“It’ll be fine,” Flipper assured her. “Now, we came here to see the dolphin, so let’s see the dolphin.”
“I’ll be in the office finishing my paperwork if you need anything else, boss,” Tyler noted. “Tara, I hope to see you again.”
“Me, too, but I’m not sure when.”
“Maybe you can talk Flipper into bringing you to Bikini Barb’s or one of our softball games. Our cheering section could use a boost now that Will’s daughter moved to Jacksonville with her mother and Jason broke up with his girlfriend. Again.”
“We’ll see how things go. We haven’t gone public yet as a couple.”
“What are you waiting for?” Tyler prodded.
“Well, I—”
“That’s a good question,” Flipper broke in. “What are we waiting for?”
“I figured I’d leave that decision up to you given you’re the one with the most to lose,” she told him.
“In that case, why don’t we drop by Barb’s tomorrow night for wings, beer, and Thursday Night Football? I know you’re not much of a sports fan, honey, but I think you’ll have fun.”
“As long as we’re together, I’m sure I will.”
She gave Flipper a look filled with so much emotion he would’ve kissed her senseless if they’d been alone. Tyler obviously picked up on the “three’s a crowd” vibe because he said, “Have fun” and hurried off.
Flipper grunted in reply and held out his hand to Tara. “C’mon and meet Trident. You’re going to love him.”
*
Tara gave the calf’s head a tentative stroke. Trident leaned into her palm, and she marveled at the inner-tube texture of his skin. She’d passed up other opportunities to touch captive dolphins because she’d been worried about exploitation and constrained by peer pressure. But this baby seemed to be enjoying their close encounter every bit as much as she was.
“Is he asking to be petted, or is that just my hopeful imagination trying to assuage my guilt?”
“Why would you feel guilty?”
“Do you really have to ask that question?”
He leaned over and kissed her. “No, but I’d like to hear your answer anyway.”
“I’ve been so critical of these interactions, and yet here I am, loving every minute of it.”
“I promise I won’t think any less of you. I’m too busy admiring how adorable you two look together.”
“He is awfully cute. Aren’t you, angel?”
When Trident opened his mouth, she could’ve sworn he smiled at her. Her heart wanted to believe that, even while her brain recognized it as an illusion arising from the shape of his jaws. Was it any wonder so many people clamored to be near dolphins?
“How long will you keep him back here in isolation?”
“Isolation is one of those loaded words with a negative connotation. We’re letting him acclimate to the habitat without all the public attention that could overwhelm him,” Flipper explained. “His previous experiences with people have been in the calm, more controlled setting of the rehab unit. He’s not used to hollering kids and clicking cameras and all the other crowd noises and confusion. We field dozens of calls and e-mails every day from people wanting to know when they can see him. And area TV stations and newspapers are pestering us, too.”
“What about the other dolphins? When will you let him interact directly with them?”
“He can hear them and watch them through those Plexiglas panels over there.” Flipper pointed the flashlight beam in that direction. “That’s enough for right now. We won’t introduce him to the other males until he’s older. But as soon as he’s fully weaned, we’ll see how he does with Fins and Flukes. We’re hoping they can be his surrogate grandmas for a while.”
“Do dolphins need training to adjust to living in a tank?”
“Yes. When we first brought him into our hospital, we lowered the water level until his energy returned and we were confident he’d do well in a deeper pool. Of course, we continued to monitor him around the clock. Once he began exhibiting the ability to jump, we raised netting around all four sides of his enclosure to prevent him from accidentally flinging himself out onto the deck.
“Right now we’re teaching him to pass through gates. He’s getting the hang of it, but he’s still not comfortable. It’s something he needs to learn because it’s imperative that we be able to move all our dolphins to different parts of their habitat according to the schedule for each day.”
“You vary the routine, right?”
“Absolutely. Otherwise, they’d get bo—” He stopped when she raised an eyebrow.
“You were going to say bored, weren’t you?”
“That’s another one of those no-no words,” Flipper replied. “What I meant to say is—”
“I know what you meant.” She let a smile escape. “I’m just yanking your chain.”
“Still? Why?”
“Because I can. And because it’s fun.” She kissed the furrows from his brow. “Please continue. This is very interesting.”
“All right. We try to avoid being predictable. And even when an animal has mastered a behavior, we keep re-enforcing it. For instance…”
At Flipper’s hand signal, Trident rolled onto his back. The trainer blew his whistle and praised the calf while stroking his pink belly. How sexy is that? Any man capable of such tenderness rated as a stud in her book. She wanted to jump Flipper right then and there.
“Want to try it?” he invited.
“What?”
He pointed to the dolphin.
“Oh. I’d love to. Do you like that, cutie?” she crooned as she gave Trident a rubdown. “Yes, I think you do.”
“He’d be crazy not to. I’m getting jealous just watching you two.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get your turn later.”
His gaze was hot enough to roast marshmallows. “Promise?”
“Trust me, I’ll make the wait worth your while.”
