Jenny twirled her miniscule purse in her hand and without meeting her eyes, she mumbled, “Well, someone is joining us. I invited him.” The way she said it, as if guilty for something, made Miranda’s gut sink low. She was afraid to ask who it was she had invited. Before she could muster the courage to ask, there was the familiar throat clearing behind her. She didn’t turn around and instead took a deep breath and prayed for patience. Jenny looked at her sheepishly before bouncing towards Alec and purring, “You came. I wasn’t sure you would.”
“Well, love, you were kind enough to invite me and I never say no to a pretty lady,” Alec replied coyly. Miranda rolled her eyes; he was so full of it. Jenny giggled like a teenager and smiled up at him like a lovesick puppy. Sam and Miranda exchanged a look that showed they had put up with Jenny fawning over someone one too many times. Miranda suddenly didn’t feel very festive. They had thought they’d go dancing at the club but having Alec there was dampening her mood severely. Thinking of some way to get out of the whole thing, Miranda said, “Jenny, I think I’m going to head out. I don’t feel up to dancing.”
Jenny turned to look at Miranda, her eyes big as saucers. She untangled herself from Alec and bounced over to her. Pulling her to the side, Jenny said, “No, Miranda, please don’t go. I know I shouldn’t have invited him. I’m really sorry. You know how I am when it comes to a hot guy; I just couldn’t resist.”
Miranda eyeballed her a minute before saying, “You know how much he bothers me, Jen. Why would you invite him and not tell me?”
“Well, duh. You wouldn’t have come then. It was just a last-minute thing, I swear. I didn’t plan this and then I didn’t want our plans to change so before I could think I was inviting him along. I’m sorry, Mir, please go with us. You know you want to and it’ll be loads of fun. Come on, please!”
Miranda couldn’t help but give in at Jenny’s insistence. “Fine, but keep him as far away from me as possible,” she said, exasperated.
Jenny gave her a megawatt smile. “Oh I plan on it, don’t worry.”
Rolling her eyes and giving her a reluctant grin, Miranda ushered her back to her date. She could never deny Jenny anything. If she wanted to have some fun with him then that was her call but if he dared make any move or comment, Miranda was going to rip him apart. Just then, the bouncer gestured for them to enter. They all went in and immediately Jenny pulled Alec over to the dance floor. Miranda shuffled over to an available booth in a back corner of the room and sidled up next to Sam. Her eyes wandered over to Alec of their own accord. He was dancing with Jenny but his eyes were watching her intently, a smug smile lifting up the corners of his mouth. Ugh, it was going to be a long night, she thought.
As it turned out, the night wasn’t that bad. Except for a few comments and a proposal to dance by Alec which Miranda adamantly rejected, it was pretty uneventful. Jenny kept him pretty preoccupied with her own version of a lap dance and the two of them spent most of the night on the dance floor, squeezed between other people, either dancing or making out. Miranda hung out with her other friends and they danced together as a group, having a fun time. But Miranda couldn’t help but miss her best friend and her eyes would often wander over to the both of them on the dance floor. More than a few times she caught Alec staring at her and every time she did it made her blush. She told herself it was just the heat but she had never been a good liar and she was especially bad at lying to herself. Her reaction annoyed her and she didn’t know what to make of it. It gave her some amount of relief that in two more days the cruise would come to an end and she would never have to see or deal with Alec Bane again.
Chapter 4
The last day on the cruise was always a mini celebration. The staff wanted to send their guests off with a bang so that they would remember their experience for years to come. On the eve of the last night, Miranda’s restaurant had decided on a Titanic style theme and so it had been announced that all guests should wear formal clothes. The kitchen had prepared all sorts of feasts and the restaurant was decorated with ornaments and garlands. A small dance floor had been set up in the center and waltz music was playing. The waiters were in formal attire with white gloves on, black knee-length dresses for the female staff and black coats for the males. Since Miranda was the chief executive manager, she wore red.
The restaurant was at full capacity that night and the party flowed out on to the deck outside the restaurant as well. People were milling about, eating food or slow dancing to the music. The ladies had on beautiful gowns adorned with necklaces and the men had some really nice fitted formal coats. More than a few times Miranda was complimented on how wonderful she looked in red. The old couple who had been telling her their life history a week or so ago came up to her and thanked her for making their experience so nice. They hadn’t been to a proper dance in over a decade and this was the perfect ending to their wonderful trip. Hearing such praise and seeing the happiness on their faces brought tears to Miranda’s eyes.
She was watching the old couple twirl about with a smile on her face when she heard the familiar throat clearing. She turned and looked at a very nicely cleaned-up version of Alec Bane. He had on a navy-blue suit with a salmon tie and white shirt. His messy brown hair was combed back and his dark blue eyes were sparkling with merriment. Seeing him look so dashing, Miranda couldn’t bring herself to be angry at the man. Still smiling, she said, “I guess you decided to come back to our restaurant one last time.”
Alec grinned and said, “Well, what can I say; I couldn’t resist the temptation. There was a certain someone I had to see one last time.”
