Mermaid Inc.

by Caroline Mickelson

  “You have the most amazing effect on me, Miranda.” Justin gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. “I wish there was something I could do for you in return.”

  There was. He was already doing it by letting her get near Kenji Morimoto. But she knew that her less than honorable actions were not what he had in mind. An uneasy feeling crept over her. It was guilt, and embarrassment, because for the first time in her life she felt like a swamp creature. Maybe she wasn’t really that different from the humans if she was only worried about her own agenda without regard to others.

  “You’ve given me a job, Justin, now let me work for you.”

  They grinned at the same time.

  “Okay, so maybe I’m not a world class maid,” Miranda conceded.

  “Maybe?” Justin’s tone was teasing.

  Miranda held her hands up in mock surrender. “I’m a disaster. I admit it.”

  “I’m not complaining.”

  Something in his voice, something she couldn’t explain, caught at her heart. She took a deep breath but couldn’t speak.

  “Miranda,” Justin took a step closer, “We need to talk about whatever it is between us-”

  “Pardon the interruption, Mr. Lockheed.” A crew member came up behind them. “Mr. Morimoto asked that I check on you and see if you require anything.”

  Reluctantly Miranda drew back. She wished she could throw the swabbie overboard. Not that she’d known exactly what Justin was about to say but if it had been a proposition, she’d have likely said yes. Which wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

  “Please thank Mr. Morimoto,” Justin said. “We’ll need a moment-”

  It was her turn to interrupt. “We’ll follow you up to the sun deck,” Miranda said. She hadn’t given up her fin, and left the sea, to start something she couldn’t finish. She’d drifted way off course.

  “Miranda, I want to get to know you better.” Justin’s voice was low, intense, and curious. “There’s so much I don’t know about you.”

  So much he’d never believe about her, or accept about her. “There isn’t much to know, Justin. I’ve lead a very normal life.” Normal for a mermaid anyway. “But right now isn’t the time to have such a personal conversation. Not with Mr. Morimoto upstairs. You have work to do.”

  And so did she.

  Justin placed his hand over his heart. “I feel, so, I can’t explain it, I feel-”

  “You’ll be fine, Justin,” she cut him off, pretending to misunderstand. “Just sip some mineral water and pop another sea sickness pill if you feel nauseated again.”

  His expression made it clear he wasn’t happy.

  Miranda nodded in the direction of the departing steward’s back. “You need to go, Justin. Your client is waiting.”

  He nodded. “I guess it’s time for some damage control.”

  As she followed Justin up to the next deck, she felt ensnared in a net of lies, and the only way she could possibly get free was to tell more.

  ***

  Justin kept his eyes averted from the white capped waves, he focused on Miranda instead. Both his stomach and his heart felt less vulnerable that way. Cell phone in hand, she was snapping photos as if she’d never been on a sea going vessel before. But his gut told him that she was no stranger to the sea. She didn’t flinch when a gust of wind blew sea spray over her. In fact, if he didn’t know better, it almost seemed as if she intentionally turned toward it instead of away from it.

  It appeared that Kenji Morimoto found Miranda just as charming as he did. Justin watched as the two of them chatted away. The Japanese executive looked completely different out of his business suit. Today he wore a golf shirt and walking shorts, complete with a Dodgers baseball cap and deck shoes. The man didn’t appear to have a care in the world. Justin envied him that.

  They were now far enough away from shore that the captain had cut the motor. The quiet, not to mention the lack of movement, did much to help Justin feel that he wasn’t going to make a complete fool out of himself. That and the fact he was reclined on a chaise lounge chair. There was a good chance that he could fake his way through the rest of the day, especially if Miranda kept up her campaign of good will.

  But he should at least attempt to do his part. He fortified himself with a sip of ginger ale and tried to focus on the conversation at hand. Which was easier said than done because Miranda’s voice was so melodic that it practically lulled him into a deeply relaxed state. Still, he tried.

