Working Romance. Susan Kohler
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for a way to set him up with Kate when an accounting position opened up at the firm.
Luckily, the position became available just as Kate was planning to return to work for the first time since losing her husband. Laura called Kate and told her that Mr. Simmons had left hiring the new clerk in Accounts Payable up to her. The position would be offered on a temp-to-perm basis.
Although there would be a short interview with Mr. Simmons before Kate started to work, she was told to be prepared to stay and begin work after the interview. Laura also hinted about something more, other than Accounts Payable involved in the new job.
Kate realized she was drifting and pulled herself back to the present.
“Tell me again how I’ll be less embarrassed with a bare, um, ass than in a bathing suit?” Kate had asked, a bit skeptical about that.
“Because at the regular beach, everybody’s looking at you and most of the men are trying to picture how you look naked, right? Well, here there’s no pretense. Most of them take a look and leave you alone. There are ways to let them know you want to hang out with them. Of course,” she added, with exaggerated self-righteousness, “as a married woman I keep to myself, except for my eyes.” The self-righteous tone was ruined by the mischief in her eyes.
Kate laughed as she surrendered to Laura, and quipped, “Okay, I’ll go! The idea of naked men to, um, hang out with is too good to pass up!”
A part of her really meant it at the time. She conveniently forgot that whenever she let Laura talk her into an adventure they always got into sticky situations. Besides, how much of an adventure was it to keep your face buried in a book, even if it was the latest thriller by Dean Koontz? So here she was, relaxed, sort of, enjoying the feel of the sun on her back, her buttocks, and her legs, sort of, and trying not to stare at the men too much, well, she admitted to herself with a grin, sort of.
Laura had a book to read, too. She had a new J.D. Robb novel that she read for a while, before she got up and headed for the water. She took a quick dip in the ocean then walked along the beach. Finally she returned to lie on her blanket. After a short nap, she went back for a real swim once again, leaving Kate alone with her nose still in her book.
Kate looked around the small cove, with the high cliffs that kept it private and then looked at the other sunbathers. To her surprise, most of them looked very normal, like any other group of people on any other beach. The ages ranged from young adult to about seventy. They ran the gamut of sizes from quite thin to very large. Among the group were several very good-looking men. Thank goodness.
Although she wasn’t man hunting, Kate had to admit to herself ruefully, she appreciated male beauty as much as the next girl. Now that’s entertainment, she thought to herself, as she surreptitiously glanced up to watch some well-built young men playing volleyball. The only difference between the others and herself was they all seemed to be totally relaxed and enjoying themselves.
She had to admit to herself that aside from a few lingering glances, no one was paying any special attention to her. In truth, Kate realized, the problem was entirely her own. She began to gradually relax and for Kate, that was a real feat.
Kate was not an old-fashioned woman. She was as self-assured, confident and certainly as passionate as any other woman, and she had a devious sense of humor. She had always been modest except with her husband. With Joe, she had been an aggressive and highly sexual woman, totally confident and comfortable in her own body and fully capable of taking delight in his.
Part of the reason she came with Laura was to see if she could shed her modesty. Eventually, she would have to face the world and begin dating again, although the idea of spending time with any man but Joe left her cold. She couldn’t even imagine kissing, let alone having sex with any other man, but deep inside she knew she would. Someday. In the future. If she could ever let a man close to her again. If she ever hoped to have a love life.
She was also curious to see if she could still feel anything sexually. She wanted to find out if any man could even begin to arouse her interest other than a basic admiration of the male body. She was enjoying looking at the men, but so far no one had caused her heart to flutter or pulse to race. Not a bit. Maybe she was just too wound up to enjoy looking, or maybe she hadn’t seen the right man yet, she thought, after all looks weren’t everything. There was still hope.
She hadn’t relaxed enough to turn over and expose her breasts but she would have to soon. If she didn’t, she would be too sunburned to sit down when she started her new job. One thing she had forgotten was Laura’s passion for lying out in the sun for too long. Too long for Kate at least, because while Laura tanned beautifully, and the sun lightened and streaked her curly, caramel colored hair, Kate turned into a lobster, no matter how much sunscreen she used. Of course, the sun also turned her hair into a dull, brittle mess. Nature, Kate thought wryly, was a very unfair witch.
Just when Kate was working up her nerve to turn over, Laura exclaimed, “Well! I’ll be damned! I’ve never seen him here before.”
There was a hint of alarm in her voice.
“Who?” Kate was only mildly interested; she didn’t even look up.
“Bob Simmons.” Laura hesitated, then started talking too fast, sounding alarmed. “Ah . . . Kate, I’m sorry. This is the first time I ever saw anyone I knew here, and it had to be Bob, of all people.”
“So who the heck is Bob?” By now Kate was concerned, she had noticed the consternation in Laura’s voice. She knew it took something major to upset Laura.
“Kate, I’m truly sorry about this,” Laura couldn’t meet Kate’s eyes, “As of tomorrow, he’s your new boss.”
“He’s my what?” Kate gave a shriek, only partly muffled by her beach blanket. She thought she was embarrassed before but now she knew what the word really meant.
“Your new boss. The man you’re going to work for, starting tomorrow.” Laura said, eyes laughing, “Please, please don’t kill me!”
Laura was really worried about her best friend’s reaction to this latest sticky situation. She watched as Kate buried her face in the towel. How was she going to set these two up if Kate died of terminal embarrassment, she wondered, but then again, the little voice in her mind added, even Kate could hardly ignore Bob now. Heaven’s above, she looked up at Bob as he walked over and thought to herself, no woman breathing could ignore him, even a very happily married woman like herself.
“No! Laura, I can’t let him see me here. No way I’m going to meet my new boss stark, staring naked! How could I ever face him at work? Is he really headed this way? How do I hide?” There was genuine panic in Kate’s voice.
“Too late,” Laura whispered, then she looked up and smiled.
“Hi Bob! I didn’t know you came to this beach.”
“I’ve never been here before. I just moved in up on the bluffs,” Bob answered. “Who’s your sunburned friend?”
“I’m not sure that’s a sunburn, I think she’s blushing, and if it’s your first time here, why aren’t you? Blushing, I mean.” Laura asked, with a hint of challenge in her voice.
“I didn’t say I had never been to any nude beach,” Bob looked down at the woman trying desperately to disappear into the beach towel, “Just not this one.”
He couldn’t help but notice three things: She had beautiful, long, red hair, a great ass, and she was so red that she seemed like she was about to die of either sunburn or total embarrassment.
“I noticed you skipped the introduction.” He took pity on her. “Hey, don’t be shy. Everybody’s nervous the first time they’re here. Look at it this way, you’ll probably never see any of these people again.”
He didn’t mention that he had every intention of seeing her again, with Laura’s help. This brought a muffled choking sound from the blanket and caused Laura to look away.
Bob looked from one woman to the