Read Online Think About Love by Vanessa Grant - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Vanessa Grant
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance, Contemporary, Family, Canada, Women's Fiction, Motherhood, seattle, Pacific Island
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process that was working pretty damned smoothly. But Kippy and Dorothy came first .
Cal touched her shoulder and said, "Chopper's refueled and on the roof. We'll leave in forty minutes."
"Okay," she said in the most businesslike tone she could manage. "I've got a few things to see to first."
She loved working for Cal, loved the constant challenge, the excitement, loved knowing she made a big difference to the company. But she couldn't sacrifice Kippy's welfare to her own selfish desires. She'd go back to consulting, where she had more control of her hours. She'd take only a few clients, work part-time.
Later she'd tell Cal; then she'd work with him—mostly from Gabriola—to find her own replacement. Monday, she'd phone Tim Mirimar and tell him she needed a month to get her life organized, but then she'd be available for a half-time load of consulting jobs.
Meanwhile, she had responsibilities at Tremaine's, and she'd find a way to fulfill them without sacrificing Kippy.
Forty minutes after Cal spoke to her in the reception area, she'd talked to Jason to arrange a telephone meeting Monday morning and talked to Marcy to tell her she'd be out of the office for a while. She managed five minutes with the head of development, two with the technical pre-sales director to arrange for his monthly report to be delivered in a conference call Tuesday. She'd also managed a brief conversation with Cal's assistant, Dee, to arrange daily web conferencing meetings.
She would have liked time to go to her apartment and pack a few things as well, but she had casual clothes on Gabriola Island, and with her computer and cell phone she'd get by.
She had to be back on Gabriola tonight, for Kippy.
In the helicopter, Cal handed her a set of headphones, but she waited until he was airborne and flying over open water before she spoke.
"We need to talk about my job."
"When we get to the island."
"I have to pick up Kippy as soon as we get back. She's likely to be cranky. Now's the best time to talk."
"I can wait."
She didn't want to have a business conversation with him with Kippy liable to start crying at any minute. On the other hand, she could see from the set look on Cal's face that he wasn't going to discuss business here in the helicopter. Looking at his face made her want to put the whole thing off for a week or two, because she'd never seen him quite so grim.
It didn't matter. She had no choice but to leave, and although she'd naturally wanted a glowing reference, she had enough consulting credits that she didn't need it.
She would miss him. She'd become accustomed to their frequent conversations about Tremaine's, to the way an idea would set fire to his eyes and her own pulse would quicken with his excitement.
She studied the mass of Vancouver Island looming ahead, evergreen mountains and low hills. The smaller islands were indistinguishable from this angle. The whole thing looked like one massive land mass filling the horizon. She couldn't pick out Gabriola Island from the others.
When they landed, she'd tell him.
A few minutes later, the helicopter settled gently onto the grass in front of Dorothy's house, Samantha saw Cal's hands move on the controls. Then the blur of the chopper's rotor resolved into a single blade, sweeping circles ever more slowly.
Samantha unclipped her seat belt and Cal turned his head, his hands still on the controls.
"I'm leaving Tremaine's."
His eyes narrowed. Irritation? Impatience? Anger? She told herself not to read him, that he wasn't going to like her announcement, but he had no choice but to accept it. Better to get it over quickly, while he still had daylight to fly to Nanaimo.
"We'll talk later," he said grimly.
"It has to be now." Her heart pounded hard, as if she were at the wheel of her car in a skid on black ice. "I've done a good job for you, Cal, but everything's changed. I can't give Tremaine's the same commitment, the same amount of time I have been until now. Kippy
Cal touched her shoulder and said, "Chopper's refueled and on the roof. We'll leave in forty minutes."
"Okay," she said in the most businesslike tone she could manage. "I've got a few things to see to first."
She loved working for Cal, loved the constant challenge, the excitement, loved knowing she made a big difference to the company. But she couldn't sacrifice Kippy's welfare to her own selfish desires. She'd go back to consulting, where she had more control of her hours. She'd take only a few clients, work part-time.
Later she'd tell Cal; then she'd work with him—mostly from Gabriola—to find her own replacement. Monday, she'd phone Tim Mirimar and tell him she needed a month to get her life organized, but then she'd be available for a half-time load of consulting jobs.
Meanwhile, she had responsibilities at Tremaine's, and she'd find a way to fulfill them without sacrificing Kippy.
Forty minutes after Cal spoke to her in the reception area, she'd talked to Jason to arrange a telephone meeting Monday morning and talked to Marcy to tell her she'd be out of the office for a while. She managed five minutes with the head of development, two with the technical pre-sales director to arrange for his monthly report to be delivered in a conference call Tuesday. She'd also managed a brief conversation with Cal's assistant, Dee, to arrange daily web conferencing meetings.
She would have liked time to go to her apartment and pack a few things as well, but she had casual clothes on Gabriola Island, and with her computer and cell phone she'd get by.
She had to be back on Gabriola tonight, for Kippy.
In the helicopter, Cal handed her a set of headphones, but she waited until he was airborne and flying over open water before she spoke.
"We need to talk about my job."
"When we get to the island."
"I have to pick up Kippy as soon as we get back. She's likely to be cranky. Now's the best time to talk."
"I can wait."
She didn't want to have a business conversation with him with Kippy liable to start crying at any minute. On the other hand, she could see from the set look on Cal's face that he wasn't going to discuss business here in the helicopter. Looking at his face made her want to put the whole thing off for a week or two, because she'd never seen him quite so grim.
It didn't matter. She had no choice but to leave, and although she'd naturally wanted a glowing reference, she had enough consulting credits that she didn't need it.
She would miss him. She'd become accustomed to their frequent conversations about Tremaine's, to the way an idea would set fire to his eyes and her own pulse would quicken with his excitement.
She studied the mass of Vancouver Island looming ahead, evergreen mountains and low hills. The smaller islands were indistinguishable from this angle. The whole thing looked like one massive land mass filling the horizon. She couldn't pick out Gabriola Island from the others.
When they landed, she'd tell him.
A few minutes later, the helicopter settled gently onto the grass in front of Dorothy's house, Samantha saw Cal's hands move on the controls. Then the blur of the chopper's rotor resolved into a single blade, sweeping circles ever more slowly.
Samantha unclipped her seat belt and Cal turned his head, his hands still on the controls.
"I'm leaving Tremaine's."
His eyes narrowed. Irritation? Impatience? Anger? She told herself not to read him, that he wasn't going to like her announcement, but he had no choice but to accept it. Better to get it over quickly, while he still had daylight to fly to Nanaimo.
"We'll talk later," he said grimly.
"It has to be now." Her heart pounded hard, as if she were at the wheel of her car in a skid on black ice. "I've done a good job for you, Cal, but everything's changed. I can't give Tremaine's the same commitment, the same amount of time I have been until now. Kippy
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