by Tia Wylder
Like I was going to have time for swimming when there was important science to be done!
I finished packing quickly, throwing in enough clothes and a raincoat, in case the rumored hurricane ever made an appearance. Not that I was going to let that stop me, of course.
By the time I was done, Lisa was back, and we got out stuff together and went outside to wait for a cab. Boston was frigid and snowy, and I shivered as we stood on the curb, imagining how good it would feel to be under the warm Nassau sun. Maybe a little time for swimming wouldn’t be the worst thing, I thought as I pictured the warm tropical ocean and how pleasant it would be to just float with a fruity drink in my hand.
As the cab arrived, an icy river of slush crashed over my feet, bringing me back to reality. As Lisa and I clambered into the backseat, I shuddered. This trip is going to be so important, I thought. I’m really going to be working hard. The idea wasn’t intimidating, though – if anything, it was more exciting than ever before. I was finally getting somewhere…and soon, it would be time for me to focus exclusively on writing my dissertation.
“I wonder if there are any cute cabana boys at the hotel,” Lisa mused, staring at the window at our frozen city.
“You know we won’t have time for anything but work,” I cautioned.
Lisa rolled her eyes and turned to me. “Adele, sweetie, you need to relax,” she said. “God, it’s been like six years since you had a boyfriend!”
I shrugged. “I don’t want a boyfriend,” I said honestly. “I want to do my work, undisturbed, without having to worry about some guy criticizing me for not being girly enough.”
Lisa laughed. “That’s a fair point,” she admitted.
When the cab pulled up to the airport, we paid the fare. I tucked the receipt into my wallet for reimbursement and grabbed my suitcase, following Lisa inside and out of the blowing snow.
“I’m going to the gate,” Lisa said. “You’re going to eat?”
I nodded. “I’ll see you before the flight takes off,” I said. “I won’t forget, I promise.”
Lisa laughed. “Set a timer,” she advised. “I know how you get wrapped up in your work.”
I found the burger place – they made killer bacon double cheeseburgers – and sat down in a booth, spreading my research out as I ate. By the time I heard the buzzing of my phone, I had grabbed everything, paid, and left in a rush with grease stains all over my shirt.
I arrived at the gate and found Lisa chatting with some of our other colleagues, Andrew and Sally. Lisa frowned when she saw me.
“I have to tell you something,” she said, pulling me aside.
I frowned. “I know I have grease on my shirt,” I said. “That burger was worth it, though.”
“No, about Nassau,” Lisa said. She frowned. “I just heard from Andrew – that awful French real estate developer just bought up a huge piece of land.”
My heart sank. “Louis, what’s his name?”
“Franchot,” Lisa said. She sighed angrily. “He ruins everything! Do you know how badly ruined the ecosystem is going to be after he builds that stupid hotel?”
I groaned. My research had involved that exact parcel of land. Of course, I’d known that it had been for sale…but with a thirty-million price tag, I didn’t exactly think anyone was going to swoop in, at least not until after I’d finished my dissertation.
“Men are so greedy,” I said angrily. “I’ll probably have to find a new topic!”
Lisa gave me a sympathetic smile.
Suddenly, an idea popped into my head, and I grinned. “Lis,” I said quickly. “What if I can find a way to stop it? Like, stop him from building anything?”
Lisa blinked. “And how would you do that?”
“By making a ton of publicity about it, and getting some rich people who care about the environment to give me the money I need to hire a lawyer! I bet if I can make people care about this a tenth as much as I do, he’ll be forced to leave the land as it is!”
“Oh my god, Adele, that’s brilliant,” Lisa said slowly. She narrowed her eyes. “But how the heck are you going to pull that off?”
“I’ll have to sneak around this weekend and take a lot of pictures,” I said. “And then find some new billionaire friends,” I added, rolling my eyes. “You know anyone famous who loves the environment?”
Lisa laughed. “No,” she said. She frowned. “Hey, Andrew,” she called. “Come over here!”
Andrew walked over, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his skinny throat. Andrew had to be over six feet tall, but he was the most awkward guy I’d ever met.
“What else did you say about that land in Nassau?” Lisa asked.
“Uh, I don’t know,” Andrew replied.
“No,” Lisa said impatiently, stamping her foot on the ground like a child. “You did say something – there was another name, not the evil French guy.”
“Oh, yeah,” Andrew said casually. He pulled out a Boston paper and handed it to me. “Some other guy – some local guy – wants the same property.”
I glanced down at the article and pulled a face of disgust. There was a color photo of a tall, muscular man with dirty blonde hair and an expensive suit. His eyes were dark and cocky, and his lips were curved in a smirk. The headline read: “Jack Nathan Sets His Sights on Tropical Waters.”
“He wanted to the buy the same land,” Andrew repeated. “The article talked about his plans for a luxury hotel or something.”
