by Tamie Dearen
“But fifteen years? And you’ve never remarried? That’s a long time to be alone.”
“That’s the proverbial pot calling the kettle black. How old are you? Forty-five? Fifty? Fifty-five? You’ve never married at all.”
Gherring frowned. “I just turned fifty! Do you think I look fifty-five?”
Anne smirked—she’d known exactly how old he was. Trust an assault to a man’s ego to make him forget about his uncomfortable line of questioning.
“The car stopped, so I guess we’ll have to postpone this conversation.” Her voice was cheery as she climbed out of the limousine. Gherring followed with a grumpy expression.
Anne walked into the climbing gym, staring in amazement at the immense climbing wall, peppered with climbers in various extremely uncomfortable-looking positions, some scaling areas with overhangs, one hanging precariously by one hand some thirty feet above the floor. The single-handed climber suddenly lost his grip and dropped. Anne gasped as he fell, but he only swung harmlessly in his harness before he managed to regain his handhold.
Gherring cocked his head. “You didn’t watch the climbers when you came here before?”
“Yes, of course, but no one fell when I was watching.” She hoped her lie was reasonable. He seemed to accept her statement, so she relaxed a bit.
Katie approached with Gary in tow.
Gary clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey Steven. What’re you planning to climb tonight? Alan laid out a new route that’s probably at least a five thirteen.”
“Sounds great. But first we want to get the girls on the wall.”
“Not me,” said Katie. “I’m just here to admire my man.” She playfully squeezed Gary’s bicep.
“But Anne wants to climb. You remember Anne, right Gary?” asked Gherring.
“Sure.” Gary frowned at Katie before holding out his hand toward Anne. “Good to see you again.”
Anne smiled awkwardly and shook his hand. “Hi Gary.”
“Let’s get you in a harness,” Gary said. Anne took off her coat and jeans, giving her legs the once over to see if she had missed anything while shaving. She squeezed her feet into the tight climbing shoes she’d been given. Gary handed her a harness and then excused himself to take a phone call. Anne stared bewildered at the tangle of straps and metal, but Gherring took it from her hands and helped her step in. As he tightened the straps his hands brushed against her. She felt a familiar warming inside and held her breath in an attempt to slow her racing heart.
“Is it too tight?” asked Gherring.
“No, I’m just a little nervous.”
He led her over to the wall.
“I’m climbing here?” she asked. “Don’t you have a beginner wall? You know, like a green slope?”
“This is the beginner wall. See how it’s not quite vertical? And if you use the blue handholds, the route will be pretty easy.” As he spoke, Gherring began threading a rope through her harness. “This is the belay rope. It’ll keep you safe.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing? Should we get somebody who works here to do this?”
Gherring pinned her with his eyes, the blue glinting. “I assure you I’m more than capable of belaying you on this climb.”
“I don’t know what that means, but I guess I’m gonna trust you with my life.”
“I’ll try to be worthy.” His dimples returned.
He began tugging on all the various straps, his hands brushing against her, assaulting her senses. She was all too aware of his hard muscles, strong and sinewy. Her head swam, and she tried to catch her breath. Why was her heart beating so rapidly? She must really be nervous about trying the climb. She breathed in and out, slow and steady. He was standing so close she drew his clean scent deep inside. She had to get away from him. The only way was up.
She started her climb. The first few moves were easy, and she felt the comforting tug of the belay supporting her. She started moving up steadily, looking for the next blue hold as she ascended. She made it three fourths of the way up when she noticed her muscles were fatiguing. She felt tremors in her arms. “My arms are shaking!” she yelled down.
“Put all your weight on your feet and rest your arms for a minute. You can relax—I’ve got you.”
Anne followed Gherring’s instructions, planting her feet firmly and standing tall. She felt the belay rope lifting, easing the strain on her arms. She realized she really could trust him. And somehow, she wanted to rely on him for more than just climbing a wall. Her heart squeezed as she reminded herself his feelings for her were more like that of a protective father. But there was no reason why she couldn’t fantasize a little, right? He’d never know.
She started climbing again, the exhausted muscles in her legs trembling once again. She paused for a moment.
“You’re almost there,” called Katie.
“You don’t have to go any further if you don’t want to,” teased Gherring. “You can just give up now.”
Gherring’s words worked like magic on her competitive spirit, sending adrenaline into her system. With a final burst of effort, she surged upward and touched the top of the wall.
“I did it!” she yelled. Whoops and hollers came from below. “Now what?”
“Just let go,” said Gherring. “I’ve got you.”
“Let go?”
“Let go of the wall. You can hold on to the rope and lean back.” He pulled hard on the belay rope and she felt it again—that secure feeling that someone else was protecting her. The knowledge that someone was making sure nothing bad would happen. She was safe in his hands.
She let go of her handholds, and the rope held her steady. Her body swung out and then back toward the wall.
“Now I’m going to let you down slowly, and you can just walk down the wall,” Gherring’s soothing voice rose up from below. The descent was smooth and quick. Anne was shaking from head to toe as she stood on the ground with Gherring loosening her harness.
