Best of Bosses 2008(104)

She had a brief feeling of triumph, as though she had managed to solve a complex maths problem.

Then she looked at herself in the long standing mirror by the wall. As swimsuits went, this one was modest. But yet there was cleavage to be seen, far too much for her liking, and legs and shoulders and the generous proportions that always made her want to cringe…

And on a beach…with his body on display…not just snatched glimpses of bare chest where the top two buttons of his shirt were undone…where was her protection going to be?





CHAPTER SIX




THE beach was uncrowded. Too early, Rose guessed, for most of the guests. The same large canopied umbrellas that adorned the sides of the pool were in evidence along the beach, dotted here and there, and closer to the glassy, lake-like sea similar-coloured padded deckchairs were interspersed. Further along, she could see that a thin finger of land projected into the sea and from a distance might have passed for a jetty were it not for the coconut trees growing along it.

It was a breathtaking sight. Really a vision of paradise, from the white powdery sand dappled with shadows cast by the overhanging coconut trees, to the still, dazzling azure of the sea.

Rose paused and savoured the scene through the protective lenses of her very dark sunglasses. She had decided to maintain her inclination to conceal her shape by wearing a knee-length, flimsy beach dress and she could already feel the rising sun burning through it.

Along the beach, a couple of the deckchairs were occupied by early risers who were mostly reading and wearing sensible large straw hats.

Typically, Nick was nowhere to be seen and Rose was peering into the distance when she felt a hand on her shoulder and he said, with a thread of amusement in his voice, ‘Why are you wearing a sheet?’

Rose swung around and glared at him from behind her sunglasses. ‘I’m trying to protect myself from the sun,’ she snapped. ‘It’s fine for you. You can tan easily but I’m a lot fairer. In fact, coming out into the sun at this hour is not a very good idea at all for someone of my complexion.’

Which, she admitted to herself, was something of a slight overstatement given it was still quite early in the day.

He, of course, was bare-backed but for the towel swung casually over his shoulders. As promised, he had brought hers with him and he reached out to give it to her, still grinning.

‘You should have brought a sombrero with you…like those practical people further along.’

Rose snatched the towel and began walking away, but slowed down at the notion that he might be sniggering as he watched her wobbly, none-too-toned rear.

She took heart from the comforting thought that this was not a holiday, this was work.

They seemed to be walking away from the scattering of people on the beach and she immediately set that particular situation right by heading towards one of the lounging chairs not far from an elderly lady who was napping with her book over her face.

‘Are you going to remove that garment of yours? Because I warn you—the sun here is very hot. Much hotter than in England.’

‘I’ve brought a notebook. I thought we might start jotting down a few things in connection with work.’ She felt pleasantly secure behind the sunglasses and half watched as he spread his towel on the sand, ignoring the sun lounger, and lay flat on it. As if that weren’t distracting enough, he began to rub sun cream haphazardly over his body.

‘Even I burn,’ he assured her. He could feel her watching him. She did that. Watched him. Nick was used to women watching him, but the concealed way she did it had become a powerful turn-on. He wanted her, but he wasn’t going to get her through outrageous flirting or expensive gifts. He settled back, closed his eyes and waited for the prolonged silence to have the desired effect.

Eventually, Rose spoke, keeping her treacherous eyes away from the tempting sight of his practically naked, bronzed body. ‘What made you decide to go into…well…hotels?’

‘You sound like an interviewer.’

‘It’s only polite curiosity,’ Rose said. ‘Everyone has a reason for doing what they do.’

‘And you went into computing because…?’

‘We’re not discussing me.’ The sun was beginning to make her feel lazy and peaceful. She didn’t want an argument. She wanted to close her eyes and let her chattering thoughts slip away. ‘I bet you don’t even stay in many hotels.’

‘On the contrary. I’m rarely out of them.’

‘I meant for pleasure as opposed to business.’ She glanced down at him and realised that he was barely listening to her. His eyes were closed and she was pretty sure that his thoughts were a million miles away. She carefully inched the flimsy beach robe off and began applying a generous layer of sunblock to her exposed skin, keeping a careful eye on him because lying flat she felt a whole lot more confident about her body than when she was sitting up, where her stomach, smooth as it might be, still seemed to have the last laugh at her for having spent years guiltily avoiding the gym.