Traveling Bug

by Curry, Edna

  "Just black, please." He watched her as she poured, and their eyes met as she handed it to him. The sparks that had been waiting all day to fly were about to be ignited, she was sure.

  She dropped her gaze and picked up a cookie, trying not to notice the tremor of excitement in her hand.

  As he finished his coffee, he put down his cup, then took hers and put it on the coffee table.

  She caught her breath expectantly as he leaned towards her. The kiss she had been waiting for was all she expected and warmth spread through her as his lips moved on hers.

  His tongue explored, their lips and hands moving as they satisfied their need to know each other. His hand slid over her soft breast and she immediately responded to his touch.

  A heady sensation of hot longing spread through her. The thought came that somehow she had known that this was how it would be with him.

  The phone rang, and they both jumped at the unexpected interruption. Diane stared at it in surprise, then looked at her watch. It read ten minutes after midnight. "Who would be calling at this time of night?"

  "Best way to find out is to answer it," he commented, his voice harsh with irritation at the interruption.

  She swallowed and cleared her throat as she did so.

  Bob's voice answered her hello. "So you finally made it back. I was worried about you."

  "Bob! Why should you be worried? You knew Jeff was driving me back today."

  "Exactly. Today," he said pointedly. "I've been calling every hour for hours. I even called your mother to see if you had stayed over again for some reason."

  "Oh for Pete's sake, Bob," she said impatiently. She could just hear all the worried conversations going on back home. "You had no right to do that. You can just call Mom up again and tell her I'm fine, and that you upset her for nothing. Goodnight."

  She dropped the phone back into its base and looked at Jeff.

  He stood up, his face unreadable as he went to get his coat from the closet. "I'd better be getting on home," he said. "I still have hours of work on Dad's problem. Thanks for the coffee."

  The warmth that had been between them a few minutes before had suddenly gone cold and his smile was now impersonal.

  "Goodnight," he said and was gone.

  It was a long time before she got to sleep that night.

  Why, oh why, did Bob have to call and spoil everything? And what kind of project was so important he had to stay up half the night? Or did he say problem?

  Chapter 5

  Diane spent most of Sunday in a restless mood, browsing about her apartment, reading the Sunday paper, doing her laundry, and cleaning.

  The wide range of emotions she'd felt the past two days filled her thoughts, and sapped her energy. Hot surges of desire filled her when she remembered Jeff's kisses. He’d certainly seemed to feel something then too. How could he not have?

  Was he still asleep? A picture of his long, lean body lying across his bed popped into her mind unbidden. Did he wear pajamas? Was he thinking of her? Why was he being so secretive?

  Whatever was the matter with her? She must stop thinking of him like this and go back to treating him as only a co-worker. Romance in the office would only lead to disaster for them both.

  The next morning, she was late to work. Reporting to her boss on their day tour, Diane answered Alice's questions as best she could, ending with, “I called the hospital for the latest report on Mr. Jesset. He’s doing well.”

  Frowning at her concerned face Alice told her, "It wasn't your fault, Diane. He's not the first person to be taken ill on a tour and he won't be the last. That's just one of the hazards of working with senior citizens. Lots of them have medical problems which are aggravated by travel and excitement."

  "Yes, I suppose so."

  Alice's eyes narrowed shrewdly as she watched Diane. "You wouldn't want them to be denied access to tours such as ours because of the possibility of becoming ill, would you?"

  "Oh, of course not. My mother's a nurse. I know even young people can suddenly have a medical problem of some kind," she exclaimed. "I didn't mean...."

  "I know," Alice said with a satisfied smile. "So stop blaming yourself and forget it, will you? Jeff told me you handled it all very well. He was very impressed."

  "He told you that?" Diane's pulse fluttered at the mention of Jeff’s name. The unexpected compliment pleased her. So Jeff had been in this morning, or had talked to Alice on the phone. Had he said nothing about the restaurant reservation fiasco, or was Alice conveniently forgetting to mention it? Diane tried to bring her mind back to what Alice was saying.