“Okay—that was a rush!” Her heart was beating rapidly, speeding up with the heady feeling of Gherring’s touch. At least her trembling muscles would hide the effect he had on her.
When Gherring had freed her from the straps, he paused a moment and looked closely at her flushed face. “You really did like it, didn’t you?”
She stared back at his piercing blue eyes, so close she could see little glints of gold around the edges. “I… I did. I liked it.”
“You know,” he said softly, “I—”
“Hey Steven! Are you ready to climb? I’ll belay you.” Gary called from across the room.
Gherring sighed, and turned toward Gary. “I’m coming, buddy.”
What had he been about to say? That he was proud of her?
Anne stood next to Katie while Gherring tackled the challenging climb. His muscles flexed and bulged as he pulled himself under an overhang using only handholds. Katie leaned over and whispered in Anne’s ear, “He looks pretty good for a fifty-year-old, don’t you think?”
Anne, who’d been thinking he looked pretty good for any age, nodded her head in agreement. She decided climbing was a really great spectator sport, at least when the scenery was this good. “Does he come here a lot?”
“Yeah, he and Gary were friends and climbing buddies before this, and Steven encouraged him to start this gym and was one of his initial investors. In fact, that’s how I met Gary. Steven was pretty mad when he realized he was going to lose his executive assistant, but I think he’s finally accepted it. He didn’t really have a choice, and it’s helped a lot since you showed up. At first, he was so pouty he turned down every candidate.”
“Why do you think he hired me? After turning down all those others?”
“Don’t get your feelings hurt, but you made him laugh.”
“He laughed at me?”
“No, you’re taking it wrong. He laughed because you surprised him. It takes a lot to surprise Steven after so many years in this business. He’s become pretty cynical, I think. It’
s more like he laughed at himself, for being caught by surprise.”
“Hmmm, that’s not really too flattering. But I guess it makes sense. Oh!” she exclaimed as Gherring slipped and caught himself with his fingertips on the hold, while his feet searched for a purchase on the wall. He regained his footing and continued upward, every muscle straining. Anne felt the tension in her neck finally ease when he reached the top and fell back to descend. “So do you ever climb?”
“Me? No way. I’ve got no desire to climb. But I’m happy to watch Gary and cheer him on. He’s opening another gym, and I’m going to help him run the business after we’re married.”
“Do you think we got away with our little fib about Gary?”
“I don’t know, but I guess we just need to quit talking about Steven.” She smiled. “Or else we need to watch his office door a little more closely.”
On the ride home, Anne chatted about the climbing experience and asked questions about technique and the climbing wall construction, attempting to keep the conversation from turning serious as it had on the way there.
“You were a lot more confident on your second climb. The big rookie mistake is relying too much on your arm strength. Your leg muscles are much stronger.”
“But you sometimes were climbing with just your arms. You know, when you were under those ledges.”
“To be honest, most women don’t have the arm strength to do that. Plus, I have years of experience and strength from climbing and weights and swimming.”
“Yeah, that’s it. I forgot you have years and years of experience…”
“I said ‘years’ not ‘years and years.’”
“Maybe by the time I’m your age, with all those years of experience—”
Suddenly Gherring was tickling her side, and she dissolved into helpless laughter. He didn’t relent until she shouted. “I give up! I take it back! You’re not old!”
Her cheeks were aching from laughter and burning from her body’s response to his touch. Even his tickling started a little fire inside her. She was glad the back of the limo was dark so he couldn’t see her flushed face.
“Will you try it again?” he asked. “The climbing?”
She sucked in a heavy breath. “I think so—it was fun. You know what? I should bring the girls to the gym this weekend. I think they’d like it. At least Charlie would.”
“They’re coming to New York?”
“Didn’t I tell you? They’re coming on Friday and going back Monday. I’m so excited. In fact, I think we’re going to go eat with your Gram one night.”
“Gram is staying here through the weekend?”
Too late she realized Gram had been keeping this a secret from her grandson. “Yeah. She said something about having things to do. I’m not sure. I could be wrong.”
“Is that so?” Gherring mused. “I think Gram and I may need to have a talk.”
“Please don’t get me in trouble with your Gram.”
“It’s not like I wouldn’t have found out she was staying. I just think she may be up to something.”
“Leave me out of it.”
“Sure. If it’s possible, I’ll leave you out of it.” His face grew more earnest. “You know—”
“We’re here. I’m so tired I think I may fall asleep with my clothes on.”
“Do you need someone to carry you inside?” His dimples deepened.
“No, I’m good.” Anne scrambled out of the limo as if she might catch on fire. “Thank you for holding me. I mean for holding me up… with the rope. Not… never mind. See you tomorrow.”
She trotted into the building and ran to press the elevator button. To her distress, he sauntered to the elevator just as the door opened and stepped inside with her. She fumbled inside her bag for her keys, effectively eliminating the need for conversation.
“So you don’t need any help?”
She glanced up to see his eyebrows waggling. “You have to stop teasing me.”
