The waiter straightened and blinked as if to refocus on where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. “Sure. Anything you need, anything, just let me know. I’ll be right over there.”
Waiting till he was sure the waiter was out of earshot, Dominic gave a low whistle. “Not bad. I thought you were going to chicken out for a moment there. But you pulled through, good recovery.” He took a sip of his drink and Maya watched the way his throat moved as the cold liquid went down. Crap, she wasn’t supposed to be watching him.
“Tell me you didn’t enjoy it a tiny little bit.”
Maya bit her lip. Had she? The thrill of feeling the eyes of the young waiter on her hands, her throat, her shoulders. The flutter of adrenalin when he responded, when she watched his attention focus in as if she had been the only woman in the room. It hadn’t been all bad. “Okay. Maybe a tiny little bit.”
Dominic laughed and she couldn’t help joining in. “Stop it. Teasing me isn’t the best way to build up my confidence you know. And I hope you noticed that I kept things fashion focused, so we can get some cool tips too.”
The laughter stopped, but Dominic’s smile continued. “Yes I noticed. But he hardly spilled anything of consequence. Except that he has the uber hots for sexy slightly older women. What’s that called these days, a Cougar cub?”
“Hey,” she slapped at him. “I’m not that much older. I’m barely mid-twenties.” But she couldn’t deny the little rush of pride that not only had she managed to pull off flirting without a drop of alcohol in her system, but that Dominic had called her sexy. “Thank you,” she said and dropped her head to stare at the table.
“Hey, don’t hide your face when you’re just learning how to show it off.” Dominic reached over and tipped her chin up with his finger.
Oh, nice. Too nice. His finger on her chin again, the contact with her skin, it made her all goosey. He’s giving you flirting tips as a favor. He had sisters didn’t he? Probably just trying to redeem himself after being told off by one of them for womanizing. It wasn’t like he was flirting with her.
“Hey. That’s a long face for a girl who just got some hip cool-kid to salivate all over her.”
“Hardly.”
“Come on. Keep your eyes on the prize. Prince Surfalot is going to be lapping up every word you say, every tilt of your head, every bat of your beautiful eyelashes. That is he will if you get your technique sorted. Pronto. Here’s your chance to go again. Pretend he’s your surf hero this time.”
“I can’t,” she hissed.
“Yes you can.”
“No. Really. I can’t.” The thought of even flirt-pretending with Rick made Maya want to curl up into a little ball and roll under the table.
Dom’s phone buzzed. “Deep breath in. You are ready. He is yours. I’ll just be over here answering emails.” He turned to his phone.
The waiter arrived. “Have you decided on anything to nibble on?” he said to Maya without even a glance at Dominic.
Focus. Maya superimposed Rick’s face over the waiter’s and breathed out. “I’ll have the vegetarian kebabs I think. And my friend will have a green salad.” She stroked her glass, letting the beaded condensation coat her fingers and ignoring Dominic’s frown at the mention of salad. “Perhaps another soda too. I just can’t seem to cool down at the moment.”
“Must be. Name’s Eddie by the way, and I was serious about you giving me some pointers about PR. Maybe I could take you out for those oysters.”
“Maybe.” Maya smiled and put her hand to her ear lobe as if she were feeling for an earring. Holding eye contact, a rush of exhilaration ran through Maya as if she’d just won a huge client. Huh. So this was flirting success. Dominic was right. It was awesome. And she could do it. “I’m very busy at the moment so I can’t promise anything, but we can always see how things go, can’t we? I mean, I’m not one to give up an invitation to taste oysters with a man easily. Especially one who’s been so attentive.”
Eddie’s eyes gleamed as if she’d just given him a trophy. “Glad to hear it. I’ll get those orders in and be right back.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Don’t fret. But we do have quite a lot of work to do. So perhaps you can hurry things along. That way I’ll be free earlier.”
Nodding and already backing off, Eddie left and this time Dominic didn’t bother with the low whistle, just held up his hands in a mock subservient bow. “And you said you couldn’t do it? Can’t tell me that wasn’t a whole lot of fun.”