Chapter 25
Flipper arrived at work the next day feeling like his stomach was stuffed with week-old garbage. Dread will do that to a person. His supervisor needed to hear the news before he walked into Bikini Barb’s tonight and saw Flipper and Tara together. Blindsiding Kenshin like that would be as foolhardy as waving raw meat in front of a starving grizzly bear.
Flipper found his boss in the Marine Mammals Department office, sorting through a stack of mail.
“Anything interesting in there?”
“No, just the usual,” Kenshin replied. “Our sicko must be taking a break. Either that or the bodyguards have discouraged him. Or her.” He shot Flipper a pointed look.
This is going to be even worse than I thought if he’s starting with me already. Flipper took a deep breath, mentally girding himself before he plunged off the precipice.
“You got a few minutes? There’s something I need to tell you.”
Kenshin yanked his hand through his hair. “Oh cripes, what now, O’Riley?”
The words raced out of Flipper’s mouth as though he couldn’t contain them any longer.
“Tara and I are giving it a go. She’s at the cottage right now, in fact, and I’m taking her to Barb’s this evening. I imagine the usual crowd will be there, so it won’t be long before everybody and their cousins know we’re a couple. I just wanted to give you a heads-up.”
Kenshin appeared too shocked to form words. The granite-hard expression on his face, however, spoke volumes, most of it profane. He unfolded himself from his chair with deliberation—all the better to intimidate me, Flipper thought—and stepped so close the toes of their shoes touched. For a second, Flipper feared his boss might choke him. But then Kenshin pointed at his door.
“Get. Out.”
Flipper put even more starch in his spine. “Are you firing me?”
“It’s what you deserve, but no. I’ll let Wesley have that pleasure. Because I’m sure when he hears what you’ve just told me, he won’t be willing to tolerate your insubordination and
disloyalty any longer.”
“Damn it, I’ve been an exemplary employee, and I haven’t betrayed anyone. This job has been my life for years. I love my dolphins, but I’m starting to love Tara more, so don’t you dare expect me to choose.”
“Don’t worry, O’Riley, we’ll be happy to make that decision for you.”
“Kenshin—”
“Zip it. There’s nothing more you can say that I want to hear. Now get the hell out of here and go do your job while you’ve still got one. We’ll finish this later.”
*
Kenshin flopped back onto his chair and massaged his throbbing temples. He felt an urgent need to hit something. Hard. He looked around his office for something to throw or break instead but decided a tantrum wouldn’t help. Then the newspaper on his desktop caught his eye. He snatched it up and stared at the front page photo of Flipper and Aquarius below the headline, Shooting attempt brings ‘new normal’ to GSA.
Kenshin ripped off the page from the rest of the A section, wadded it into a tight ball, and hurled it across the room just as Human Resources Director Jonquille Thompson stepped through the doorway.
“Was it something I said?” he quipped.
“O’Riley didn’t waste any time running to you, did he?”
“Huh? I haven’t talked to Flipper in a couple days. I came by to see if you wanted to grab lunch later. What’s going on, Ken? You look mad enough to rip someone’s arms out of their sockets and toss them in the swamp exhibit.”
Kenshin repeated what Flipper had told him, concluding with, “Wesley’s head will explode and my nuts will be in a vise for failing to control my people.”
Jonquille looked at his friend like he’d stepped in a steaming pile of dog poop and tracked it all over a priceless Persian rug, which wasn’t far from the truth.
“You’re going about this management thing all wrong if you think you can or should control anyone,” the HR director advised. “One of the reasons you promoted Flipper to top dolphin wrangler is because you trust his judgment, right?”
“Trusted, past tense.”
“So let me ask you this: Have any of his decisions brought harm to the animals he cares for or the people he supervises?”
“No, of course not.”
“Has he performed his duties to your satisfaction and to the best of his ability?”
“Yes.”
“Has he cost us money, chased away guests, or damaged the aquarium’s reputation?”
“Not yet.”
Jonquille frowned. “Seriously? It’s not like he’s romancing a woman who clubs baby seals to death or lets dolphins drown in fishing nets.”
Kenshin shrugged, and Jonquille shook his head in obvious exasperation before continuing.
“Has he broken any laws or violated any ethical standards?”
Kenshin blew out a loud, impatient breath. “No.”
“Then what do you have to be so upset about?”
“Don’t you get it? He’s sleeping with the enemy!”
“Can you prove she’s done anything to endanger this facility, its staff, or its animals beyond expressing a contrary opinion on keeping marine mammals?”
“Why are you sticking up for her? You’re as bad as that herring-for-brains head trainer of mine.”
“You have absolutely no right to tell that man who he can and can’t date unless it interferes with his job.”
“How can it not? If she had her way, he wouldn’t even have a damned job. And neither would I.”
“Does she have the authority or influence to take away our dolphins and manatees or to convince Wesley to give them up?”
Kenshin snorted.
“Or to get you fired or run out of town?”
“Now you’re just getting ridiculous, Jon.”
“I’m trying to understand why you consider this woman a menace. Flipper’s smart, with good instincts about people. Do you think he’d be with her if he thought she posed a serious threat to him or anyone close to him?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore. I thought I knew the guy.”
