Sail With Me: A With Me in Seattle Universe Novel

by Jen Talty

  “Have you already signed contracts with Hans?” Reid asked. Thus far, he hadn’t found any on the mirrored server, which in his mind was good, but that didn’t mean they weren’t moving forward. And without patents and proof the technology would work, none of it mattered.

  “We did a licensing deal. Yes. We are making fire-resistant bedsheets, comforters, and window treatments.”

  “There is no approval for this. No proof that our product works. We don’t even know if we can scale it down.”

  “The patent is pending, and that’s all the proof we need. Besides, we’re not claiming it won’t catch fire, we’re just saying it will take a little while longer—which we know with the suits is true. And it’s not like we’re not the first company out there to claim this.”

  “Oh, and that makes it okay?”

  “I really don’t understand why you’re getting so upset.”

  “You should have told me this the other day when I asked. Hell, I should have been involved from the very beginning. Especially when we said we wouldn’t bring this to a mass-market level.”

  “We never said that.” Preston waved a folder between the two of them. “For years, we’ve done things mostly your way. I’ve always had to either design the product first and get you excited, or just let you be pissed at me until the money came rolling in.”

  “We had this discussion last night. It got us nowhere.”

  “I was drunk. I didn’t articulate myself well, and I didn’t have these.” He handed him the folder.

  “What’s this?”

  “The financial health of our company. Its growth. Projections. Both past and present. It shows that in the last year, basically while you’ve been drinking yourself to death over Darcie, I’ve increased our profits nearly twenty percent. I’ve also taken a few random employee polls that are very telling, as well.”

  “And what exactly does that express?” Reid didn’t need to be told the answer. He knew. He felt it every time he walked into the office. He’d thought that, over time, things would turn around, and his people would learn to trust him again.

  Especially since he and Preston were working well together.

  But that had all been a farce, and Preston had planned on kicking him to the curb all along.

  “That our people are more productive and happier when I’m at the helm,” Preston said.

  “You can make numbers present themselves one way or the other,” Reid said. He knew how to play the game. However, he was sure there was some truth to the statement. Reid had checked out of so many things for the last year that he honestly hadn’t a clue what deals Preston had been negotiating or even what new products were being developed. He’d been playing catch-up and not very well.

  “I made no analysis. Just black and white. And you have to admit, you and I are constantly butting heads.”

  “I’ll admit it’s been a rough year, but I thought we’d cleared up our differences two months ago.” Reid wanted the business to succeed because he wanted to honor Erin. But Preston only wanted to use the memory of his sister to make money. And long before Darcie came into the picture, Reid had been pulling back from his responsibilities. It had become a constant battle to keep Preston from going off the deep end.

  So, why the hell was Reid even sitting here listening to this bullshit?

  Darcie.

  His company.

  His life’s work.

  It’s why he’d come back in the first place. He’d lost everything, and it was high time he got his shit together and gained his life back.

  Only, he might have opened his eyes too late to save his company.

  Hopefully, it wasn’t too late for him and Darcie.

  “I placated you when you decided you wanted to work again,” Preston said.

  “Why would you do that if you planned on running me out?” Reid pushed his glasses up over his head. “And don’t try to deny it. I know that’s what you’re doing.”

  “You could save me the time and energy and just sell me your half.”

  “I could, but I don’t give up that easily.”

  “No. You don’t. And neither do I.” Preston snagged a different set of papers. “We started our company because we wanted to make products so we could almost die but not quite. We create the illusion of safety in an industry filled with idiots who have death wishes.”

  “Are you describing yourself?”

  “You know I am, only I want to live to tell about it. I get off on pushing my body to the extreme. The extremist is a rare individual. But there is an entire group of people who—”

  “Here we go again.” Reid flipped through the pages of the proposal with Hans. “How many times are you going to lecture me on theme parks, rollercoaster rides, and how to capitalize on that market? Because we’d be spreading ourselves too thin.”