I felt anger rising in my throat like bile. If this other guy was interested, there was no way I’d be able to drum up enough interest to save the property!
“That’s not fair,” I whined loudly. “He looks like such a jerk!”
“He probably is,” Lisa said. “Look – he’s so smug.”
I groaned. “I’ll confront both of them,” I said, gritting my teeth. “And force them to give up their plans, or else the local ecosystem is going to be ruined!”
Lisa and Andrew stared.
“Adele, that’s insane,” Andrew said, shaking his head. “There’s no way you’re going to be able to convince two billionaires!”
I gritted my teeth and crossed my arms over my chest, staring defiantly until Andrew shrank down.
“Just watch me,” I growled.
---
When we boarded the flight, I was surprised to see that the plane was mostly empty. Lisa took out an eye-mask and travel pillow, and within ten minutes, she was snoring next to me. I’d been planning to use the time in the air to work on my research, but now that I had a new task at hand, I knew I was going to have to work quickly. I paid for the in-flight wi-fi and connected my laptop, searching for Louis Franchot and Jack Nathan.
Louis Franchot was easier. A simple type of his name yielded a plethora of search results – and most of them were terrible. It looked like he was responsible for several luxury resorts – all of them incredibly overpriced, in exotic locales around the world. I rolled my eyes – he even looked like a jerk. He was overweight, with a big paunchy belly, and he was always photographed wearing suits that were wrinkled and creased. His neck was adorned with several gold chains, and despite the fact that he was balding, tufts of grey and white hair floated around the rim of his head like clouds.
“I’m going to get you,” I whispered to his photo on the screen of my laptop.
Next, I looked up Jack Nathan. I was surprised to see that he was local to Boston, and unfortunately, it looked like we had something in common: like me, Jack Nathan had attended Lager College. But then, he’d graduated and taken over what appeared to be his father’s company. Based on his photos – not to mention the one I’d seen in the newspaper – he was the opposite of Franchot. Young, handsome, and lean. But they did share one thing in common: a cocky smirk that told me they both thought of themselves as kings.
I rolled my eyes, then slammed the screen of my laptop shut. I was angry and excited at the same time – I couldn’t wait to confront these losers and demand they abandon all plans to ru
in the wilderness of Nassau.
When the plane landed, Lisa, Andrew, Sally, and I took a cab to the hotel. The Hotel St. Charles was just as ostentatious as I’d imagined.
“There’s no way in hell the department’s going to refund all of this,” I whispered to Lisa as we hung around the lobby. “It’s way too expensive.”
Lisa shrugged. “It’s the only hotel on the island,” she said. “It’s not like we had a choice.”
I groaned. “Yeah,” I muttered. “I guess you’re right.”
When the smiling young concierge appeared, Lisa handed over our reservation information.
“Ladies, I’m so sorry,” the concierge began. “Due to the hurricane, we’re urging all of our guests to leave immediately.”
“What?” Lisa’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding,” she said. “Look, we’re not here for a vacation – we’re grad students, and we need to do research.”
The concierge smiled apologetically. “I understand,” she said. “But unfortunately, I cannot help you. We are not equipped to handle such a disaster.”
“I’m not leaving,” I said, shaking my head.
“What?” Lisa turned to me, and I saw that all of the blood had drained from her face. “Adele, what are you talking about? Why not?”
“Because,” I said slowly. “I have an idea.”
“What? Like dying?” Lisa shook her head. “Adele, you’re nuts!”
“Ma’am,” the concierge broke in. “I must urge you – please, leave Nassau immediately.” She shook her head in dismay. “I don’t even know how you were able to fly out here in the first place!”
“Because if I stay, I’ll get a lot of publications,” I said firmly. “And that’s what I need right now – a lot of attention in environmental publications.”
“More like mental publications,” Lisa said in exasperation. “Adele, this is suicidal!”
“Give me my key, please,” I said to the concierge, holding my hand out.
She hesitated for a long moment before handing me an elegant wooden key fob attached to a silver key.
Surprisingly, I found that I had a hard time reaching out and taking it. I knew, deep down, that Lisa was more than right – if I stayed in Nassau during a hurricane, I was risking my life. I had no idea how bad things could get. What if I couldn’t find food or water? What would I do then?
I couldn’t think like that though, not now. I had a stand to make. I could just see it now – headlines in the most famous environmental publications: “Heroic Grad Student Risks Life to Defend Nassau Wildlife.”
Just thinking about it made me feel good.
“I can’t believe you,” Lisa said when I finally reached out and took the key. “Adele, this is insane! I should call your parents!”
I rolled my eyes. “Lisa, I’m twenty-four,” I said. “My parents haven’t been able to control me for at least six years.”