It was Maya’s turn to grin. “Okay. That time it was fun. More than fun. It was empowering.”
“Atta girl. But a green salad? What do you think I am? A rabbit?”
Maya smirked. “Pay back baby. For throwing me at Waiter-boy like that.”
“Humph. I’ll give you payback. Way to reward your patient, charming teacher.”
Just as the thought of whether he was flirting with her after all surfaced, her drink arrived and the thought dissipated along with Dominic’s smile as he pulled some papers from his pocket.
Yes. Right. Time to focus on business again. They chatted tactics for a while, Dominic filling her in on the rest of his lines and pumping her for information about the surf scene. She had to admit she was impressed. He was passionate about his company, but not just in a make-me-lots of money way. He wanted to create things people loved to wear, to give men, especially, the confidence to know they were looking good without having to try too hard. That’s why in all his stores he had personal dressers, something that was usually reserved for high end Saville row tailor types.
She thought through what the waiter had said once their food came and she picked at her kebabs. “Maybe my Cougar cub did tell us something useful. The whole reduce, reuse, recycle bit. I know you’re not going to be selling second hand clothing, but maybe there’s something in that. Surf culture is pretty tapped into looking out for the ocean it calls home.”
Dominic pursed his lips. “Keep talking.”
“I’m not sure yet how you could swing it. But perhaps there’s something to the face of this campaign being an eco-warrior of sorts.”
“I like it. As long as it doesn’t come out clichéd. Or look like green-wash.”
“I can’t believe Green-wash is already in your vocabulary. Kudos Mr. Wolfe.”
“Come on, Eco-warrior sells out to big brand company. Only thing green about products are the amount of money spent on promoting them,” Dominic recited as if he were reading a newspaper headline. “Big brand company looks stupid. Eco-warrior looks stupid. Lose-lose.”
“So we make sure there’s some strength to the story behind it all.”
“How? I make clothes. Not biodegradable wash cloths.”
“A side-line promotion. Every garment sold means Wolfe clothing makes a donation to something eco-friendly.”
“Sounds expensive.”
She shrugged. “You wanted to target the cool kids. Seems like this is something the cool kids might be into. And it needn’t be a cash donation. Maybe it’s time. Or samples or product or something I haven’t thought of yet.”
Dominic put a forkful of lettuce in his mouth and chewed. A glistening drop of salad oil clung to the edge of his lips and Maya had to fight hard not to stare as he put a finger to it and gently licked it clean. “Okay. So we think on that one. How many of the surfers I picked out this morning have any type of eco-leanings? Or at least, how many of them that were on your books?”
“Everyone that’s anyone is on my books.” She did a quick calculation. “Five guys. Six at a push,” she added, thinking that Rick could probably stretch his brand appeal to eco-leaning if she sold it right.
“So we start with them. Let’s go, I’m so done with this salad.”
After paying, and graciously accepting the napkin Eddie the waiter had scrawled his number on for her, Maya left feeling about a foot taller than she had when she’d gone in.
“You won’t be needing that in a hurry,” Dominic said as he dumped the nap
kin in a trashcan.
Maya said nothing. She was after Rick, not a kid with no security and no apparent prospects. Still, it was nice to get a guy’s number without it coming through one of her girlfriends. Real nice if she were honest. Maybe if she stuck with Dominic, a whole bunch of real nice things might just start to fall into place.
And what about getting Dominic’s number? Maya snuck a look at her self-nominated teacher. Offering her flirting advice was one thing, giving her his complete and undivided attention was another. She could see why he managed to attract such a bevy of hotties she’d seen online, the man was all charm, and she suspected there was a little nugget of real heart under all his finely pressed clothing. His attention was more than flattering, it was enriching.
“Thanks for helping me out,” she said to Dominic. “I mean it.”
He gave her a wink. “Time for a swim?”
“You surf?”
He nodded.