  “This isn’t a lecture. I’m telling you what’s going on with Hans. Why we’re really having this meeting.”

  A couple of the team members strolled by in swim trunks. They waved but knew better than to stop and chat. They climbed into the hot tub, with their backs turned.

  Milia appeared through the main salon doors holding a pot of fresh coffee. “Can I get you boys anything?”

  “You can certainly freshen me up.” Preston held out his mug.

  “Me, too.”

  Milia nodded. “Will you be ready for breakfast in about a half-hour?”

  “Sounds wonderful,” Preston said.

  “Captain Jim says we will be pulling up anchor after lunch to head to our next spot. Until then, it looks like the deck crew has all the toys out so if there is anything you need, just let us know.”

  “Thanks. You all are great.” Preston set his mug on the table.

  Reid continued scanning the paperwork. His heart pounded so fast he couldn’t tell where one beat ended and the next one started. He’d really been in la-la land if this is what his business partner had been up to. “Jesus,” he whispered. “When Darcie and I broke up, you told me to take all the time I needed to get my shit together. You acted like you actually cared about me. But you didn’t. You just wanted time to do this.” Fuck. How stupid could he have been?

  “I saw an opportunity.” Preston reached out and tapped the documents. “That’s a solid plan.”

  “It’s not what our company is about. And last night you went off half-cocked, using Erin’s death as a motivator to get me on board with taking the fire-resistant material to manufacturing, when that’s only one very tiny part of this deal.”

  “It’s the part that makes us look really good in the eyes of the consumer. The cost is minimal to make the resistant fabric.”

  “You don’t know this. We haven’t tested… Jesus. You had Hans do it already, didn’t you?”

  “He’s been working with a different company for years. They upped the prices last year, and the quality isn’t as good. Hans has eight new casinos opening in the next two years. He wants some kind of extreme sports booth at each one. We can also run extreme sports expeditions out of some of the locations using all of our equipment, brands, employees…you name it. This isn’t just about getting into the flame-resistant business. And it’s not contingent on the fire suits with the fire department, though that’s what opened the door. This is about building an empire. Don’t you see the beauty in it?”

  Reid stood. Taking his coffee, he waltzed to the shore side of the boat. Below, Darcie tossed a line from the tender to one of the other deckhands. Two more of the team hopped onto the back of the motorboat to go skiing. Reid had to wonder what, if anything, those boys knew about the issues between him and Preston. If they knew Reid wanted nothing to do with the likes of Hans or his greed.

  “Actually, I don’t,” Reid said. “And I don’t understand what is driving you. Is it really money? Because you’ve got more than enough. And fame? You are well-known in this industry, so I don’t get why you’re doing this.”

  “I don’t get why you wouldn’t,” Preston said, joi
ning him at the railing. “We’re thrill seekers. We have been our entire lives. It’s what we were born to do, and we can bring it to anyone who wants to give it a go. Isn’t that what our company does? Isn’t that what we started?”

  “Yes.” Reid couldn’t deny that’s what they did and would continue doing. “But this plan you have going with Hans, it’s not our vision. This is all about taking people’s money. It’s not about giving them an experience.”

  “It absolutely is. And I plan on doing it as safely as possible, which is our bottom line.”

  “You’re really blurring the lines.”

  “No. I’m not,” Preston said. “It’s all pretty simple. It comes down to the fact that I’m doing it with or without you. It’s your choice.”

  “You’ve broken our articles of incorporation as well as our partnership agreement, and I’m guessing since you’re about to go to bed with Hans, you’ve broken a law or two also.”

  “So sue me. Or leave. Again, your choice. I’m just tired of this game we’ve been playing. I thought it would be easy to fall back into it. Hell, I was even having a little fun with you, but I’m seriously over it. We’re not friends. We haven’t been since you got tangled up with my sister. I don’t want to work with you anymore, but it’s not that simple to cut you out of the business.”

