4. Mae
FOUR
Mae
“You know, no one asked me if I wanted to quit lifeguarding.” Abi crosses her arms and pouts a bit as we sit in the conference room. I’ve never understood why they call it that, as it doesn’t look a bit like a conference room. Couches are pushed against all the walls except one where the kitchen cupboards, a sink, and a fridge sit. In the middle of the room stand several office tables that hold a few old computers and a lot of plugs for charging. The chairs are all mismatched office chairs. I guess it could be a conference room, but it feels too homey with scratched-up wood floors and local artwork hanging on the walls.
I wasn’t invited to Seth’s meeting with his family and other business owners, but now I’ll be in the middle of it all.
Personally, I’m thrilled we’re both working with Seth and that he’s using the Whisper Springs name.
Plus, the more time with him, the better. Though, he’s been a little standoffish. I’m not sure if that’s because he knows I’m interested in him or if he’s nervous about something happening between us because he feels the same way. He crosses his arms, and I admire the way his muscles move under his baby-blue button-up. His shirts were definitely custom-made to fit him perfectly.
“Your degree was in videography.” Seth is not being very patient with Abi, but I kinda agree with him. This is what she loves doing, and she’s being whiny about an amazing opportunity.
Abi sits up tall. “Media Arts Studies. That is way more complicated than videography.”
Seth closes his eyes for a moment. Abi’s reluctance is less about the job and more about the guy she’s been trying to land. She can’t see him if she’s not lifeguarding. I’ve been her wing woman all week, which meant putting up with the guy’s best friend, who is a grade-A asshole. He made me realize how good I had it with Rick, and now I wonder what I did to screw that up so royally. If only I’d been smarter, I could’ve figured it out, and I’d have a ring on my finger instead of trying to flirt with college frat boys.
“The point is that you can shoot good film and photos for our secret hideaway. I thought you’d be happy to be working on something with your degree. Mom was complaining because you still haven’t worked out what you want to do in the fall.”
Abi purses her lips, and I interject. “Isn’t this what we dreamed of when we went to school? You create content and I manage the social media side. We get to work together now, which is something we didn’t think would be possible for several years.” It’s actually why I majored in social media management. I couldn’t do what I wanted, so I decided to make Abi’s dream a reality instead.
“You’re leaving for D.C. in the fall.” Abi says it as a statement, not a question. I know she’s not happy about it, but I don’t have any other choice. There just are no other job options around here. Unless…
“Not if I can help it. If this goes well, I can stay working here with you. I’d rather be here anyway.”
Now my dad will see that it’s possible for me to have a future in Whisper Springs. I’ve avoided the SETI Lab so far since I’ve been home because I didn’t want to get even more attached, but now with the possibility of this being a full-time gig, maybe I should visit.
Abi’s quiet for a minute. “You’re right. I’m not thinking. But can I start Monday?” She blinks her eyes at Seth.
He shakes his head. “We don’t have much time. The very first thing we need up and running is all the socials. I want all of them full of content by Monday.”
Abi drops her head on the table and groans.
“Nothing says you can’t start down by the river. And you can still wear your bikini top and cut-offs.” I give her a nudge in the side. “All you need is your phone. You don’t have to be in the office. Then I can grab a laptop and upload all the videos and pictures—you’re getting us laptops to work on, right?” I’m guessing those computers across the room are over ten years old.
“Why would you wear a bikini and cut-offs when working?” Seth eyes her warily. “And yes, I brought several brand-new laptops with me because I knew they’d be needed.”
Abi’s face brightens, and her energy returns. “You’re right. Okay. Let’s do this. What do you need from me?”
We spend an hour or so talking about aesthetics and the types of photos and videos we really want. Seth knows quite a bit about social media marketing, and the vision he has is incredible. The hideaway will be amazing. I’m so glad we’re involving some of the actual Whisper Springs as well. I want to see life breathed back into the property.
We all stand. I want to stay here with Seth, but Abi won’t be happy if I don’t go with her. “We’ll spend the morning finding those good shots, and then I’ll upload and post them here. Will my laptop be ready?”
Seth nods. “We’ll meet up after lunch.”
I want to catch his eye and give him a smile or something, but he’s already lost in his phone.
My own phone buzzes just outside the door.
Seth: If you’re wearing only a bikini top and cut-offs when you come back, you better bring Abi with you, or nefarious things will happen.
Mae: Then I’ll definitely come alone.
Abi nudges me. “What are you grinning about?”
I shove my phone into my pocket. “Nothing.”
Abi raises an eyebrow. “Whatever. Methinks you have a new boy toy.”
