by Kathi Daley
Chapter 2
While the lounge we were heading for was on the third level, the ship we were sailing on had six decks. The lowest deck, considered to be level one, housed the engine room, the bridge, the kitchen, and storage areas. We’d been informed upon boarding that the lifeboats and extra life vests, which were provided in addition to those kept in the closet of each stateroom, were stored on this deck as well. The next deck up, level two, consisted of quarters for each of the eight crew members, and then, above that, was the dining room and lounge, as well as a small theater that was open limited hours. Above the dining deck were two levels of staterooms, each decorated slightly differently and including a balcony overlooking the water. The pool and gym, as well as outdoor lounges, were provided on the top deck, which was referred to on the ship’s diagram as both deck six and the pool deck.
The seven-day, six-night cruise departed Seattle and then meandered through Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands on its way to Vancouver, Canada, before returning to Seattle via a somewhat different route. My plan was to relax and enjoy every minute of it, maybe taking some time along the way to explore my changing feelings for Trevor and to try to define how they might alter our friendship, which meant more to me than I could say. Part of me wanted very much to explore a romantic relationship with Trevor, which he seemed to want as well, but the other part was unwilling to risk our current relationship if it didn’t work out.
“It looks like every passenger on this cruise is in the bar or lounge,” I said after we entered the small room that was a lot more crowded than I’d expected.
“It does seem as if almost everyone other than Mac and Ty are enjoying the music,” Trevor agreed. “Although I don’t see Harris or his wife, or the man who was introduced to me earlier as the vice president of Hamilton Investments. I think his name is Evan.”
“I guess I can understand why the president and vice president of the company might not want to party all night with their employees. Let’s get a drink and find a table. The band seems to be on a break, although the background music they put on is nice.”
I scanned the dark room for a table while Trevor headed to the bar to get our beverages. The room, while crowded, didn’t seem claustrophobic, like some of the clubs I’d visited in the past. There was adequate seating for every passenger on the ship, although I was willing to bet once the band returned from their break and the dancing started, it was going to get hot in the confined space. I supposed we could head back out onto the deck if need be. I hardly knew anyone’s name yet, but, once I took a chair, I was able to sit quietly and listen in on the conversation at the table nearest me as I tried to sort out who was who.
“I’ve noticed that Lucy has spent the entire evening head to head with Bret despite the fact that he is here with Cynthia and she is here with Lance,” a brunette in a red dress sitting at a small table with three other women said in a tone of condemnation. I turned slightly to see if I could put a name with the face, but I was pretty sure that I’d yet to be introduced to this particular guest.
“It does seem that the two of them have been whispering back and forth for most of the evening,” another woman I didn’t recognize, with long, blond hair, wearing a purple dress, agreed.
“They are probably plotting something that will have everyone up in arms by this time tomorrow,” the brunette said.
“I really don’t know why Harris gives her so much leeway,” the blonde responded. “She doesn’t seem the sort to me who should be trusted, and yet it seems at times that she wields almost as much power as the boss.”
I glanced in the direction the women were looking. I noticed an attractive woman with long red hair wearing an emerald-green dress, chatting with a tall man with dark hair in a dark gray dress shirt with black dress slacks. They were sitting at a table with their heads pressed together, and it did appear they were involved in an intimate conversation. I was pretty sure the woman, who must be Lucy, had been introduced as Harris Hamilton’s right-hand woman and personal assistant. I hadn’t met the man she was chatting with yet, but given the fact that the two seemed well acquainted, I was going to assume that he worked for Hamilton Investments as well.
“You know that Bret and Lucy have been involved in a relationship of the carnal sort for quite some time now,” Red Dress added. “In fact, I heard they were spending as much time under the bedsheets as they were analyzing spreadsheets at the last company planning retreat.”
“If Bret and Lucy want to bump pelvises that is their business, but if that is what is going on—which, in my mind, is not a given—I don’t understand why either of them bothered to bring a date,” the third woman at the same table said. Unlike the other women, who looked to be in their thirties, this one was slightly older, with hair streaked with gray. She was dressed in a conservative black dress, and I was pretty sure she had been at the executive table during dinner. I didn’t think she was Harris’s wife, but perhaps she was the wife of one of the other top-level executives.
“Personally, I hope the two of them are whispering naughty little secrets to each other,” said a woman in yellow, who Ty had introduced to us as an account rep when we bumped into her at dinner. “If they are talking business and not warming up to a hookup, I have a feeling that our annual retreat might turn into a working vacation, and I for one would just like to relax this week.”
“I totally agree with Shelley,” Purple Dress said. “I’m here to party, not to work. If Bret and Lucy are up to something, let’s hope it is something personal and not business-related.”
“I know that Harris depends on Lucy to help keep him organized, but I wish she’d chill out a bit,” Red Dress said. “Everything is always so intense when she gets involved. I honestly have never met anyone who is so extreme in every aspect of her life. I find both her work ethic and her libido exhausting.”
Shelley laughed. “You just wish you had her libido.”
