INNOCENCE AND ARROGANCE

by Kimberley Reeves

  Scott sat back in his seat. “Good God, now I’ll never be able to deny anything I’ve said to you.”

  Chapter 5

  There hadn’t really been time to talk about it at work, but now that they were on the way to see the rental house, Scott started asking her questions. “Doesn’t your head feel like it’s on overloaded from retaining everything?”

  “It doesn’t exactly work like that. It’s not like I constantly have years of conversations running through my head. It’s kind of like when you have a memory of something that happened when you were young. You don’t go around all day thinking about what you did at your Prom, but if someone asks or you start thinking about it, you recall what happened that night.”

  “Yeah, but I can only remember bits and pieces of what happened, not every word that was said to me that day. And what about all the conversations going on around you?”

  “I’ve learned how to tune those out. It’s like having your radio on in the car. You hear it, but you’re not really listening.”

  Scott pulled off the highway down a long driveway leading to the beach house and parked. “Here we are.” He’d taken a few minutes at lunch to stop by and check it out. His friend, Jim, had done a good job of making minor cosmetic changes that would require repair and Scott was very pleased with it.

  “You didn’t tell me it was on the beach,” Mina said a little breathlessly. Just the idea of living here made her feel light headed.

  “I guess it slipped my mind. Would you like to go inside or just look at it from here?”

  “I can see you’re in rare form today, Mr. Travis. Let’s go in, I’m dying to look around.” She was too excited to for him to come around and open her door and was completely enchanted with the place before he reached her. “I could definitely get used to this,” she beamed at him. She could see the backyard was landscaped with grass and shrubbery but the sand of the beach came right up to the edge of the deck that faced the ocean. “Hold on.” She kicked her shoes off then hiked her skirt up just far enough to shimmy out of her pantyhose then rolled them in a ball and stuffed them in her purse. “Okay, now I’m ready.”

  Scott stuck to the walkway, but he watched Mina bury her toes in the sand, kicking it up as she walked. He’d been extremely impressed with how well she’d handled things in the office and felt she’d have everything running on an even keel in no time at all. Mina had been much less animated at work than when spent time together alone, though he thought she’d been a little more relaxed towards the end of the day.

  As soon as they got in the car and were away from the office, she let go of the boss-employee relationship and they’d slipped back into the comfortable friendship he’d known over the weekend. He loved seeing the excited look on her face when he pulled up to the beach house and how much fun she was having just walking barefoot in the sand. Scott opened the door and let her go in first. She let out a squeal of delight then raced from room to room with a huge smile on her face until she wound up back in the living room with him again.

  “It’s so beautiful, Scott. Are you sure you want to rent it out to me? I mean, you could make so much more money by renting it to someone else.”

  He smiled at the anxious look on her face. She was making the offer, but she certainly didn’t want him to change his mind. “I’m sure, honey. Besides, who else is going to take this house when so many repairs need to be made?”

  “It’s just small things here and there. I’ll work on it every night when I get home and on the weekends and…” Mina stopped when she saw the amused smile on his face. “What?”

  “Nothing, you just look so beautiful when you get like this. You’re like a little girl on her first visit to Disneyland.”

  “I can’t help it. If I don’t let it out, I feel like I’ll burst.” Mina smiled radiantly at him. “You’re the nicest man I’ve ever met, Scott Travis, and I feel very fortunate for having you in my life.”

  “I’m the lucky one,” he took her hand. “Come on, let’s take a walk through and I’ll tell you all the things that need to be repaired. Later I’ll have you do that recall trick so I can write down what materials and tools we’ll need.”

  After they’d inspected the house, Mina was disappointed to find that neither the refrigerator nor the stove worked. “I guess I’ll have delay moving in,” she said despondently.

  She walked out of the sliding glass doors to stand on the deck. When she felt Scott’s warm hand on the small of her back, her heart started to race. She wished it didn’t have such a devastating effect every time he touched or came too close to her. Even now, she could feel the heat of his body and that incredibly masculine scent that seemed to radiate from every pore in his body.

  “You do know it’s the landlord’s responsibility to keep the major appliances in good order. There’s no need to delay moving in. I can get a new stove and refrigerator delivered by tomorrow. As a matter of fact, if you want to come with me, we can go pick out something tonight.”

  Mina shook her head. “I can’t ask you to do that when you’ve done so much for me all ready.”

  “Stop being so stubborn every time I do something for you. I’d have to replace them anyway so you might as well pick out something you’d like.”

  She turned her face to him. “You’re going to do it even if I object, aren’t you?”

  “You wouldn’t want me to shirk my landlord duties, would you?”

  “No, I wouldn’t want you to do that,” she said with a soft smile.

