Chapter Seven
The pounding woke her. Arabella lay still, trying to orient herself. A strong arm wrapped around her waist, a hard body against her back, and the bright light of midday over them both. So, this vacation fling thing wasn’t too bad. She felt limp and relaxed, except for irritation caused by the damn pounding. “Go away,” she called.
“Arabella! Let me in.”
“Ohh, no.” She turned over, still within Will’s embrace and hissed, “It’s Earl. What are we going to do?”
“I can kill him,” he offered. “What’s one less lawyer? Who’d care?”
She smacked his arm. “You really are a terrible friend.”
He yawned. “I know. But don’t you want me to kill him?”
“That’s not the point. What do we do? I can get rid of him while you hide. Maybe in the closet?”
He rolled away from her and stood, so magnificent in his nudity she almost leapt on him. But before they could get down to it again, they had to get rid of the man at the door. And even if they did feel as if he got in their way, he deserved an explanation. He was Will’s friend, even if Will didn’t seem to know how to treat one. Of course, she appreciated his knowledge of Earl’s past behavior with women, a way of acting the man himself had admitted to while under the influence of a lot of rum and tequila.
Will strode toward the bedroom door, but she flung herself out of bed after him. “Wait, you can’t go out there like that. You’re naked.” Arabella clung to his arm as he entered the living room. “Will! Put on your shorts at least.”
He looked down and grinned. “Well, it would save explanation.” But he still veered back into the bedroom and returned wearing his shorts and holding a robe. “This is for you.”
Dressed, they both headed for the door. Will opened it. “Good morning, Earl. I thought you’d still be sleeping after your busy night.”
Peeking over his shoulder, Arabella could see Earl holding her discarded clothing in his arms, and her heart sank. “It looks like you’ve been busy, too. After you left me for dead, you came back here and screwed my date.”
Will attempted to herd him outside, and Arabella was ready to be a coward and let him. But Earl was having none of that plan. He shoved his way in and held the shorts, tank, bra, and panties out. “Why did you lead me on if you were going to sleep with him? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
She gaped. “And why are you acting like an outraged husband? I’m not married to you. You’re mad because you wanted to get into my pants and instead Will did.”
God, what am I saying?
He paused, rubbing his hands on his shorts, leaving damp marks. “Arabella, no, I really liked you, I…”
The freaking liar! She could see it in his eyes. His bloodshot, shifting eyes, one of them blackened. And his body language. Licking his lips, grooming behavior characterized by repeatedly smoothing his hair. She’d learned to watch for one of several signs of lying. Earl might be exhibiting them all. If she’d ever had the slightest doubts about Will’s comments about Earl, she no longer did.
Suddenly she’d had enough. Of doing things the way other people wanted them done. Of giving up one part of her life for another. Sure, her job was important to her. She’d worked hard at it. Made the company and its stockholders stacks of money. Received a good salary and nice benefits. But how much actual satisfaction did she gain from the work? From working eighty or ninety hour weeks. “And what do you like about me, Earl? My tits? My ass? The fact I’m the only single woman on the island this week, and you want another notch on your bedpost? You make me sick!”
He stumbled back, lips moving but no sound coming out.
Arabella grabbed her clothes from him. “You got so drunk last night, your good friend had to help you home to make sure you didn’t pass out on the beach and wash out with the tide. I blamed him, but you’re not a child. And nobody made you order shots. Go get some breakfast, Earl, and next time you hit on a woman, consider she’s an entire person. Not a collection of body parts for you to hang on your wall. Get. Out!”
He turned and fled.
Arabella stood, breathing deeply, her heart pounding so hard, she wondered if Will could hear it.
Will caught her up in his arms and spun her around “You were magnificent.”
“I might have cost you a friend.” She searched his face. “Do you hate me?”
“Are you kidding? You saved him from my wrath.”
She slid down his body to stand on her feet again. “Did your wrath do that to his eye? Did you hit him?”
Will chuckled. “No. I’m more the stern words type. He did that to himself. Walked into a door. And I doubt you’re the first woman to tell him off. But it was the first time I got to watch, so thank you.”
“You’re welcome, I think.”
“If that is how you deal with problem employees, no wonder you’re an executive.”
“If I dealt with anyone at work in such a radical way, I’d be on unemployment.” She rested a cheek on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “Let’s sit down and talk. I can make a pot of coffee, and I think the resort even provided me with toast makings if you’d like to have some?”
“I love coffee and toast.”
“Love them?”
“More than life itself.”
Once they settled at the kitchen table with steaming mugs of coffee in front of them, Will offered Arabella an encouraging smile. “Okay, what did you want to talk about?”