I stick my tongue out at her and take off across the lawn. I’ll tell her eventually, but for now, I need to figure out exactly what this all means. I’ve always admired Seth but mostly for who he is. A good listener and an adventurous soul with a decent sense of humor. But this flirtatious side of him is one I’ve never seen before, and it’s only making me fall harder. My little crush is turning into a full-blown infatuation.
We get to work, and Abi gets some great photos of the pole barn and the woods in the morning light. The grass under our feet is slightly damp with dew, tickling our bare toes as we walk, and I love the feel of the sun on my skin. It’s early enough that there are no guests are around except the few who can’t stand to be off their phones and are sitting on the office porch already.
We walk toward the barn, intending to head down a trail that overlooks the river, when I spot Levi. He’s wearing suspenders over a white t-shirt with a couple of tattoos peeking out on his biceps, and he’s carrying an axe.
I grab her arm to stop her and lower my voice. “How close can we get to him without him seeing us?”
“He’s oblivious most of the time, so probably pretty close. Why?”
Levi is one of the quietest people I know. On our date, he barely said two words to me though he was probably the one I was most attracted to other than Seth. He’s got muscles that go on for days, and he’s always doing some kind of physical work. Women usually stop what they’re doing and watch him, but he never notices.
“Let’s take pictures of him and see what we get.”
Only a few trees stand between us and Levi, so we manage to get close and hide behind one. He looks damn good as he splits the wood, and after a few minutes, we sneak away and play back the videos. Abi slaps a hand over her gaping mouth.
“What?” I ask.
“My brother is a thirst trap.”
“Yes, he is.” I agree with a grin. “I bet we can make him famous.” All of Abi’s brothers are good-looking, and they’ll be a big draw to these celebrities Seth wants to reel in.
“He will kill me.” Her eyes have that glint she gets when she’s paying her brothers back for all the torment they gave her over the years.
“He doesn’t have to know. And it’s all in the name of saving the farm.”
Abi giggles. “Okay, this is way more fun than I thought it would be.”
* * *
I don’t put on a bikini and cut-offs. Mostly because it’s always freezing in the conference room but also because even though Seth and I have started flirting through texts, I’m self-conscious and don’t want him to make fun of me for taking his words seriously. Maybe he’s just playing with me.
Instead, I change into a Green Bank sweatshirt that says, “We are not alone” and leggings and head to the office with both my phone and Abi’s. Seth isn’t back yet, although there’s a laptop waiting for me, so I scroll through all the pictures and videos. Abi got the aesthetic perfectly. The laptop has Photoshop, so I can take Abi’s amazing pictures and make them even better. It won’t take long for me to get the socials up and running. I start with Instagram because that one will take the most time.
The door opens, and even though I want to, I don’t look back. Instead, I focus on the task at hand, which becomes infinitely harder because Deka sits next to me and rests her long snout on my lap. I scratch her ears, trying to ignore the butterflies flitting in my stomach because he’s right behind me.
“Can I help?”
I know the sound of his voice. I’ve heard it for years, but now it stirs something inside of me that feels like both fire and ice. I take a deep breath and try to still my shaky hands.
“No, I think I’ve got it.”
I can’t have him sitting that close to me.
He does it anyway. He pulls his chair so close to mine that our legs are touching. I swoon at his smell. It’s that expensive cologne again, but also, he smells like the woods.
“I’m sure you do, but I need to be involved with the social media aspect so that everything is cohesive when I start reaching out to potential clients. Quite frankly, what you’re doing right now will set the tone for the whole endeavor. So I’d like to be involved.”
I bristle. “You don’t trust me to do it right?” I turn to look at him. The same fire that burns in my veins reflects in his eyes.
He leans away, and I immediately miss him in my personal space.
“It’s not that at all. It’s just... I like working with you, and I want to make sure we’re on the same page. Besides, I need to know how all this works once you leave in the fall.”
I fiddle with the mouse and stare at the screen so I don’t have to look at him. My cheeks are hot, and I hope my face isn’t too red. I have a sudden desire to run my fingers through his hair.
I’ve never, ever felt urges this strong before.
“I have a hard time concentrating when you’re around.”
He chuckles. “The feeling is mutual. But we have to get used to it, so we may as well start now. That way when we’re interacting with the public, it won’t be weird and awkward.”
“Okay, you have a point. But if I screw up now, please realize that’s not normal. I’m nervous with you watching over my shoulder.” I bounce my toes a little and then still them when I realize I’m jittery.
“Fair enough.”
I work in silence for about fifteen minutes, and though I move slower than I normally do, I manage to keep it all together. Then he points at the screen and makes a small suggestion, and it’s a good one, so I make the change.
And the rest of the afternoon goes like that. We manage to work together without anything naughty happening, and while I’m slightly disappointed, I’m glad we’re capable of it. Seth is easy to work with. He makes suggestions without sounding condescending, and if I don’t take his advice, he doesn’t get offended.
