Then there was that small space of time that seemed to span infinity when he actually touched her, when his hard thumb evocatively imbedded itself in the softness of her palm. Could he have detected the racing pulse in the wrist beneath his grasp?
Impatiently she switched off her bedside lamp, hoping that she might switch off the ridiculous conjectures that were flashing through her mind like an erotic slide show. Darkness didn’t dispel them, however. Rather it seemed to intensify them as she tossed restlessly on her pillow. When at last she fell asleep, her body was still flushing hotly.
In her dreams it was she who was hurt and Tyler who did the tender healing. His touch was gentle, but electrifying. His eyes were sympathetic, but bold. His mouth …
She didn’t sleep well at all.
The next morning was filled with its share of minor catastrophes. A wallet was lost and immediately found. Hailey was tearfully, gratefully thanked for her able assistance. Numerous lost children were quickly reunited with frantic parents. The infirmary reported one scraped knee and a sinus headache. Hailey personally greeted the senior citizen group that was going to have a catered picnic lunch on the grounds, see all the theater shows, and ride only the carousel. On behalf of the panicky social director, it was she who placed the call to the caterer, who was running an hour late but would be there shortly.
With all that activity, the morning should have passed quickly, but the hours dragged by with Hailey dreading her meeting with Tyler Scott more and more every minute.
At twelve-thirty she put Charlene in charge and left the office. The weather was still hot and humid, but she slipped a white blazer over her green uniform blouse. In any event, she would appear professional.
Harmon Sanders, general manager of the park, wasn’t in his office, but his efficient secretary greeted Hailey as she walked into the carpeted office. It seemed far away from the clamorous noise of the amusement park. “Hi, Hailey.”
“Hello, Nancy. Where is everyone?” Usually the office was crawling with department directors competing for a minute with the general manager.
“Everyone’s lying low because of…” Her voice trailed off, but she indicated the closed door with an inclination of her head. “Him,” she whispered. She crooked her finger at Hailey and leaned over the desk. “Can you believe that after three years, he suddenly decides to put in an appearance? Hailey, he’s absolutely gorgeous! Wait till you see him! My God, I nearly died when he walked through that door and calmly introduced himself.” She drew a deep breath, as though the memory of that moment still affected her.
“He asked me to send you in as soon as you arrived. Are you ready?” she asked with a compassion reserved for the hopelessly doomed.
“Yes,” Hailey answered with more composure than she felt. She walked to the heavy walnut door and turned the brass knob. Tyler Scott was leaning over a wide desk, studying a computer readout that cluttered its glossy surface.
“Come in, Miss Ashton,” he said, though he hadn’t raised his head to confirm who had entered the room. How had he known it was she?
“Your Chanel precedes you,” he answered as though he had read the question in her mind. He looked up at her from under the thick slash of eyebrows that bridged his forehead. “Sit down, please.”
So his approach was to be friendly, not formal. He wouldn’t have remarked on her perfume if he intended to be formal. When had he gotten close enough to her to know the fragrance she wore? How had he become so knowledgeable about perfume? Her knees were trembling as she went to one of two deep leather chairs in front of the desk and sat down, chastely crossing her legs and tugging on the hemline of her skirt.
His indignation over his rudeness on the telephone had been judiciously banked. What good would it do to antagonize him further? He was a cad, a chauvinist with a low opinion of women and a locker-room mentality. Nothing she would say could change that. It was far more prudent to ignore what he had said last night. She would keep the interview on a strictly professional basis.
A full minute went by before he
rolled up the computer charts he was reading and sat down behind the desk. Strange that he hadn’t assigned such a tedious task as going over statistics about Serendipity to a subordinate, but it was obvious that he had been working on them himself.
The cuffs of his starched white shirt were rolled up to his elbows. A pair of gold cuff links—with his initials in lower case—lay discarded on the desk. His striped tie had been loosened around his neck and the top button of his shirt was undone. The coat to his suit hung on a hall tree behind him, but he still wore the vest. Its snug fit accented his trim torso.
He leaned back in the chair, raised his feet onto the desk, and crossed one ankle over the other as he stared at her. “How are you, Miss Ashton?”
If he intended to confuse her, he was succeeding. She hadn’t expected the casual civility. “I’m fine, thank you, Mr. Scott. How is Faith? Did the bee stings cause her any more pain?”
“No.” He smiled. “Of course I’ve been banished from her bathroom, so I can’t be certain, but I assume that all is well.”
Hailey returned the smile and relaxed—but only a trifle. “Good. I’ve been worried about her. I would have called her this morning, but I didn’t know where you were staying.”
“At Glenstone Lodge. I’ve leased a suite of rooms there for the next several weeks.”
That took her by surprise and it must have showed, for he continued. “My company is based in Atlanta. We have a home there, but I needed to come up here and do some revamping on the park. I also thought the change of scenery would be good for Faith. She hasn’t been … comfortable … with me since her mother died.”
“Shouldn’t Faith be starting school in Atlanta?”
“Normally yes, but not this fall. Last spring after Monica’s death, she began showing signs of stress. Her counselor thought it might be best to let her rest for a while. I’ve had her tutored this summer, but I don’t think I’ll enroll her in regular classes again until after Christmas. She should be able to catch up quickly enough since she’s an ‘A’ student. I feel her emotional stability is more important than schoolwork just now.”
“You’re probably right.” Why was he telling her all this? Not that she wasn’t interested in the girl, who had seemed so eager to please her rather intimidating father. She had been touched by Faith’s apparent insecurity. But it wasn’t like a man as busy as Tyler Scott to divulge his family affairs to an employee he was about to fire.
“Do you like your work at Serendipity, Hailey?” he asked, changing the subject abruptly.
Had he called her Hailey? “Yes.”