  “I wonder what Morimoto Industries will do when the International Court of Justice finally passes a ban on all commercial whaling?”

  Justin’s drowsiness deserted him. What on earth had Miranda said that for? He struggled to sit up.

  Mr. Morimoto didn’t appear flustered, but then it wasn’t likely the first time he’d been challenged on the legality on his company’s whaling activities. But it didn’t matter. Justin was rattled enough for the both of them. He opened his mouth to protest but his client beat him to it.

  “There is already an international ban on whaling, Miss De La Playa. Our company strictly complies with the regulations that only permit whales to be caught for scientific research.”

  “Call me Miranda, please.” She leaned forward in her chair and brushed aside several wisps of her hair the wind had blown around her face. “You really don’t expect me to fall for that smoke and mirrors explanation, do you? Everyone knows-”

  Justin decided that the conversation had nowhere positive to go so he jumped in to cut her off. “Miranda, I’ve done the research and Mr. Morimoto is correct. His company has never been sanctioned or found guilty of violating anti-whaling laws. So to insinuate that it has is going a bit far, don’t you think?”

  She turned to look at him as if she’d forgotten he was there. With a quick move she slipped her sun glasses up to rest on the top of her head. The intense look in her eyes startled him.

  “Actually I don’t think I’ve gone far enough, Justin. Just because a company skates within a hair’s breadth of the law doesn’t mean that they are acting properly. Certainly their actions aren’t ethical.”

  Justin could only stare. What on earth had come over her?

  “I assure you, Miranda,” Kenji Morimoto said, “that our legal department would be the first ones to insist we stop our research if they thought we were breaking the law. You have my word on that.”

  “You must forgive my bluntness, Mr. Morimoto, but how can I value your word when you are speaking out the side of your mouth?”

  His frown eloquently expressed his confusion. “I’m not familiar with that expression.”

  “Never mind,” Justin broke in. Listening to this conversation was like witnessing a Kamikaze mission, no one was going to get out unscathed. “It strikes me that this conversation is inappropriate at best.”

  Miranda didn’t even turn to look at him when he spoke, which irked Justin to no end. She continued on as if he weren’t there.

  “What I mean, Mr. Morimoto, is that your words say that the whales are harpooned and then dragged aboard your whaling vessels for scientific research, but the reality is that they are almost immediately processed and packaged for transport to Japan so that the meat can be sold at market.”

  To this, Kenji Morimoto had an answer, “International regulations do allow us to harvest the meat for sale so we don’t create waste.”

  “You use the word harvest when I’d use the word slaughter,” Miranda didn’t miss a beat. “Funny thing, language.”

  Justin shot to his feet. Nausea rolled over him but the anger coursing through him made it pale in comparison. He stood next to Miranda’s deck chair, one hand gripping the back of her chair, the other the railing. “If you’ll pardon us for a moment, Mr. Morimoto, I’d like a word with Miranda.”

  His client got to his feet in a far steadier manner than Justin had. “By all means, you both stay here and I’ll go below to check on our lunch.” He gestured to Miranda’s empty glass. “May I bring you a refill?”

&nbs
p; “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

  Justin decided he must be suffering from sun stroke. What else would explain the bizarreness of the moment? His client and the woman that occupied his every thought lately, were exchanging pleasantries only nanoseconds after a contentious conversation? The moment their host was out of sight, Justin dropped into the recently vacated seat next to Miranda.

  “What on God’s green earth was that about?”

  “You know, just once I’d like to hear a human say ‘What in God’s blue ocean was that all about?’…just once is all I’d need.” She unbuttoned her sundress, shrugged out of it and reached for a bottle of sunscreen. “Do you mind putting some of this on my back?”

  He frowned. Her new black bikini was just as distracting as the white one. “I mind very much as a matter of fact. What on earth – oh, never mind that, what possessed you to go off on whaling bans like you just did? Have you lost your mind?”