Miranda glanced toward the kitchen door before replying, “Jenny is busy in the back but I can go get her for you.” She took a couple steps to do just that when Alec grabbed her by the wrist. She turned surprised as an electric shock raced up her arm from where he had touched her.
He looked at her seriously and said levelly, “I came to see you, Miranda.”
Still overwhelmed by the feeling his hand was creating, she blurted out, “Me?”
Smiling slightly, he said, “Yes, you. I know you don’t like me and I can’t change that. Maybe I came about wrong with you. I shouldn’t have just assumed that you would go out with me just because I asked. I’m used to getting what I want when I want it and so I kind of bulldozed right over and didn’t stop to consider that it wouldn’t be what you wanted. I want to say sorry for any misunderstanding and hope there are no hard feelings.”
Miranda gawked at him, mouth agape. “Did you just apologize?”
He chuckled and said, “I know, right. I’ve never done that before. But I guess I was coming on too strong and that wasn’t right.”
Miranda swallowed and replied, “Wow. Yeah, no issues. I overreacted as well, I guess. It’s fine; we’re good.”
His face lit up in a genuine smile and beaming he said, “I’m glad to hear that. Now, since we’re good and all that, would you care to dance with me?”
Miranda thought she had been surprised before but nope, his next question knocked her socks off and before she could think that she was working or that this was fifty shades of wrong, she nodded dumbly and next thing she knew he was guiding her to the dance floor. He was quite the dancer, she realized soon enough. He twirled her about like a professional dancer and his movements were so lithe it was like he was floating on air rather than steady on the ground. Next to him, Miranda felt like a hippo jumping about.
He looked deep into her eyes as they danced and smiling he said, “You have beautiful eyes, you know that? They look like they hold all the secrets of the world inside them.”
Miranda flushed red at his compliment and she couldn’t look into his eyes anymore. Maybe that’s why all the girls fell for him. When he said it so nicely, you’d believe just about anything. Still blushing, she mumbled, “Thank you.”
He grinned at her and asked, “Do you live in the city when you’re not on this cruise?”
She nodded and replied, “Yes, I have a pla
ce. I don’t like sleeping on the ship all year round and it’s good to have a place to crash when I’m on the ground.”
“What is it about me that doesn’t attract you? Is it my looks? My hair? My nose?”
Miranda couldn’t help but laugh at that. “No, it’s not your physical appearance. You are very attractive as you well know. It’s the way you take everything for granted. You run over girls’ hearts and maybe they ask for it as you said but that still doesn’t make it okay. I don’t think that anyone who lives a life like that can be very happy for long and I bet that when you go to bed at night, you feel like the loneliest man in the world.” She was just stating what she had observed and what she thought to be true but peering up at his face as they swayed back and forth, she suddenly felt bad. Why couldn’t she just keep her thoughts to herself? Trying to pull him out of the brooding state he was in, she smiled and said, “I’m sorry. It’s just one person’s opinion and I don’t know jack. It’s your life and you have every right to live it the way you want. Just keep it to people who want that kind of life.” Just then the song ended and another one started up. Miranda stopped and Alec looked up surprised. She extracted herself from him and smiling, she said, “I have to get back to work. I hope you have a wonderful life, Mr. Bane. Enjoy your night.”
She turned around to leave but he grabbed her hand from behind. She spun around to find him smiling a mesmerizing smile that lit up the whole room. He grinned at her as he said, “I will see you again, Miranda. Have a nice night.” And placing a kiss on the hand he was holding, he let go and swirled around heading for the exit. Miranda stood rooted to the spot, her hand tingling where his lips had touched it, thinking what an odd man Alec Bane was.
She went back to stand at her usual spot from where she could watch over things and be nearby if anyone needed assistance. That’s when she noticed Jenny standing near the kitchen doors, watching her intently. She couldn’t discern what the look on Jenny’s face was but she realized instantly that Jenny must’ve seen her dance with Alec and she was angry because of it. She quickly went up to her and blurted out, “It’s not what you’re thinking.”
Jenny glared at her and said, “It’s not? Because from what I saw it seemed like you were cozying up to Alec there. What, you don’t hate him anymore? Or was it because you saw him with me and you couldn’t stand the thought of losing his attention that made you go after him?”
Miranda gawked at Jenny. “What the hell is wrong with you? You know it’s nothing like that. I am not interested in him. He came to apologize for coming on too strong in the beginning and then he asked if I would dance with him. I thought since it was the last day of the cruise and I’d never have to see him again I could be the bigger person. That’s what that was about. Why would you ever think I would try and steal him or anyone from you? I thought we were best friends; you should know me better than that.” Miranda was extremely hurt. How could her best friend have said such horrid things to her?
Jenny looked like she was repenting saying those words. She hugged Miranda and said sheepishly, “I’m sorry. You know I have a temper. I just overreacted. I shouldn’t have said anything. Of course you would never do such an awful thing like that. Forgive me, please?”
Miranda smiled reluctantly and nodded. “Of course. Let’s never let a guy come between us, okay? Our friendship is more important than anything else in the world and I never want to lose it.” They hugged it out and things went back to normal.
