“It was a cool job, but now I find myself at loose ends.”
Trask needed to shut down her comments, and insinuate himself back into the conversation in order to get things back on track. “Jett is currently without employment,” he said quickly. “And she’s suggested that she might be available to help us out with her aircraft and her expertise, which?—”
“No ‘might’ about it.” Jett cut him off this time, clearly knowing he was trying to shut her up. “I’m looking for a job, and you guys seem like a perfect fit. And just to let you know, I’ve already told Trask that I’m not looking for a salary right away. I have a nice nest egg, as well as money coming in from my pension. So, if I were to hang around and make myself part of your team, you’d only need to pay me for the actual jobs I’d be a part of.”
She barely took a breath before continuing.
Trask begrudgingly sat back. He guessed it washershow, now. And—note to self—she wasn’t exactly the pushover she’d led him to believe.
“Your parents have already, very kindly, offered me a place to stay until I find some digs of my own,” she supplied. “And apparently there’s an air-strip out back I can use, so the logistics are solid.”
“I like it.” Tabitha was the first to speak up. “Between my submarine, after Tex finds me the last few parts, and your plane, we can cover a lot of territory.”
“Yes, but,” Trask would still try to be the voice of reason, “we haven’t even begun to work yet. Having one more body hanging around…”
“Not a big deal, Trask. We’re only a few days from finishing up our course,” Spence reminded him. “Then we’ll be ready to open our doors to the public. And don’t forget, we have several commercial contracts already lined up that we’ll be jumping into right away.”
Of courseTrask knew that. He was the one who’d done the scheduling.
With Sheila getting their name out on all types of social media, and Tabitha having tapped her past, submarine job contacts, both women had gleaned a surprising number of responses. Now it was simply a matter of pulling the trigger to become really busy.
Buck put in his two cents. “I think an airplane, especially one equipped with pontoons, would be an awesome addition to Diver Downeast. And seeing that Jett is a PJ, and clearly has diving chops as she exhibited today, we’d be fools not to hire her.”
“I second that,” Tabitha agreed.
“Third-it,” Spence piped up, “if that’s an actual thing to say.”
Trask bit his tongue. He knew when a battle was lost.
He glanced over at Jett who was regarding him with eyes that looked…worried this time. Did she really think he’d go against popular opinion and send her packing?
He sighed.
And sucked it up for the good of the company.
What this did for any personal interaction between them was anyone’s guess, but now wasn’t the time to think about that.
“Jett,” Trask managed without choking. “Welcome to Diver Downeast.”
CHAPTER 13
Oooh,Jett knew she was in big trouble.
The only question was, how would Trask manifest his anger?
Over the course of the meal, she’d watched his face go from relaxed, to cautious, to wanting to rip someone’s head off.
That someone being her.
In the larger scheme of things, however, Jett figured she’d won. She had the approval of both Trask’s parentsandhis partners in Diver Downeast to join the company, which made her heart sing. A new opportunity in life was always uplifting.
What shedidn’thave—which was a bummer—was that underlying smoky regard that Trask had been sending her way all day, causing heat to kindle in her lower regions. He’d deliberately switched off that fire…or perhaps he was currently using it to stoke his ire.
Unacceptable.
How could she turn things around with him?
She already had enough strikes against her by being the exact opposite of the women she assumed he normally let into his life. She was flighty, unorganized, and now she’d gone and bucked his authority as well, which was clearly a huge no-no.
