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Brian turned to face the men who were obviously not going to steer the boat and instead were going to hound him about Jessica. Just when Brian felt stable enough to speak, an older gentleman came out of the main cabin.
“Enough, we don’t rile our guests.”
All of the men dispersed, even Clay.
“Young man, why don’t you come below?”
When Brian saw the door that would go safely into the middle of the boat and away from the railing, he practically skipped over.
“Thank you, sir.” Brian looked at the older man and was amazed how relaxed he looked. The man’s face was weathered from age, sun and wind. He had a tough rugged look to him. Brian didn’t mistake his lean figure for being frail. As he walked over to the door, he could see the occasional gleam of intelligence that winked in and out as if the man was trying to hide it.
As Brian entered the man laughed. “Please don’t call me sir, and I had to invite you in. Your knuckles were going to be permanently white if I had let you hang out there much longer. Had I known you didn’t like the sea, I would have come on land. You already know my name. I’m board member Bach.”
As Brian walked into the room, he was glad that he was holding onto the wall, otherwise he might have fallen. The room wasn’t large. It held a full-size bed, and a table to eat at that would serve two at most. It wasn’t the humble furniture that had floored him, it was the walls. The walls were filled with medals from Mensa to magna cum laude from Harvard to a picture of a US President presenting an award to Jessica.
Brian looked at the awards she had been given for projects in math, accounting and theoretical mathematics. Brian had to remember to breathe. He knew that Jessica and him were from different places but he had been so arrogant to think he was the catch.
He wanted to groan out loud when he remembered how he had acted. He took another look and noticed a picture on the wall of Jessica and Beth both holding up awards. So, the both of them were out of his league, he had been the slow bunny.
“You see how special our Jessica is?” Bach said.
“I don’t understand,” Brian said, clearing his throat and trying to wrap his mind around the whole situation.
“I know. It’s hard for a lot of people. Jessica wanted to share her gifts with others. It’s true, she could have gone to any government think tank, but she chooses to walk amongst us common folk.”
“Mr. Bach, I—”
“First, let’s get this right. No one calls me Mr. Bach. My name is Blue. I happen to like blue fish. I fish for blue fish and so everyone calls me Blue.”
Brian looked at board member Bach and wondered if he really expected him to call him Blue.
“Yes, young man, I expect you to call me Blue,” he said with a smile that showed deep smiling lines.
“I’ll do my best,” Brian said.
“Well, now that I think you have a brain, sit down and let’s go over some numbers. I do expansions and new ventures and this year has been good.”
Brian nodded and took notes. Board member Bach gave him copies of the reports and then he spent the better part of the day and evening reviewing the report.
They brought him back to the shore and told him he had to come back in the morning. Brian was thrilled with the work. However, when night fell, he was once again alone with himself and his thoughts of Jessica. Looking at her accomplishments, there was no way she should be in the position that she was in. She was a genius and more importantly, she was a good person. Brian maybe could say he was a good person most of the time, at least he really tried. However, Jessica was the kind of smart person that should be acknowledged. He felt like an idiot for all of the” help” he was trying to give her.
Brian knew what he had to do. He’d get this project done and then approve any position she wanted. It was the least he could do for the slight he had done. Jessica Tingles was in a class by herself.
Chapter Eight
Jessica was feeling confused and down when Brian left, so they did what they normally did when Jessica or Beth was upset, they found a Japanese place and ordered two party platters of sushi and sashimi.
Jessica did not eat half as much as Beth did. However, the one thing Jessica loved when she was stressed were desserts. The smaller the better. Small desserts didn’t put weight on you, everyone knew that! However, the sugar rush did make her a little loud and lightheaded. The longer Beth ate, the more desserts and cola she had to consume to keep up.
During dinner Jessica got a text. When Beth went to the bathroom she decided to read it.
HOPE YOU ARE ALRIGHT. REMEMBER USE THE CARD.
Beth peered over her shoulder. “Wow, I haven’t seen such an obvious move from a guy since five-year-old Parker tugged my hair in the schoolyard during recess.”
Jessica smiled. She remembered Parker. For a while Beth and Parker had been a thing and then college ended. Brian was no Parker, but the gesture gave Jessica the warm and fuzzies. What was going on with her and Brian? Did he think that she was incompetent because she couldn't get a promotion at her job?
Maybe Beth was right, and she needed to get out more. Maybe she had been giving everything to her job and it was to no end. Here she was at a really nice restaurant and all she could focus on was what did her supervisor think about her. If this was how Brian saw her, no wonder he didn’t think much. He would know she had looked at the text. What normal person looked at a text in a town called Peace?