“It’s hard to resist when you’re so easy to tease. But really Anne, I wanted to say—”
The elevator doors opened on the tenth floor, and Anne made her escape.
“Good night, Mr. Gherring.”
As the doors were closing, she looked back to see him beating his forehead with the palm of his hand.
Back when I was a teenager, my dad used to do that every time we talked.
Gherring must be frustrated with her. Probably because she was too sensitive. If only she didn’t take everything so seriously. But it was so hard not to be sensitive around Steven Gherring when his very presence made her nerves tingle. Perhaps she could get some acting lessons from Ellen.
PowerPoint
After a hectic work morning, Anne headed next door for lunch at Papa’s Place. George and May had made her promise to catch them up on things, so she headed down alone. Spencer met her at the door. “Hey Anne! Have you found a match for me yet?”
“No luck so far. None of them are willing to compete with all the girls that are constantly hanging around you, vying for attention,” she teased. She started to head back to her table, but stopped dead in her tracks. “How old are you, Spencer?”
“I’m twenty-five. Why?”
“And you’re in grad school, right?”
“Yep, getting my MBA.”
“Do you like climbing?”
“Sure. Climbing, bouldering, hiking, mountain biking, skiing—just about anything outdoors.”
She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and found a picture of Emily and Charlotte. “Want to go climbing with me and my girls this weekend at a climbing gym? And do you think you could find another friend to come along? I don’t really know any young guys for us to hang out with.”
Spencer stared at the picture in his hand, and his mouth dropped open. He looked up with a grin. “I think I could find about twenty friends who’d be willing to go climbing this weekend if I showed them this picture.”
Anne laughed. “Great. I’ll call you and set up a time.”
“Oh and by the way, search no further for a match for me. I’ll take either one. Are they smart too?” He paused a moment and looked at the picture again. “Never mind. Who cares?”
George and May pulled Anne into the kitchen and grilled her with questions until she’d filled them in on most everything that had happened in the past few days. After lunch, Anne cornered Katie to get advice on entertaining her girls when they came to town.
“You know, you don’t have to see everything on this first trip,” said Katie.
“But I’m only here on a trial basis. What if this is the only chance we have?”
“He’d better not fire you, because I’m leaving for good when I get married, even if he doesn’t have a PA.” Katie glanced at his office door to make sure he was still safe inside. “That is, if he doesn’t fire me first when he catches me talking trash about him.”
“I think he’s going to fire me for not getting this presentation ready for the Switzerland trip. It’s frustrating knowing I have so much work to do on it, but I can’t do any more ‘til they get me the information I need. Why do they wait ‘til the last minute?”
“They always do that, and Mr. Gherring is the worst one.”
“Yes, I’m hoping I’ve scared Jared and Jeff into turning in their stuff earlier. But I don’t think my scary-mad-mom voice will work on Mr. Gherring.”
The office door opened and Gherring looked at the two conspirators with suspicion. Both sent him innocent smiles. “Did you need something?” asked Katie.
“Yes, I need Ms. Best for a moment.”
Anne followed him into his private office, wondering whether he’d caught on to her matchmaking efforts already. “Yes sir?”
“You don’t need to call me sir.” He tossed his pen on his desk with more force than necessary. “I have some things ready for the Switzerland group.”
“Oh great—I’ve been stressing about getting that presentation ready.”
“Okay, grab your
laptop and we’ll get started.”
“You mean, together? I thought you’d just give me the information, and I’d kind of work on my own.”
“The information is in here.” He pointed to his head. “So unless I give you my head on a platter, we’ll just have to work together.”
“Okay but it’ll take a long time.”
“Do you have something else to do?”
Anne thought about her daily talk with Henri. She’d have to miss this one. “I just figured you had more important things to do.”
“Not today.”
“Okay.”
What was going on inside his head? His expressions were frustratingly inscrutable.
Anne swiftly gathered her laptop from her desk. She sent a text to Henri telling him she was tied up that afternoon, and then returned to Gherring’s office.
Gherring fired off information at a rapid rate, with Anne working furiously to take notes. After an hour of nonstop input, she stopped the pacing man. “Wait. I need a break. My brain is fried.”
“Let me see what it looks like.” Gherring came around to stand behind her.
“I haven’t even started to put it in the PowerPoint format yet. That takes forever. I need to get it organized first.”
“Then show me what you’ve done from before.”
Anne pulled up the saved presentation on her laptop and started going through the slides. Gherring leaned in close, reaching over her shoulder to indicate a bullet point. “There should be more information on this point.”
Anne felt that familiar warming that happened whenever Gherring touched her. She shifted a little to the side. “There’s a lot more information down below, in the notes section. But we don’t want too much writing on the slide. Just summary information.”
“I see,” he leaned down further and pressed a few keys. “And this is how we access the notes?” She could swear he purposely leaned against her. She felt her heart rate accelerate and her breathing was shallow.
“Don’t you already know how to use PowerPoint? You must’ve done this a thousand times before.” She leaned as far to the side as she could go, but she couldn’t escape his presence.