Lisa stared at me for a long moment before shaking her head. “Adele,” she said. “I know you mean well, but…” She trailed off and shrugged. “If you change your mind, call me,” she said. “Maybe I can help coordinate some kind of rescue for you.”
I nodded and smiled faintly. I knew my best friend didn’t approve of what I was doing, but it wasn’t like I had a choice. If I had any chance of defeating Franchot and the cocky, smug Jack Nathan, I was going to have to make a real splash.
Lisa, Sally, and Andrew called for a taxi back to the airport. I stood outside with them and waited, unsure if I’d be able to stop myself from leaping into the backseat and yelling that I’d changed my mind. But when the yellow cab pulled up, I swallowed and stood tall and tried to act proud.
“Are you sure?” Lisa asked softly. She pulled me into a tight hug. “I’m going to be so worried about you!”
“I’m sure,” I said, even though I wasn’t at all. The sky was bright, and the sun was shining – but how long would it last?
Lisa nodded. Her big dark eyes filled with worry. “Okay,” she said softly. “Check in when you can.”
I nodded.
The taxi driver honked, and Lisa flushed before scrambling into the backseat. Then the car pulled away, and I was on my own.
---
I spent the rest of the day on the beach with my laptop, trying to think of what to do next. Obviously, I was going to have to let a few people know that I was in Nassau if I wanted any kind of recognition. I emailed my adviser, as well as a couple of small journals that I knew covered environmental science. I laid out my reasons for wanting to stay, as well as the evil that was Jack Nathan and Louis Franchot. After a couple of hours, I felt satisfied with my efforts, so I closed my laptop and took a swim in the still-tranquil sea.
That night, I ordered room service and sat alone in my room, working on my paper. The halls were filled with people trying to make a desperate escape before the hurricane. With each sound of frightened voices, I felt a little more frightened. But I wasn’t going to let that scare me off – I had a mission, and I wasn’t going to be satisfied until it was complete.
In the morning, everything was different. The sky was dark and grey and cloudy, and angry winds were whipping the palm trees back and forth until I thought their trunks would break. When I went down to the lobby, I found it was empty.
A chill of fear ran down my spine. “Hello?” I called. “Is anyone here?”
There was no answer. Grimly, I turned back and headed upstairs where I decided to keep working on my paper. I wrote for three hours, then got up to stretch. Just as I was about to pick up the phone and call for more room service, the lights flickered.
“Oh, no,” I said softly. “No, please!”
My pleas did nothing. The lights flickered a few more times, then cut out and left me in a disquieting semi-dark.
My heart was thumping as I made my way out of my room and walked down the hall. The Hotel St. Charles was completely deserted, and somehow the silence was even more frightening than that of the panicking guest. I shivered despite the warm temperature as I made my way down the back stairs and into the lobby.
“Hello?” I called.
There was no answer.
Frowning, I walked through the lobby and into the hotel’s signature restaurant – a classy steak joint where the cheapest thing on the menu was over twenty dollars. A loud noise made me jump and shriek with fright. I gasped when I saw a figure standing in front of me. He was tall and lean yet muscular, with tousled dirty blonde hair and dark eyes.
“Hello?” I asked uncertainly. “Did you decide to stick it out, too?”
The man chuckled and stepped forward. He was wearing a creased white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing his tanned skin. Between the muscles in his arms and his chiseled jawline, I felt a shiver of arousal race down my spine. Stop it, Adele, I told myself. He’s just a man – stop freaking out like you’ve never seen one before.
“Yeah,” the guy said. His voice was lazy and arrogant. “I guess I did.”
Chapter Three
Adele
“I guess we’re alone then,” I said weakly, gesturing to the empty restaurant.
“I guess so,” the man replied. He snickered. “What’s your excuse?”
I laughed nervously. “I’m a grad student,” I said, shaking my head. “I thought it would…I don’t know, look good that I decided to stick it out.” Saying it out loud made me wonder if my idea had truly been stupid.
To my surprise, the man whistled. “Damn,” he said. “That’s impressive.”
I flushed, feeling like an idiot.
Just then, a loud clap of thunder sounded overhead, and I jumped again, squeaking in fear. I thought the man would laugh at me, but instead, he stepped closer and I felt a delightful shiver run down my spine.
“You know, we could die,” the man said, gesturing outside. I winced as I saw angry waves crashing down on the shore. It was hard to believe that I’d just gone swimming yesterday.
“I suppose we could,” I said. My hea
rt was thumping, and my mouth was dry.
The man raised an eyebrow and stepped closer. He was so close that I could have reached out and touched him.
“So, what do you wanna do?” The man asked.
I flushed hotly. His implication wasn’t lost on me.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I lied.
The man grinned. He reached out and took my hand. When our skin touched for the first time, I felt a spark leap from his flesh to my own. I shivered again – I’d never felt like this, especially not with a stranger!