  "Here’s the list of the cancellations on the Jones' Retailer's trip to the Bahamas. Correct the address files on them in your computer right away, will you? We'll need the updated mailing labels to send out the flight schedules this afternoon." With a warm smile, Alice moved briskly back toward her own office.

  Diane typed away, her mind in a turmoil. Her glance kept straying to Jeff's office, but there was no sign of life there. What was the matter with her today? Even if he had been nice enough to compliment her to Alice, he was probably still angry with her. She shuddered, remembering his cold, unreadable face after Bob's possessive phone call last night.

  She tried to concentrate on the names and addresses on the screen in front of her, but somehow Jeff's face kept appearing between the words on her screen.

  After she’d accidentally deleted the wrong name for the third time and retyped it, she sighed and went to the break room for some coffee.

  The other women saw her there, and joined her, anxious to hear about her weekend with Jeff. Sally, whose love life was hardly abundant, was frankly envious.

  "It was only a quirk of fate that I spent any time with him," she assured Sally. "He felt obligated to return to get me when he thought I was stranded. Then he had car trouble and had to stay over until he could get repairs the next day."

  "Uh huh. Then, since he was already there, you just had to spend all day Saturday with him!" Sally nodded, with an envious touch of sarcasm.

  Diane started. Who had told them that?

  "Jeff was in early this morning for a few minutes before he left for Milwaukee. If you hadn't been late, you'd have seen him," Carla added, her mouth full of raisin toast. "I heard him tell Alice what a lovely day he'd had seeing the sights of your valley."

  Diane turned away to hide her burning face. She took a Styrofoam cup from the stack and held it under the spigot of the coffee pot. She hadn't had time for breakfast after she'd overslept this morning. Now, the fragrance of Carla’s toast had her stomach growling its objections to her neglect so she popped a slice of raisin bread into the toaster.

  Her heart sank unaccountably as the other fact of Sally's comment registered. Jeff had left town without even telling her.Hadn't he known Saturday night that he was going? On the other hand, what right did she have to be angry? She never asked Bob or her parents their plans for the next day. Why should she care if a man she barely knew left town without telling her he was going?

  Still she wanted to know. As she buttered her toast, she smiled encouragement at the other two women, knowing they were dying to tell her all they knew. Jeff was the most exciting thing that had happened to their office in a long time.

  "Jeff looked like a thundercloud when he left," Sally confided. "I heard him talking on the phone in his office, and then he went in to talk to Alice just before he walked out."

  "You were eavesdropping," Carla accused enviously.

  "I was not," Sally returned heatedly. "If you hadn't been still in the biffy fussing over your makeup, you'd have heard him yourself."

  "Never mind that," Carla cut her off, before Sally could start in on her favorite theme, Carla's overuse of the bathroom to redo her face. "What did you hear?"

  "Well, I'm not sure," Sally admitted.

  "What does that mean?" Carla demanded before Diane could ask the same thing.

  "Well, it had something to do with his father. I'm not sure ju
st what, but he went to Milwaukee and that's where he's from, isn't it? I heard him say 'Dad' several times on the phone," Sally stated triumphantly.

  Diane fought down the urge to ask if she knew how long Jeff would be gone, realizing that would betray her own overactive interest in his activities.

  Alice joined them. "We got a plum assignment," she announced, smiling. "We're doing Banning Corporation's annual trip in January."

  "Great."

  "Where are they going?"

  "How many people?" The questions tumbled out on top of each other.

  "Whoa!" Alice laughed. "There'll be about a hundred and twenty-five people, give or take a few, they're scheduled for early in January, and I'm trying to set it up for one of the big hotels in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. There's not much choice of places when there are that many people, because they need a large room for group meals and meetings. There! Did I cover everything?"

  "All except the most important point. Who's going with them?" Sally voiced it for them all.

  "I don't know. That will be up to Jeff, since Vince Banning insisted that he be in charge." Alice tossed her cup into the wastebasket and strode back to her office.