“Well then. Let’s see what you’ve got. Maybe being in the ocean will give us some ideas on how to play this eco-concept.” And it would also provide a view of Dominic sans shirt. A view Maya couldn’t help but feel a little bit eager to see.
Chapter Five
“Put your phone down. Last one in buys dinner.” Watching Maya flirt with the waiter had twitched his shoulders up round his neck to start with; she’d been so awkward and unconfident. But when Dom told her to imagine it was her Prince Surfalot in front of them instead of the teenager, it was as if she was a different person. That had been painful in a plenty different way.
Dominic finished his last call, stripped off his shirt and headed for the ocean with the board Maya had hired for him. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to go there. They were working together. End of story. Curious though, when it came to business Maya had no problem talking the talk. But dangle the possibility of romance in front of her and poof, her self-confidence evaporated. He really was doing her a favor, she needed to get her flirt on if she was ever going to land Prince Surfalot, or anyone, and she deserved to. She was a smart woman, and a total looker too, even if she hid it. Jogging towards the surf he huffed the words out under his breath. “I’m just fulfilling my side of the bargain.” Flirting with her yourself wasn’t part of the bargain thought was it?
As the water splashed over his body, the roiling cacophony of confusion over Maya dimmed and the world contracted around the sensation of the ocean on his skin. The cool water calmed his thoughts and the blue stretching out towards the horizon brought perspective back. “Better.”
Looking back down the beach at the throng of people watching the surf competitors, Dom shook his head at the spectacle of it all. Maya had been on to a good thing when she picked up on the eco theme for his line. Just picking a pretty face wasn’t going to cut it with the tough New Adult market he wanted in on. The hard part would be working out how to make an eco-line fly without looking like it was a PR stunt.
“You know it’s rude to run off and not wait for a girl right?” Maya popped up next to him, her hair slicked back, the water pouring off her shoulders.
Hot damn. Wearing a black one piece that clung to every nuanced curve of her body, Maya looked more mermaid than PR-maiden. Her hair out of her face, turned darker by the water and held close to her head also emphasized her features, making her cheekbones pop as if she were some sort of feline goddess ready and waiting to pounce. And against the shimmer of the aquamarine ocean, her pale green eyes glimmered like they were lit by phosphorescence. “Well that works, maybe you should go all the way and wear black all the time rather than grey,” he said.
She laughed. “Sure. That wouldn’t be hot at all under this sun.”
Snap out of it. Trouble was, the eyes of his imagination kept sliding down her body and checking out the sinewy lines of her curves. A wave came up on them and she duck dived through it. He followed her lead but he wasn’t half as graceful as she was in the water and ended up spluttering half a gallon of sea water when he came back up.
“Any glimmer of inspiration under there?” She said once he’d surfaced.
“Nope.” Focus. Dom looked back down the beach again. “If I’m going to do the eco thing it has to be from a real place. I don’t like posturing for effect and consumers don’t either. This isn’t about generating a short lived fad. I want a solid campaign. One that has legs. I want the whole thing to be brand integrated.”
Maya looked at him with a narrowed gaze.
“What?”
She beamed and with her hair slicked back, her smile drew all his attention to her lips. Her full, pink, kissable lips.
“What?” he said again when she still said nothing.
“I’m just impressed is all. There’s not many who will go all out on a campaign like this. It’s great. And it’s definitely going to work in your favor when we meet up with the guys.”
He shrugged. “It’s the way I’ve always done business.”
“Well don’t go changing.”
“I don’t plan to. Come on, you have half an hour to catch as many waves as you can and then it’s back to work.”
“Sounds like a challenge. You know I’m going to kick your ass out here right?”
“We’ll see about that.”
She was right though. The half hour went past super quickly and she caught just as many waves as he did. “See you on the beach!” she yelled as she started paddling for a big one that he hadn’t been expecting. Dom took off after her, and despite putting on a burst of speed at the end, had to wait for the next wave to ride into shore. Hanging out with surfers all day every day had clearly taught her plenty more than just how to wear a bathing suit.
“Told you I’d kick your ass.” She grinned triumphantly when he got back into shore.
