Chapter 16
Mike had been right - I had a busy life. The conference in Frankfurt had gone relatively well; I had been a keynote speaker at one of the evening events and my talk was well-received (as well it should have been; I put a lot of work into it). Most of the rest of the time was spent 'networking', which I knew was invaluable but also exhausting. Far from catching up with work on the train ride home I spent most of it asleep, waking up to find a small child staring at me from the seat adjacent.
The rest of the week was a blur of lectures, meetings, and late nights in the office; if my annoyance with online dating hadn't curtailed my nights out my self-imposed schedule would have. The reason for the deluge of work was the fact that I was trying to clear my weekend completely; I had managed to book a session on a Wayfarer through the local yachting club (of which I was still a member) for Alex and I. It had been a long time since I had been on one of the smaller boats and I found myself looking forward to it with a mixture of anticipation and, surprisingly, a little nervousness.
The day was clear but cold, and it took us some time to coordinate ourselves well enough to get out of the harbor. Sailing with another person was a bit like making love - the first few times it's all fumbles and awkward groping until you ease into a comfortable rhythm, a pattern of smoothly-timed movements that have you cutting through the water like, well, a well-oiled machine. I didn't say this to Alex, of course.
"So, what did you think?" I glanced briefly at Alex, then turned my attention back to the road ahead. "Ready to quit your job and run off to be a pirate?"
"God, in a second," Alex replied emphatically, shimmying down a little in her car seat into a more relaxed position. "High seas here I come."
I couldn't help but grin. "You certainly seemed to pick it back up quickly enough."
"Yeah, I had no idea I would remember so much, actually. Guess there are some things you just don't forget."
"Just like falling off a bike..."
Alex chuckled, her voice a little hoarse, her throat dry from the wind and salt water from our trip. I was feeling a bit windswept myself; it was wonderful. "So, same time next week?" I joked.
"Wow, if only."
"Mm. I know what you mean. My schedule's a bit too manic for any weekly personal commitments. Except for Desperate Housewives, and even that I have to record."
Alex laughed. "Desperate Housewives? Really?"
"Oh, don't tell me you're some kind of TV purist! It's an excellent show," I protested. "Okay, maybe 'excellent' is the wrong word, but it is fun."
Alex didn't say anything, but on glancing to my side I could see that she was smirking. I made a 'hurt' face, pouting slightly in an attempt for sympathy. "Can we at least pretend I didn't tell you that? I'd hate to lose your respect so early in our working relationship."
My assistant chuckled again. "Oh, you're okay," she said. "We all have our guilty pleasure television - even me."
"And that would be..."
"Oh, hah... The L Word," Alex said after a slight hesitation.
I had to think for a moment - I don't actually watch that much television, though the name did seem vaguely familiar. "Oh! You mean that show with Jennifer Beals. She's fab."
"Um, yeah, among others," came the murmur of agreement. "It's pretty trashy, but there you go."
"Nothing wrong with trashy," I assured her, wondering why she seemed quite so embarrassed. Hadn't I already admitted my own guilty pleasure? "Your secret's safe with me."
Glancing back over I saw that she was looking back at me, an unreadable expression crossing her face, though she quickly resolved it to a smile as I met her eyes. "I suppose we're even, then," she murmured.
"I guess so."
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