  “No. Certain things would have to happen,” Reid said. “And I’m not leaving.”

  “Looks like we’re going into business together with Hans, then.”

  “No. We’re not,” Reid said. “You need my signature.”

  “Remember when I told you to take all the time in the world after Darcie dumped you and you gave me permission to do what I needed without you having to sign every little thing?”

  Reid eyed one of the jet skis as it hit a massive wave and rose up at least three feet into the air. His teammate misjudged the way the WaveRunner would land, and the watercraft spun to the right, dumping the young man. Reid felt like he’d just crashed and burned. “I might have left you to run things for a while, but you couldn’t pull off a deal like that with Hans, or anyone else, completely behind my back. Which breaks our partnership agreement. Which would dissolve our company. I don’t think you or Hans want that, considering what it would do to your deal.”

  “Nope. That would kind of shut things down.” Preston folded his arms. “I brought you on this trip to fuck you over.”

  “You don’t say.”

  “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Give me this deal and we find a way to co-exist. Or you walk. You have until our meeting with Hans tonight to decide.” Preston slapped Reid on the back. “Keep the paperwork, and I emailed you everything ever discussed on the deal to get you up to speed.”

  Reid inhaled sharply, catching the mix of fresh sea air and bitter coffee. It soured his stomach. Neither choice was a good option.

  “And If I refuse to do either?” Reid asked.

  “Then you’ve left me with no choice.” Preston strolled across the deck and snagged the last folder. “I didn’t want to have to resort to this, but I will.”

  “What are you talking about? Resort to what?” Reid rolled his neck, cracking it twice.

  “Your little girlfriend has broken maritime law, not to mention she’s been in breach of her contract more than once during this charter. This is the proof that Captain Jim has compiled.”

  “You’re bluffing.” Reid lunged forward.

  Preston yanked his hand back. “I most certainly am not. You don’t give me what I want, her yachting career is over. Not to mention, Jim has to call the Coast Guard because of the illegal drugs she has on board.”

  “That’s bullshit. She would never. You’d be framing her.” Reid’s heart hammered in his chest. He didn’t believe that Preston was bluffing. Not one bit. He knew without a doubt that if push came to shove, Preston would cut Darcie up into tiny little pieces and toss her overboard as shark bait.

  “And you,” Preston said with a wicked smile, “did you enjoy yourself last night? I bet Darcie is a good little fuck.”

  “You mother—”

  Milia stepped out onto the aft deck. “Excuse me, but can I take an egg order? Or do you want some pancakes? French toast?”

  “Oh, how about you have that chef whip up a little bit of everything,” Preston said. “Sound good, Reid?”

  “I’ve got some reading to do.” Reid snatched the files.

  “So, you’re going to get on board with Hans?”

  “Looks like you’ve left me with no choice.”

  Over his fucking dead body would he let Preston get away with any of this.

  Chapter 11

  Darcie smiled. “Hey, you.” She glanced around, taking Reid by the hand and tugging him into the corner. She leaned in to steal a quick kiss, but he pushed her away.

  “Are you crazy?” His gaze darted everywhere but at her.

  “No one is around.”

  “Not the point. We can’t do that.” He ran a hand through his thick hair.

  “I’m going on break in a little bit. I can sneak into your cabin.” She winked.

  “I don’t think we should be doing that.”

  “Preston certainly put you in a foul mood. Why don’t you let me fix that?” She leaned closer, letting her hand rest on the inside of his thigh.

  He batted it away. “Stop. I mean it. We can’t be fooling around. We made a mistake.”

  She opened her mouth, but no words formed. She snapped her jaw and tried again.

  Nothing.

  She cleared her throat.

  Still. Nothing.

  This couldn’t be happening. Not again. It was like someone flipped a switch, and Reid went from kind and loving to some angry stranger. This is what he’d done right before they broke up a year ago, and it had Preston written all over it.

