“If you want more details, I can tell you some other time.”
“No. No, I don’t. I don’t need to know. It doesn’t matter anymore.” The hurt was deeper than she had imagined, and she wondered why, after this long. Why couldn’t she just allow Gordon to sweep her away and have a fresh start? The more she thought about that, though, the angrier she got.
“I hope—”
“Please. Mr.Gordon. I would quite like to get back to work now. I have some stretches to do.”
Gordon placed the two plates on a side table and departed, saying, “I’m pleased…I’m…I’m going. See you around.”
She started stretching, but as soon as he walked out of the door, she stopped. This was like a boxing game with her in both corners. One side of her wanted him, the other side was fighting against that, and she wasn’t sure which side was winning.
Chapter 6
Samantha had agreed to start massaging Gordon again. She was determined to work on that shoulder, and her efforts paid off. Although Samantha couldn’t make Gordon’s stresses go away, she could make the pain in his shoulders go away, and for that, Gordon felt grateful.
Everything seemed to normalize, and both of them maintained a cordial, professional relationship. Gordon would come for his sessions, Samantha would do her job, and they would exchange regular, everyday banter. Neither of them brought up the topic of their feelings, neither of them was sure if that made them feel any different, and neither of them was sure how long they could keep it up.
Eventually, Gordon had to cave to board pressure, and he began the process of moving production from Sweden. He had considered bankrolling the Sweden branch himself. In a final plea, Mickaela, a Finnish woman who worked at the Stockholm facility, convinced Gordon to drop what he was doing and immediately board a flight to Stockholm. Frankly, it did not take much to convince Gordon to go to Stockholm. It wasn’t only a key part of the product branding; the place also felt like a second home for Gordon. He probably could have remotely met any people he needed to meet, and indeed could be shown anything quite easily by sharing files or video conferencing, but Gordon liked to be in the middle of the action despite his distaste for flying. He liked to be visible in making the major decisions, although he had people he could trust running things.
Gordon wished that tastes were more complex than the Franzen restaurant on the Klara Norra kyrkogata, but, then again, he never saw himself as a very fashionable person. He contented himself with the knowledge that most people couldn’t afford to eat there regularly. His tastes were really satisfied with the rustic. He wanted opulence; he wanted complex meals that would require a commentator to explain to him what he was eating. Moreover, if he went to Stockholm, he could see Kara. Before Samantha had appeared from nowhere, Kara was the one that had captured his fancy, but his entire mind was on Sammy now.
So, there he was, sitting across from her at his favorite restaurant, the sore in his shoulder gone away. He was listening to an anecdote that Kara was sharing with him. He found it profoundly uninteresting. Eventually, he raised his hand to stop her from talking.
“I’m sorry, Kara, I respect you too much to go to bed with you.”
“What?” Kara asked. “That’s remarkably forward of you.”
“Look, I’m not trying to impress you with my politeness. I just don’t want to drag you out here and treat you like a toy.”
“But you play the toy so well…” Kara suddenly switched from playful to serious. “That’s fine with me, but I want to finish this meal. I don’t eat here very often. So, why don’t we remove the trappings of a date, but stay talking? I’ll ask you a friendly question. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“That’s a good question.”
And Gordon started to tell Kara about Samantha.
“So, she looks like me, huh? Is that it?”
“To an extent, maybe. I’m sorry. I called you because I enjoyed your company. I didn’t realize—”
It was Kara’s turn to raise her hand. “I can’t say I’m not a little hurt, but I’m glad that you told me. At least tell me I was a good lay.”
“You were a great lay, Kara.”
“I know,” she said.
With Kara’s prompting, Gordon decided to give Samantha a ring. He didn’t know when he would, but he knew he would. He decided to call her.
“Good afternoon, Gordon.”
“Actually, it’s evening. I’m in Sweden.”
“And you’re calling me? Is it work-related?”
Gordon scrambled around for an answer. “Actually yes, I want to bring you out here. I want you to massage here for a while.”
“They have masseuses in Sweden, you know. I don’t think any masseuse is worth a journey like that.”
“I’ll give you ten-thousand dollars as payment.”
“Goddamnit, Gordon. Money talks.” She wondered how she came off, but a part of her that was totally used to Gordon had suddenly sprung up.
“I can give you more. I just want to show you Stockholm.”
“I don’t want more money. I’m not a whore.”
“No, you’re not. Bring Ella. Make it a working holiday.”
“Why are you buying me holidays, Gordon?”
“Because I want to show you Stockholm, show it to Ella, too. I’m paying you to work. That’s the best I can do.”
“Fine, Gordon. Did your Swedish chick dump you or something?”
“Something like that. Just get your ass over here.”
“I’m flying coach.”
“If you must.”
When Samantha dropped the call, she thought about what had just happened. She had just agreed to go halfway around the world at the beck and call of Gordon. The money was good; she knew there would be adequate remuneration from the company for changing her base. A part of her saw it as a good business move, although she doubted if she would have gotten such favors if it wasn’t Gordon. She didn’t mind, though, and a part of her wanted to be close to him.
Two days later, she and Ella were sharing a meal with him in a quaint little restaurant in one of the most beautiful places that Samantha would probably ever see. It was new, it was exciting, and it was adventurous. Ella got to see new things, too, and experience a different part of the world than Samantha would have been able to provide on her own right now. When she thought about it again, she realized that, no, it wasn’t so bad to have been called halfway around the world by Gordon, at all.
“Goddamn, these waffles are good.”
“They’re goddamn good waffles!” Ella yelled in reply to her mother.
“Sorry, darling. I think I’m teaching you bad language. But then again, who cares? It’s just words.”
“Goddamn yes!” Ella asserted.
Gordon smiled. “So, how do you like the park?”
“I think I preferred the view, but this cafe is amazing. Can we go out and catch the sunset?”
“Of course.”
“What’s the name of the park again?”
“Observatorielunden.”
“And this cafe is what?”