***
Two weeks later, Miranda was busy prepping for the next cruise that would leave in a week. She was overseeing the material that was being brought in as well as looking at a few renovations that were taking place. She was busy talking to one of the contractors when Jenny came up to her, out of breath.
Miranda looked at her, alarmed and said, “What’s wrong, Jen? Why are you out of breath? Is everything okay?”
Jenny doubled over and put up a finger asking for a minute. When she had finally caught her breath, she gasped, “Boss wants to see you. He doesn’t look to be in a good mood and he asked all the managers and other staff of your level positions or above to come to the meeting room. He has something to discuss. You shouldn’t keep him waiting. Go now.”
Miranda quickly turned to the contractor who was listening in intently and said, “I’m sorry but you’ll have to excuse me. I’ll be back shortly.” And with that she raced out of the room. Once she was outside the huge meeting room, she took a deep breath, patted down her suit coat and knocked on the door. A voice from within told her to enter and she walked in to see everyone from assistant manager upward was present. She took a seat and few minutes later the owner of the cruise walked in.
He came to the front of the hall and turned to face his employees. Giving everyone a watery smile, he said, “Hello everyone. How are you all? First off I want to say a big thank-you to everyone for making this cruise a huge success. This was my first water baby and seeing it flourish so much since it first began gives me great pleasure. I am proud of each and every one of you and can’t thank you enough for making it a trip worth having. Unfortunately, I have some bad news. I will no longer be the owner of this esteemed ship. After much convincing, I decided to sell it and I will be handing all of you over to the new organization that is taking over from me. There is no need to panic though, I sold it under the condition that all my employees get to keep their job and no one can be fired for at least a year and even then there needs to be just cause. So, you have nothing to worry about, your jobs remain intact.”
“Who did you sell it to, Mr. Beamon, if I may ask?” Mr. Porter, Miranda’s supervisor, asked.
“I sold it to YA Motors. They’re expanding their business and want to start with this cruise ship. The offer was too good to resist and I’m getting too old as it is. I need to retire.” Hearing him say that, Miranda felt that there was more to the story. Mr. Beamon wasn’t more than fifty and he always had a bounce in his step. The Golden Star was his child and why he would sell it was beyond her understanding.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice and I wish you all the very best in your lives. May God be with you. You may all go back to your daily activities now.” Everyone stood up to leave but Mr. Beamon called out, “Mr. Porter, Miss Stone, would you both wait a minute. I have something I need to talk to you about.” Miranda and Mr. Porter looked at one another with surprise. What could he possibly have to say to them?
Once everyone had left, Mr. Beamon came to them and said, “I asked you both to stay behind because there is one matter I have to discuss with you. As you know, my stipulation does not allow anyone to get fired. However, there are no such rules that ban transferring an employee among their offices. They liked the work efficiency of one employee particularly and they want to transfer her to one of their main offices in the city. That employee was you, Miss Stone.” Miranda gasped out loud. She felt her heart sink low. She loved being out on the ocean, watching people making memories and helping with that experience. She didn’t want a desk job and now she would be forced into one. She had to try and get out of it.
“But, sir, I do my job very well here. I wouldn’t be of much use at a desk job in an office. I think I would be much better served remaining here.”
“Yes,” Mr. Porter cut in. “She is one of my best employees. She has the whole thing running smoother than a baby’s bottom. I think we should keep her here.”
Mr. Beamon shook his head sadly and said, “I’m afraid I have no jurisdiction to say anything. I did try to talk to them but they were adamant on having her in their office. They won’t take no for an answer. You are to manage the CEO’s entire schedule, events, publicity works and anything else required. You start on Monday so you have a week, Miss Stone. I wish you all the best. You may go now.”
Sullenly, Miranda left the meeting room. Outside, Mr. Porter patted her on the shoulder and said, “I’m going to miss having you around. Good luck.” And then he was off. Miranda felt heartbroken. She dragg
ed herself to the restaurant and broke the bad news to the rest of her colleagues. Everyone was outraged and miserable at the news. Jenny hugged her and declared that she would quit with her if she wanted her to but Miranda shook her head. She had resigned herself to her new position and she had to deal with it.
Chapter 5
She was now permanently moved into her apartment. Monday came and it was time for her to start her new job. Despondently, she trudged to work and found herself in front of a huge skyscraper. She walked in the lobby and went to the desk where the security guard sat. She informed him that she was expected at YA Motors and after confirming on the landline, he allowed her to pass. She pressed the 43 button and the elevator shot up. When she got out on the instructed floor she was very impressed by what she saw. The lobby was artistically decorated and a small reception area was on the left-hand corner. She walked up and introduced herself. The receptionist who looked to be the same age as her told her to take a left, go down the hall and then make a right. The door at the end was her destination.
Apprehensively, Miranda took off. She looked around and was impressed by the setup. There were lots of cubicles as in any office but they were very artistically designed. There were separate offices for individuals who were higher up on the food chain. The electronics were top-of-the-line as well. Expensive paintings hung all over the office. Miranda reached the door and knocked. A woman in her mid-forties appeared and ushered her in with a smile.
Priceless Love Page 3