Chapter 13 #4
“Hey, baby. How’s your trip?” Travis answered.
“Hey, Dad. It was alright until about thirty minutes ago.”
“What happened?”
“Joel happened. He’s unbelievable.”
“He’s pretty impressed by you, too.”
“No! I’m not impressed. How dare he spend the entire trip coming on to me?
I just ignored it and tried to stay away from him every time he tried to put his arm around me when introducing me to people, but then tonight after I clearly told him I needed some down time away from everybody, he came back and jumped in the pool I was swimming in.
I refused him when he came onto me and he threatened to not do business with you because I didn’t give in to his advances. ”
“He said that?!”
“Yes! Not verbatim, but in so many words, yes, I took it that way and I’m pretty sure that’s the only way anyone would have interpreted it. And then he upgraded my room to a suite!”
“Wait, that’s a good thing isn’t it?”
“No! He said he upgraded me so I’d have plenty of room to spread out and relax and invite someone up to spend some time with me if I wanted to!
I told him he was not spending the night with me if that was what he thought.
Can you believe the nerve of him? All he did was talk about how he wanted to get to know me better, and how it would make his night better if he could spend some time with me, and he just couldn’t not see me tonight, and all about what he wanted. ”
“Honey, listen. I gotta tell you that I talked to him already.”
“Of course, you did.”
“He’s worried that he upset you. He wanted to let me know that it was all his fault, he thought you were feeling the attraction, too, and pushed a little too hard.”
“Pushed a little too hard? He tried to force me — wet and wearing a bikini — against his body with a towel he’d wrapped around me, while he was tightening his fists on the towel to keep me trapped so I couldn’t get away while he tried to kiss me!”
“Trapped?” he asked.
“Yes! He put the towel around me when I got out, then used it to pull me closer, then tried to kiss me!”
“But you stopped him because you weren’t ready,” Travis said.
“It wasn’t not being ready! I don’t want to be near him.
You weren’t there! You didn’t see what he did.
He was trying to force me and then when that didn’t work, he was coercing me through threats to your farm!
It was a demanding, controlling move, it wasn’t just a gentle effort to try to kiss me.
It was, you’re going to do this and I don’t care if you like it or not because it’s what I want. ”
“Harper, baby, I’m sure it wasn’t what you wanted, but couldn’t it just be that he liked you and made a move and you’re reading more into it?”
“No! I was wearing a swimsuit, and wet. I was not exactly clothed.”
“Yeah, I can see why that would be uncomfortable.”
“Uncomfortable?! You’d have shot anyone else.”
“No, now, not necessarily. Under the circumstances, I can see why he’d have misread the signs. You’ve been with him constantly since you arrived. Maybe he thought you were attracted to him, too.”
“Because he won’t go away! I have no opportunity to not be with him. Even when I try to beg off he’s urging me to at least share a meal, or allow him to bring me some coffee or something.”
“So, it irritates you because he’s taking care of you? He really likes you. You know that humans become enamored with us very quickly. It’s not really all his fault. And I did ask him to look after you out there.”
“Dad! He said my behavior didn’t look good for you to have a customer relationship with his company!”
“Did he hurt you? Did he put his hands on you in any way?”
“No! I almost broke his wrist.”
“Harper, just come on home tomorrow. He’s coming along, he’s already made travel plans for both of you, and they’re most likely non-refundable.
We’ll get through next week of him sampling our soil, and recommending how we can increase our harvest and the strength of our trees in general, and then he’ll go back and you can forget all about him.
Unless you decide you’d rather not. He is a good looking man, and he’s pleasant, and he likes you!
That’s most likely all this is. You could do worse, he’s very smart, and he’s funny.
He’s a lot like you, got a wry sense of humor. I like the boy.”
“Then you let him yank you in with a towel while you’re barely dressed, try to force his tongue down your throat, and subtly threaten your family’s farm when you refuse. I’m done.”
Harper hung up on her father, tossed the phone to the sofa beside her, and simply glowered at it when he tried to call back.
Fifteen minutes later she snatched it up when it rang again, but quickly adjusted her attitude when she realized that the number was from the pizza place. “Hello?”
“Is this Harper, large pepperoni and black olive, extra sauce?”
“That’s me,” she said.
“Pizza’s here,” the driver said.
“Will the front desk let you bring it up? There’s a twenty dollar tip in it for you if I don’t have to go down there.”
“Yes, ma’am! I’ll be right up.”