  Reluctantly, they went back to their desks, too. Alice's announcement had left Diane's thoughts in turmoil. Of course, Jeff would get the assignment. It was his own family's company trip, wasn't it? She pushed away her resentful feelings and went back to work.

  By the end of the day, Diane was ready for a quiet evening at home.

  Once there, she opted for a frozen fish and broccoli entree nuked in her microwave and ate while she watched the evening news.

  She’d curled up in her favorite chair in only a nightgown and robe with a fresh cup of tea when the phone rang. She reached for it, resenting the intrusion, without taking her eyes off the screen in front of her, fully expecting her mother or a girlfriend.

  "Hello?"

  "Hello, Beautiful," Jeff's voice answered softly in her ear. She sat up sharply, almost upsetting her tea.

  "Jeff!"

  "Surprised?" He chuckled. "I have to be here in Milwaukee for a few days. Alice probably told you about it."

  "Yes, I heard," she said, noncommittally, not wanting to admit how important any news of him had become.

  "It's the family business I told you about, for Dad here at Banning Corporation. I didn't want to have to come back to Milwaukee, but right now, Dad needs my help. I owe him a lot. I'll be back as soon as I can.”

  "I see." She would have liked to ask what he meant by that, but it seemed much too personal a question. "I thought it had to do with the Mexico trip. I mean, Alice said...." Diane stopped, wondering if she wasn't supposed to know about that.

  "Oh, good, she announced it, then," Jeff, said, relief in his voice. "I mean, I was supposed to let her do that before I talked about it."

  Dared she let him know how much she wanted to be his partner on this tour? She swallowed and only said, "Oh. Yes, she told us."

  "Anyway, now you know why I'll be busy for awhile. I may be back and forth for a couple of months. I'll call you when I get back and we'll have dinner, okay?"

  "Sure." She’d chickened out. Why hadn’t she spoken up for herself? How would he know how much going on these tours meant to her if she didn’t tell him?

  "Goodnight, Beautiful."

  "Goodnight, Jeff." That was the second time he’d called her ‘Beautiful’. Did he really think so? Life was warmer, full of happiness again. He’d called. He’d called her beautiful. This time she forgot to remind herself not to get involved again.

  The week flew by and she heard nothing from him.

  By Friday morning’s coffee break, she could stand the suspense no longer. Trying to keep her voice casual, she asked, “Alice, I need some information from Jeff. Do you know when he’ll be back?”

  "Maybe by the first of next week," Alice replied, a little smile on her lips.

  Diane went back to her own office thoughtfully. Something was odd about all this. Sally had said Jeff hadn't wanted to do what his father had asked, yet Alice had said he went back to Milwaukee because of Banning's Mexico trip.

  But Jeff had indicated to her that the job for his father involved some family business, not a travel tour. Which was true? Why was she getting the definite impression that he was deliberately hiding something important from her, something to do with his family business that he didn’t trust her enough to tell her?

  Saturday morning he called just to chat, saying dinner would have to wait. He was busy helping his father with a project. She was happy to hear from him and asked no questions. Exactly what he was doing in Milwaukee seemed unimportant.

  The days passed slowly. Diane and George did several more fall tours without incident, although just repeating the tours to the valley brought all the details of that first weekend back for Diane. Was she staying in his mind the way he stayed in hers?

  Jeff called several times, indicating he was making progress on his project, but never giving her any clear idea of what it was all about. Diane rationalized that Jeff just considered technical things work, and not a proper dating conversation topic.

  The weather grew cloudy and rainy. A strong wind blew most of the remaining leaves off the trees, putting an end to the color tours.

  On Monday morning Diane's outdoor thermometer read 15 degrees and there were three inches of snow on the ground.. She frowned at the steel-gray sky and hunted up her winter coat. Then she found her fuzzy scarf and driving gloves and went out to brave the elements. It felt like winter had arrived.

  She brushed the snow from the windshield, then got in and turned the key. Her car refused to start, and after a half dozen tries, she gave up, fearing that to try longer would merely wear down the battery. She went back indoors and called a taxi, dreading the cost, but realizing with dismay that she had little choice; she was late again.

