Waves Of Passion

A smile played on Justin’s lips.

“You are really thorough when it comes to doing your homework, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Hey, I’m a businesswoman. I’ve got to have some skills,” she said in a soft voice, smiling at him.

“So, I am going to be my own person, you said. Does that mean that I get to explore my own interests even though I represent your brand?” he asked and she shook her head, unsure of what he had just said. “I mean, I have always wanted my own line of skateboards. BeFrank.”

“Be frank as in genuine or Be Frank, as in your surname?” she asked.

“My name but one word. BeFrank,” he explained and she nodded.

“That sounds amazing.” She pushed her hair from her face. “That is something I would definitely like to make happen. Of course, we will have to come to some kind of agreement on how both you and Wave Tide can profit from this. I am just looking for a fair partnership, something that will make you feel comfortable and confident being at Wave Tide.”

Justin smiled. This was the first time he was meeting someone who was half as excited about his project as he was. 

“You are serious right now, aren’t you?” he asked and she nodded. “You are really going to give me a chance to have my own skateboard line?”

“I don’t see why not. I mean, I did mention that I wanted us to grow our brand together after all,” she said.

“So, I hate to dive right in and sound all money minded but what is my signing bonus?” he asked and she pulled her phone out of her purse. She typed a figure and showed it to him.

At that moment, he realized that she had not been lying when she said that she could not match the offers that he’d got. She was considerably lower. So low, that he could not help but wonder if she was literally putting all she had on him. Did she believe in him that much? Was that the whole idea?

He looked up at her and sighed silently, shaking his head.

“This is really low,” he said and she nodded.

“I know that but who else is giving you an opportunity to have a controlling interest of BeFrank?” she asked and he smiled.

“Wait, a controlling interest?” he asked and she nodded. “Are you just dangling a carrot right now or do you really mean that?” he asked and she shook her head.

“My word is my bond,” she said smiling. “But I would also want to have a contract to prove that.”

He handed the phone back to her and shrugged. This might not have been his most profitable offer but it was his best one yet. He stretched out his hand.

“Just tell me where to come with a pen in hand and I will be there,” he said as they shook hands. “Because Miss DeLuca we’ve got a deal.”

“Good to hear,” she said smiling at her.

Present Day…

Justin had been looking at the woman who saved his life for a few days now. Every single morning he swore to himself that would be the morning he approached her. But for some reason, something always happened. Fans asking for autographs and photos as they held their BeFrank boards, other aspiring skateboarders….it was always something.

 He had never seen her there before and he guessed that she must have been a new employee at Wave Tide. He was not that much of a snob anyway and after all, he had attended almost every barbecue party the company had ever had since he became Wave Tide’s poster child. He was not sure if it was just him being grateful for what she had done but he did not want to leave without talking to her. Without looking into her eyes. From where he stood, he could see that she was not just any woman you met in a pub or something of the sort. She was beautiful. She was sexy. And he owed her his life. He did not know why he was feeling nervous as he approached her. She was still in her lifesaving gear: a two piece suit and a see-through cover. Clearly, they had not given her a heads-up about the dress code. He was just about to get to where she was when he noticed another man walking up to her. He leaned against the wall but every fiber of his being was telling him to get closer to her and her new friend. He wanted to stay there and sip on his cold beer in peace but for some reason, he was moving closer and closer to them until he got to where they were…a considerable distance of course, just enough to hear what they were talking about. It might have seemed like a friendly conversation from far but now that he was that close to them, he could hear everything they were saying. The disdain in her voice and the pleading nature of his own.

“I told you that I never want to see you again, Allan. I honestly don’t know what you are doing on the West Coast anyway,” she was saying.

“How about if I told you that I wanted you to come back home with me?” the man asked.

“Philadelphia was never home to me. It was just a place I moved to so that I could go to school,” she said in a soft voice. “And with you, there was never a home. We were literally all over the country…all over the world actually.”

“Since when did world travel become such a bad thing?” he asked and she rolled her eyes at him. She looked even more beautiful doing that. “I would take you around the world, take you to the best hotels and shopping sprees, shower you with all the money you could have need for.”

“I never wanted your money,” she said matter of factly.

“I know and that is probably why I liked you…why I fell in love with you.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “If you loved me, you would have treated me with more respect.”

“I did.” He took a long deep breath and reached for her. But she pulled back. “I do.”

“No, you don’t. You maybe did at some point but I don’t think you do anymore because if you do, if you really do respect me as you claim then you would not even dare show your face in the same country I am in let alone the same state because believe me jackass, these United States are not nearly big enough for the two of us.”

The man took a long deep breath as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“So now, are you happy?” he asked and she shrugged.

“Happiness for me has always been about peace of mind. And I am at peace,” she said crossing her hands over her chest. “I am perhaps the happiest I have ever been being out here on the West Coast.”

“But baby…” he started before she put an index finger up.

“Do not call me that,” she said with finality.