Page 21 of Adrift

“No, that’s fine, Haley. Tomorrow will be great.” I like the way her name rolls off my tongue.

“Okay then. Goodnight, Captain.” She smiles.

“Goodnight, Haley. Nice to meet you finally, Easton.”

I turn back to the captain and incline my head. He’s staring but not at me.

“This deck has the owner’s suite, the main salon, and the dining deck,” says Haley. “The junior suites are one deck down.”

“A junior suite for a junior.” I laugh.Damn, Rockwell, get your shit together.I sound like an ass. I’ve had a supermodel hit on me, but this steward is making me act like a teenager. Down the spiral stairs, I try not to stare at her ass. But it’s hard to do, because it’s big and juicy like a peach. I’ve become a complete asshole because I’m hoping the short shorts she’s wearing are her uniform shorts and not something she sleeps in.

Shit, I got laid last night in a club bathroom. I shouldn’t be this horny.

The hallway is full of boxes. Come to think of it, there were several stacks of boxes we walked by coming out of the bridge. “How’s the new ship? Are you liking it?”

She shoots me a glance over her shoulder, one she carefully and quickly schools. “TheRock Candyis going to be a great boat.”

“Interesting choice of words.” I smile at her, but she quickly turns away and stops in front of two doors.

“So, here’s where you have a choice to make.” She points to a door with a brass label that readsFortune, Rockwell Harding’s premier product, and then one that’s labeledEmily. “Fortune is ready, but the door jams and Shayla, the second stew, was stuck in there for an hour earlier today. The engineer is going to work on it tomorrow. Or you can sleep in the Emily suite. The bed’s made up, and the bathroom is ready to go, but we haven’t hung up curtains or, well, finished it.”

“Which is less work for you?”

“Your sister is Emily?”

“Yes.”

“I’m guessing she’s going to want to sleep in the Emily suite.”

“I suppose so. I’ll stay in Fortune.”

“Excellent.” Haley leans into the door, twists the handle, and opens it.

“Wow. This is remarkably nice.” There are a few decorations but nothing over the top. Not like how Candy has changed the main house and the house in Florida. They both look like they threw up an accessory store. The curtains are slate gray with a ribbon of gold around the edges. And the bed has the correct number of pillows. Did Candy even have anything to do with the boat?

“Thanks. We’re trying to figure out what to do with all the extra stuff in the boxes.”

Aw, there it is.“Oh, didn’t you hear? Candy ordered extra. I’m supposed to take everything you don’t want to the women’s shelter.”

“Really?” Haley’s brow jumps up.

“Yeah, you know, she’s eccentric and likes to give control to people who know better. You know what they say: surround yourself with smart people and you’ll never appear dumb.” Damn, I hope I don’t get this girl fired. I’ve got friends with yachts. I’ll get her a job if need be. “You better get some rest. We’ll need to get the rest of the things you and your staff don’t need off the boat early.” As in before Candy shows up. I give Haley a smile.

Chapter 10

Stow

Haley

“Shayla, I’m not lying to you. That’s what Easton said.”

“Well, girl, it doesn’t make sense.”

“No, I’m with you there.” I eat the rest of my toast over the sink. Making one less dish to wash.

“Well, I’ve been labelling the extra stuff. We don’t know what to do with all the question mark boxes.”

“Thank you for stopping writing WTF on them.”

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