Diamonds and Dreams (3 page)

Brant
grinned.
 
“Are you trying to play
matchmaker?”

“I won’t
have to because when you get to know Lindsay better, you won’t be able to help
liking her.”

“Maybe I
like her a lot already, but I can’t stop remembering the disastrous effects
which resulted the last time I dared to mix business with pleasure.
 
Besides, in the event that you find it
necessary later to force Lindsay and me to compete for the same job, it would
be foolish for me to become further attracted to her.”

The phone
rang suddenly and
Desi
excused himself before Brant
left.
 
Driving home to the new gray stone
condominium he recently purchased, Brant couldn’t stop thinking about Lindsay,
no matter how hard he tried.
 
He unlocked
the door, and then entered the pale gray living room where a massive stone
fireplace covered an entire wall.
 
Sitting
down on the modular sofa, he kicked off his tan leather loafers and told
himself that he couldn’t avoid tangling his life up with hers professionally.

But at least I have control over any
personal involvement with her,
he thought.

For this he
was thankful because he chose to come to a new city and accept a challenging
job for a change of pace and a fresh beginning.
 
The last thing he needed was to fall in love with a woman who could
complicate his well-planned life.

CHAPTER TWO

“Good
grief!
 
Why is it so important that I be
at the pool party?” Brant tried to reason with
Desi
,
who sat stiffly behind his desk.
 
“Can’t
you get someone else to fill in for me or let Lindsay go alone?”

Before
Desi
could reply, Lindsay stood up from her chair.
 
“Wait a minute!
 
A friend I’ve disappointed too often lately
expects me to spend Saturday with her.
 
Attending the pool party would mean cancelling our plans…not
getting
a refund for reservations we already made.”

Desi’s
face
was etched with impatience.
 
“I want you
both to be there.
 
WBKB sponsors this
party, so it’s mandatory that the ‘weekend team’ be present as emcees.
 
You’ll both need to rearrange your
schedules.
 
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I
have a telephone call to make.”

Lindsay rose
to leave and Brant followed her.
 
“Looks
like we’re stuck,” she muttered as soon as they stepped out of
Desi’s
office and into the hall.

He
nodded.
 
“In this business, I guess we
must take the good with the bad.”

“Did you
have other plans for Saturday, too?”

“No.”

“Then why
don’t you want to go?”

“I can’t
swim,” he replied.
 
“What fun will I
have, sitting back and watching everyone else enjoying
themselves
as they splash around in the pool?”

“You have a
fear of water?”

“Sort of.
 
Actually, I was an excellent swimmer when I
was younger.
 
Then several years ago my
best buddy, Dan, and I worked together, building a bridge across a river in
Louisiana.
 
Dan was injured and fell into
the muddy river.
 
I dove in after him and
tried desperately to save him, but I was unsuccessful.”

“I’m sorry
about your friend.
 
Is the reason you
can’t swim now because you were injured also during your attempt to rescue
Dan?”

“Not exactly.
 
Since the accident, it’s odd, but
whenever I find myself in deep water, the horrible memories often
come
flooding back and my body freezes, so I can’t swim a
stroke.”

Lindsay
lowered her head, smoothing a wrinkle in the ruffled floral print cotton dress
she wore.
 
“Hope the party doesn’t turn
out to be a long one.”

“Right.
 
May I offer you a ride to the party?”

“Thanks, but
I might be a little late, so I’d better drive my own car.”

“Okay.
 
See you tomorrow.”

“Goodbye,”
she called, noticing as he turned his back how neat and
unrumpled
his white dress pants and white and navy striped shirt were.
 
Most men paid scant attention to their
wardrobe, but Brant was always impeccably groomed.
 
Perhaps he had a special lady who took
pleasure in doing such chores for him as caring for his clothes.

On Saturday
Lindsay easily located the recreational area of the city’s newest hotel where
the party was held.
 
With the warm, midday
sun and clear skies overhead, it was a perfect day for a gathering by the
pool.
 
Still, she regretted cancelling
her plans with
Serita
, her old college roommate.

In the
ladies’ locker room she changed into a canary-colored one-piece bathing suit
that flattered her slender figure.
 
Then
she returned to where splashing sounds, laughter and music floated through the
air.
 
When she started across the
brick-paved patio where colorful urns filled with pink geraniums sat at the
pool’s edge and people reclined in chaise lounges, she heard someone whistle
loudly.

“Lindsay!
 
Over here!” Brant called from where he sat at
a glass-topped, round table shaded by a royal blue and white striped umbrella.

She saw him
rise and thought he resembled a movie star who’d been her childhood heartthrob
as he wore only bright red swimming trunks that revealed the dusting of dark
hair over his long, muscular legs and broad chest.
 
He appeared to be in perfect physical
condition, causing her to suspect that he was probably health-conscious and
exercised or participated often in various sports.

He wondered
when the last time was that he’d seen a more beautiful woman.
 
“You look terrific.
 
Are we ready to begin?
 
The sooner we start, the quicker we’ll
finish.”

“Yes.
 
Let’s get the party rolling,” she replied,
walking with him to the make-shift broadcast booth where he turned on a
microphone and addressed the guests.

“Welcome,
everyone!
 
