Zip Lining

"Costa Rica? Why Costa Rica?" she asked.

"Consider it a working vacation."

"You know I don't like the water, right?"

He gave her that patronizing look she found so annoying before saying, "Oh, come on. A little water won't hurt you. Besides, we'll be at a very nice hotel most of the time, so the closest you're gonna get to the water will be sitting on the beach drinking a mai tai."

In spite of the condescension, he'd been so good to her that she let a lot of things go. She'd been working for him for six months, and although he'd never come right out and said it, she was sure he had romantic feelings for her.

He'd hired her when she desperately needed a job, and for that she really was grateful. He was also a reasonably attractive man of 51, but no amount of gratitude could make her suddenly have the same kind of feelings for him. And those two things aside, she was tired of being talked down to, and he often said things she found somewhere between unnecessary and downright mean.

But he was her boss and she was his executive assistant, so if this was a working vacation, she knew she'd be going with him. And the truth was it was so unbearably cold in Chicago that she had to admit a vacation in a warm place sounded pretty nice.

"You promise? No water?" she asked, not kidding in the least.

"Would I lie to you?" he said in that same tone of voice while not answering her question directly, something else he often did.

This time, the look wasn't patronizing. It was just...smug.

There were times when she had to admit working for him was quite pleasant. He was smart, efficient, and knew the business inside out. And yet somehow, his financial acumen aside, the business was struggling financially, something that was outside her purview.

Lately, however, those enjoyable times seemed fewer and farther between with these traits she disliked surfacing more and more often. But Joe Ferguson was someone who shared her world in a sense, having also gone through a terribly bitter divorce three years earlier, and that was one more thing that kept her working there. That and the small detail of having a daughter in college and the need for a steady paycheck. Joe paid her quite well, far more than she believed she was worth, and that was more evidence in her mind that he might have expectations outside of her role as his secretary.

"I hope that's a rhetorical question," she replied, a touch of annoyance in her voice.

He moved a little closer to put an arm around her, so she stepped aside and looked away causing him to ask what was going on.

At the same time she ignored his question and said, "If I have your word."

"Yes. Of course. No water. Got it. So can I get you to book the flight for the two of us?" he asked with a smile before adding.

She sighed then told him that was fine even as she wondered why she was agreeing. Yes, she worked for him, but she didn't have to travel, and that was the one thing she'd insisted on when she took the job. But not going would only create even more friction, something she didn't need.

On the other hand, a big part of it was easy to understand. Chicago winters were brutally cold, and in spite of having lived in Illinois her entire life, and the last five in The Windy City, Fallon Daniels hated the bitter cold.

She'd taken off nearly 15 years to raise her daughter after marrying the man she planned on being with the rest of her life and giving birth to their first and only child. Lisa Daniels was now 19 and a freshman at the University of Illinois where she was a pre-med major. Her father was picking up the cost of tuition, the only thing she'd asked for outside of her half of the profits from the home she'd kept after he informed her he was in love with another woman.

Fallon hadn't just been hurt by the unexpected announcement, she'd been completely blindsided. She'd worked so hard over the years to take care of herself and do everything in her power to look nice for her husband, and this had been her reward.

During those years, she routinely received compliments from both men and women as to how good she looked, and even today, at 44, that still happened fairly often. She'd been 41 when her now ex-husband broke the news to her, and she still looked sensational. Or so she was often told.

Joe had been taken with her beauty the moment he saw her and had hired her just minutes into the interview. So all that worked together to give her this feeling that a part of her, the part that valued loyalty, owed him. But beyond her loyalty and hard work, she couldn't see that she owed him anything else.

Since the divorce, Fallon had tried dating a few times, but the entire 'scene' was so frustrating it always felt more like work than fun. She couldn't understand why it had to be so difficult, but the men she'd gone out with either had some secret they were hiding—like a wife—or had ulterior motives and only wanted her company for one reason. And she was nowhere near interested enough in them to allow them to have what they wanted from her no matter how expensive the dinner and wine they'd paid for had been.