Purple Dress jumped in. “Lucy may be the sort to grab life by the horns and dig in, but I agree with Connie. Her enthusiasm for everything she does is exhausting, and she most definitely seems to have a lot more say-so than her job description should warrant.”
“Lisa is right,” the woman I now recognized as Shelley added. “It almost feels as if she is the one making the calls and Harris is just going along with whatever she tells him to do.”
“It does seem as if Harris has just been phoning it in as of late,” the woman I’d identified as Connie agreed. “I’ve even considered the fact that he may have health issues.”
“Martini dry with two olives.” Trevor set my drink in front of me at the exact moment I leaned to my left just a bit to try to hear the conversation going on next to me a bit better.
“Thanks,” I said as the four women got up and crossed the room, where they joined four men who were standing at the bar. I assumed the eight individuals made up four couples. I needed to get to know everyone’s name if I was going to keep all the gossip I was likely to continue overhearing during the week straight. “I don’t suppose you know the names of any of the members of that group at the bar? I think I’ve figured out some of the names, but it would help to have confirmation.”
Trevor turned and looked. “The woman in the yellow dress is Shelley. She is an account rep for Hamilton Investments, and I think the man next to her in the blue shirt is her husband, Vinnie.” Trevor paused as he considered the group again. “The woman in the red dress is Connie. She also works for Hamilton Investments, although I’m not certain of her role in the company. I seem to remember that she is here with her husband as well, but his name escapes me at the moment.” Trevor took a sip of his beer. “I don’t think I’ve met the woman in purple.”
“I think her name is Lisa, but I don’t know if she works for the company or is a plus-one.”
“I saw her chatting with Evan earlier, so I think she must work for the company.”
“Do you know any of the others?” I asked,
“The man in th
e black sport coat is an account rep for the company as well. His name is Clint. I think he is with the woman in the black dress, but I haven’t been introduced to her yet.”
“I’ve really felt like the odd man out this evening, not knowing the names or anything about the other passengers,” I shared. “I’m going to make a point of at least trying to get to know everyone’s name by this time tomorrow. In the meantime, do you still want to dance? It looks like the band is getting ready to start up again.”
Trevor looked toward the front of the room, where the band members were getting into place. “I’m game once they get going. I think this is their last set. The bartender mentioned to me that the band plays until eleven at which time they head ashore, where they have transport arranged back to Seattle.”
“So they aren’t with the cruise for the duration?”
Trevor took another sip of his beer. “No. Just the welcome reception. Although I think there will be plenty of entertainment provided while we are touring the islands. I overheard a couple of the guys talking about playing golf while their wives and girlfriends go shopping when we are in port tomorrow.”
“Shopping in Port Townsend would be lovely, but honestly, a quiet day with a good book sounds perfect. I understand that during port days they only serve breakfast and dinner in the dining room, but they have room service all day, so I think I’ll sleep in, maybe work out in the gym, sit out by the pool if it’s nice or inside in the lounge if it isn’t, and just veg.”
“Sounds nice. I was thinking I might do something similar. Maybe we could grab lunch together.”
“I’d like that. You can even sit next to me while I read as long as you don’t talk.”
Trevor chuckled. “I can do that. I know when we were in school together, I wasn’t really one for reading books that weren’t assigned by a teacher, but I actually enjoy it as an adult.” Trevor looked toward the dance floor, which had filled up as soon as the music started. “You still want to dance?”
“Actually, the dance floor is a lot more crowded than I anticipated. I think I may just head back to the stateroom. I noticed they have a movie library. Do you want to join me for a thriller, or maybe a good mystery?”
Trevor smiled. “I do. Let’s ditch these drinks and I’ll take out the wine I brought along.”
“Perfect.”
There were days, such as this, when I wondered if I should try harder to be social. It seemed that a single woman in her twenties should prefer dancing the night away to sipping a glass of wine while watching an old movie with a good friend wrapped in a comfy blanket. Still, the party scene hadn’t been my thing since I left New York for the first time, and trying to be something I no longer was seemed like a lot more work than I was willing to expend.
We’d just turned to go down the narrow hallway to our stateroom when I noticed the woman in the emerald-green dress who I’d decided must be Lucy enter the one at the very end of the hallway with the man she had been talking to in the lounge, who I imagined must be Bret.
“I heard a juicy bit of gossip about Harris’s assistant and the man she just went into that stateroom with,” I whispered to Trevor.
“Really? Do tell!”
“It seems her name is Lucy, and the group whose conversation I overheard earlier was not at all happy about the degree of influence she seems to wield over Harris. I also heard that she might be having a fling with the man she just walked into that stateroom with. Both Lucy and he—I think his name is Bret—are aboard with other people, at least part of which seem to be behind the wagging tongues.”
“Are you sure the gossip is reliable? A company retreat seems like an odd place to carry out an affair,” Trevor pointed out.
I frowned. “That’s true. I watched them for a minute while we were in the lounge and it seemed that their conversation was of a serious nature and not simply a flirtation, so it is likely the women were just gossiping without really knowing what they were talking about.”