  Miranda leaned forward. “Perhaps I’ve just found it.” She thrust the bottle of sunscreen at his chest and turned around so her back was to him. She gathered her hair in her hands and held it on top on her head. “Whenever you’re ready.”

  Justin stared down at the bottle. An image of a mermaid posing seductively on a rock stared up at him. Despite the glaring ball of sun at the top of the bottle, the mermaid’s skin was creamy white. Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Just like this day was turning out to be. “Turn around, Miranda. We’re going to hash this out before our host gets back.”

  “Very well.” Miranda turned back around and snatched the sunscreen from him before he could protest. She shook it and squeezed some of the bronze cream into her hands and rubbed them together. “Talk.” She proceeded to rub the lotion onto her arms, shoulders and across her chest. “I’m listening.”

  But Justin found it hard to think, let alone speak. He watched her hands as she applied more lotion and began to massage it on her legs in long, slow strokes. This woman was going to be the death of him. The absolute death. He swallowed hard and tried to push the erotic image of her applying sunscreen to his body from his mind.

  When she was finally done, Miranda reached over and dabbed a bit of cream on his nose. “Out with it, Justin. I can see you’re just about to burst so you might as well tell me what’s on your mind.”

  Telling her what thoughts had just been running through his mind was the last thing he was going to do. It was far safer to stick to the subject of whaling. “You can’t talk to Kenji Morimoto like that, Miranda. It’s like public relations suicide.”

  She shrugged. “Better suicide than murder.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Murder?” He stared incredulously. “What are you talking about now?”

  “Whaling, Justin. I’m talking about whaling. Okay, let me spell this out as clearly as I can. Morimoto Industries has ships that chase after defenseless whales. Once they get close enough to one, the crew uses harpoon guns to shoot the whale. Next comes the thrashing and torture of an innocent, gentle giant. All the while, it’s being towed back to a larger ship where it will be-”

  Justin couldn’t stand to hear the raw pain in her voice. “Stop, Miranda, you’re upsetting yourself.” He reached out to touch her arm but she pulled away.

  “I’m not ‘upset’, I’m angry and disgusted.”

  Justin sank back in his chair. “But where is all of this coming from? Why now?”

  Miranda got up and walked to the starboard side of the yacht. He followed her. The yacht’s swaying motion was tolerable, if he held onto the rail and tried not to look at the water surrounding them. He glanced over his shoulder but didn’t see anyone coming up the stairway. He loosened his death grip on the railing and reached out to touch her shoulder. “Miranda, just tell me what’s going on and I’ll make everything okay.”

  To his surprise, she launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Instinctively, he closed his arms around her and rocked her gently. His entire body was flooded with a tender desire to never let her go. “Tell me what you want.”

  She pulled back just enough to look up at him. He saw that the anger had faded away from her face but now she looked sad. It made him feel even worse.

  “I want you to understand why this matters to me so much.”

  The pleading look in her eyes pierced Justin’s heart. He reached out and gently stroked her face with his fingertips. “I want that too. But this isn’t the place or time for the conversation we need to have. We need to be alone.” He looked around but still their host was nowhere in sight. “Let me go find Kenji and have him tell the captain we want to turn this tub around.”

  Miranda smiled up at him. “If you call this vessel a tub in front of the captain, he’s likely to sink it rather than get you to shore.”

  “Yacht then, fine, I’ll call it that if you prefer.”

  “What is this we’re feeling, Justin?”

  He wanted to respond, to say something witty in return, but the look in her eyes made him unable to speak, or even to move. When her eyes moved to his lips, his knees went weak. Miranda was so enchanting, so alive, and so beautiful that he hardly dared believe that she wanted him to kiss her. But she did, because she reached up and put her hands on his shoulders. He leaned in, hesitant in case he was misreading her body language, but when she tilted her head and closed her eyes, he touched his lips to hers.

