Summer Loving

by Spicer, Rivka

  “I guess it’s hard to strike a happy balance.” Elise mused, piling her plate with food. “There are so few places where you can get the illusion of peace and quiet whilst still being within minimal commuting distance of a large city. And when you do find places like that they’re expensive to live in. Too expensive for people like me anyway.”

  “Maybe one day you’ll be able to afford a house in the West Country.” He grinned. “Sooner rather than later if what I have in mind works out.”

  “And what is it you have in mind?” Elise put down the sandwich she was eating. “I must say, I was surprised to get a call from your magazine. It was totally unexpected. I’ve never taken my writing seriously enough to make a submission to your offices.”

  “It was one of those little moments of serendipity.” His tone was light but serious. “I came away to think about the direction of certain aspects of the magazine and happened to read your little article in the local paper about internet dating. It made me laugh so I called the office and had them email me all your recent columns. It’s your style that I’m interested in as much as the content. It’s the way you speak to the reader as though they’re right there having a conversation with you. Monochrome is going from strength to strength. Our circulation numbers continue to increase and we’re expanding overseas too but for some reason the website isn’t doing so well. We’ve done a load of market research yaddah yaddah blah blah blah” he waved dismissive hands “and discovered that people seem to respond better to sites with real people on them. They don’t want faceless articles...that’s what they buy the magazines for. They want to read about people’s lives.”

  “We’re talking about blogs, right?” She tried not to moan with delight as her tastebuds got a load of the most amazing sandwich she’d ever eaten.

  “Exactly.” His eyes twinkled when he smiled. “I’d been considering how to go about attaching blogs to the site. We can’t just ask people to guest blog – there needs to be some sort of accompanying feature in the magazine. That’s where you come in. This summer we’re going to be running a series of features under the umbrella theme of ‘summer loving’. I’d like one of those features to be your idea about coaching guys who are totally inept at internet dating. 6 weeks, 6 guys, thrice weekly blogs, 2 page spreads in the magazines. Once the 6 weeks are up we’ll go back to see how they’re doing, one by one, maybe track the dates that we hope they’ll get. Overall it will be a 12 week contract across 3 editions of the magazine.”

  “That sounds awesome.” She was delighted – it was a great idea for a feature. “So who are you going to get to do the coaching?”

  He burst out laughing. “Well you of course! That’s the whole point. I want you to help these guys and blog about it as you’re going along.”

  Elise’s jaw dropped. “Me? But...I’m single! I’m not exactly a successful advert for internet dating am I?”

  “That’s not the point.” He settled back in his chair. “Going by what you wrote in your column it seems that most of these guys have forgotten they’re trying to attract a woman and are just putting about themselves the first thing that comes into their head. Who better to tell them what to write than a single woman looking for a man, who can see and correct the mistakes they’ve made?”

  “I just...” Elise didn’t know what to say. “I guess I’m having a hard time seeing myself as a dating guru. I’ve been on my own for almost 3 years.”

  “Well we’ll see how it goes these next few days.” His tone said he thought she was worrying over nothing. “If I think we can work with you then that’s exactly what we’ll do – work with you. You’ll be getting a lot of support and you’ll have to do very little for the actual articles. It’s mostly the blog you’ll be working on. Of course you’ll have to come to London for the 3 months. How would you feel about that? It will be paid for in expenses obviously so you don’t need to worry about it.”

  “I don’t mind coming to London for 3 months.” Elise’s heart was actually singing at the prospect of theatres and decent restaurants for a whole 3 months but she had to keep it grounded. She had 3 days in which to royally mess this up yet and, bearing in mind that the first word she had said to her potential new boss was the F word, it wasn’t looking good.

  As though reading her mind he reached across the table. “How is your wrist?” He took it gently and angled it into the sunlight, turning it slowly so he could check it over. “It looks a little bruised. You hit it pretty hard.”

  “It aches a little but I’m sure it’ll be fine.” She smiled reassuringly but he frowned.

  “Maybe we should take you down to the doctors, get it checked over.”

  “No really, it’ll be fine. It doesn’t hurt much at all.” She protested. He looked her straight in the eye.

  “I would be happier if we got it looked at.” He said with finality. “It’s already bruised. You might have fractured it. If you’re going to play your guitar and go skiing with me tomorrow I want to know that it’s okay.” Elise sighed. It was going to be a long 3 days.

  Luckily the doctor saw them pretty quickly after lunch and examined Elise’s wrist. “It’s hard to say.” He told them both. “Going by the bruising I suspect there is a fracture but, if there is, it’s a hairline rather than a clean break. You’d better get it X-rayed just to be on the safe side.”

  So off they went to the hospital 16 miles away in Grantown on Spey. Taylor looked so serious as they waited to go in that Elise couldn’t help but poke fun at him. “This has got to be the worst job interview EVER.” She grumbled, trying not to laugh. “First I swear at you and then I maybe break my wrist and accuse you of sneaking up on me. We get to spend an afternoon in the hospital and if it is broken I have totally put a crimp in your ambitions to be a ski instructor. Could I have flunked it in any more epic style?”