Her dating life aside, Fallon wasn't ready to give up by any means, but for the time being she was content to focus on her job and her daughter. Temporarily at least, dating could take a backseat. And it could stay back there until she met someone who provided that elusive something she felt was so essential to any relationship. Even then it might not go anywhere, but with no spark to get this, well, heated up, she couldn't find any good reason to continue dating. And there was definitely no spark with Joe Ferguson.

As all those thoughts ran through her mind, the thought of a couple of weeks on a warm beach, or rather—not too near one—suddenly seemed very appealing.

She looked at Joe who was now smiling at her, and she blurted out, "Okay. Fine. I'll go!"

"Yeah?" he said as he walked toward her again.

This time he got a hold of her before she could duck. Joe hugged her tightly and said, "That's my girl!" before giving her a kiss that landed on the cheek as she turned away at the last moment.

That evening she gave her daughter a call and let her know she'd be out of the country for few days.

"And would that be with a handsome man named Joe, by any chance?" Lisa teased, not understanding how her mother really felt about her boss.

Her mom sighed then said, "Yes. Yes, I believe it would."

"Mom? Is something going on with him by any chance?" her daughter asked somewhat hopefully.

"I...like Joe. A lot," Fallon said as though she were mounting a defense.

"He is kind of hot...for an old guy," her daughter said, continuing the teasing.

"Hey! He's not that much older than your mother, okay?"

Lisa laughed then said, "Mom. You're hot, too. And hotties date hotties. That's just how it is."

Fallon smiled then asked her daughter if she was seeing anyone to get her away from anything related to Joe.

"Ha! Pre-med is brutal. I may not date until I'm Doctor Daniels. And maybe not even then because of residency," Lisa told her, only partially kidding.

"Well, you're a beautiful young woman, honey. And smart. Any guy would be lucky to go out with you."

Lisa drew a deep breath, sighed audibly, then said, "Having a career and a family isn't easy."

She paused for a moment then said, "You know that a lot better than I do, Mom."

Her mother thanked her before saying, "But unlike you, I'm not young anymore."

"Stop! You act young, you think young, and you still got it goin' on, Mom. So give yourself some credit because any guy would be lucky to have you."

Fallon thought back on how she'd felt so sure she'd been the lucky one when it came to Lisa's father, but just two years into the marriage, his work became more important than his family. By year ten, they rarely talked beyond saying things that had to be said, and made love even less often. Even so, she'd have stayed with him for their daughter's sake, but when he set her down and told her point blank he didn't love her anymore, staying together made no sense.

She also thought about the large number of her friends her age who'd told her they'd either stopped having sex altogether, started having affairs, or left their husbands and moved on. As a result, she couldn't help but wonder whether or not that was the norm for most marriages or if maybe she'd done something wrong. She knew she hadn't, but being conscientious to a fault, she couldn't help but engage in some more self-examination.

The truth was there wasn't much more she could have done. That was especially true when it come to keeping her body fit or her skin looking smooth and young. And being a genuinely happy person, she was unfailingly cheerful and as supportive as any woman could be. But in the end, it hadn't been enough, and now she was...middle-aged...single, and even her 19-year old daughter realized she was a lonely woman who seemed incapable of finding someone who'd feel lucky to have her.

"So, Mom. Tell me about you upcoming vacation," Lisa said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Working vacation," her mother corrected as she came back to the present moment before sharing what little she knew about where she'd be.

"Even so Jaco is a beautiful part of a beautiful country, Mom. I know how much you hate the water, but it's such a nice place, and I can't imagine you won't love being there."

Lisa had gone there for a week after high school graduation, the trip paid in full, courtesy of her father. It was his way of trying to buy his daughter's love with money the way he always had, because he was too busy with yet another new woman not much older than Lisa to actually spend time with her.

"I remember you saying that, honey, and I did a little checking online. It looks fabulous, and the weather should be sensational."

"Pretty much anything beats January in Chicago, right?" her daughter said.

"Oh, my gosh. This winter has been...ungodly cold! And speaking of warm weather, I need to find a couple of nice, one-piece bathing suits!" her mom said causing Lisa to tell to hold on.