I’m Brant Diamond of WBKB,
Columbus’ leading rock station.
 
My
partner, Lindsay Blair, and I are glad you could join us today for some fun in
the sun.
 
We have exciting contests with
great prizes planned for you, so here’s Lindsay to tell you about these
activities.”

Clearing her
throat, she accepted the microphone from him and smiled as the audience applauded.
 
“Thank you.
 
We’re here to see that everyone has fun, so we have swimming races and
diving contests planned, and of course, lots of free refreshments for you.
 
Brant and I will play the top twenty songs
from this past week while you enjoy yourselves.”

She
proceeded to introduce the hotel manager and members of his staff since
Desi
arranged for some of these people to serve as contest
judges.
 
After a brief explanation of the
rules, she blew a whistle as the signal to begin the relay races.
 
Swimmers smoothly cut through the water,
quickly reaching the far end and splashing their way back to tag the next
swimmer on their team.

“Don’t look
now, but there’s a spy watching us from among the crowd,” Brant whispered,
leaning so close to Lindsay that their shoulders brushed each other.

“What?”
 
She couldn’t be sure if was serious.

Brant
continued to speak in a hushed tone.
 
“See the blonde-haired guy with the beard?
 
The one wearing denim cut-offs and a pale
blue muscle shirt.
 
That’s Mike
MacDonald, one of the hosts from WQXL.
 
He’s probably here to check us out…probably wants to see if we’ll be
stiff competition for him.”

“For a
newcomer, you seem to know a lot about Columbus and its people.
 
How long have you lived here?”

“Two
months.
 
I met Mike a few weeks ago when
I applied for a job at WQXL, but there were no openings there, so I came to
WBKB.”

“If I were
you, I wouldn’t tell
Desi
that your first choice was
WQXL.”

“Why?” he
asked, confused.

“WQXL is
WBKB’s biggest rival station.
 
Desi
regularly wages a ratings war with the folks at WQXL
since they’re the only other station that plays the kind of rock music WBKB
does.”

“Hmm,” he
murmured thoughtfully.
 
“Thanks for the
tip.”

“Sure.”
 
Why did she get the funny feeling that she
just outsmarted herself by the admonition to Brant?

Watching the
swimmers frolic in the oval-shaped pool, Lindsay yearned to take a dip in the
inviting water that offered a cooling respite from the blistering heat.
 
Yet she resisted the temptation and remained
near Brant so that he wouldn’t feel out of place or uncomfortable.

He guessed
what she did and refused to let her pity him.
 
“Don’t stay here on my account.
 
If you want to swim, go ahead.
 
We
have time until we need to make more announcements.
 
We don’t have to monitor the rest of the
music since it’s all pre-recorded to play consecutively, so you have a little
time for yourself; use it.”

“I prefer to
work on my suntan.”
 
She spread a long
pink towel on the grassy area nearby.

The muscular
lifeguard with sun-bleached hair sounded a buzzer before he announced through a
megaphone, “Ten minute rest break.
 
Everyone, out of the pool!”

Reluctant
swimmers complied, leaving the pool to relax in wooden chairs on the
patio.
 
Others stretched out on the
fresh-smelling clover while even more headed for the concession stand.
 
The lifeguard climbed down from his post and
disappeared inside a small red-brick building with a sign on the door that
read:
 
EMPLOYEES ONLY.
 
Rising, Lindsay decided to escape the crowd
and join Brant, who said “hello” to a group of people at the far end of the
pool.
 

Mike
MacDonald started to pass by them, but slipped on the wet concrete and fell
against Brant.
 
A loud splash pierced
through the air as Brant lost his balance and tumbled over the edge at the
water’s deep end.
 
Immediately
large ripples formed on the shimmering surface.

Panic swept
through Lindsay and in seconds she inhaled, plunging in after him.
 
Please,
let him be all right,
she prayed silently as she swam in strong, even
strokes toward him.

She reached
him quickly, and grasping his arm around her shoulder, managed to push his head
above the water only to see him sink below it once more as she suddenly lost
her grip on him.
 
Kicking with all her
strength, she forced his face above the surface again.
 
This time she felt relief when he sputtered
and coughed up water that he swallowed.
 
She tried dragging him to the side, but he struggled to break free.

“Get away,
Lindsay!
 
What are you trying to do—drown
us both?” he shouted.

“I was only
trying to help.”
 
She was soaking wet as
she stepped out of the pool.
 
“I didn’t
know if you could make it on your own.”

“You
over-reacted and didn’t give me a chance to get out on my own.”

Frustrated,
he climbed over the rim of the pool and tried to ignore the curious stares
directed his way.
 
Nagging doubts plagued
him.
 
Could he have saved himself?
 
He really didn’t know since Lindsay pushed
his head above the water before he had time to think rationally.
 
And did Mike MacDonald, who was nowhere in
sight now,
shove
him into the pool on purpose to try
and make a fool out of him?
 
Did he use
his cell phone to snap pictures?
 
Perhaps
he planned to release the awkward photos to the public to further humiliate
Brant.

Lindsay’s
blood boiled over Brant pretending that she made a spectacle of herself with
the dramatic rescue scene.
 
“Honestly,
Brant, I thought you were in danger.
 
You
told me you couldn’t swim.”