“I’ve brought snacks.”
Both Seth and I jump. Terry stands there with a tray full of crackers, cheese, and her famous Nutella brownies. All three dogs trail behind her.
“You are a heavenly vision,” Seth says as she sets the tray behind our laptops. She leans down and kisses him on the cheek, and then Seth attacks the food.
Terry studies my screen. “How are things going?”
“Good. Abi’s pretty talented.”
She waves to the laptop. “So are you.”
“Hey, I helped,” Seth mutters with his mouth full of brownies.
Terry pats him on the shoulder. “I’m sure you did, but this is where Mae shines.”
“And this is where you shine, Mom.” He holds up his second brownie. “Well, one of the places. I swear this is better than half the desserts in Paris. Or even the thousand-dollar brownie I tried in Atlantic City.”
Terry gapes at him. “Please tell me you did not spend a thousand dollars on a brownie.”
“Just once. And I was trying to impress a girl. It was divine but not as good as yours.”
A pang of sadness hits me as I watch them. Terry is the mom I wish I’d had. If I’m ever privileged to be a mom, I want to be just like her. She’s utterly selfless and is always helping one of her boys or her husband. And yet, she still has time for her own projects, which she ropes the family into helping with.
My mom left when I was six. One day, she just didn’t pick me up from school. The principal found me alone on the playground an hour later and called my dad. For years, my dad never talked about it. In high school, I sat him down and made him tell me what he knew. Which wasn’t much. She left a note saying she couldn’t stand the quiet and that she needed city life. A few years after she left, Dad was served divorce papers, and they came from an attorney in New York City. I’ve thought about trying to track her down, but she obviously wants nothing to do with me. Why bother?
Besides, I’ve got Terry.
She reaches over, grabs a brownie, and hands it to me. “You better eat, or there will be nothing left. There would be more, but Ollie got into them. Then I ran into Todd and Keith on the way here. You’re lucky there were any left at all.”
I take it.
“You know, I’ve eaten all over the world at some of the most expensive places, and nothing compares to your cooking.” Seth has a small smudge of chocolate on the side of his mouth. Without thinking, I reach over and rub it off, his stubble pricking my finger. He raises his eyebrows at me, and I drop my gaze.
“You should come home more often.” Terry squeezes his shoulder.
His eyes snap to mine. “Maybe I should.”
Terry looks like she wants to say something but instead lets out a sigh and leaves the room.
“What do you think that was about?” I ask after she’s gone.
“What?”
“She seemed like she wanted to say something but didn’t.” Probably something about Seth sticking around, but maybe she doesn’t want to push him right now.
“I didn’t notice.” Seth shrugs and taps my laptop. “Break’s over now. Let’s get back to work.”
A couple of hours later, a knock sounds on the door once again. Both Seth and I turn. My dad stands there with his ever-present scowl.
Seth leaps up. “Keith, thanks for coming by. I wanted to go over the leases with you.”
He nods but doesn’t say anything, which is typical for him. Seth grabs a stack of papers off the counter, and Dad sits next to me. “Whatcha doing?”
“Just getting all the social media stuff up and running.” There’s no way he’d understand the ins and outs of it. He doesn’t even have Facebook.
Seth takes the chair next to him. “Before we get to these, are you sure I can’t convince you to let me do a ninety-nine-year lease on those additional twenty houses?”
Dad shakes his head.
“For what?” I ask.
“Residences. Once people are here, they might decide to make it more of a long-term thing, a second home. I think it’s key to growing our business.”
“You’ll just have to find another key. I’m not interested.” Dad’s face tightens, and he purses his lips. This is the perfect plan since they’ll already be using a few of the buildings for the spa, gym, and restaurant. Not to mention the employees’ housing.
“Why not, Dad? It’s not like you’re really doing anything with them anyway, and I bet Seth would pay you a pretty penny.”
I’ve tried for years to convince my dad to do more with the place, but he’s always said he doesn’t need more work, and there was no demand. He has no excuse now. Besides, I have my spot picked out for my dream house one day.
“Now, don’t you two be ganging up on me. I’m not interested. End of story.”
Seth gives a small nod and pulls out the papers he has for the buildings Dad was willing to lease him. It takes about an hour for Seth to go over everything, and even then, Dad seems hesitant, but he signs them anyway.
At five-thirty, we’ve finished the Instagram and Pinterest setup. TikTok will be a big one tomorrow, and Facebook will get done on Monday. Then we have to start preparing for the conference in Vegas, where we’ll lay out the whole program.
I feel the tension between me and Seth, and I’m positive he does as well, but for some reason, we both are ignoring it. I wonder how long it’ll take before nefarious things happen.
Hopefully, sooner rather than later.