Her Forbidden Love (Indigo Island Book 2) (14 page)

“I love you, too,” she said, tears welling up before she could stop them. “This night, this all is a dream come true. Can this be real? How can this work?”

“We’ll figure it out, together,” Jack said, hoping they could, knowing Steve was a problem but no longer caring. Everything would be fine, he’d make sure it was.

Jack didn’t know how long they stayed there, but finally, when the beach was completely dark, they packed up. On the ride home, Jack drove the golf cart on the beach instead of on the paved path, surprising the ghost crabs, who jumped out of their holes, one claw raised, to defend themselves from whatever was venturing onto their beach in their time of the evening.

They spent the night at his cottage, and Jack slept a deep, dreamless sleep.

Chapter 15

Dorsey

T
he Kids Cottage was hopping. She’d had ten kids, aged four to twelve to entertain today and that was a challenge with the age gap. The group had walked the beach, albeit slowly and then taken a swim at the pool. Unfortunately, Jack wasn’t the lifeguard on duty, but she still enjoyed her daydreams about him. Just thinking about him made her insides clench with desire and something much, much more. She’d fallen in love. The day passed quickly and as she was seeing off the last camper, Steve appeared.

“Dorsey, we need to talk,” he said, hands on hips, walking past her into the cottage. She hated the way he burst in whenever he wanted to the stance he took, lurking over her, his turtle-like neck never bothered her more than at these moments. She took a deep breath and a step back, bumping into the wall. Did he know something, she wondered. They had been so careful, so sneaky.

“Why, sure, Steve,” she said, feeling suddenly small and very alone. And trapped. “You seem upset?”

“It’s more like disappointed. In you. Remember when you promised to follow club policy?” He’d pushed his sunglasses up onto his forehead and had placed one hand on either side of her against the wall. Dorsey could smell his stinky cologne as if she’d sprayed it on her own neck.

She quickly ducked and made it out from under his left arm and hurried to the other side of the room. “Yes, I know all the rules,” she answered, feeling the blush start on her face despite herself. “I’ve been the model employee. I got four new stars this week.”

“The guests do like you, Dorsey, but you are not making me happy. And that’s your problem. You see, I’m the only one who matters, ultimately. I told you not to date a coworker, didn’t I?”

Steve had stepped closer to her again. He had taken his glasses off of his head and twirled them in his right hand. Spittle was forming at the corners of his mouth. “But yet, you’re fucking the lifeguard, aren’t you?”

Dorsey was shocked, and trapped. She didn’t know what to say to him. She didn’t know whether to deny everything, or to just tell him the truth and beg for mercy. Her heart raced. She looked out the window, praying Jack would appear, would show up and save her or at least tell her what to say.

“Don’t lie to me. I know everything that happens here.”

He was inches from her, leaning down into her personal space. Dorsey felt herself shaking; she was scared of Steve, but she couldn’t speak. But she was in love, and love was always OK, and before she could stop herself she blurted, “Yes, it’s true.”

“I knew it. Fucker,” Steve said, turning his back to her, shaking his head slowly, popping the knuckles of his small right hand.

“Steve, sir, it’s my fault. I was lonely. Jack is innocent here. Fire me, transfer me. Or I’ll quit.”

Steve turned back around and stared at her, his tiny eyes dark. He shook his head, pointing his finger at her. “It stops now. Ends now. You will be summoned to the ethics committee. They will decide your fate. If you don’t see him again, they may allow you to stay.” Steve shook his head again, putting his glasses back on. He reached out and touched her hair, playing with it in his fingertips before dropping his hand to her shoulder. “You are such a disappointment,” he said, before walking out the door.

After he left, Dorsey sat down in one of the child-sized chairs, shaken. She’d made a terrible mistake in confessing the truth to Steve. Barbara had warned her, and she hadn’t listened. This was the moment when it mattered, this was when she needed to keep her love close. She felt in her pocket for her oogle but realized she’d left it at home. It would all be OK, she tried to tell herself. Jack didn’t need to know about this, Steve would calm down and everything would be fine.

She and Jack just needed to be low-key. They could do that. They would have to now, she realized. And it was all her fault.

Chapter 16

Jack

T
hree days later, Jack was furious. He was standing in the Kids Cottage holding a note summoning Dorsey to appear for ethics violations in front of the three-person management committee led by Steve. Fortunately the kids had all gone home, so he could yell at Dorsey in private.

“What the hell did you admit to? What did he ask you? And when?” he yelled, “Why didn’t you tell me you’d done this?” He was pacing the bright blue carpet and Dorsey, face drained of color, was standing by the door as if she was considering making a run for it. He knew he was yelling, knew he was scaring her but he hadn’t been this mad since he could remember. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

“It just came out, I swear, Jack,” she said, voice quivering. She looked like she was going to cry, but Jack couldn’t feel any sympathy. She had ruined everything.

“He walked in here three days ago and asked me point blank if we were having sex. And we are,” Dorsey said. She crossed the room reaching out for him, trying to give him a hug to calm him down.

“Don’t,” he said, brushing past her and continuing to pace back and forth across the bright blue carpet. He knew Dorsey had never seen him this angry, although she could probably tell he had some pent-up anger issues. Usually, he could keep it under control, keep it under the surface. But not this. This ruined everything.