“If, as you say, Lucy has influence with the boss that others feel is undeserved, I suppose she is somewhat naturally a target for spiteful rumors.”
Trevor was right. Just because the women at the next table had said that Lucy and Bret were messing around didn’t mean that was actually what was going on. Still, I had the feeling something was.
Chapter 3
Monday, November 12
Like Trevor and me, Ty and Mac had decided to stay on the ship the following day. Unlike us, with our plan for a full day of working out, reading, and relaxing, Mac and Ty had shared theirs to order room service and stay in. If I were going to be perfectly honest with myself, I’d admit that I was just a tad envious of the romance that seemed to be completely occupying both their lives, but I tended to be too careful when it came to matters of the heart to throw caution to the wind and give in to the very real urge to engage in a shipboard romance with my very handsome roommate—or at least not just yet anyway—and no amount of jealousy was going to change that.
“You want to do some weights after your run?” Trevor asked when he joined me in the gym.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my arm as I continued at a brisk pace. “Actually, I think after I finish my run, I’m going to take a shower and then find a book to escape into. The sun is out and the temperature isn’t too bad. I think I am going to head out to sit on the top deck.”
“I’m in. I’m sure they will bring room service out to the deck if we want. They must offer it for those of us who didn’t go ashore.”
“I haven’t noticed anyone else on board,” I said. “Did everyone but us leave the ship?”
Trevor turned up the speed on his machine now that he had warmed up. “No. I noticed Harris Hamilton in the dining room with five or six other people. They had paperwork spread out over one of the large tables, so I imagine they were working.”
I remembered the women whose conversation I’d been listening to the previous evening. One of them had predicted that the conversation Lucy and Bret had been having might very well lead to a workday rather than a vacation one. I guessed whichever woman had made that comment was right. “It seems odd that Harris would ask his employees to work while they are on the ship. Surely whatever needed to be discussed could have waited.”
“I don’t disagree, but the firm does invest other peoples’ money. I suppose something urgent and unplanned might need to be dealt with.”
“I suppose that could be what is going on.” I turned down the speed on my machine for a cooldown as soon as I’d passed the five-mile mark. I’d been a runner my entire life, and despite all the ups and downs, the moves from coast to coast, and the changes from one identity to another, running was the one thing I never stopped doing. I grabbed a towel and dried off my face and neck. “I’m going back to the stateroom. I’ll meet you on the deck.”
Trevor looked at his machine. “I have another twenty minutes and then I’m going to do a few sets with the free weights. Once I’m done, I’ll need to shower, so I’ll meet you in about an hour.”
“Sounds good.”
I headed toward the stairway. The ship provided an elevator, but I preferred to walk. As I went up the stairway toward our room I ran into Mac and Ty, who had decided to leave their room to take a swim in the heated pool.
“I wasn’t sure I’d see you today,” I said to the happy couple.
“We didn’t want to go ashore, but we talked about it and decided we didn’t necessarily want to stay in the stateroom for the entire day either. Especially because it is so nice. We plan to take a swim and then order some lunch. You are welcome to join us if you want,” Mac offered.
“I’m heading for a shower now, but lunch would be nice. Trev is in the gym, but we’re meeting on the top deck in an hour.”
“That works for us,” Mac said. “I checked out the room service menu and it has a lot of options, so we figured we’d just eat outside by the pool.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ll see you in an hour.
”
I continued on to my stateroom while Mac and Ty went up to the pool deck. The first thing I did after arriving in the suite was to check my phone for messages. There was one from my mother, letting me know that my babies were fine, and they all hoped I was having fun. She informed me that she was getting a lot of painting done and was going to invite another artist she had met while taking photographs out on the bluff to Thanksgiving dinner. This other artist got me curious, but I decided not to ask. I supposed I’d meet him or her soon enough.
There was also a text from Donovan, letting me know he still hadn’t learned anything about my mysterious text but would keep me informed if he did.
After I checked all my messages, I grabbed a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and fresh undergarments, and headed into the shower. The bathroom was small compared to the one I had at home, but in terms of what one might expect to find on a ship, it was huge. I wasn’t sure how I’d like the constant movement of the ship beneath me as it rolled in the water, but so far, the motion hadn’t bothered me as much as I feared it might.
I applied a generous amount of shampoo to my blond hair, which had grown quite a bit since I’d moved back to Cutter’s Cove. I’d worn my hair long when I’d lived there before but had cut it short after I’d moved back to New York. I hadn’t intentionally planned to grow it out; I just hadn’t gotten around to cutting it, and now I found I enjoyed a bit more length.
After rinsing my hair, I applied a conditioner and then rinsed that out as well. Wrapping my body in a large bath sheet, I stepped out onto the carpeted floor. The bathroom had been decorated in a calming shade of aqua with a splash of coral that I rather liked. I wrapped my hair in a towel, pulled on my clean clothes, and then padded into the common room. Trevor wasn’t back yet, but he probably would be soon, so I cleaned up the bathroom a bit, then went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind me. Although I was fully clothed, it would still feel odd to have Trevor walk in while I was drying my hair or putting on makeup.