Page 58 of Sail Away
“Have you heard anything specific?”
“No. But I’ll be honest, I’m going to be listening now.”
“Good. I want you to, and I want you to tell me everything. But don’t say a thing to Captain Jim.” She picked up her radio. “Bradley. Bradley. This is Darcie. Can you meet me in the crew mess?”
“On my way,” Bradley said over the radio.
“Do me a favor and go find Anastasia and ask her not to tell Milia. I just don’t know if I can trust her or not with the whole Kim and Jim thing, and I don’t trust Jim right now as far as I can spit.”
“The captain’s acting weird. He’s staying in the bridge more than usual, and he seems nervous,” Kirk said. “This entire charter has a weird vibe. And for the record, I would never think you did drugs, but it’s kind of obvious that you and that Reid guy have the hots for each other.”
“He’s my ex-boyfriend. I did at one time think he was the sexiest man alive,” she said, not hiding her smile. “Actually, I still do.”
“I wouldn’t kick him out of bed.”
“Kick who out of bed?” Bradley asked as he snagged an apple.
“Reid,” Kirk said.
“I don’t think anyone in their right mind, straight or gay, would ask him to leave. Now Preston, doesn’t matter how good-looking he is or ripped his abs are, that man is a douchebag.”
“I totally agree,” Darcie said. “I need to ask you about what Reid and Preston’s team is saying about me. And Reid.”
“Am I allowed to speak freely and as frankly as possible? As if you’re not my boson?” Bradley asked.
She nodded.
“Are you sure? Because there is only one way to put this, and it’s not pretty.”
“I’m sure.”
“They’re just idiots who are jealous that their boss is getting a little action and they’re only riding jet skis with governors on them.”
She had to appreciate the man’s honesty. “Do you think they are saying these things purposefully in earshot of you all?”
“Who knows with people like that,” Kirk said. “Half the time, they act as if we’re not even around, unless they need something.”
“True,” she said. “Alrighty. Just let me know what else you hear, okay.”
“You got it.” Bradley turned and jogged back up the stairs.
“I better get back out there before my boson tells me I’m slacking.” Kirk knocked on the table with his knuckles. “See you later.”
She picked at her sandwich and stared at her computer screen. Reid didn’t do cocaine any more than she did. So, why would his team say that he did? And why would they be gossiping about her sneaking out of his room?
Of course, that was cause for dismissal. But what would having her fired in the middle of a charter do for Preston? And she wouldn’t actually be let go until they docked. She let out a long breath. She had a million questions with no answers.
She opened her laptop and pulled up the portal to the miscellaneous files from Reid’s server. It bothered her to no end that Jim had been communicating with Preston for months. It didn’t fit in her mind that whatever this was, it had been planned out months ago when Jim first contacted her to be his boson.
And then his bunkmate.
Why?
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fuck it.” She slammed the laptop closed and ran up the steps, turned the corner, and ran up the second flight, right into the bridge.
“What the fuck?” Captain Jim said as he swiveled in his big brown leather chair. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry, but we need to talk.”