  ****

  It didn’t take her long to find the set she wanted, although Scott vetoed the first refrigerator she picked because it didn’t have an ice maker on the door. She’d protested that it hiked the price up too much be he insisted that since he’d be over helping with repairs, he’d want ice water ready and waiting for him. Mina relented, still uttering protests when they walked out, though secretly she was pretty happy about it. As Scott pulled out of the parking lot, he asked if she’d like to join him for dinner.

  “I’d really like to, but Buster’s been outside all day and I don’t like to leave him out once it gets dark.”

  “Don’t tell me he’s afraid of the dark?”

  “No, he’s not afraid of the dark! It’s just the teenagers in the neighborhood think having the cover of night gives them a license to tease my dog. They drive him crazy, and consequently he drives the neighbors crazy.”

  “We could pick something up, if you don’t mind my company that is.”

  Mina’s heart soared. “I like being with you,” she said, suddenly feeling a little shy.

  “Maybe we should pick up some boxes while we’re out so you can start packing right away.”

  She hadn’t really considered how she’d get all her things over to the new place. “I think I may have a little problem. How am I going to get all my furniture and everything else over there? I certainly can’t cart it on the bus and I don’t think I can afford a moving company.” Mina looked at him hopefully. “You’re the king of problem solving, at least as it pertains to my life recently, what do you suggest?”

  “I suggest we rent a small enclosed trailer, hitch it to my truck and get you moved. It doesn’t look like you have a whole lot of furniture so it should only take us a few trips. I think I might even be able to con one of my brothers into coming over on Saturday to help out with the larger pieces.”

  “You have a truck?”

  “A Ford F350. I don’t usually drive it during the week because I pick my clients up for lunch occasionally and the car is a bit easier for them to climb in and out of. If I had my choice, though, I’d much rather be in my truck.”

  “I love trucks, especially the bigger ones like you have. All my brothers have trucks and, of course, my Dad has one. I guess I just feel a little more important riding high, looking down on all those compact cars.”

  Scott glanced at her to see if she was sincere. “You’re serious,” he said in surprise.

  “Why is that so hard to
believe? I’m a farm girl, remember?”

  He smiled at her. “I tend to forget that, especially when you’re dressed like you are today.”

  Mina waved her hand in the air. “This old thing?”

  “You look fantastic in that old thing,” he chuckled.

  They picked up deli sandwiches and potato salad then went back to her house. Apparently, Buster wasn’t happy with being left all alone for so long and after a brief wag of the tail, he ignored her and went to sit at Scott’s feet.

  Mina eyed the dog disdainfully. “Keep that up and I may just send you home with your new friend.” Buster didn’t seem too concerned because he didn’t bother to move or stop ignoring her.

  Scott laughed when she turned her scornful look on him. “What can I say, I’m extremely loveable.”

  “I’ll forgive you this once since you were nice enough to stop for boxes. When can I start painting and working on repairs? I’d like to get the painting done at least. I don’t have much, but I don’t want it ruined by paint splatter.”

  “We can stop and pick up the paint and supplies tomorrow after work. If you’re up to it, we can start as soon as we have everything we need.”

  “Are you sure? I feel guilty consuming so much of your time.”

  “I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t want to do it. I’m a little concerned you don’t really have enough furniture to fill the beach house though. You know, I think my sister put all her furniture in storage when she got married. I could ask if she has anything she’d like to sell. Her taste is a lot like yours. She likes big, heavier pieces and things with a lot of woodwork.”

  Mina got up from the table to clear off their dishes and took them to the sink. “I wasn’t able to bring most of my things when I moved here. What I have, I had to pick up at a discount outlet. I miss having my things around me, especially my piano.”

  “You play the piano?”

  “I’m certainly no concert pianist, but I don’t do too badly. It relaxes me. I haven’t played for over six months now so who knows if I can even throw together a few cords let alone a whole song.”

  Scott stood up to help her finish the dishes. “You’re just full of surprises. If you play the piano like you do everything else, I’m sure you play beautifully.”

  Mina handed him the last dish to dry. “I’ll just be happy when I can get all the backlogged work done so I can actually help you instead of taking even more of your time.”

  “I have a feeling you’ll have it all under control before the end of the week.” Scott took her hand and led her back to the sofa. “Sit with me for a minute. I want to know if you had a chance to get to know any of your co-workers yet.”

  She sat beside him, turning sideways so she could look at him when she talked. “I’m afraid I didn’t do so well in the making friends department. Everyone seemed so…standoffish.”

  Scott wasn’t the least bit happy to hear that. “What do you mean? Were they rude to you?”

  “No, not exactly. They just didn’t make any effort to talk to me, like they were intimidated by me for some reason. I can honestly say it’s the first time that’s ever happened to me.”

  “I’m sure they’ll warm up to you once they get to know you. You’re sure no one was rude to you?”