He read the summons again, it had become crumpled as he’d held it in his hands. He stopped walking and tried to calm down. “Look, I don’t like it, not at all. I don’t even think this is legal. I mean, we had an ethics council in college. But that was for cheating. He works for a large corporation. HR people deal with stuff like this, not tribunals. He’s just trying to force one of us to leave. Probably me. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this happened.” He looked up and Dorsey was sobbing. She had dropped into the window seat.

He had made her cry. He hated himself for that. Dammit. He needed to make a plan, to fix this. He’d have to get to Steve’s bosses before Steve could get to them.

He sat down next to Dorsey, and pulled her against him. “Shh, it’s going to work out,” he said, as she wiped her tears on his shirt. “I’ve got a plan. But first we have the stupid oyster roast tonight. You still up for helping?”

“Yes,” she answered quietly, a catch in her voice from all the tears.

“Ok, stop crying and let’s get our game faces on. We can’t let him know he got to us, no matter what. So, throw this thing away, or actually I will,” he said, ripping up the piece of paper and scrunching it into a tiny ball of waste. “And I’ll see you at the pool complex in about an hour. Good?”

Dorsey nodded, and attempted a smile.

“I still love you, even if you spilled the beans,” he said, kissing her on the forehead before heading out the door.

Jack headed back to the pool. He was overseeing the oyster roast setup for the evening since it was taking place at the pool complex. Steve had assigned him to the task, explaining it would be like a management position. Jack had said it was more like event-planning, but Steve had insisted. All of the prep work was completed, and Jack saw Dorsey as she walked up the path looking happier than she had an hour ago. He forced a big smile on his face, attempting to hide the worry he still felt deep inside.

“Goody, the two people I’ve been dying to see,” Steve said, coming up behind Jack, putting his arm around Jack’s shoulder as Dorsey joined them. Her face had gone white again. “So, how goes life on our fair island, Jack?” he asked, as Jack shook free of his arm. Steve grabbed Dorsey’s elbow preventing her from backing away.

“It’s fine, thanks,” Jack said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

Steve pulled Dorsey close to him as he spoke to Jack.

“Jack, my boy, I’ve given you fair warning. I told you the policy and you signed it when you began working here last year and this year. If you can’t keep it in your pants, you know where to get some. Not the summer staff, and not this one,” he said, jerking Dorsey’s arm. “You are supposed to fuck the tourists. That’s who. You did it all last year. But now, you’re messing up, star boy. Once Dorsey talks to the committee it’ll be one of you who will leave. You can guess who that will be, can’t you?” Steve asked, his tongue flicking the sides of his mouth.

“You’re all class,” Jack said, balling his hands into fists, ready to swing.

Steve grabbed Jack’s shoulder: “Hey, boy. Don’t act too uppity, you know, because I’m in charge around here. I’m the one who hired you, and I can take it all away. And where are you going to get the money to pay me back, huh?”

Jack knew he should be helping Dorsey as she tried to pull free from Steve’s hand on her elbow. But he was stunned. He couldn’t believe Steve brought up the money in front of Dorsey. He couldn’t believe everything he’d just heard. It was now, officially, war.

“Are you finished, sir?” Jack asked, his jaw clenched, eyes flashing.

“For now, yeah, I’m finished,” Steve said, finally releasing Dorsey who backed away quickly. “Dorsey, if you’re planning on helping out here tonight, you’ll need your evening uniform.”

“I’ll drive you back,” Jack said, starting to follow her.

“Oh please, allow me,” Steve said, reaching for Dorsey again.

“No, I can run faster. See you in a few,” Dorsey said to Jack before she darted off.

Jack still couldn’t believe what she’d done. Admitting that they were lovers? To their boss? How could she be so stupid? But it was done. He had to fix it.

Steve smiled at Jack and walked away.

The oyster roast was a success, with a country western band and happy tourists two-stepping, wearing the straw cowboy hats supplied by Top Club, most of them drunk, and laughing under the starlit night. Jack kept an eye on Dorsey whenever he could. He liked it when she was behind the bar, he could keep track of her as she helped the overwhelmed bartenders serve beer and wine. Otherwise, she was lost in the crowd of tourists and staff. Meanwhile Jack had been busy. Helping tourists learn to shuck oysters, restocking the bars, even tying bandannas around the necks of little kids who wanted to be cowboys and cowgirls. By the end of the evening, he was exhausted and sticky, covered with beer and oyster sauce and who knew what else.

“Howdy, cowboy. Great shindig!” Dorsey said, wrapping her arms around him from behind as he cleared a plate of oysters. She was warm and smelled like beer. “You need a shower, too. Join me? Come to my cottage tonight? Unless you’re still mad at me?” Her arms felt so good around his waist. It had been so nice to not feel alone. But, it was over. He should have known it wouldn’t work out. Nothing ever did, not for him.

“Sure,” he said, turning around and giving her what he hoped looked like a genuine smile. The stars were bright in the sky and her eyes were impossibly green, her lips red and perfect. Jack looked at her innocent warm smile and didn’t have the heart to tell her, couldn’t tell her right then that it was over. Had to be over. He couldn’t be fired. He had to keep this job because he’d already taken the money. She would have to lie to whatever committee Steve had concocted, say there was nothing between them, and then together they would have to agree that there never would be. It was the only solution he could come up with, even as it broke his heart.

“OK, great. See you soon,” she said, giving him a peck on the cheek.

As he watched her walk away, Jack swallowed hard and reminded himself it was the only choice he had. They were over. He would tell her tonight after he finished cleaning up from the oyster roast. He took off the stupid bandanna he had around his neck and threw it to the ground.