  “You haven’t had a wardrobe malfunction yet.” He kept a straight face for all of 5 seconds before creasing with laughter and bumping shoulders good-naturedly with her. “Well, it’s not a conventional job interview, that’s for sure. Perhaps we should just forget about the guys and just do a blog feature about you entitled tales of the unexpected...”

  Unfortunately the X-ray showed a small crack in the wrist bone. It was too small to warrant putting in a cast but they did strap it up to prevent any more swelling and warned her to take it easy for the next few weeks.

  “So, no skiing for you this time.” Taylor sighed as he started up his car. “It’ll have to be next winter now.”

  “Do you take all your employees skiing?” Elise asked before she could stop herself and Taylor grinned.

  “No but then I don’t normally conduct 3 day interviews in the middle of my holidays either. These are exceptional circumstances. If I didn’t enjoy your column so much I wouldn’t be taking such a big risk on you and, having read your column, I feel like I know a fair bit about you. I guess I’m predisposed to think of you as a friend because that is how you address your readers.”

  “Well I guess I won’t be an employee any more next winter so it won’t matter.” Elise pointed out and Taylor looked sideways at her.

  “You may well be an employee next winter if the blog is successful. There’s nothing to say we won’t extend your contract and you can blog from anywhere in between features.”

  “We’ll see.” Elise refused flatly to be thrilled at the prospect. “A lot of things could happen between now and then.”

  “True.” He flashed her a quick grin as they left the car park. “You have another two hundred and something bones you could possibly break.”

  She had to laugh.

  They spent the afternoon drinking coffee and discussing writing projects, music and places they had been. Turns out they didn’t have much in common at all. They came from totally different backgrounds. The Stones were wealthy business magnates whereas Elise’s family were just regular middle class working people. He had gone to the best schools and travelled to exotic places all over the world wher
eas Elise had stayed mostly in Europe. He had ruthlessly worked his way up to the position of editor whereas Elise had just gone alone and done her own thing quietly. They couldn’t have been more different and yet they seemed to get along famously.

  “You’re not like anyone I’ve met before.” Taylor announced expansively after his fifth glass of wine that evening. They were sat on the balcony under a patio heater watching the snow falling in the darkness over the hills while he gently strummed his guitar. “Most people in this business aren’t very honest but you? You’re so blunt it’s almost painful.”

  “That’s why you’re the editor of the UK’s most successful magazine and I’m a nobody writer for a tiny independent paper in the frozen north.” Elise joked half-seriously. “I have ambitions but I’m not ruthless and if I’m really honest they don’t involve anyone else.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well...” she struggled to find the words. “I never wanted to work for a corporation. When I was 14 I wrote my first book. It was awful but the feeling I got when I’d finished it? Like nothing else on earth...I was hooked. From then on all I have ever wanted was to be an author but I hit the same problems as everyone else. It’s so hard. You really have to be exceptional and back then I wasn’t. I got one book published but after a brief spell on the bestseller lists it vanished into total obscurity. I started writing columns and articles to pay the bills when I left University and, as much as I enjoy it, part of me still dreams of being a novelist. I stayed a freelancer, even when I was offered jobs by papers. You, on the other hand, have always worked for the corporation. From my perspective, which could be totally wrong, you’ve made a career of it, from magazine to magazine. Being an editor is a career choice, not a vocation. You are the company, I am the lone writer.”

  “You’re wrong.” He blinked. “Actually you’re right about most of it, but being an editor is more of a vocation than a career choice. To do it and do it well you really have to be passionate about what you do and how you influence people. It’s a position of immense power, especially at a magazine as influential as Monochrome. Having to anticipate what the public wants when the public itself doesn’t know what it wants is 1 part common sense to 2 parts guesswork and 5 parts alchemy.”

  “Alchemy huh?” Elise laughed. “I never thought of it as being mysterious or magical but I guess you’re right. It’s as much about you telling the public what they want as the public deciding for themselves. I’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada. I know how a particular shade of blue can filter down into the collective psyche. Should I pity your assistants?” She suddenly remembered Nikki of the perky voice who had been at work at 6am.

  He smiled easily. “Well, I’m not that demanding or unnecessary at work but I guess I can be kind of scary as the submission deadline approaches.”

  “Your secretary was in work at 6am and you don’t think that’s demanding?” Elise burst out laughing. “What time do you let her go home? 2am?”

  “I have a secretary on around the clock in the week before the deadline.” He explained, not taking any offence. “She was probably coming off the night shift. That week is usually a crazy rush so I have 4 secretaries on rotation to keep track of everything.”

  “Do you make them fetch you coffee?” She couldn’t help but poke fun and he sighed mockingly.

  “No, I have an incredibly expensive coffee machine in my office. I make my own. Unless one of them wants coffee and they make one for me while they’re at it.”

  “Good to know.”

  He strummed a few more bars on his guitar. “It’s a shame you hurt your wrist. I would have liked to hear you play.”

  “I’ll have my guitar in London if I get the job.” Elise sipped her wine and settled back in her chair. “I never go anywhere without it. If I don’t get the job then you’ll have to wait until next winter and if we’re still friends by then I’ll come down and visit you when you come up to ski.”