“I’m telling you, Kenshin, if he’s fired because of Tara, we could be exposing this facility to a wrongful termination lawsuit or, at the very least, bad publicity. And you’d be doing a grave disservice to a talented young man, an excellent employee, and an all-around good person. You’d better think long and hard about the consequences of your decision.”
Kenshin frowned. “Are you done lecturing me? Because I have a giant mess to sort out.”
“I’m done trying to talk some sense into you. If you’re still determined to take this to Wesley, I insist on being there.”
“We can’t keep this from him, especially when he specifically told O’Riley to stay away from that woman.”
Jonquille shut his eyes for a moment and grimaced. When he opened them, his gaze bore into Kenshin’s.
“Fine. Call his secretary and make an appointment. I’ll do what I can to stop you both from making a huge mistake.”
*
Late that afternoon, as Flipper helped Tyler scrub down the fish prep kitchen, Jonquille stuck his head inside the room and asked to speak to Flipper in private. They made small talk as they headed to the trainer’s office, and Flipper figured he’d better update his résumé pronto. He sat behind his desk, wishing it could shield him from whatever came next, and looked at the HR director with equal parts grinding apprehension and grudging acceptance.
Jonquille cleared his throat. “I guess you know why I’m here.”
“Yeah. It won’t take me long to clean out my desk and my locker. But I’d at least like to say goodbye to the dolphins and my staff before you toss me out on my ear.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Are you freaking kidding me? Don’t I at least deserve—”
“Relax, you’re not going anywhere.”
“—to be treated with…wait, what? You’re not firing me?”
“Why would I do that?”
“You shouldn’t. But Kenshin was practically foaming at the mouth earlier, so I figured…”
“Yes, well, cooler heads prevailed.”
“Wesley?”
“Me. But you need to understand that if any proprietary information ends up in the wrong hands, you’ll be the first one blamed.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. The level of paranoia around here has reached epic proportions.”
“You can’t really blame them, Flipper.”
“I get it. Really, I do. My life would be a lot less complicated right now if I’d fallen for anyone else. But the heart is tenacious as hell when it wants a certain someone.”
Jonquille nodded and something that looked a lot like regret flickered across his face. But then he schooled his expression into an impassive mask, leaving Flipper to wonder whether he’d imagined that glimpse of emotion.
“We’re getting together at Barb’s tonight if you’re interested,” Flipper said to break a silence headed toward the uncomfortable range. “I want to introduce Tara to everyone. The sooner we get it out in the open, the faster they’ll get used to the idea of us being together. In theory, anyway.”
“Thanks for including me, and I do want to meet her sometime, but I think having the ‘HR czar’ there would put a damper on the party.”
“HR czar?”
“Apparently that’s me. Or so I hear.” He flashed a smile as though it amused him, but Flipper knew better. He couldn’t remember the last time Jonquille had socialized with any of the rank-and-file beyond work-related functions. And even then he held himself back, out of necessity, Flipper understood.
“I wish I could argue you out of that mind-set, but I get it.” He shrugged in apology. “Maybe I can bring her by for lunch one day next week so you can see for yourself how irresistible she is.” Flipper knew he was grinning like a lovesick sap, but he didn’t care.
“I’m happy for you, man. I hope it works out.”
“Thanks. I inte
nd to do everything possible to make that happen.”
Chapter 26
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Tara asked yet again as they pulled into the parking lot of Bikini Barb’s that evening. “Not that I’m against spending time with your friends, but given how Kenshin reacted to your news today, we might be in for more of the same.”
“Screw ’em if they don’t approve,” Flipper tossed out. “And that’s what I’ll say, and a lot less diplomatically, to anyone who spews any bullshit tonight.”
“How very eloquent of you. Please don’t get into a skirmish, verbal or otherwise, with your coworkers on my account.”
“I need you to really hear me when I say this again. If someone slings a barb at you, it hits me, too. What kind of man just stands there and lets some imbecile bash his woman?”
“Honestly, Flipper, you kill my patience. So this is all about your ridiculous macho need to protect what’s yours? What’s next, tattooing my name on your arm?”
“It’s not ridiculous, and I don’t apologize for it. That’s what a real man does, so get used to it.”
“I don’t think—”
“Good. Sometimes you think too much. Let’s go inside and have a good time, please? I want everybody to get to know you so they’ll understand why you turn me ass backward and forward.”
Tara laughed. “I’m not sure what that means, but if enjoying this outing with your friends makes you happy, consider it done.”
He gave her a quick kiss and then dove in for a more thorough tasting. When he pulled back, his blistering look nearly singed her panties.
“On second thought…” he suggested.
Tara waggled her finger, ignoring the zing that shot from her groin straight up to her breasts.
“There’s plenty of time for that when we get home. Right now, we have a mission to accomplish.”
As she kissed the disappointment off his lips, someone rapped on the driver’s side window, making them both jump. A glowering face appeared and a hulking figure motioned for them to get out of the vehicle. Flipper cursed under his breath and flung open his door.
“This is the last time you drive your own car,” the burly guy growled. “I should’ve never let you talk me into it. Now let’s get inside. You’re too exposed out here.”
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