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To: Theresa Richards
From: The Ten Thousand Lake Loon Committee
Hello, Theresa Richards!
Thank you for joining our efforts to protect and take care of our loons. Before starting with your local lake committee, we invite all new members to watch this virtual introduction video about our mission and our goals as a committee. We are dedicated to taking care of our loons across all of our ten thousand lakes, and it’s because people like you make that possible.
When you are finished, please send your certificate of completion to your local chapter administrator.
We are thrilled to have your help protecting our loons, Theresa Richards!
The Ten Thousand Lake Loon Committee
“What are you reading there?”
Tea jumped, then slammed her laptop shut. She didn’t even see him slip in.
Archer was standing rather close behind her, the mask on his face muffling his laugh.
She snatched the cloth mask on her desk and tied it behind her ears. “You can’t do that.”
“Do what? See what you’re doing during precious work hours?”
“Technically, you don’t pay me, so I can do whatever I want during work hours.”
Even with his mask on, Tea could tell Archer was giving her a Stop being such a smart-ass face. He turned toward the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Salad again?”
“You really love that salad, huh?”
After a beat of silence, he closed the door of the fridge with his foot as he balanced the pile of containers with their pre-chopped salad ingredients. “Don’t tell my mom. I still have her convinced that I’m allergic to spinach.”
“Still? How has she not noticed that you’re not actually allergic?”
The corners of his eyes crinkled, a clear sign that he was smiling behind that mask. “Can’t exactly prove it if we never have it, right?”
She shook her head and opened her laptop back up. “Unbelievable.”
They remained in silence for a couple of minutes, her typing away as Archer opened containers and dumped ingredients into two salad bowls.
“Seriously, what are you working on over there?” Archer asked.
At this point, she understood his tone. Before, he’d been playful and unserious, but this tone was adult Archer. Calm and business-like. A “get down to business” and “don’t fuck around” kind of tone. The sound of it always made her core twist, and she couldn’t decide if it was a bad thing…or a good thing.
“Rhonda requested that we add the new fishing regulations to the agenda for the owners’ meeting tomorrow.”
“No, we won’t have time.”
“Yes we will.” Tea opened up the agenda document she emailed to the Wild Pines owners that morning. “We can easily talk through the fishing cabin, rental pricing for next season, and hiring maintenance in less than ten minutes, and discussing safety changes for the Fourth of July party shouldn’t take more than ten either. The only topic that will probably take a lot of time is—”
“Jet skis.”
“—jet skis,” she said at the same time. “Right. So if we leave that at the end with minimal time, then we won’t have much time to discuss it—”
“You’re not accounting for the thirty to forty-five minutes of derailed conversation.”
