Love in the China Sea by Fran Baker

Author:Fran Baker [Baker, Fran]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 1982-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

If Anne’s “hello,” followed in short order by an equally chipper “good-bye,” surprised UNA’s janitor Monday morning he did an admirable job of concealing it. Anne’s early start had served its dual purpose well. The jewel article was typed and ready for Dick’s blue-pencil perusal, freeing her to spend today at the resettlement center in Kowloon. More important, she noted with a sigh of relief as she stepped into the empty elevator, she had evaded the prying eyes and certain curiosity of her co-workers.

Kai’s visit to the newsroom last Friday had created a real stir. With excuses ranging from feeble to fairly plausible, every female in the office had stopped at Anne’s desk long enough to finagle a meeting with the handsome magnate, who had introduced himself as Edward Payton. And while the men were less obvious in their approach, they were certainly no less impressed. All of them had managed a handshake with the low-profile legend.

Anne hurried out of the quiet building into the brake-squealing, rush-hour reveille of a Hong Kong business day. When she spotted Kai’s car idling at the curb she ran over and climbed in the passenger side.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” she apologized.

“It depends on your perspective.” Kai leaned over and kissed her, then smiled. “The truck driver who is waiting behind me for this parking space thought you were never going to appear.”

As if to confirm Kai’s observation, the truck driver leaned on his horn. Anne laughed, but the impatient blast struck a kindred chord inside her. Only when the Mercedes was finally snaking in and out of traffic toward the cross-harbor tunnel did she begin to relax.

“I hope you’re not a victim of claustrophobia,” Kai teased her as they joined the line of cars inching toward the underwater highway.

“Of course not,” she assured him. Anne glanced up from the notes she was reviewing in a time-saving effort to refresh her memory. “I don’t have any phobias.”

“Not even about love?” Kai’s sly gaze coincided with their entrance into the tunnel.

Stymied for a reply, Anne stared straight ahead, alternately blessing the semidarkness that concealed her flaming cheeks and cursing Kai’s knack for hitting her sore spot. She felt the car accelerate as they neared the exit and grasped the first conversational straw that occurred to her.

“Dick suggested that I snap some pictures today.” Anne reached into the tote bag for her camera. “One of the major newsmagazines wants to condense the entire series into an article.” She lifted the camera to her eye, focused on the toothless old candy floss man spinning pink sugar swirls for a pack of excited children, and snapped the shutter release.

She turned then and looked at Kai. Succumbing to impulse, Anne adjusted her light and distance meters, aimed and took several candid shots of his bold profile silhouetted against the summer sky. It rocked her to realize that if her promotion to Athens became a reality these pictures might be her only tangible evidence of their time together.

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