  “No, nothing like that. I did get a lot of help from Ben Romane, though. He was very nice and really bent over backwards to help me resolve the shipment problems.”

  “Ben’s a good man. I really need to get a few more people hired into shipping so they’re not so overworked. Maybe some of those shipping issues wouldn’t pop up so often if there was more help.”

  “Do you have any kind of incentive program?”

  “In shipping?”

  Mina shrugged. “For all the departments. Maybe they’d be a little more conscientious about what’s going on around them if you dangled a reward in front of them. It wouldn’t have to be anything grand, it’s just that people like to know that their work is appreciated and an occasional pat on the back does wonders for morale.”

  “Ah, one day on the job and she’s already trying to tell me how to run my company.”

  She looked at him nervously. “Scott, I didn’t mean…”

  “I’m teasing, sweetheart,” he grinned. “I think it’s a great concept. Why don’t you jot some ideas down and let me look over them when you’re done.” He checked his watch, regretting the time had gone by so quickly. “I guess I’d better head out. We’ll go get the paint and supplies after work tomorrow then come back here so you can change. If you want, we can bring Buster with us to the beach house and let him get used to his new surroundings.”

  Mina’s eyes lit up. “Really? Oh, he’d love that! Then maybe he won’t ignore me the entire time you’re here.”

  Scott’s breath caught in his throat. She was so incredibly beautiful when she allowed herself to smile like that. He wanted so badly to pull her into his arms and kiss her. It was driving him crazy having to keep his distance, but she’d already proved how valuable she was going to be in her role as his assistant. Before he did something he’d regret later, he pushed himself off the sofa and stood to go.

  Mina walked him to the door, already feeling depressed that he had to leave. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she said when he pulled the door open. He gave her a brief smile then was gone. When she turned to find Buster standing right behind her, she crossed her arms. “You don’t fool me, you rotten dog. You didn’t come over to make-up with me, you came to see Scott off.”

  ****

  Mina’s second day at work went much as the first one had. Scott handed over the things he hadn’t had time to take care of and she set about making sure they got done. The day before, one of the assistants, Mary Jenkins, had sat with her for a few hours in the afternoon to help train her on some of the computer programs. Mary had been polite but like the others in the department, a bit guarded. On Tuesday afternoon, Scott assigned a woman named Rene Robinson to explain all the different types of contracts. She couldn’t say Rene was impolite exactly, but her behavior certainly bordered on it. Her manner was crisp and rather cold but Mina chose to ignore it and did her best to keep her own attitude positive. What was it with the women in this company?

  She loved working with Scott though. Their playful banter and his patience in explaining things to her made the greater part of the day worth the few hours she had to spend with the women he’d assigned to help her. As much as she enjoyed being there, she was happy when quitting time finally rolled around and she and Scott left to go pick out the paint. They’d loaded the paint in the trunk along with some cleaning supplies, then Scott lined his back seat with one of the paint tarps for Buster.

  She changed her clothes quickly, choosing an old pair of sweats and a t-shirt so she wouldn’t ruin any of her new clothes. She was surprised to find the sweats fit even looser than they had before and had to draw the string in a few notches. Since she only had a few bras and didn’t want to take the chance of paint soaking through her shirt, she’d gone without one, though it made her a little self-conscious doing so. Once they had Buster loaded up, Scott told her they’d have to make a quick stop at his house so he could change too.

  “We’ll grab some burgers on the way so we don’t waste too much time eating. Besides, we can’t really leave Buster in the truck while we go inside to eat somewhere.”

  “That’s fine. I’m anxious to get started anyway.”

  They stopped at a fast food restaurant not too far from her house and ate on the way. Mina hadn’t really been paying much attention to where they were going until they pulled into a driveway along the beach and stopped in front of a house she could only describe as a mansion. She knew it couldn’t have been too far down from the house Scott was renting to her because she remembered seeing it from the highway the day before.

  “This is where you live?” She asked, suddenly even more embarrassed at the condition of the little house she'd been renting.

  “Yes. I got
a great deal on it when the previous owners decided not to pay their mortgage for several months.”

  “But it’s so big. You live here alone?”

  Scott chuckled. “Do I look like the type to have roommates? Besides, some day I plan on getting married and filling it with children.”

  “From the looks of it, you plan on having about a dozen or so.”

  “Come inside while I change and you can have a look around.”

  Mina followed him inside and was awestruck by the richness of the furnishings. Scott left her to wander around downstairs while he went upstairs to his room to change. She loved the wide open space of it and the beautifully finished hardwood floors. The living room was decorated sparingly with a large, over-stuffed sofa and matching armchairs. A loveseat was arranged in front of a huge fireplace and Mina felt a moment of homesickness for the fireplace at her parent’s house.