The Job Offer (6 page)

He saw a flash of mint green and white
out of the corner of his eye and looked up just in time to see Anne walk into
her parents' house.  Quickly shutting off his laptop, he waited, watching the
door to see if she would come out again.  When she didn't, he knew that she was
getting ready for dinner which she would likely have in the dining room with
her parents.  He had almost asked her to have dinner with him earlier before
Lily had interrupted.  Then the moment was lost.  As it was, he would be eating
with his family and the rest of the wedding party tonight in the dining room. 
If he played his cards right, though, he would be able to also spend some time
with Anne after dinner.

She finally began walking up the path to
the back entrance, and his mouth went dry at the sight of her.  Her hair was
down loose over her naked shoulders, curling in that wild mass that he always
loved.  She wore a white halter top dress that clasped around her neck.  The
fabric molded to her breasts and her hips before ending at mid thigh.  The
dress was one step away from being indecent but still maintained respectability. 
She had the best legs, and they were shown to perfection with a pair of heeled
silver sandals.  Each movement she made as she walked aroused him and he
shifted in his chair to ease the discomfort.  Who would have thought that the
brainy girl with the adventurous spirit would also become so damn sexy?  He was
definitely finding her later.

Ben quickly showered and shaved before
getting dressed in charcoal gray trousers, a dove gray button down silk shirt, and
his black dress loafers.  After splashing on some cologne, he quickly went
downstairs to the dining room where he saw Anne sitting with her parents across
the room from where his party was seated.  Lily and Tom, Lily’s fiancé, were
already at the table talking to his mother and stepfather.  Also sitting there
was Melissa, the matron of honor.  He was the last person to arrive.  Well, he
thought, as long as he was late, what were a few more minutes?  He quickly
crossed the room to the Petrovic table.

"Ben.  How nice it is to see you
again."  He was greeted by Anne’s mother, Jane Petrovic, as he approached. 
Anne was facing away from him when he walked up giving him an excellent view of
her naked back.  She turned around suddenly to look at him when Jane said his
name.

"It is nice to see you too, Jane. 
Jim.  Anne."  He acknowledged each of them individually.  Now that he was standing
there next to Anne, he was suddenly tongue tied.  Searching for something to
say that did not sound like pure blathering, he commented on the nice weather. 
Did they think it would last through the weekend?  Yes?  Well, that was good.  Anne
looked up at him with a curious expression on her face.  He knew that he did
not sound like his usual self-assured self, and certainly not like the CEO of a
company.  "How is the water this year?  I thought I might kayak over to
Waldron Island tomorrow."

"It's fine, Ben.  The water along
the northeast shallows is quite warm already.  Good enough to go swimming, or
so I’ve been told," Jim reported.

"Anne, you just said that you
wanted to kayak over to Waldron," Anne’s mother chimed in.  "Why
don’t you and Ben go together tomorrow?"  Anne blushed beautifully and
shot her mother a pleading look to stop.  Apparently you were never too old to
be embarrassed by your parents.  Ben stifled a laugh at the obvious setup.  He
was all for it.

"I don’t want to impose on Ben’s
time, Mother."  Yup, Ben thought.  Anne was either angry or nervous.  He
remembered that she became formal when she was angry and nervous.  He wondered
which one it was.  Hopefully it was nervousness.  He felt plenty of that
himself right that second.  "He has so much to do."

"That’s quite alright, Anne.  I
would certainly be available for kayaking tomorrow."  She liked being
manipulated even less than being set up.  But she also could not be rude,
especially to a guest, something that worked in Ben’s favor.

"Ben, would you like to come with me
tomorrow?  I would be delighted if you joined me."  She suddenly asked the
question then relaxed and smiled up at him.  She never could keep a bad emotion
for long, especially when he would charm her out of one.

"I would like that, Anne." 
Her smile made his stomach flutter.  Tearing his eyes away from her face, he
looked back at her parents.  "I must get over to my table.  Thank you for
your suggestion.  Enjoy your dinner."

"You also, Ben," both of
Anne’s parents said by way of a goodbye.  Ben noticed that Anne remained
silent.  Hoping that was a good sign, he made his way across the room to his
table and sat down.  After he sat, he looked over at Anne again.  She was
staring at him.  When she saw him looking back at her, she turned away and
talked to her parents.  Yes, Anne Petrovic, he thought.  We will definitely
become reacquainted this week.

The next morning Anne dressed in her red
bikini and covered it with blue shorts and a light pink tee shirt.  Keeping her
face clean of makeup except for her customary sunscreen and lip gloss, she
clipped her hair behind her head then headed up to the inn to eat and find
Ben.  She already ate her breakfast at her parents’ house.  It consisted of her
typical one slice of peanut butter toast and coffee, but she decided that she
was still hungry and wanted some extra coffee.  Her sleep the night before was
quite restless, making that two nights in a row where she did not sleep, and
she yawned several times as she walked up the path.

She was supposed to go kayaking with Ben
today.  How was she supposed to sleep last night after being maneuvered into
issuing the invitation?  It did not matter that she actually wanted to spend
time with Ben.  Could it get any more embarrassing than to have her mother push
her into issuing the invitation?  What if Ben was not been able to go with
her?  There was no question that he wanted to go.  They never even had another
moment to talk to arrange a time to meet that morning or to give him an out. 
How was she to give him an out if they could not talk?

She ran into Ben in the dining room when
she walked in and waited to be seated.  He came up behind her, surprising her
with a “good morning” spoken softly in her ear.  She gave a small jump and
turned to look at him.  How was it possible that he was more handsome today
than he was yesterday?  This morning he was dressed in red swimming trunks and
a white tee shirt.

"Are we still on for this
morning?"  Here was her chance.