  Never in his life could he have imagined such intense pleasure. When she pressed her body against him, and then wound her arms around his neck, he knew that if this was his last moment on earth, he would die a happy man.

  When he drew back, Miranda smiled up at him. “That was unbelievably nice. Do it again.”

  He laughed. “I’m glad you liked it.”

  Miranda reached up to trace the outline of his lips with two of her fingers. “I loved it.”

  He pulled her closer and kissed her again, hoping that a second kiss wouldn’t disappoint her. From the dreamy expression on her face when they finished, it didn’t appear that she was anything but content.

  “This yacht is nice,” Miranda said, “but I wish we were at home. Your house, I mean. Just the two of us.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  She nodded. “Just the two of us alone, without having to even think about whales, or work, or anything. Oh, and we’ll need some boxes of food. Carry-on.”

  “Carry out.” But as nice as it sounded, Justin knew he had to bring up a sticky subject before their relationship changed a bit more. “You know, Miranda, it feels like we’re about to cross a line here.”

  Her eyes widened just a bit. “Is that a bad thing?”

  Not the way he was feeling, but he needed to be sure that she was comfortable. “I don’t think so, but I want to know how you feel.”

  She leaned up to kiss him, nibbling at his lips just enough to make him feel like he’d arrived on the outskirts of heaven.

  “I think lines are meant to be crossed,” she said. “They look so much less lonely that way.”

  “Lonely isn’t how I feel when I’m with you,” he said.

  She grinned. “Me either.”

  Justin lowered his head to kiss her again, but a horrendous sound, like a lawnmower coming in contact with wildlife, tore through the air. They both whirled around and looked over the railing to see what caused the hideous noise. Miranda spotted the source first. “Look straight ahead,” she pointed to the horizon. “It’s those hideous…things. I don’t know what they’re called but I hate them.”

  Justin recognized the objects that she didn’t. “Jet skis.” He turned toward her, glad to take his eyes off of the water. “Do you think someone is hurt?”

  “Not by the way they’re racing around in tight circles, no.” Her voice sounded tense, angry even.

  “But that sound,” he persisted, “it sounded like someone could be hurt.”

  Without answering, Miranda ran back to where they’d been sitting earlier. She was back, binoculars in hand, before he could d
ecide what to do. He watched as she trained the binoculars on the jet skis.

  “What is it, Miranda? What do you see?”

  She thrust the binoculars at him. “Look for yourself.”

  He started to raise them to his eyes but stopped when he saw that Miranda had one leg on the railing and was about to hoist herself up onto the edge of yacht. “Stop, Miranda, right now. Don’t move.”

  But she did, neatly sidestepping right out of his reach. He cursed under his breath and made another grab for her, but she was too far. “What are you doing? Are you crazy?”

  By now she stood on the railing, but how she managed to keep her balance he couldn’t fathom. Just looking at her precarious stance made him dizzy. He held out a hand. “Miranda, honey, just move back over this way. You’re not safe.”

  She looked down at him, her face resolute. “I’m not the one who needs help.” She gestured out to where the jet skis were still circling some unknown object. “I need to stop them. I’m going out there.”

  Terror engulfed Justin as he watched Miranda leap off the yacht and dive headfirst into the choppy sea. As if through a fog, he heard himself scream her name just before she disappeared under the surface.

  His shouts brought the captain, the crew, and Kenji Morimoto running. Chaos broke out as all six men frantically scanned the surface for a sign of Miranda, but no one saw her come back up to the surface. It was as if she disappeared under the white capped waves.

  Justin grabbed ahold of the captain’s arm. “Do something, we’ve got to find her.”

  The captain turned to face him, his expression so grave that Justin’s blood ran cold. He silently handed the binoculars to Justin and pointed toward the area where the jet skis had been.

  Justin leaned against the rail and lifted the binoculars. He adjusted them until they came into focus. At first all he saw were the waves. And then he saw what had made the captain’s face blanch.