Waves Of Passion

Chapter 2

When she got to Wave Tide the following day, Eliza was still thinking about Allan and how he had found her all the way from Philadelphia. At the back of her mind, she kept on wondering if he might have been on business or something of the sort. Or was he just crazy enough to pack up and leave his home moving from one state to the other in search of his ex? A smile played on her lips even though the thought should have terrified her. She was sure that he was indeed very capable of doing something like that. That was the kind of man Allan truly was. She had seen that ugly side of him while she was still in a relationship with him back in Philadelphia. Or whatever it was that they were doing. Because for all she knew, she never really dated Allan. If anything, she was simply arm candy. Something that he could show off at his business meetings and his poker nights.

When she thought about it, Eliza felt her heart heavy knowing that she had been nothing but a decorative piece as far as Allan was concerned. The way she had wasted so much time with him. The way she had put her life on hold for him. She was disgusted by the thought. It was as if she had been stagnant for all that time they had been together. Her heart was racing as she recalled all the time she had spent with Allan. And the big fight that had been the end of their relationship. The day Allan proved to her that she was nothing more to him than a pawn that he could barter off at any moment as he willed.

She took a long deep breath and closed her eyes.

“Let the past be,” she thought to herself. “It is all over and done with.”

But even as she stood there, trying as much as she could not to think of the past, she could not help but do exactly that: think about the past. She took a couple of long deep breaths as she stood there. Without even realizing it, her heart was racing and her palms were a little sweaty. She was not sure if it was because she was nervous or because she was getting angry as she thought of her ex.

“It is a good day to save lives,” Christina said, her voice snapping Eliza out of the small world she had locked herself in.

“Indeed it is,” Eliza said, forcing a smile.

“Well, go out and do exactly that,” Christina said as she gently patted Eliza’s shoulder. She looked at her boss and sighed loudly before she began pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Her mind was still calculating all the possibilities of how and why Allan had found her all the way in the new state she called home but she could not really come up with a valid explanation. As far as she was concerned, there was no real justification. She was still lost in thought as she made her way out to the sand. A smile played on her lips as she looked at the people having a good time in the water. She would have given anything to just run into the water and get the cool water all over her. Nothing would have made her happier than to feel the wet sand under her feet as her sun kissed skin got immersed in the salty water. But alas, she had to work.

She walked to her station and looked around as she held her hair up in a high ponytail before she took a seat. She had on her big sunglasses as she looked around. She had always been a big fan of hiding her eyes because that was how anyone would have known her. She was the kind of person who always wore her heart on her sleeve and anyone could see exactly what she thought just by looking into her eyes. She was fumbling with the whistle that hung from her neck when she first saw him: Justin Frank. Thankfully, her sunglasses were hiding what she was really feeling – sheer joy. Her cheeks were flushed as she looked at his perfectly chiseled abs. And the way his glutes looked perfect in those Speedo boxer shorts.

She took a long deep breath as she watched him run his fingers through his shoulder length locks. Her heart was racing and she could not even say why. For a moment, it was like she was lost in her head, not knowing what to do. She did not even realize that she was staring when Christina walked up to her station.

“Beautiful sight, isn’t it?” she asked and Eliza bit her lower lip nodding, though she was not sure what she was agreeing to. Nodding was the only thing she could do to hide the fact that she was blushing after literally being busted ogling her company’s poster child. “Oh please. Don’t try to hide it. We all know that Justin is one of the biggest reason why Wave Tide’s profits are riding so high,” Christina added and Eliza turned to look at her.

“What?” she asked.

“My namesake saw what the world was doing…how her competition was getting ahead and eventually it all made sense. Get a celebrity to endorse you and bam! You are right up there with the big players. Merchandising, franchising and not just in the country.”

Christina looked at Justin who was now running towards the water.

“Before we got Justin Frank to be the face of Wave Tide, no one knew of the small company. No one was even concerned with our little parties…even when they were free,” she explained and then laughed. “But Chrissie…that’s what we call the other Christina just to differentiate between us. Chrissie saw Justin surfing and she just knew that if she just put him out there, everything would fall into place.”

“And she did it? Just like that?” Eliza asked, a little surprised.

Christina nodded.

“Yup. Just like that. Chrissie is a risk taker and even though she had to literally almost clean out her bank account just to front his advance, it paid off. In more ways than one…and now Wave Tide is a household name all over the West Coast.”

“And the Middle East,” Eliza said smiling and Christina smiled.

“And the Middle East,” she echoed as she handed Eliza a bottle of water. “So, yeah. I get it. When you look at him like that.”

Eliza was smiling as Christina got up in the lifeguard chair next to Eliza’s.

“But I have to warn you, that if you are getting this wound up about Justin, you have a long shift ahead, sister,” Christina pointed out.

Eliza looked at her and shook her head.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Bringing Justin on was like a magnet to all the other big time surfers. Male and female.”

“You mean there are other pro-surfers at Wave Tide?” Eliza asked and Christina nodded.

“We got almost every big time surfer you could think of. Miguel Morales, Vivienne St. John, Camila and Alfredo Zimmerman…” her voice trailed off as she tried recalling all the pro-surfers that were on Wave Tide’s dime or was it vice versa? She sighed. “Let’s just say that there have been a lot of posts on social media using the hashtag #wavetidesurf since Justin came on board.”

“Living in selfie land, huh?” Eliza asked and Christina laughed, nodding.

“Oh yeah.” She opened her bottle of water. “But the trick to not being caught out in all the drama is knowing who rides when.”

“There is a timetable?” Eliza asked, looking at Christina through her sunglasses.

“I would not really call it a timetable since there is nothing official written on paper or anything but the truth is that all these ‘celebrities’ don’t like sharing their limelight.”

“Is that so?” Eliza said as she looked around.

“Yeah, they are all very exclusive that way,” Christina explained.

“You seem to really know how everything goes around here,” Eliza said and she nodded.

“I’ve been doing this a while so like I said, I get it when you feel like you are a little overwhelmed.”