Pulse 2 (Pulse Series) (16 page)

“
No, thank you,” I said to the waiter.

He disappeared and left me alone again at the table with Cheryl.

“Are you all right, Alice?”

“
I think I’ll be okay. I don’t… I think it’s the wine and spending all that time in the water. I’m going to head back to my room and lie down.”

“
Now? But it’s still early.”

“
I know. But I should get some rest. I have a lot of work to make up for since I took most of the day off.”

“
That’s probably a good idea. Get some rest. You need all the energy you can get if you’re going to have some fun.”

I excused mysel
f from the table and got up as fast as I could. Just before I left, Cheryl called out to me.

“
Alice… It was nice talking to you.”

I didn
’t say anything. I just nodded my head and smiled politely to her. Everything she said to me had given me a lot to think about. When I got back to my room, I fell upon my bed. My mind raced with all kinds of thoughts. But before I could analyze my situation any further, the fatigue from a day at the beach and the alcohol in my blood forced me to sleep.

Chapter 16

I opened my eyes after hearing someone knock on my door. The morning sunlight was peeking in through the curtains. I yawned and stretched as my door opened. There was a hotel worker pushing a cart into my room. He placed it right next to my bed and greeted me with a smile.

“
Good morning, Ms. Pratt.”

“
What is this?” I yawned.

“
Breakfast. Courtesy of a Mr. Barnett.”

“
Oh… Thank you.”

He bowed his head to me then excused
himself from the room. I collapsed back onto the bed. My muscles were aching worse than ever from all of that time I spent on the surfboard. It was like I had done a thousand push-ups. My arms and legs were burning and I didn’t want to move. But the smell of the food was more than enough to wake me up.

I snailed my way out of bed then opened the curtain to get more of the sun. The open window brought in a breeze that I was used to but still thoroughly enjoyed. It was another morning in Maui and the beach wa
s alive and well.

But the conference wasn
’t over. I showered and changed into my clothes after enjoying the luxurious meal Rafael was gracious enough to have delivered to me. I wished that he had actually come here to bring it himself but I knew that he was busy. He was always busy. And the discussion I had with Cheryl made me more frustrated that things in Hawaii weren’t turning out like I had planned.

I sat there during another presentation and listened to the speaker pitch his idea to me and all of the o
ther representatives. But I wasn’t paying attention to the talk about money and future forecasts. The only future I cared about was my own.

My feelings were getting the best of me. I didn
’t know what I had with Rafael. I didn’t know if it was just a thing or if it was going to be something more. And most of all, I didn’t know what he was thinking. The way Cheryl put it made it seem like he had a wandering eye. But I couldn’t blame him for that. It’s not like we were a couple. I wasn’t his girlfriend. And even if he did do anything with her, it’s not like he was taking her back to the city. She was the fling in Hawaii. And I was the fling back home.

I labored through the conference then packed all of my things. I sighed as
I thought about the next meeting I was scheduled to attend. The only break I would have before I was finished was 15 minutes for lunch. It was worse than having to work all day.

As I headed toward the next scheduled conference, I heard someone call out be
hind me.

“
Alice!”

I turned around then saw Dante rushing his way toward me. He was dressed in his suit and looked like he was set to talk to another group of important people.

“Hi, Dante.”

“
Are you in a hurry?”

“
Not really, no. I was just on my way to another presentation.”

“
Listen, I just wanted to apologize for last night. Something came up and it couldn’t wait.”

“
What?” I said as I laughed. “You don’t have to apologize for that. If it’s important, then it’s important. You don’t have to explain it to me. Besides…”

I cut myself off before telling him about my interesting dinner with Cheryl.

“Besides what?” he asked me.

“
I just wanted to say that it’s fine. Your company would have been nice but you didn’t have to be there if you couldn’t.”

“
Yeah, I know,” he sighed. “But I want to make it up to you.”

“
There’s nothing for you to make up,” I said with another laugh.

“
Okay. Fine. I don’t need to apologize or anything like that. But I did want to ask you something. I know that you’re going to busy all day. I am, too. But do you have any plans tonight?”

“
None that I can think of.”

“
Great. What do you say to dinner tonight then heading out to the beach right after?”

“…
Sure. That sounds like a blast. Anything beats being stuck inside of this hotel.”

“
Tell me about it. I’ll meet you in the reception hall tonight.”

“
Yeah, I’ll look for you.”

“
I’m sure I’ll find you first.”

He winked at me then leaned in and kissed me softly on the cheek. Before I could even move, he smiled at me then headed back in the other direction toward whatever was waiting for him.

Anything was better than sitting around and having to get work done. But now that I had plans, I was counting the seconds before I would finally be free to enjoy the pleasures of Hawaii waiting for me.

* * *

Dinner with Dante was nothing spectacular but still enjoyable. I was just glad to be done with all of the tasks of the day. The two of us were alone with one another. Rafael and Cheryl were nowhere to be found. I saw Wesley and Travis in the company of a group of men I wasn’t familiar with. I could only assume that they managed to network and get in good with some of the executives here. It didn’t hurt that they were working for a company like Barnett Industries.

