Page 40 of Sunset Tides
A waiter came by to drop off an oyster appetizer and get their drink orders. Lucy ordered a glass of red wine and tried to listen to the discussion at the middle of the table – something about the ferry workers – and Rob apparently followed her lead.
“Was that your doing? Getting the ferries canceled?” he asked.
She took an oyster onto her plate. “I can’t take credit for the idea.”
Rob reached forward and grabbed an oyster for himself. “But?”
Always prying, wasn’t he? “But…I might have talked to some people, and things happened from there.”
He smiled. “Impressive.”
“Don’t patronize me,” Lucy said, dislodging her oyster with a fork before sucking it down.
Rob put his hands up. “I’m not! What you did with the farm was something I’ve never seen before. Most auctions don’t turn out that way. In fact, I’ve never seen one where the old owners aren’t completely cleaned out.”
She shifted in her seat. His compliments seemed genuine, which made her more uncomfortable than when he was sarcastic. “That’s too bad for those farmers.”
“I agree. Something’s been bothering me about it, though.”
She felt her heart leap. Here it was. He was going to show his hand. She took a sip of water as naturally as she could. “Oh?”
“Yes. I have a serious question for you.” He set his fork down. “You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to.”
As if she would feel pressured to tell him anything. Lucy grabbed another oyster. “Okay.”
“Now that you’ve saved the farm, do you want to quit again?”
Dang it. Not the exposé she’d been hoping for. And yet…
She couldn’t help but smile. She hadn’t thought about it, but now that he’d brought it up, quitting seemed like the logical next step.
Lucy dropped her voice. “Kind of. Why? Do you have a job for me?”
“No, but I’m sure you could get any number of jobs after what you just pulled off.”
Ha. As if she needed helpgettingjobs.“That’s not the problem. I’ve worked in marketing, graphic design, and logistics. I had a brief stint at a quilting shop, and a few weeks at gym startup – that was the weirdest one, actually.”
He sat back, staring at her. “Why do you jump around so much?”
“I’m easily bored, and I like a challenge,” she said simply. “Are you a company man? One company until the day you die?”
He shook his head. “Only if I can maximize my success there.”
“Maximize success?” Lucy snorted a laugh. “What does that even mean?”
“Making partner,” he said, attempting to scoop the inside of his oyster with a spoon. It escaped him, the shell wildly shooting across the plate.
“Ah. Making partner.” She took a sip of red wine. Claire wasn’t cheaping out on them – this was the good stuff. “Is that what you believe will make you happy?”
He stopped his oyster hunt to look up at her. “In a way, yes. Does moving from job to job make you happy?”
“Yes,” she said firmly. “It does.”
Lucy stared at him, and he stared back.
After an uncomfortably long time, he broke eye contact. “You said your mom works at the hotel?”
“You could say that.” Lucy grabbed a slice of apple topped with brie and popped it into her mouth. “She owns it.”
