Page 27 of The Flirtation
Chapter 10
Avery
After showering,once I’d dried my hair and put on a pair of jeans and a hundred dollar V-neck T-shirt, I opened the shutters to let in the ocean breeze, and got an eyeful of Luke Mason running shirtless on the beach. He was wearing ear buds and concentrating and he looked like a Greek God and now that I had seen him shirtless, I could no longer convince myself that his biceps were grotesquely huge or his pecs too bodybuilder-ish. He just looked damned fine, dammit. I leaned forward to watch him run further down the beach, and hit my nose against the window. I looked around to see if anyone had seenme.
My phone vibrated.Bucket: At the risk of sounding totally inappropriate—let’s just say it would be inappropriate if you did not wear a bathing suit under your work attire today. Ingrid has left you something outside your door. This is a workation, Avery Davis. You will enjoy yourself and that’s anorder.
Bucket: P.S. I totally saw you gawking at Prince Fancy Pecs just nowFYI
Bucket: P.P.S. How about that show that Stephanie and Samson put on last night, huh? Somebody knows how to take aworkation.
Everything about each of those texts made my mind spin. I was about to call Natalie to tell her to fake a work emergency that would bring me back to New York when I received a text from her.Natalie: Hey boss lady! All is well here. No need to check in—got everything under control. Pretty slow morning so far. HAVE FUN!Xx
Damnher.
I opened my door and found a woven hand basket with a yellow bikini and some gauzy piece of material that was probably supposed to be a swimsuit cover-up, but covered up nothing. I sighed and brought it inside. There was no way Ingrid and I were the same size, she was tiny and model-thin. But I couldn’t not wear it. That would be rude,right?
I undressed myself and replaced my good bra and panties with the bikini, keeping my eyes squeezed shut the whole time and holding my breath. To my amazement, it did fit me—nothing spilled out or felt squeezed-in. I quickly opened my eyes in front of the full-length mirror and I swear I saw a raw whole chicken in a bikini staring back at me. I threw my clothes back on and got myself outside as quickly as possible because all I wanted to do was lock myself in my pavilion for the rest of theday.
The warm air and exotic luxury surroundings managed to calm my nerves almost immediately. I guess this was why people take vacations. I found Bucket sitting at a table on the patio, finishing off a fruit salad, and grinning atme.
“Morning, chief. Have some fruit salad. The chef can whip up pretty much whatever you want, so let himknow.”
“Fruit salad is perfect,thanks.”
“Sleepwell?”
Why was he looking at me like that? Did he see me leave Luke’s room? Did he see me entering it? “I feel surprisingly well-rested. Andyou?”
“Ingrid and I have both spent a lot of time sleeping on boats, so we can sleep through almostanything.”
“Even lawyers?” Iwhispered.
“That wasentertaining.”
“Is she stillhere?”
“She left early. Thanks for your notes on the prenup. We’re still waiting to hear back from Ingrid’s attorney. Or solicitor, I guess they’re called over there. I don’t expect it’ll be a big deal. I just didn’t want to have to think about this kind of thing when I’m sohappy.”
“I totally understand. Ingrid seems wonderful. It’s really good to see you so happy.Really.”
He smiled. “I am happy. Really happy. It’d be good to see you this happy too,chief.”
“I am happy! I was thinking we should start the day off by going through the progress report for HR and then get into quality control. Honestly, the entire integration has been going so smoothly compared to other mergers I’ve studied or been witness too—it’s a match made inheaven.”
“I attribute most of that to the work you and Luke have been doingtogether.”
I could feel myself blushing. I could think of nothing to say or do other than stuff my face with more pineapple and nod myhead.
“Listen, I’d love to hear about all of the above. I’ve got a little meeting room set up for us, so why don’t you wait for me and Luke over there—you see that pavilion over there?” He pointed towards one of the smaller pavilions, the one nearest to the Jacuzzi. “Meet us there when you’re finished with your breakfast. I’ve gotta take care of a couple of things, say goodbye to Ingrid before she heads into town for a little shopping, and I’ll let Luke know what’s up. ‘Kay?”
“I’ll bring my laptop. Are there electricaloutlets?”
He patted me on the shoulder as he stood up. “Yes, dear, there are electrical outlets. See you later.Enjoy.”
He strode off in the direction of the big luxury safari tent that was his love nest, and I looked around for Luke. He was nowhere in sight, but I did see a sweet-looking middle-aged lady in a grey and white maid’s outfit, who was sweeping the patio near the main living area. I waved at her, she nodded and waved. Through the patio doors, I could see Samson in the foyer, talking on his mobile phone. I was, for now, alone with the pineapple chunks and the palm trees and the tropical plants, and my mental list of merger integration topics to focus on so I wouldn’t obsess about the fact that I commanded Luke to spoon with me while under the influence of a mild sedative lastnight.
Ienteredthe pavilion with my laptop and cell phone and looked around. New age-y music played softly from unseen speakers, aromatherapy assaulted my nostrils, and a smiling Southeast Asian woman stood in front of a massage table, her arms outstretched towardsme.