It was better than anything I had done so far this week. Even though I had taken diligent notes and would have a thorough report ready for Rafael and the board o
f directors when we got back, I still didn’t feel like I had experienced all the conference had to offer. I almost felt ashamed about letting my personal dilemmas get in the way of the reason I was brought out here.

But Dante never gave me the opportunity
to dwell on those thoughts. Instead, we enjoyed the atmosphere of Hawaii rather than the specifics of the conference itself.

I switched out of my evening attire and into a swimsuit after dinner then headed out to the beach with Dante to enjoy the rest of t
he night. As we walked through the sand, we saw several different groups of young coeds enjoying themselves. They were loud and raucous. The alcohol was apparent, even without the empty bottles scattered around everywhere.

“
Now
those
people are having some fun,” Dante said as he looked toward one of the groups.

“
Are they? What makes you say that?”

“
Isn’t it obvious, Alice? Just look at them. So wild and carefree. Definitely kids on vacation from college. You remember what that was like?”

“
Yeah,” I said as I laughed. “I remember. Maybe you and I should join them.”

“
Oh, no. Not me. I’m a little too old for that crowd now.”

“
Too old? You’re not too old for
that crowd
until you’re 30.”

“
Is that so? Is that what it says in the rulebook?”

“
That’s what it says in
my
rulebook. And my rules are more important than anybody else’s.”

“
That’s the right way to live.”

Dante and I looked at one another then burst into laughter. The groups of college kids on break were inviting but I wasn
’t in the mood for anything they were doing at the moment.

“
Something tells me you don’t want to spend time with them anyway,” he said. “Even though it falls within your rulebook, I think you and I would be better off staying away from them.”

“
Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“
You’re an old soul, Alice.”

“
What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“
Fresh out of college and you’re at a business conference working your tail off. You sit around in those meetings and presentations and workshops while everybody your age is out having fun.”

“
Well, that’s why I’m here. I couldn’t afford a vacation like this on my own.”

“
I guess it’s nice that Mr. Barnett brought you out here.”

“
Yeah… Yeah, it is.”

Dante and I walked a short distance away from the groups of students and found a nice spot on the beach to relax. I took a seat on the sand then stared out into the ocean with him positioned r
ight next to me. I watched as the surfers rode the waves. They did it as effortlessly under the moon as they did it under the sun.

“
So, do you plan on getting out on a board again?” he asked me.

“
No! No way! My muscles are still feeling it.”

“
I didn’t think so,” he said with a smile. “I guess it’s good that your boss and his friend aren’t here to force you into it.”

“
Yeah…”

I thought about what either one of them could be doing at this very moment. But I quickly shook the thoughts out of my head and instead
turned to the man who was with me right now. I smiled at him and he did the same.

“
There are only a few days left before the conference is over,” he said. “Are you going to miss it?”

“
I don’t know,” I sighed. “I don’t think any sane person would miss sitting around in all of those meetings and listening to people talk about the same thing over and over. But…”

“
But this beach.”

“
Right. And not just the beach though.”

“
What else is there?”

“
The people.”

I smiled at him and he nodded to me.

“Right,” he said. “The people. The hotel staff is really accommodating.”

“
That’s not what I meant,” I said as I giggled.

“
I know. I know. But Alice… I feel the same way. I didn’t know what to expect when I was heading out here. I remember the first time I saw you. I was talking to one executive and you were sitting by yourself at the bar. I thought I was seeing things. I told myself that someone dragged their daughter here. This poor girl is completely out of her element.”

“
Is that what you thought? You felt sorry for me?”

“
Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t I? Look at those college students we just passed. Do you think any one of them packed a suit and a notebook? The only thing they brought with them was a swimsuit for each day and some sunblock.”

“
I brought all of that stuff, too.”

“
Yeah. Yeah, you did. It’s good to see that you’re putting it to use. And I’m glad I’m the one that gets to see it.”

I was leaning back in my seat. My hands were digging into the sand underneath me and propping me up as I faced the ocean. I could feel Dant
e’s eyes as he looked me up and down. The look in his eyes was obvious even if he didn’t say it. I guess I didn’t mind because I could do the same to him. In nothing but a pair of swim trunks, he was definitely easy on the eyes. We smiled at one another before I turned my attention back out into the ocean.

“
It’s so beautiful out here,” I sighed. “I could just stay out here and enjoy this forever.”

“
That’s what sucks about it.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
You can’t stay out here forever. You know that it’s going to end eventually. You’re going to have to leave.”

“
That’s… depressing,” I said as I chuckled.

“
That’s one way of looking at it.”

“
And what’s the other way?”

He sat up from the sand and shifted himself closer to me. I didn
’t look at him. I remained focused on the ocean. But even though I looked calm on the surface, I could feel something inside of me. There was something swirling around inside of my stomach that was undeniable.