She toyed with her spoon, stirring the coffee and pulling it out a couple of times before answering. “It’s the weirdest thing. Since I’ve been on the island, I’ve been remembering things I liked, things I wanted to do. In college, I ran every day. I went out with friends and laughed. I don’t do that now.”
“You’re busy,” he said. “Lots of people are. Theory is, it’s the only way to get ahead.”
“But ahead of what? Of whom?” She set the spoon down and laid her hands flat on the table. “I worked sixty hours the first few years then seventy, and now it’s pretty much every minute I’m awake. I was thinking of remodeling my bathroom to be like the one here, but then I realized I don’t actually know what my bathroom looks like.”
She laughed. “I mean, I do, but not really. I’m in and out of my apartment, like a guest. I have a twice-a-week housekeeper who probably loves me because I never make a mess. I haven’t eaten at home for months. I leave before breakfast and come home after dinner.
“I haven’t gone out with a friend to a movie or dinner or a Broadway show, and I haven’t even seen my dad since Christmas. I send him checks to help him make ends meet, but I know he’d rather see me. I have headaches all the time, and my neck hurts and my feet…by the end of the day, I want to scream.”
“I understand,” he murmured, buttering a piece of rye toast and reaching for the jam. “So what are you going to do about it?”
“I thought I might switch to flats.”
He blinked. “That’s your solution for the dysfunction you described?”
She shook her head slowly. “No, just for my sore feet and, I’m guessing, also my back aches.”
“And about your long work days?”
“Watch me.” She reached for her cell phone on the counter behind her and slid it closer then hit speed dial 1. “Emily, how is everything? Listen, I want to thank you for buying such nice clothes. I loved everything. Yes. And thanks for all you do. I know I don’t tell you nearly often enough.” She listened a moment then said, “Great. Would you please put me through to Harley?” What was she up to?
Arabella covered the phone with her hand. “Here’s the part where I apply the solution.” She hit speaker. “Hi, Harley.”
“I told you you’d be fired if you called again,” growled a voice from the other end of the line.
“I understand. No problem. It’s been nice working for you.”
“What? Arabella, you can’t be that mad about taking a vacation. Aren’t you having a good time? You can’t think I’d really fire you for a phone call.”
“No, you’ve always been a man of your word, and I know this time is no different. I’ve enjoyed working for you, Harley, but I’ve put in enough hours for a lifetime, so I accept the firing and wish you well. Bye, Harley.” She clicked end.
“And that is that.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I feel better already.”
“Bella, I agree changes sometimes have to be made. I made a big one myself. But are you going to be okay?”
Her grin brightened her face, all the way to her sea-green eyes. “Sure! When he fired me, he opened my golden umbrella. My contract provided for a very generous severance pay. And because all I’ve done is work, I never had time to spend money. I’ll be fine.”
“If you are used to working so many hours, though, what will you do now? Going from the rat race to no race is not so good, either.”
“I’m going to update the business plan I made in grad school and implement it. I thought I’d feel guilty about tricking Harley into firing me, but I don’t. Do you know what he said when he sent me here? Of course you don’t. How could you? He said, ‘You’ll be able to work twice as hard when you come back.’ There aren’t enough hours left in the day for that to happen. They got great value out of me, far above what they will give me as I set out on my own. I won’t have to answer to stockholders, and I can work when and where I please, as an online firm. Try for sane hours and rebuild a life.”
He lifted his mug. “A toast to…what will your company be called, anyway?”
“Never Settle.”
“I like it.” He took a big drink and set the coffee down. “You can’t cook, can you?”
“No, but I’m thinking of learning.”
He pushed his plate aside and stood. “Let’s take a shower and go get breakfast in the dining hall.”
“Okay. But if we get in the shower together, I cannot guarantee we’ll get out before they stop serving breakfast.”
“Then we’ll have lunch. Let me make a suggestion, if I may?” Will stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower then faced her.
“Sure.”
“Enjoy the rest of your vacation. Before you throw yourself into the new project and whatever you need to do to settle your life back home, let’s enjoy the resort together. We can snorkel or scuba, take the Jet Skis out, whatever you like. We can run.” He eased the robe from her shoulders and dropped a kiss on her ear. “I’d like to get to know you better.”
Arabella shivered. “I’d love to spend some time with you, but don’t you have to work?”
“I have time off coming.”
She lit up. “I hear it’s important to use your vacation.”
He nodded. “Life affirming.”
Stepping into the shower, Arabella paused. “You said you made changes. What did you do to improve your life?”
“I bought an island.”