Mystery Lover(11)

The next thing she knew was that she was lying in bed, the covers tucked cozily around her.

"Sunshine? Are you awake yet?"

Drowsily her eyes opened. She was in a strange room. Rolling onto her  back she saw that she was in a hotel room. The drapes were closed and  there was very little light in the room. Bewildered, she sat up and the  covers slipped to her waist. Only her scraps of underwear kept her from  being totally unclothed.

"Chad!"

"Ah, so you are awake. Good, I-"

"What did you do with my clothes!"

"?"

"And don't play the innocent with me."

"If you will look on the chair in front of the window, you will find them neatly folded and waiting for you to put on."

She saw them just where he described.

"Oh."

"Didyou bring any others with you?"

"Yes, but they're in the car."

"And the car is- ?"

"Parked in the Lucky Lady's parking lot. You had no right to take off my clothes, Chad."

"No right? Come on, Sunshine. You sound like some Victorian lady. You  wouldn't have rested in those jeans and you know it. Are you afraid I  took advantage of you while you slept?"

"Fat chance."

She could feel his amusement. "Would you like to meet me for brunch?  Several of the casinos around town put on an excellent spread. "

Jennifer tried to see what time it was, but it was too dark.

"Almost ten."

That late! And she had to get back to Los Angeles. After all, she had a  job to do and-Her job! Suddenly she remembered all that she had learned  the previous day.

"Are you afraid I'll fire you if you don't get back to work in time?"

She didn't know what to think. Never had she been so confused. "I'm  going to take a shower. I should be ready in about half an hour."

"Fine."

She hopped out of bed and went into the bathroom. Everything in the two  rooms was clean and of the highest quality. The hotel had thoughtfully  provided shampoo and deodorant as well as a shower cap if she didn't  want to take time to wash her hair.

Jennifer had no choice. She felt grimy after the dusty ride on the back  roads yesterday. The hot water felt wonderful beating down on her and  she forced her mind to relax and enjoy it. She had time enough later to  try to figure out what to do with all the new information she'd just  received.

Eventually she faced that she would have to leave the security of the  shower. Wrapping her dripping hair in a towel she stepped out of the tub  and started drying off.

"Sunshine?"

She kept drying. "Are my thirty minutes up?"

"No, but I brought your suitcase in for you. Doyou need anything out of it?"

Her suitcase-with her toothbrush, her hair dryer, her-"Where are you?"

"In your room. Where else would I be?"

Hastily she draped the large towel around her and jerked open the  bathroom door. Peering around the corner she saw her suitcase on her  rumpled bed and Chad sitting on the chair by the window.

He had obviously spent a restful night. His hair appeared slightly damp  from the shower, and his clothes looked fresh. Today he wore a pair of  Levi's that fit him embarrassingly well, and a white, long-sleeved shirt  that once again had the sleeves turned up above the elbows. He was  sitting stretched out in the chair, his legs extended and crossed at the  ankle. Today he wore moccasins. His elbows rested on the high arms of  the chair and his hands made a steeple under his chin.

She had never seen C. W. Cameron dressed in anything but three-piece  business suits that effectively concealed his well-developed body.  Nothing Chad had on today hid much of anything. The top three buttons of  his shirt were open and she could see the soft golden hair revealed  there.

When her gaze met his eyes she saw that he was amused at the long study  she was giving him. He hadn't been wasting his time, either, obviously  enjoying the view as she stood there with a towel wrapped under her arms  and hanging to mid-thigh.                       
       
           



       

"How did you get in?"

"I have a key, why?"

"No reason, I guess. Thank you for getting my clothes for me."

"My pleasure." The way he drawled the words and the look he had on his  face as his eyes continued to wander from her towel-draped head to her  bare toes made her grab her suitcase and hurry back to the bathroom.

She could hear his laughter through the closed door.

Jennifer did not find the present situation particularly amusing. To  think that all this time she had been working for Chad and he had  known.. .

She saw her wide-eyed expression in the mirror and almost groaned out loud. How could he?

That time two years ago when she had gotten so angry at Mr. Cameron, she  had almost quit. In fact, if it hadn't been for Chad insisting she  simmer down before making any decisions.. .

Of course he'd been right. No one should make decisions when they were  angry. A person wasn't really thinking when angry. But oh! How she had  wanted to quit. He had been so arrogant, so rude.

He'd also been putting in long, grueling hours, and he'd had several  clients come in demanding immediate help. At the time she had not seen  the situation from his side. All she knew was that he was demanding  impossibly long hours from her. Yet he'd been there working right  alongside her.

What would have happened if Chad hadn't calmed her down and she'd given notice? Would she have been any happier anywhere else?

The answer was no, of course. She enjoyed her work. She found it  challenging. Now that she recalled that particular incident, she  remembered that she was surprised the next day when Mr. Cameron had  asked her to go to lunch with him to discuss some business matters that  he preferred not to have interrupted by the constant ringing of the  phone.

They had sat for two hours while he discussed the present crisis in the  office. He had asked her advice on how to handle the sudden influx of  business, and he had listened when she made a few suggestions. Before  long, each of them was coming up with ideas built on the other's  suggestions. By the time they returned to the office Jennifer had  totally forgotten that she had seriously considered resigning. He had  stopped in front of her desk while she put her purse away. When she sat  down he was still standing there.

"Thank you for a very valuable lunch, Ms. Chisholm. I hope we can get  some of these ideas working for us immediately. They should help the  wear and tear on our nerves."

She smiled at him, aware of the strain in his face. "I hope so, too, Mr. Cameron."

No sooner had she gotten home that night and been greeted by Sam when Chad had gotten in touch with her.

"Well, Sunshine? Did you resign today?"

"No, of course not."

"Why do you say, 'of course not'? Didn't you tell me last night that you  no longer wanted to work for an arrogant, rude, bullying slave driver  of a boss and that you weren 't sure you 'd even be able to stay for the  two weeks necessary to work out your notice?"

"I overreacted."

"You mean he isn't any of those things?"

"He's tired, Chad. Really worn out. The poor man has been trying to do  the work of three people. I think I convinced him today to hire at least  one more investigator, possibly two, to help with the work load. He's  seriously considering it."

"What a difference a day makes. Yesterday he was arrogant and rude. Today he's a poor man."

"You can make fun of me all you want. Once I calmed down, I realized  that I only saw what was happening to me, what I was going through, how  mistreated I was. Today, he gave me an opportunity to look at it from  his point of view. He's never asked more of me than he's asked of  himself. In fact, he generally puts in longer hours than I do, since  he's out in the field so much as well as in the office digging through  the piles of paper alongside of me."

Now as Jennifer put on the finishing touches of her makeup and made sure  her slip didn't show under the dress she had hastily packed, she  realized how many times she and Chad had discussed her relationship with  her boss.

How embarrassing. No wonder he as her boss had no trouble understanding  her. If only she'd been given the same opportunity. But she had,  actually. As Chad he had explained his position as much as he could  without revealing his identity. He had given her an opportunity to see  inside of him, to share his thoughts and feelings.

Jennifer placed her hand lightly on her breasts, where the tiny  butterfly fluttering seemed to have started. She and Chad had been much  more intimate over the years than other people. They had never shared a  physical intimacy, but that seemed almost superfluous to what they  already had.