  When she walked into her office a few minutes later, she was relieved to find Alice had not yet come in. So she had not been the only one with problems due to the weather.

  She turned on her computer and began up-dating the mailing list for the latest group tour that Alice had left on her desk. Sally brought her several memos of corrections that she had taken over the phone and then Alice arrived and waved at them.

  "Such weather for the first of November, isn’t it? Feels like winter already. This will give people the urge to fly south, anyway. Better stock up on the brochures, Sally."

  "Don't I know it. We've had a dozen phone calls already this morning."

  "Is the coffee done?" Alice hung up her cashmere coat and checked her already perfect hairdo in the mirror inside her closet door. "Umm, caramel rolls. I missed breakfast." They chatted over coffee and rolls, then settled back to work.

  About noon, Diane looked up and saw Jeff walk into Alice's office and felt an unreasonable burst of pleasure. Then she saw the tall, beautiful redhead with him and scolded herself fiercely for the way her heart took a nosedive at the sight. After all, they’d only spent two pleasant days together. That didn't give her any claim on him. What was the matter with her, anyway? Jeff was an attractive man. He certainly must know lots of women. Why was she feeling so awful?

  She returned to her typing and had to delete and redo letters a half dozen times because she was so angry she was hitting the keys too hard, and they kept typing double. One of the big advantages of the old manual typewriter she’d used as a teen, she thought wryly, was that you could at least take out your anger on it, and it still worked! She drew a couple of deep breaths and began again.

  "Hi Diane! I'm back." Jeff smiled at her from her doorway.

  Diane's looked up and grinned. "Hi, yourself."

  "I'll be tied up for a few more days with this project. Then we'll get together for dinner, okay? Oh, and here's Arlene.”

  Diane’s smile faded as Jeff waved her over and introduced her. “Diane, this is Arlene, Dad's secretary."

  "Nice to meet you."

  Arlene put out a p
erfectly manicured hand. "Nice to meet you, too, Diane. My sympathies to you women who have to work with this guy. I know. I was his secretary for a year."

  "She's such a kidder!" Jeff groaned. "I'm an ideal boss. If I weren't, why are you pestering me to come back?"

  Arlene pulled a face at him. "Because you're cuter than your father, of course. Also younger and unmarried."

  "Cut the bull. Come on. Alice is ready to see us!"

  Diane smiled to herself as she watched them walk back to Alice's office. Then she began typing again, this time error free and content. She didn't dare to ask herself why there should be such a change in her feelings just because Jeff had paid some attention to her and made a tentative dinner date for the future.

  A half hour later she saw Alice leaving with Jeff and Arlene, presumably for lunch. When she went to Sally's office for some files, she was, for once, anxious to listen to her gossipy chatter.

  "Did you see the luscious gal Jeff brought back from Milwaukee with him? I had to take some files in to her and Alice introduced us. She's going on the tour with Jeff."

  Diane's heart went cold when that registered. Her voice flat, she said, "Terrific!"

  Back in her office, she sat staring at her screen. Would her turn ever come to go with the tour groups to faraway places? Suddenly she remembered something else Jeff had said to Arlene. If I weren't a good boss, why are you pestering me to come back? Did that mean he was considering returning to his former job at Banning Corporation in Milwaukee? A few days ago, she would have been thrilled at that idea. Now, she realized she no longer wanted him to leave Special Tours.

  The afternoon passed slowly, and when Alice returned at last, it was almost mid-afternoon. Jeff and Arlene failed to show up. Diane swallowed her twinges of jealousy and continued her work. It would certainly not do to let Alice see that Jeff's assignment had upset her.

  The next few days passed as well. While Arlene had evidently gone back to Milwaukee, Diane saw Jeff only in passing or for a few casual words. The tentative dinner turned out to be a couple of lunches, eaten in nearby cafes. While Jeff spent the time talking to her, Diane had the odd feeling that most of his attention was elsewhere.