AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That these games you so enjoy will stop. I may be young, but I know how to do my job. I won’t be yanked around on this project. I need to be heavily involved in every aspect of the launch. We’re going to be on a tight schedule if the Seafarer is going to be heading south by August. So that means I need information when I ask for it. I need access to the ship when I say so. And if I work on a presentation or a design, I’m not letting your secretary confiscate it at the door. Anything else would just be a waste of both our time.”
Nick is silent and I picture him behind that giant desk, looking out over the city. I picture him rubbing his chin, choosing his next words.
Finally he says, “You’ll get your access to the Seafarer. I’ll tell my people that you’re to have everything you ask for. But as for what you call my ‘games’? I’ll tell you now, Ms. Davis, that I’m not a man who does anything needlessly. What you call games, I call necessary. The purpose may be mysterious to you, but trust me in the knowledge that there always is one. I will not be on the hook for your judgment of my business practices.”
Good enough? It’ll have to be. “Fine,” I say. “You have a deal. I’ll come to the office first thing tomorrow.”
“No,” he says. “Come to the Seafarer. It’s docked at Pier 90. I’ll meet you there at 10.”
“I’ll be there,” I promise.
He hangs up without saying goodbye. I look wordlessly at Mickey. She can only gaze, wide-eyed, back.
What have I just gotten us into? All my prayers have been answered, I’ve been given a second chance. But at the same time I can’t help but feel like I’m swimming out into dangerous waters, ignoring all the warning signs.
And that Nick Madison is a shark circling just underneath.
CHAPTER FIVE
EVIE
The Seafarer is massive, easily larger than any cruise ship I’ve ever been on. With sixteen decks, cabins for five thousand, seven swimming pools, a shopping mall and movie theater, and fifteen dining areas, I’d definitely choose this place as a refuge from a zombie apocalypse.
Unfortunately, I can’t use it as a refuge from Nick.
I’m standing on the dock, craning my neck to look up at the ship, acutely aware that he’s waiting on it. Waiting for me. In a few moments we’ll hopefully be talking pleasantly about work-related matters and ignoring the fact that our every encounter up until this point has been rife with tension.
It’s going to be next to impossible.
Mickey isn’t with me today. Dan, ecstatic at our last minute victory, had sent her out to look at a few short-term leases so he doesn’t have to keep paying for our pricey hotel room. Mickey had asked if I wanted her to stick around regardless. I almost took her up on it but ultimately decided that she wouldn’t be much use other than as a buffer between Nick and me. And, like it or not, I’m going to have to get used to working with the man. With any luck, in a couple of months, he’ll just be a part of the landscape, as sexless and bland as Band-Aid Dan.
Though these days I’m not sure I have that much luck.
So it’s alone that I walk up the gangway of the Seafarer, heart thumping in time with the waves below me.
I’ve forgone my typical heels as there’s a lot of ground to cover today. I’ve also gone conservative in my attire, trading a dress for a pencil skirt and blouse, both in dark tones. My hair is up in a bun, my makeup minimal. I’m dressed like a teacher, and hopefully not the kind guys want to have sex with. I’m putting as much effort as possible into making this a completely neutral meeting. Now I just need to keep my mouth in line.
I expect there to be an attendant or a security guard who’ll lead me to Nick, who’s no doubt posed against the railing somewhere, the wind ruffling his hair. I absolutely don’t expect him to meet me himself.
In the latter I’m correct, in the former utterly wrong. There doesn’t appear to be anyone at all on the ship. The deck is empty. Everything is silent save for the distant noise of city traffic.
I look around. Maybe I got the time wrong? I quickly disregard that wishful thinking. No, this is just another game that Nick is playing with me. He’s lurking somewhere in this big, stupid boat. Now I have to wander around like an idiot until I stumble upon him and then he’ll be all what took you so long?
Like I’m the asshole.
I grumble to myself and set my bag down with a thump, then take out my camera and attach the appropriate lens. Well if he doesn’t want to meet me at the arranged time then fuck him. I’m here for photos anyway, and Nick Madison doesn’t need to be in them.
After a bit of wandering, I find my way to the top deck and start snapping pictures. As annoyed as I am, my focus quickly shifts over to work-mode, and I start envisioning the commercial we can shoot up here, backed by the dramatic views of Manhattan. It’ll come out really well, I can already tell.
As for the launch party, could you ask for a better space? Kara Kon and five thousand New Yorkers circling the Hudson on a clear and bright New York night? It’ll be the event of the summer.
I finish my photos, but before I start down to the lower decks, I take a moment just to admire the view. You can practically see the entire length of the city from up here, and man what a gorgeous city it is. It really is a relief to be able to stay after all. I’m so sick of Boston and the thought of spending the next few months exploring with Mickey makes my heart swell. We already have plans to go clubbing on Friday, and I can’t wait to experience the excitement of a night out in the city.
Thoughts of Brent and Cheryl have never been further from my mind.
I’m just about to go down when a helicopter appears from within the tangled towers. It’s not a unique sight in New York; Mickey has already expressed a desire to rent one of the innumerable tours offered. But this one catches my eye because it’s heading directly at me. I watch it idly, waiting for it to divert, but it never does. It gets closer and closer and then lower and lower, and I realize that it’s actually, literally heading directly for me. It’s going to land here!
And it doesn’t take a genius to imagine who could be on it.
