Page 20 of The Sailor

Eliot shrugged. “I did say that Marit’s been doing an awesome job,” he said a little defensively.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Zach said under his breath. He took a deep breath, trying to control his temper. “You can’t let this guy get away with this. A bully will always sense weakness, and if you don’t stand up for your employees, he’ll just continue to berate her and try to get her to quit. Is that what you want? To lose Marit as an employee?”

“No!” Eliot sighed. “You’re right. I fucked up. I’m sorry, Marit. I was just hoping he’d go away and shut up.”

“He won’t,” Marit said, the defeat easy to hear in her tone.

Eliot stood up straighter. “Well, if he says anything again, I’ll be sure to put him in his place.”

“Me too,” Jonah agreed, speaking up for the first time.

But Zach was hardly impressed. The two men had blown the perfect opportunity to nip the harassment in the bud. He wasn’t so sure it would be easy to get Pearson to back down now. He probably got some sort of high out of knowing how uncomfortable he’d made everyone on the Wave Rider. He’d feed on it. Come back for more. Like a predator sensing weakness in his prey.

Fuck.

“I meant to tell you earlier, but my wife has an appointment tomorrow morning, and I need to drive her to Damariscotta,” Eliot told Marit. “Which means we won’t be able to go out first thing. How about we all just take tomorrow off, since we won’t be able to get a full day in? We got enough lobsters today to keep our regulars happy, even with the festival going on.”

“Oh, is she okay? Marilyn, I mean?” Marit asked.

It said a lot about her that she’d ask about Eliot’s wife, when he and his son had done nothing to defend her against Lucas, and before voicing her pleasure at getting an unexpected day off.

“Yeah. She’s been having some pains in her back, and we want to see what can be done about it before it gets any worse.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I hope the doctors can find out what’s going on and help her.”

“Me too. But no telling how long the appointment will take, so . . . day after tomorrow, here at the dock? We’ll head out at our usual time. We might need a bit more time to check the traps, though. Hopefully they’ll all be full.”

“Of course.”

“Go to Lobster Fest. Check it out. It’ll be your first time going, right?”

“Yeah. I’ve heard a lot about it. Even when I was working in Portland.”

“It’s a good time.”

“Thanks, Eliot. I appreciate it.”

He waved off her thanks. “You work hard. Damn hard. You deserve a day off now and then.”

“I don’t work any harder than you and Jonah do,” she protested.

“Not sure about that. And Marit?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for not saying something more to Lucas. I won’t let you down again.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not. The man doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. And for the record, I don’t give a damn that you’re a woman. All I care about is that the job gets done. And you more than accomplish that.”

“Thanks,” Marit said.

“I’m sorry too,” Jonah added quietly. “I should’ve told him to go to hell.”

Marit’s soft heart was on display when she let the younger Sullivan off the hook as well. “It’s okay. I’m used to people commenting on my size and gender in this job. You guys have things under control here? You need me to deliver any crates anywhere?”

“No, we’ve got it. Go, Marit. Have some fun. Sleep in. Relax. We’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”