"Wait. One-piece? You're one of the only women I know who's, you know, over 40...and can still rock a bikini. So don't hide in a one-piece, okay? You never know, maybe some hot, young Costa Rican guy will catch sight of you and...rock your world!"

Fallon managed not to laugh at the thought of anyone rocking her world or 'hiding' in a bathing suit of any kind, but she loved hearing her daughter say something else so nice.

The truth was, she really could still wear a bikini, but it just seemed...wrong. Wrong in the sense of wearing a skirt more than three inches above her knee—something she could also pull of were she of a mind to do so.

After all, weren't women of a certain age supposed to dress with a little bit of decorum? Or at least that's what she'd always thought anytime she'd ever seen a woman even close to her current age wearing something she should have given up 10-15 years earlier. That said, there weren't many women in their mid-40s who had a body that looked like hers, but still...

"We'll see," her mom said, pretty sure she'd stick with the safer choice.

"Mom? I have a ton of studying left to do, so as much as I'd love to keep talking..."

"No. You go right ahead, sweetie. I just wanted to touch base with you."

"I'm glad you did. And I love hearing from you even when I'm crazy busy. You know that, right?" Lisa said.

"I do. And you know I love you very much, right? And I'm extremely proud of you."

"Back atcha, Mom," her daughter said. "Take care, okay? And please...have a little fun! And by fun I mean..."

"Okay, okay. That's enough. I get your drift," her mom said before Lisa could say 'with some hot, young Costa Rican guy' again.

Her mom sighed then smiled.

"But I do promise to take care. As to the fun, how about, 'I will when you will'?" she told her daughter knowing that would be the end of it.

Lisa made an 'ugh' sound, laughed then said, "Bye, Mother!"

It was 18 degrees outside, and the wind was howling. Sick of the cold, Fallon went back online and did some looking, and by the time she was ready to place her order, she had three one-piece bathing suits and two, very-cute bikinis in her shopping cart.

"I don't have to actually wear them, and even if I did, I could still wear something over them, right?" she said to herself to justify buying them even though she was now pretty sure she'd eventually wear both of them as she got ready to join an online Zumba class for the next hour or so.

Her last thought before changing into something skimpy for her workout was, "Why train so hard if you're not gonna show off the results a little, right?"

With just two days before their scheduled departure for Costa Rica, Joe had begun dropping hints about possibly sharing a hotel room together with Fallon, and after successfully putting him off each time, he backed off. She was pretty sure the intensity would pick back up once they were at the hotel, but Fallon had no intention of sharing a room, let alone a bed, with her boss. Or anyone else for that matter—not even a hot, young Costa Rican guy.

In spite of the unbelievably long sexual hiatus, Fallon wasn't willing to hop in the sack with just anyone. But were she to meet an attractive man around her age, a man who was also charming and thoughtful, it was absolutely possible her dry spell could come an end.

*****

The Sunset Del Mar Resort Hotel, Jaco, Costa Rica

"Wow. This is very nice!" Fallon said as she looked around the hotel lobby.

"It's crazy, right?" Joe agreed. "And it's less than $200 a night. You couldn't get a three-star room in Chicago for that, and this place is as good as it gets anywhere in Central America."

Fallon couldn't help feeling more than a little guilty knowing Joe was shelling out that much per night for her room, too, but she was in no position to come up with the thousand bucks their five-day, four-night stay would end up costing after taxes, fees, and room service.

As Fallon began putting her things away, Joe knocked on her door and asked if he could come in. Fallon told him that was fine, and within seconds, he noticed one of the bikinis laying out on her bed.

"Wow. I uh, I can't wait to see you in that," he told her.

"Oh, I'm not sure I'm even going to wear it," she replied as she looked at the all-white, two-piece garment, as she turned back around to put in a bureau drawer.

She had no idea Joe had come up behind her until he put his arms around her waist then said, "You uh, you could model it for me now."

Somehow, she managed not to scream or even yelp as his grip tightened around her. She gently pulled his arms apart and without turning around to look at him said, "We should be getting ready for dinner, don't you think?" as she moved to the side once she was free.

"Or...we could take a power nap without the nap part," Joe countered.

