The questions were more about the employees, the owners, and the job he had been hired to do.
When Brian found out that Damion was, as he put it, nothing more than a pool boy, Damion’s next stop was to head to the boat house.
At first, Damion believed the man was never going to loosen up. But when they arrived at the docks, the guy did something that shocked Damion.
“I love to sail,” Brian admitted. “I’d love to take a closer look at her.”
Damion parked the golf cart and motioned. “Be my guest. We’re taking her out tonight for a sunset sail. There are a few more seats available. I can block one out for you.”
Brian frowned. “I haven’t been sailing in… oh, too long.”
“There’s nothing stopping you now. The cost is included in your stay,” Damion said as the man stood on the dock, looking eagerly at the boat.
Then Brian ran a hand over his large belly. “I… wouldn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. I don’t even fly anymore…”
Damion stopped him. “TheWind Chaseris not an airplane. There would be plenty of room and”—he motioned to the sailboat— “I think you’ll agree there is nothing like the wind in your face.”
“No.” Brian sighed and then Damion watched a smile creep on his face. “Okay, what the hell. Sign me up.”
After that, Brian put away his notepad and talked more freely. He even joked with Damion about a few past sailing trips he’d taken and how he’d found his wife, Karen. He had been sailing around and she’d been surfing with a friend when he’d noticed two girls screaming about a shark.
“So naturally, I sailed over and picked them up.” He smiled. “We were married two weeks later and have been happily married for almost thirty years now.”
“Wow, congratulations,” Damion said easily. “Why did you stop sailing?”
Brian frowned. “I sold the boat to buy a house after we found out Karen was pregnant with our first born. I never went sailing again, sadly. I got a desk job at the newspaper and…” He rubbed his belly. “Gained so much more in life that anchored me in place.”
“You should come back and bring Karen when you can. Take her sailing again,” he suggested.
Brian sighed. “If it wasn’t for the company putting me up, I’m not sure we could afford it.”
“We have blocks of discount dates available. You’d be surprised at how cheep the costs are. Less than a hotel in some cases,” Damion explained.
“Really? I…” He shook his head. “She’d like that. Our thirtieth anniversary is coming up next year.”
“Talk to Jules at the front desk. She can get you a bigger discount for your anniversary.” He smiled and knew that he’d won the man over.
By the time it was ready to load up and head out for the sail, Damion was thankful he’d taken an extra couple of cookies and a soda after lunch. He needed the extra push to get him through the evening. After the sail, he was supposed to head back up to the dining hall and help finish up at the dinner.
Thankfully, Jules was there to help him through the sail. Besides, he was really enjoying Brian’s conversation. The man came completely out of his shell the moment they set off.
He knew the guy was nervous about his weight and putting other people on the sail out because of how much room he took on deck. But the nice thing about theWind Chaserwas that she was plenty big enough for people of all sizes.
Brian had a comfortable seat next to him for the entire trip. Damion even let him steer for a while. He could have sworn he saw tears in the man’s eyes as they docked.
Both Jules and he rushed to the dining hall the moment they had locked up and made sure everyone was off the boat. After a quick change, they stepped into the dining hall together.
“See you later.” Jules kissed him and headed to help out behind the bar.
He was on clean-up duty—bussing the tables, making sure dirty dishes were put in the dishwashers, even refilling waters or delivering drinks. For the next three hours, he did whatever was needed.
He didn’t know all of the journalists that were staying at the camp, but he did spot one that he knew. Belinda Ness. He’d had such a crush on the news anchor when he was younger.
The woman was a legend, and still sexy as hell even now that she was in her late sixties.
When he served her the wine she’d ordered, she took his arm. “You’re Damion, right?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “May I just say, I’m a huge fan.”