Page 2 of Adrift

“All I could get was that they might be a distraction.” The captain clears his throat. “Candy is a lot. I’ve captained boats for Rocky for years. His last wife was demanding but reasonable. She knew what she liked and how she wanted it.”

“Demanding is normal. I can handle demanding.” Pretty clever how he told me the fiancée isn’t reasonable. “We can work with what we have. And how many do we have now?”

“Three.” He shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I really wish there was something I could do.”

“Three and me.” What the hell? The jealous bitch. What does she think we’ll be doing? Not the owner but his laundry.

“Three with you.” He purses his lips.

“Did you find any male stews? Maybe she would be okay with some guys.” Not that I want to take more jobs away from women in yachting. It’s already such a male-dominated industry.

“One of the original ten was, but he hadn’t left home yet. And if I had to make cuts, I didn’t want it to be on the line of gender. That’s not who I am. Your second stewardess, Shayla, is already on board. She was with me and the owners last season aboard the owner’s old boat, theMermaid’s Tale. Shayla’s been unpacking and working the primary cabin for the last two days. Your third stew will be here tomorrow.”

I nod. That’s yachting—you do what you do with the time you have. Providing the level of service I demand of myself and my team is going to be difficult. But I’ll do my best. I need to brace myself for three months of no sleep. Hopefully, the new fiancée enjoys shopping and we can get her off board in a lot of ports.

“I’ve gotten a raise for your two stews. And I convinced the owner to double your salary.” His blue eyes flash, and I want to see him do that again. They’re so blue, if you saw a photo of him, you’d think it was a filter. But no, they’re all him.

But double damn. I can do three months with no sleep for double my salary.

“I know it’s great to have more cash, but I can assure you there will be more than one time this season you’ll wish you had more stews and less money.”

“I can already tell you I know that’s going to be true. But I’m tough, and we can get it done.” I wish he’d told me this twenty hours ago. Because if he let eight of them go... I studied their CVs over the last few days while I travelled. And I have definitepreferences for which two I want. There’s one that—as hard as I tried not to—I have already labeled as my problem child. A stew can only be as good as the chief, but sometimes you can’t train stupid. Something about that one CV made me cringe. “Who is the other stew?”Don’t say Brianna, don’t say?—

“Brianna.”

My stew smile slips onto my face. The one I use when guests ask for six espresso martinis while I’m trying to pack for a beach picnic and deal with a belligerent chef. “Oh, I’ve read her CV.”

The captain laughs. His rich tone pulses over me. What should I do? I cross my arms over my chest.

“Is that a problem?” He raises his perfectly arched eyebrow.

“No, not a problem. I might have preferred someone with a little more experience, if it’s only the three of us. Her CV is lacking a lot of things.” Like everything from bar skills to laundry, and forget about service and tablescapes. “What made you pick her?” I hope I don’t come off too condescending.

“Right. She’s a niece of the?—”

“—new fiancée.” It blurts out of me.

His nod and a faint smile make me shiver. Why? I’ll have to unpack that when I put my clothes in my bunk. I’m not attracted to my boss. That’s going to be my mantra for the next three months.

“Don’t let that get around. If you’re as clever as my brother says, you’ll have figured that out, anyway. I’m going to ask you to try to keep the rest of the crew in order around her.”

“You want us to keep things from her?”

“Negative. But don’t let things get out of control. Or let any crew talk about the surrounding owners.”

“Yes, Captain.”

His smile lights up his face. “I’m glad you can abide by my rules. Do you want me to show you around?”

“No, I’ve got it. Unless there’s anything special you want to point out.”

“I can do that at dinner. It wouldn’t be bad for the deck to hear it too.”

I nod and stand in the doorway. I’ve worked on boats before where the deck hands helped a lot with dishes and serving. Never on a yacht this size. My breath catches.

“Do you have questions?”

“I suppose. Did the fiancée limit the deck crew too?”

---