"You know that makes no sense, right?" she said as she continued putting her things in the dresser drawers, hoping and praying he'd give up trying to seduce her.

Hoping to distract him, Fallon said, "Are we meeting your contact tonight or tomorrow?"

"Tonight. I texted him to let him know we made it, and he'll be expecting us for drinks tonight at 7 o'clock."

"Well, then we really should get a move on, don't you think?" she said, finally turning around and smiling at him.

Joe looked at his watch, let out a long sigh, then said, "Yeah. I suppose you're right."

It was a little after 5:30 local time, and that gave them just enough time to shower, get dressed, and have dinner before meeting this investor Joe said could mean a fortune in new business.

By the time Joe got out of the shower, Fallon was dressed and ready to go. Her hair and makeup were already done, so all she'd needed was a quick shower to freshen up.

"Holy...wow!" Joe told her when he saw the dress when they met in the lobby at 6:45.

"Oh, thanks," she told him as though it was no big deal while knowing it really did look nice on her.

She'd found it, along with two others, in a local boutique, and although they were expensive, she felt like doing something she almost never did and splurged. They weren't Oscar de la Renta or even Neiman Marcus, but they were both beautiful.

The one she was wearing was a shimmery silver that was low-cut in the front with a long slit up the side. Together with a pair of matching heels and a pair of diamond earrings, Fallon looked incredible. Then again, it wasn't for Joe. This was for her and wanting to look as nice as possible in the hopes of helping land this big investor.

They were going to be inside that evening, but the weather outside was very pleasant. The high temperature that day had been 86 degrees, and it was already down to a very comfortable 75 with low humidity. The forecast overnight lows were a very mild 62-65 degrees making it possible to sleep without using the AC and just leaving the windows open to let the sea breeze blow through.

When they walked through the lobby, Fallon turned every head in the room as other women even stopped to look. Just outside there was a large dining area, and a server who spoke nearly perfect English led them to a very nice table.

They no sooner sat down when Joe looked up, waved then called out, "Ramon! Over here!"

Fallon gave him a puzzled look and Joe explained this was his contact.

"The guy with the money," he emphasized as Ramon walked over to their table.

Joe stood up and shook hands with the man who smiled at Fallon. His accent was fairly heavy, but he was very charming as he took her hand, bowed, and kissed it.

"Joe did not tell me his wife was so beautiful."

"Oh, my. Thank you, but Joe...he's not...he's..."

"I'm her boyfriend," Joe said before Fallon could correct him. "Have a seat. Please."

"No. Is not possible," Ramon said. "I have other guests. But you could join me."

Joe saw the look Fallon gave him and asked if she'd mind if he spent just a few minutes talking business.

"You go ahead and order for both of us, okay?" he said as he patted her hand.

"Um...sure," Fallon replied as Joe followed Ramon without saying another word to her while slapping Ramon on the back and saying, "Hey, amigo! How you doin'?"

"Great. Dinner for one," she said as she saw the entourage of people gathered where Ramon was heading.

Fallon ordered drinks and dinner, and was halfway through her meal before she finally caught Joe's attention. He hurried over, apologized for taking so long, then let her know he still had unfinished business.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I'll make it up to you tonight. I promise."

Fallon rarely got angry, and as tempted as she was to get upset, she bit her tongue and told him she understood. She came very close to telling him not to call her 'baby' just as she remembered him calling her his girlfriend. She shuddered at the thought.

Instead, she went back to picking at her meal when she glanced up and noticed someone looking at her. She couldn't tell whether or not he was an American, but he definitely wasn't a local. He was also very handsome and very young. But when he smiled at her, she smiled back before looking back down at her plate of mostly uneaten food.

When he got up and started walking her way, she wished she hadn't smiled back.

"Don't worry. I know you're with the older guy over there," he said as he smiled at her.

"He's not much older than me," Fallon replied almost defensively, just as she had with her daughter.

"Oh, well shame on me then. I'm usually pretty good at guessing a person's age, and I assumed there was a significant difference. With you being the much-younger person, that is."

"Nice save," she replied, finally returning his smile.

"Before I go away, I'm Than Thompson."