She cursed her klutziness. It truly was a curse.
Just as she was really beginning to enjoy their journey, Ashton slowed the boat and then they were pulling up to a dock. The restaurant wasn’t far away at all, so they strolled over to it.
They got a table without any delay. As she sat down with the powerful Anderson and Storm men, she couldn’t help but think that she wasn’t worthy of being there with them. Her family was nothing like these men, nothing at all. If they knew the whole truth about her, she doubted they’d be so eager to take her to lunch. She’d come up from a poor, abusive family. Her present company knew nothing of that kind of life.
But someday soon Savannah was determined to change her circumstances. She was going to have a doctorate, be a college professor doing a job she loved. She’d be making great money — relatively speaking, of course — and she’d get to play on the sea while doing research during the summers. Life didn’t get much better than that. Her poor, miserable roots could be left behind, where they belonged.#p#分页标题#e#
“Are you enjoying working for Storm Adventures?” Richard asked her. “Apart from the fact that my son is forcing you to slave away under the hot sun.”
Ashton said nothing as a waiter came and took their order for drinks. All the men were having a glass of wine, and she was thirsting for one, but unsure if she should go for the gusto. After all, she was the only one in the group who was technically still on the clock.
“Have a glass of wine, Savvy. One glass isn’t going to make you inebriated or render you unable to do your job,” Ashton said when she looked in his direction.
It was a bit creepy that he’d been able to read her thoughts.
So when she ordered and the glass arrived, she picked it up and took a sip. It was delicious. But she most certainly would need to pace herself.
“I love my job,” she told the men, and she concocted yet another bold lie in hopes they’d drop the subject. “I honestly like working in the sun. I’m so pale, it’s good to get some color.” In truth, her pale skin was turning red no matter how much sunscreen she applied, but she was only going to say positive things about her job. She was sick of getting the look from Ashton.
Joseph snorted. “Red, except in wine, isn’t a great color when you’re burning at night,” he said. “I don’t think anyone truly enjoys baking all day long.”
“I really do like it,” she lied again.
“What other jobs do you have planned for Savvy?” George said to his nephew. “Your father already told you that she’s far too qualified for only grunt work.”
“What I do with my employees is none of any of your business,” Ashton told them. “I don’t appreciate the interference, and I haven’t had any complaints so far. I treat my people well and pay them good wages. I’m providing free housing for Savvy, so I’d think she wouldn’t have anything to be ungrateful about.”
“I don’t,” she said quickly before this heated up any further.
“Humph. I think most of those tasks could be done by some of the young men you have running around out there,” Joseph said.
“And what would you have Savvy doing?” Ashton asked.
Before the men could answer, the waiter came again and took their orders. It was a tough choice, but Savannah decided on a Caesar salad and Cast Iron Scallops. Yum. She was used to scarfing down cold turkey sandwiches for lunch, processed turkey, and this was a real treat. But the rich food was bound to make her sluggish. She’d try not to eat it all.
When the waiter left, the four of them began speaking again.
“I don’t know. It’s not my company, as you so kindly pointed out,” Richard said.
Savannah did very little of the talking as the conversation continued. And though the men seemed to be bickering, with barbs flying back and forth, she did notice that there was a lot of love between them all, too.
She found it all highly entertaining — especially when the topic of conversation turned away from her. Soon, the food was there, yet the talking barely slowed. And before she knew it, her meal and wine were all gone, and her stomach was more than full. Yep, the rest of the day was going to be an ordeal.
And it was, because by the time they were back at the docks, Ashton’s mood had never improved. Although Savvy didn’t consider herself a violent person, she was thinking about making an exception to her rule.
Chapter Nine
Thank goodness it was almost quitting time, because this day couldn’t get any more bizarre if a snowman came waddling down the pier and slapped her on the ass. Okay, that might be weirder than the day Savannah had had so far, but just a little bit.#p#分页标题#e#