The Job Offer

Anne returned to the inn late that afternoon after a long day on the water kayaking. The sky was overcast and she could feel rain in the air. Fitting, she thought. She wouldn’t have been able to stay at the inn and watch Ben leave, and she also didn’t want to face her parents, so she left early that morning. She and Ben said their goodbyes the night before and a whole lot more. She was not up to seeing his derision today when he looked at her. Over the course of the day she went through every minute of their time together, and her heart ached with pain. She honestly had no idea that he was Benjamin Stanford, and it hurt her tremendously that he accused her of using him to get a job with his company. Then she went and fell in love with the man she thought he was, the grown boy from her youth. That should teach her to follow her heart. Whenever she overrode her logic, she always got into trouble.

  She walked into her parents' empty house and went to the kitchen for a bottle of water. She had not eaten anything since last night and only had a bottle of water during the whole day. She was dehydrated, hungry, and had a terrible headache from caffeine withdrawal. After deciding to make herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she went to the counter by the silverware drawer and saw a business card with the Stanford Enterprise logo sitting on the counter. Looking at the front, she saw Ben's, make that Benjamin Stanford's, contact information at the office printed in neat lettering.

  He probably stopped by to rake her over the coals again or threaten her with legal action if she declined the job now that the contract was signed. That’s probably what his phone message was about earlier. She did not want to answer it and turned her phone off when she saw that it was from him. She was just not in the mood to deal with what he would throw at her next, and knowing that when she finally saw him again, it would be at a distance as boss and employee, she picked up the card and threw it in the garbage. If he wanted to talk to her, he had her cell phone number.

  Chapter 17