"How's this, Roger?"
Forty-seven year old Roger glanced up from his floral display to see how his assistant, Alyson, handled hers.
"Excellent," he commented, with a slight nod of his head.
"Thank you." Twelve years Roger's junior, Alyson smiled warmly at her gardening mentor.
"You've become quite good at this."
Ever since the younger woman began training with him, he grew more and more impressed with her quick grasp of information about plants and how to care for them. Gradually, at the same time, a yearning blossomed within him to take her into his arms and profess how much he really cared for her.
But, noโthat probably would never happen, considering the age difference. Besides, she probably had lots of young men vying for her attention.
Better to keep his feelings to himself, then, and not let them get in the way of the work.
These exotic floral arrangements comprised only a small part of the total array of foliage that lay within his Victorian Grand Lodge greenhouse. Two waist-high parallel shelves of colorful flowers ran the thirty-foot length. Here and there, bags of potting soil leaned against a rail while, in some areas, fine sprays of water lightly moistened leaves and petals of mature flowers as well as the newly planted seeds and bulbs of others.
He absent-mindedly ran his fingers through the soil in front of him, and felt its soft texture. He always marveled how it gave life to so many beautiful things.
Here stood Alyson, another attractive product of the soil, so to speakโkeen to learn all about it, and entirely unaware of his desire for her. Perhaps, in some way, the desire reflected a need for someone else to share his passion.
Roger watched the way her fingers caressed the petals and leaves and stems, and wished he could caress her body that way.
Everything about her excited him. Her long brown hair that curled at the ends; her soft hazel eyes; the way her summer dress clung to her body in the humid air of the greenhouse, and the moisture that glistened in the hollow between her breasts.
Roger shook his head. He had to stop thinking about Alyson like this. She was his assistant, nothing more. "What time is Mr. Nicholls coming to look at these?" asked the young woman.
"In an hour," Roger replied. "Will everything be ready by then?"
"Long before that; I'm just about finished."
"Good." Roger saw one of his plants droop slightly. "Could you reach me one of those support sticks, please?" He gestured to a pile of rods that leaned against the shelf on the other side of Alyson.