"I wanted to talk to you about that,
Ben.  I’m sorry that my mother pushed for the invitation.  I would understand
perfectly if you had other plans for the day."  The dining room hostess came
over and Ben indicated two when she asked how many would be in their party. 
Anne was not sure if he just wanted to continue the conversation of if he
intended to go with her to Waldron Island.  But he took her arm and steered her
along to the table the hostess indicated.

"I want to come with you,
Anne."  He picked up the conversation where it left off once the hostess
took their order for coffee.  "I’m looking forward to it, in fact.  So
stop worrying and enjoy your breakfast.  But I do have to be back no later than
two.  I have some business to attend to back here at the inn.  This is a
working vacation."

"That won’t be a problem." 
The waitress came to take their order causing another pause in their
conversation.  Once she left, Anne continued "I have some business to
attend to as well.  Do you remember Captain Howardton?"

"He used to run the charters out of
Eastsound out to the Boundary Pass.  What about him?"

"He called last night after hearing
that I was here on the island and asked if I could take his two-thirty
charter.  It appears that the tour guide has a doctor appointment, and he needs
someone familiar with the area and the whales to act as guide."

"And he naturally asked you.  I
haven’t seen him for twelve or thirteen years.  He must be ninety by
now."  Anne pictured the old man with the leathery skin who hired her as a
part-time guide back when she was little more than a kid.

"He’s seventy one, I believe.  He
just looks much older."  They fell into a companionable silence as they
each became lost in their memories of the old man.  "You should see him
now.  He looks like Wilfred Brimley," Anne finally said to break the
silence.  The comparison to the actor made Ben laugh, and he quickly began
telling her stories of an old fishing captain he knew in Seattle who looked
like Robert Preston.  The stories soon loosened their tongues and they began
talking like old friends.  They both ate fast once their food arrived, and then
Ben led her down the path back to her parents’ house for a small bottle of
sunscreen she insisted they needed.

An hour later they rowed onto the beach
on the northeastern side of Waldron Island.  North of Mail Bay, where they saw
several sea lions sunning on the rocks, the shoreline became shallow and a long
sandy beach greeted them.  The land behind the beach was covered in a thick
pine forest broken only by the small airstrip where private twin and single
engine planes could land.  The island was largely uninhabited except for about
100 permanent residents and vacationers who kept cabins along the shore and
further in on the grassy western side.  The island also was home to one of the
largest populations of bald eagles in North America, and Anne could see several
soaring high up in the sky as they pulled their kayaks ashore.  Once on the
beach, they pulled off their life jackets, required equipment for sea kayakers,
and sat down on the sand.

They watched the small waves brush
against the beach for several minutes and talked about the island and how they
used to row over when they were younger.  Then Ben looked at his watch noting
the time and asked Anne if she wanted to hike on some of the trails.  Feeling
the need to stretch her legs, she did not hesitate to agree.  Knowing that
their gear was safe on the beach, they took off down the beach until they came
to the dirt trail that would eventually lead them up to Cemetery Road and the
airport.  A single engine Cessna was getting ready to land.  Anne could hear
its engine and watched it make its approach.

They bypassed the airport and walked
along the dirt trail that cut through the dense forest, taking their time to
enjoy the surroundings.  Anne could smell the strong scent of pine needles and
leaves mixed in with the salty smell that came from the water.  A few squirrels
ran along the ground not far from them, their movement stirring up the leaves
and twigs in the ground.  Anne could hear the call of birds as they swooped
through the trees.  A bright yellow Golden Warbler sat up on a branch watching
them before it took to wing and landed high on a pine bough further up the
path.

They decided to forgo walking all the
way up to Cemetery Road and took a right onto the dirt path that looped back to
the beach at its northern most edge.  Not surprisingly, they did not encounter
anyone else on their trip or on the beach.  With it being a Tuesday morning,
there were less people around who would be willing to paddle the three miles to
the beach.  In addition most visitors preferred the beach on the other side of
the island in Cowlitz Bay where the ferry docked.

"Are you ready to test if the water
is warm enough in the shallows for swimming, Anne?"  Ben gave her a look
that dared her to try it out.  The waters of President Channel could still get
cold this time of year and test the mettle of even the most ardent kayaker. 
Even the shallows were not immune to the cold temperatures of the waters
further out.  But Anne grew up on Orcas and swam on this beach many times in
the past.  She was willing to give it a try.

"I’m willing if you are."

Ben’s answer was to remove his tee shirt
and water shoes.  Not to be beaten, she quickly pulled off her tee shirt and
shorts and together they ran into the water.  The cold just about knocked Anne
down, but it was a cold that her body could adjust to quickly, and not a cold
that would zap her strength or cause her muscles to cramp.  They played for a
few minutes in the water before she called it quits and walked back onto the
beach.  They had stored towels inside their kayaks before taking off, and Anne
pulled hers out and spread it on the sand.  Ben came out of the water less than
a minute behind her and followed suit.  Then they dropped down and let the warm
sun dry their swimming suits.

"I haven’t done that in a long
time," Anne said idly as her skin began to soak up the sun’s rays.  "It’s
been two years since I was last here."

"You haven’t been to a beach in two
years?  The last I heard it, there are beaches out east, too."  Anne
smiled at the teasing tone of Ben’s voice.  "Why, two years since you were
home?"  Anne looked over at Ben, squinting to keep the sun out of her
eyes.  He was on his back with his eyes closed.  She took a moment to admire
his profile.

"I used to come back every summer
for a week or two.  Two years ago I was here for Carla’s wedding.  You remember
my friend Carla, don’t you?"  Her eyes wandered lower on his body
following the line of his chest, covered in solid muscles and brown hair, and
across his stomach.  The red suit could not hide the line of his groin or the
strong muscles of his legs.  Preventing a groan, she closed her eyes again and
turned her head to face upward again.