Part 1

Adam's head hurt. He had been out to the mines already today, had an argument with the mine supervisor about putting in the new piling and the heat of Southern Australia had beat down on him; that and the yelling over the machinery had made his head pound. But the new baby still wasn't sleeping through the night and kept waking him up. Peggy would often come whining into their bedroom that the baby was keeping her up and Adam tried to keep his patience and would walk Peggy back and tuck her in again while his wife, Laura, would pick up the child and go out of the room to nurse the infant. Adam liked to watch her; it moved him and made him love her more—and want her more-but she had told him that it made her feel as if he was perverse, looking at her nursing the infant and perhaps wanting to take her when she was finished. And then they would argue about sex—they always argued about sex. Although Laura wasn't a particularly passionate woman and never had been, Adam enjoyed the closeness of their bodies and making love to her. He had always been relatively happy with Laura despite the fact that she often took offense at inoffensive things he said or did, but then the baby came and she had subtly changed. Then slowly, so slowly that Adam could never really say what exactly had caused it or when it had occurred, his feelings about her changed too. But Adam would still try to have her—he had his needs and she was his wife—but she would push him away, giving excuses that she was tired or it was so soon after the birth or that dealing with Peggy and her petty problems exhausted her and then there was the new baby and its demands… so Adam began to feel a restless passion.

Adam had come back to his cool office after the heat of the copper mines and the ride back and forth in the dry heat. There was a short line of men, all dressed in their sweltering suits waiting to be interviewed for the open clerk position. Adam opened the door to his office and interviewed them one by one. Perhaps it was the heat that made him reject all of them, perhaps it was his throbbing headache, but he had. He was resting his head in his hands when there was a light knock on the open door of his inner office.

"Yes?" he said, looking up with a sigh; he didn't want to be disturbed. A young woman stood in the doorway, looking unsure. She was primly dressed in a brown suit with a narrow skirt and a fitted, peplum jacket and a blouse buttoned up to her chin. Her hair was piled on the top of her head in the style of the times and she had on a feminine version of a man's derby. But it was her eyes and the way she looked at him that made Adam suck in his breath; he felt as if he had been punched in the stomach.

"Mr. Cartwright?" she quietly asked in her Australian accent.

The drapes of his office were pulled against the late afternoon sun but he could see she was lovely and as he did with every attractive woman, he imagined her without her staid clothes. "Yes." he started to go around his desk to ask her what she needed but then his beginning desire might be obvious.

"I'm Sophie Chance and I came to interview for the clerk position." She walked over to his desk and faced him.

"Oh, but you're a woman," Adam said.

"Yes, I am," she replied. "And you're an American aren't you but why should such irrelevant things make a difference?"

Adam chuckled. "I suppose they shouldn't. Won't you sit down?" Adam motioned to the two chairs on her side of his desk.

"Thank you." She sat in one and placed a narrow valise on her lap. Adam watched as she opened it and took out some papers.

Now that she was sitting closer, Adam noticed, even in the dim light that her eyes were of a green-gold color and that her mouth was full and rosy. He could almost feel his lips on hers, her tongue teasing his. He shifted in his chair. He considered that he had been abstinent too long. The infant was six months old—too old for Laura to use his birth as an excuse to deny him; tonight, with the image of the lush young Miss Chance in mind, he would have her.

"I know I shouldn't ask this," he said, "but why aren't you out finding a husband instead of trying to find a job?"

"I don't want a husband but I do want a job," she said. She handed some papers to Adam. "Here are my qualifications. As you can see, I was educated in Sydney and my teachers have given me glowing recommendations. I do believe that you'll find that I am capable of doing clerking duties-and more."

Adam looked at her, trying to decide if there was a subtle message in what she said but her face revealed nothing. He looked over the papers, trying to ignore the pain in his head and the ache in his groin. "Why have you come here, practically out in the bush, to find work?" He looked at her and she responded with an equally steady gaze.

"Because no one would hire me anywhere else."

"Why not? You're pretty enough." He kept any flirtation out of his voice and stated it simply as a fact.

"Pretty isn't a qualification for any job I want." She sat ramrod straight, her spine not touching the back of the chair.

"Look," Adam said, "I have a terrible headache and was just about to leave for the day when you arrived. Can you come back tomorrow?"

She stood up and pulled off her gloves. "I think I can help your headache." She walked over behind him and began to massage the base of his neck and his shoulders. He groaned slightly. "Oh, that feels wonderful."

"Good," she said, her voice near as she bent over, kneading his muscles. He could feel the soft sip of her breathing against his ear; her mouth was so close that he could have turned his head and kissed her. "Rest your head in your hands," she instructed and Adam did as she said. And as she massaged his neck, Adam wondered what her hands would feel like massaging the rest of him. He groaned again but this time it was from longing.

She rubbed his shoulders a bit longer and then stopped and Adam jerked back to reality. She had returned to the other side of the desk. She picked up her gloves and held them in one hand. "Do you feel any better?"

"Yes, thank you." he moved his neck from side to side and realized that much of the tension in his muscles had dissipated. "You've got quite a set of hands there."

Miss Chance nodded her recognition of the compliment. "Shall I come back in the morning then?"

"Well, Miss Chance," Adam said, standing behind his desk, "I suppose that you're a suffragette and a feminist and will insist on equal rights in working conditions as well as equal pay for any man who might have the same job. Am I correct?"

For the first time, Sophie smiled. "Absolutely correct, Mr. Cartwright."

"Then Miss Chance, you have a job starting tomorrow—that is if you're staying in town."

"Yes. I have a room at a boarding house. And thank you for the job. I promise I'll work hard."

Adam noticed how her face lit up with delight at her employment and she looked absolutely stunning. He took a deep breath trying to compose himself. "I pay ten pounds a week and after three months, if your work is satisfactory, I'll go to twelve. Be here tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. If you're late, you won't have a job. Understand?"

"Yes, sir, I understand perfectly." She glanced around the office. "Where shall I put my things?"

"Your desk is the one right outside the door to my office. I'll tell you your duties tomorrow."

"Thank you Mr. Cartwright," she said. "I'll see you in the morning then." She tucked the valise under her arm and began to leave. Then turned back to face him. "I didn't get the job because I rubbed your neck, did I?"

"No, but it helped." Adam grinned at her and she smiled at him and the look in her eyes, coupled with the sly smile she gave him stimulated him even more-it held a promise. And as she turned and left, he watched as the narrow skirt hugged her buttocks as she walked away. The subtle sway of her hips made him sigh with desire; he felt a hunger for her that would have to be satisfied between Laura's legs.