  “There were a lot of ‘if’s in that.” He plucked a blues riff. “I appreciate the job is a massive decision to make on both our parts but why do you think we wouldn’t be friends by next winter? We’ve had a good day, haven’t we?”

  “Apart from the bit where I swore at you and broke my wrist?” She couldn’t help the cheeky smile that crept out. “Yeah, I’d say that was a good day...”

  He burst out laughing. “I guess that’s true...your body might not withstand a friendship where you break stuff constantly. We shall have to hope it’s a one time thing.”

  “That or I’ll wear a bubble wrap suit every time I come near you.” Elise joked and they both chuckled over the image for a while. “Anyway, I hope you’ll still go skiing without me tomorrow.” She continued when they had amused themselves into silence. “I have a couple of things to write so I can get on with that. You’ve come all the way up here so it would be a crying shame to spend your skiing trip stuck indoors.”

  “Okay. There are loads of books in my room too so if you get bored feel free to choose something to read. I’ll prop the door open for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “And there’s plenty of food in the kitchen if you get hungry. I’ll be back for lunch.”

  “Okay.”

  “And I’ll leave a number on the kitchen table in case you need anything.”

  “Taylor I’ll be fine. Stop fussing!” She laughed and he actually blushed.

  “I’ve never been accused of fussing before.” He admitted and she smiled at him.

  “It’s very charming, but really...I’ll be fine. I’m going to head to bed now. See you tomorrow.”

  He got to his feet like a good gentleman. “Sleep well.”

  “You too.”

  Chapter 2

  The following morning when Elise dragged herself out of bed at 9am Taylor was already on the slopes. She ate the breakfast that had been left out for her and settled in front of a window with her laptop to work on her column. Her wrist was painfully stiff and she gently massaged it in between sentences. It took almost three times as long as usual to write up and by the time Taylor got back at lunch time she was ready for a break.

  “You’re not looking so happy.” He greeted her cheerfully, shedding clothes as he stepped through the door. “How’s the wrist?”

  “Stiff and a little sore.” She admitted, helping him gather his snow gear up. “Typing was tough.”

  “That’s a shame. I was hoping to set you a challenge this afternoon while I’m out.”

  “I could type it one handed.” She protested. “What’s the challenge?”

  He grinned broadly at her. “I want you to write my profile. As in a profile for a dating site.”

  “Okay...maybe my wrist isn’t that great...” Elise joked and he started to laugh.

  “Come on...I need to know if you’re perceptive enough to make this work. You’re going to have one week with each guy for the feature and you’re not going to be with them for all that time. I’m curious to see what your impressions are.”

  “I’ll try but don’t expect any great shakes. I haven’t been quizzing you like I would one of my projects.” She hung his jacket up on the pegs in the hall and followed him through to the kitchen. “Don’t you think this might be a little awkward?”

  “In what way?” He flicked the kettle on and started spooning coffee into a press.

  “Well we might end up working together. Do you really want me to try and write about what I think women would find attractive about you?”

  “Ahhh” He lifted an eyebrow. “You’re concerned that I might think you find those things attractive about me?”

  “Maybe.” She was blushing and pretended to look out the window to cover it.

  “Don’t worry. This is strictly professional. I know you mean it objectively. We’re both adult enough to know that mixing business with pleasure is totally out of bounds.”

  Elise winced inwardly. It was like being in a candy store with no money watching this gorgeous and rich guy parad
ing around in front of her and being definitively told there was no hope of romance. Ever. It was almost depressing.

  “Okay, I’ll try. But like I said, don’t expect anything great.”

  My name is Taylor and I live in London. I’m a successful executive but in my free time I like to be active. I have a lot of interests and like to keep up with current affairs but I also have a quirky side. I’m into fashion and I make excellent coffee. I love living in the city and eat out often but I like to get away for quiet time in the country when work allows. Underneath my executive exterior lurks something of a free spirit. In the summer I like to go surfing and play my guitar on the beach while the sun goes down. There’s something pretty special about watching the moon rise to the sound of the ocean. In the winter I like to ski and head up to Scotland whenever I can for some fun on the slopes. I’m intelligent and demanding but I like to think that it’s tempered with unfailing generosity. I volunteer when I can and am active in fundraising circles. I don’t know how to cook but I appreciate good food and really good wine.

  I’m looking for a woman who can fit into both my worlds, someone with the panache, style and polish to glow in city life but with enough creativity and laissez-faire to amuse herself and be content with the quiet times too. I want someone who will challenge me when I’m getting too big for my boots but will, at the same time, understand that my work plays a big role in my life and sometimes I have to work long hours. I like to date the old-fashioned way – coffee, dinner, a trip to the theatre...and I’m big on opening doors. There’s a lot to be said for good manners. I’d also like to have children some day. If you’d like to get to know me...blah blah blah

  When Taylor returned from the slopes Elise was in the kitchen with the two chalet girls, Sam and Susie, helping to cook dinner, so he left them to it and went for a shower. When he re-emerged the table was set and Elise was standing at the window absent-mindedly flexing her wrist.