  She wasn’t going to let that asshole ruin things again.

  “We made a mistake? Or Preston got into your head?” She planted her hands on her hips and glared. “What the fuck did he say to you?

  “He has nothing to do with this. We just got caught up in a whirlwind of seeing each other again, and now I have a shit ton of stuff to deal with regarding this meeting tonight and I need to read all this stuff.” He waved a bunch of papers. “I can’t mess this deal up. It’s important to my company.”

  “Oh. My. God. Are you fucking kidding me?” She curled her fingers around his wrist and dragged him to his room where she kicked open the door and slammed it behind them. “Do you mind telling me where this is coming from? Because a few hours ago we were—”

  “I know what we were doing, and I’ve had a change of heart.”

  “Oh. No. You are not doing that. And not just to me. Hell, I don’t give a shit about that. Well, I do, but you are not letting Preston push you around. Whatever he told you just now, he’s just doing it to manipulate you.”

  “Get out of my room, Darcie. You’re in over your head, and whatever we thought we could fix, we can’t. Let it go.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Like hell I will. And I’m not going to stand here and let you just give up or let him fuck with you anymore.”

  He held up a bottle of whiskey, screwed off the cap, and took a shot. “I’m going to take a quick shower, grab my computer, and then join my team. We’ve got some work to discuss and then some major partying to do.”

  “Don’t do this, Reid. You’re going to regret it.”

  “You’re probably right, but it’s my life to fuck up, now isn’t it?”

  She poked him in the chest. “I’m not letting you do this to yourself. Whatever he’s got on you, we’ll deal with it. Together. I’m not giving up.” She turned on her heels and stormed off with her stomach growling. She needed a few moments to calm down. She’d get something to eat and then she’d talk some sense into that man.

  She found the fixings for her favorite sandwich and got to work while Kirk lounged at the table with a book.

  “How are you holding up this morning?”
Kirk asked.

  “Exhausted.”

  “I need to tell you something.” Kirk sat up and glanced around. “The entire boat knows you were in Reid’s room last night.”

  “Excuse me?” Darcie took her grilled cheese and slid behind the table, hiding her shaking hands. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Anastasia overheard Reid’s team members telling Preston they saw you coming out of his cabin and wondered if you were a cokehead like Reid.”

  “What?” Her voice rose a couple of octaves. “First off, I don’t do drugs, and while Reid likes to drink and always has, he’s never even smoked pot. I know this because I have, and I tried to get him to take a hit, and he wouldn’t.”

  “I asked Anastasia if she could have misunderstood, but she said Bradley heard some shit too.”

  “From Preston and Reid’s team?”

  Kirk nodded.

  “Have you heard anything specific?”

  “No. But I’ll be honest, I’m going to be listening now.”

  “Good. I want you to, and I want you to tell me everything. But don’t say a thing to Captain Jim.” She picked up her radio. “Bradley. Bradley. This is Darcie. Can you meet me in the crew mess?”

  “On my way,” Bradley said over the radio.

  “Do me a favor and go find Anastasia and ask her not to tell Malia. I just don’t know if I can trust her or not with the whole Kim and Jim thing, and I don’t trust Jim right now as far as I can spit.”

  “The captain’s acting weird. He’s staying in the bridge more than usual, and he seems nervous,” Kirk said. “This entire charter has a weird vibe. And for the record, I would never think you did drugs, but it’s kind of obvious that you and that Reid guy have the hots for each other.”

  “He’s my ex-boyfriend. I did at one time think he was the sexiest man alive,” she said, not hiding her smile. “Actually, I still do.”

  “I wouldn’t kick him out of bed.”

  “Kick who out of bed?” Bradley asked as he snagged an apple.

  “Reid,” Kirk said.

  “I don’t think anyone in their right mind, straight or gay, would ask him to leave. Now Preston, doesn’t matter how good-looking he is or ripped his abs are, that man is a douchebag.”