They spent the rest of the afternoon snuggled up on the couch watching the rest of the movie. Then they followed that with a game of cribbage and a Seattle Mariners' game on the television. During the baseball game, he told her all of the finer points on baseball in between their on and off casual conversation on other topics. At one point, when Ben became excited at a triple play, Anne stared at his face and was struck by the strong feeling of affection that she felt while she watched him. She smiled at him tenderly. Later he argued with the umpire over a close play at home plate, and she laughed over his involvement in the game.

  Midway through the game, Ben ordered a sausage and pepperoni pizza and a couple of beers that were delivered during the seventh inning stretch. They consumed the food and beer greedily and cheered the Mariners on to a tenth inning victory over the Detroit Tigers. When the game was finished, Ben turned off the television and stacked up all of their garbage and foot care products by the door.

  "Admit it, you like baseball," he said as he sat back down next to her.

  "I do like baseball. It's just a game that I prefer watching in the stadium instead of on T.V.," she told him as he took her hand in his.

  "Come back sometime, and I'll take you to a Mariners game." He stared straight ahead at the television screen. The room became silent, and she wondered if he was holding his breath. Was that his subtle way of saying he wanted to keep seeing her or just a casual comment people made all of the time? She just did not know.

  "Maybe I will take you up on that." She spoke softly and watched him release a slow breath. Then he smiled and looked over at her before leaning in to give her a quick peck on her lips. She looked into his warm brown eyes and began to hope that he wanted the relationship to go beyond that week.

  "I need to get some exercise," he said suddenly. "I’ve been sitting too long. Do you feel up to going for a walk?"

  "I think so."

  She put her socks and walking shoes back on and took his hand for him to pull her up off of the couch. Then he walked with her to the balcony, opened the door, and waited for her to leave before he closed it. The sun was setting over the channel, coloring the sky. There was still enough light to see by, though, so they took off down the path to the dock to watch the final fall of the sun over the water. Their hands were entwined, Anne’s held securely in the warmth of his, as they walked over to the spot by the water that they had stopped at two nights before. Ben sat on the tree trunk and pulled her down onto his lap so that he could hold her in the circle of his arms.

  In the silence of the still night, they watched the sun finish setting over the calm water. The reds, oranges, and purples of the sky caught in the clouds to give the night a magical glow as the sun set behind Waldron Island. The colorful display was replaced by a dark sky filled with stars that twinkled down at them as if pinholes were made in a piece of paper and a light shown from behind. This was why you left the city, Anne thought. You just couldn’t get sunsets like that unless you were outside of the city lights.

  When the night bugs came out and started attacking them, Ben kissed her in a passionless meeting of their mouths that shook her more than a passionate kiss would have done. The sound of a fish breaking the surface of the water and the call of an owl went unnoticed. After standing up, Ben took her hand again in his larger one and walked with her back to his suite. They walked in silence, and neither of them spoke until the balcony door to his room was opened, and they were ready to walk inside. That’s when Ben stopped to look at her.

  "Anne."

  It was just the one word. Her name was spoken as a question, a sta
tement, a prayer. Anne took Ben’s hand and pulled him inside of the bedroom quietly then locked the door behind her.

  Once inside, she led him to the bed and they undressed each other in silence. Once they stood in front of each other unclothed, their lips touched until the passion built and they both felt the need to lie down. They made love to each other, glorying in each other’s touch and taste, until they were left lying breathless and sated in each other's arms. Eventually, Anne fell asleep snuggled next to him. Her head rested on his shoulder, and her hand pressed soft against his heart. She missed seeing his expression of surprise. He forgot to grab a condom again. He wondered if his subconscious was telling him something. His slips the past two days could either lead to something wonderful or mess up their lives in a very big way.

  Chapter 14