Safari Moon Read Free

the job. Yet there was no way that
woman could have any requirements he might need to work alongside
him as a wife or as an assistant--then to imply that he was
needy--that he burned.
     
    He was in the process of acquiring help for
his trip to Alaska. He had a contract for pictures of wolves and
first hand observations of their daily routines.
     
    To be eligible took time and he wasn’t
needy.
     
    But, he acknowledged gravely, that was not
what his grandfather wanted. Colonel St. John wanted him to follow
in the paper mogul’s footsteps. But an office man Solo was not. He
loved the outdoors too much to allow himself to be confined in an
office day-in-and-day-out. So, his grandfather had given up one
objective but might be going after another one as ferociously and
furiously as he did everything else. This meant he had better hide
fast.
     
    By the time Solo hit adulthood, all he
wanted was to photograph the wild outdoors. His most avid desire
was to see every spot on earth. From the North to the South Pole,
from the tropical rain forests to the top of the Himalayas, he
wanted to record the beauty of the world.
     
    Solo had been pleased with his efforts. He
attended college, managed his master’s degree in another year then
headed to the wilds of Africa to research the rhino. In the next
five years, he’d had adventures he’d never forget and learned more
from them than any of the college courses he’d ever taken.

    By his own admission he was a workaholic. So
why would anyone want him?
     
    With a little grunt of discontent, Solo
pushed the sheets off. He showered and without the benefit of
breakfast, he began the long hike down the trail, praying Kitty
hadn’t stopped somewhere along the way with plans of an ambush.
     
    Kitty and Juniper weren’t lying in wait for
him, and his mood became more cheerful. He drove the thirty minutes
to Bend, hoping the nightmare was over. His hopeful mood didn’t
last long. Not even long enough to step inside the building that
housed his office. Three women waited to attack the minute he
walked into the elevator. As if they’d planned ahead each had a
sign. Willing. Eager. Able. They must have been riding the elevator
up and down all morning.
     
    He detoured to the stairs and raced up the
three flights to his office. When he stepped inside, he was nearly
scorched by six fire-breathing women.
     
    “I don’t believe this.” But one glance at
his secretary’s scowl convinced him he was in for more of the same
feather-brained confrontations he’d had earlier this morning.
     
    “My portfolio is right here!” A curvaceous
brunette who had three cameras hanging around her neck sidled
closer. She wore khaki brown shorts and a camouflage shirt two
sizes too small.
     
    “Get in line, honey. I was here first. Don’t
you know nothin’ about protocol?” cried a plump, short redhead who
at least had the decency to look intelligent though her diction was
sadly lacking.
     
    After that they all started to shoot
pictures, flashes going off, blinding him on the spot. He pushed
his way through the women and escaped into the inner sanctum of his
office.
     
    Solo slammed the door shut then leaned
against the wood as if the pressure of his body against the door
would fend them off. Not one qualified applicant among them, he was
sure of that without a look at any of their resumes. As for the
lady’s portfolio, he’d caught a glimpse of the pictures spread out
on the table before a blond elbowed him in the stomach during her
over-exuberant efforts to get his attention. Photographers--not one
among them. He’d bet his next month’s income not one of them knew
how to compile research data either.
     
    He could hear them talk to his secretary,
could hear the eager enthusiastic voices plead with her, and even
if his secretary cut and run, he wasn’t going to open his door.
     
    He pushed the sofa in his office in front of
the door just in case then retreated to the window that