“Hardly.” But he couldn’t help enjoying the smile she pointed his way.
Standing in the shallows he looked over his shoulder and saw a child bobbing a few meters out. A woman stood off to the side, holding a toddler and trying to calm a barking dog.
A barking dog. A manically barking dog.
When he looked again for the child he noticed his mouth sink below the water a couple times. There was no arm waving, no screaming, the kid looked fine but Dom’s heart sank.
“Is that your kid out there?” he called to the woman and she looked up smiling, only to have the smile fall from her face. Dom looked back out to the water and couldn’t see the child anymore.
Not waiting for the woman to reply, he ran, lifting his feet as high as he could to avoid the drag of the water. When he was at mid-thigh depth he threw the board into the water and paddled, fast, towards where he knew the child had been. It hadn’t been far. He was sure of it. Perhaps only mid torso depth on him, but as he raced through the water it felt like time slowed down. Sitting up on his board he looked around and saw the child’s blonde hair, spread out in a halo, just below the surface. He grabbed the arm that was extended limply at his side and wrenched the kid out of the water and into the air. “Alright buddy, I’ve got you.”
There was no response.
Dom pulled the kid onto his board. Looking up at him with glassy eyes, the child seemed to be gazing at the sky, transfixed perhaps by a seagull wheeling high overhead.
“Oh no you don’t.”
If he’d thought he’d been moving fast on the way in, on the way out of the ocean, Dom fairly flew. Then he lay the child down gently and checked for air coming from his mouth. Nothing. He felt for a pulse. Something? Maybe? Or not? “Shit.”
Maya was at his side now, holding the mother’s hand he could feel the two of them, but he didn’t take his eyes off the kid’s face. He moved his fingers on the boy’s throat just to double check. But no. There was definitely no pulse.
A small scruffy dog greeted Dom with a flurry of barks and growls. “Get the dog out the way.”
“Oh my god. Oh my god. Henry.” The mother grabbed at the dog, still holding onto her other toddler. “Toby, get down. Bad dog.” She pulled
the dog out of the way and held onto its collar. “He was just in knee deep. I was watching him. He didn’t put up his hands or anything. He was just trying to fish out a bunch of plastic bags. He hates seeing them clogging up the water. I was…Oh god. I was watching.”
“I’ll go for help,” Maya said. “Have you got a phone on you? Call an ambulance.”
“An ambulance. Oh my goodness. Is he okay? Baby. Talk to mommy.”
“Give me the phone.” Dom heard Maya instruct the mother. Once she’d calmed her a little and had her on the phone to an ambulance, he heard Maya take off in search of a lifeguard. But he ignored them and started pumping air into, Henry’s chest. After thirty compressions he checked again to see if he was breathing. Nothing. Not even the whisper of a breeze.
“Baby. Oh my baby. Come on. Henry.”
“Come on kid.” The world around Dominic stopped. The noise cancelled out, his focus zoning in on Henry and Henry alone. Then without warning, Henry vomited up a stream of water. “Good boy.” Rolling him onto his side, Dom rubbed his back, checking to see that his chest was rising and that the water was getting out of the way of oxygen returning to Henry’s lungs. Coughing and vomiting another stream of murky water, Henry sighed, then started to cry.
“It’s okay. You’re okay. Your mom’s right here.” Dom pulled the mother down so she sat on the sand with Henry and took the toddler from her. The dog, released, rushed up to the boy and frantically licked his face, waving his tail as if he’d like to wag it right off.
“Out the way please, let me have a look.” A lifeguard arrived armed with an Oxy Viva kit and checked Henry over. The boy finally stopped crying and with an oxygen mask on his face, looked so fragile Dom had to look away.
“Hey you. That was amazing.” Maya put a hand on his arm and he realized he was holding the toddler way too tight. “Shall I take her?” He handed the little girl over.
“Great job mate. Your quick thinking saved him. Way too many kids drown because they don’t look like they’re drowning. Good spotting.”
Making over Maya (Hot Tide Book 2) Page 6