Page 69 of One Night in Hawaii

I walked to the door and opened it. “On second thought, I’ll have someone pack and deliver anything you might have left behind. I want you out of here now.”

She glared at me and looked like she wanted to fight, but she had to know she was defeated. It was over.

28

SHILOH

It had been a week and, once again, nothing from Archer. I wondered if he had changed his mind again.

Was he playing games? Was it over? I felt like I was stuck on the rollercoaster from hell. I was up one minute and crashing to the bottom the next.

I waited every morning and every day. I kept waiting for him to stroll down the dock. I envisioned our reunion with me running and jumping into his arms. I didn’t take the boat out in case he showed up and I was gone.

Penelope and Ryder spent pretty much every minute together. Ryder was staying at the resort with Penelope most days. When he worked, I hung out with Penelope. I liked having a girlfriend to hang out with. She was a lot of fun, but when Ryder got off work, they usually wanted to be alone. I didn’t blame them a bit. I was envious but I tried to keep my bitterness in check. I wanted them to be happy.

And it was time for me to find happiness. Whether that was with Archer or just doing my own thing. I had waited a week with nothing and then another week with the promise he was coming back. I put my life on hold for an entire week.

Enough was enough. I had to move on. I had to get back to living my life and doing what needed to be done. That meant planning my excursion for next spring.

Now that it was established I wasn’t taking the money from Penelope, it was back to the drawing board to secure the funds I needed to follow the whale migration.

I put on the dress I chose for the meeting. It felt weird to wear normal clothes and put on makeup to make myself look like a professional. A company I did some work for in the past reached out to talk about my whale migration interest. They wanted to talk about sponsoring the trip, which would be amazing. I printed out my plans and what I hoped to learn from the excursion. It was in a neat little package. I needed the money. I wanted it so badly and I needed it to keep moving forward with my life.

As I walked into the meeting room, my heart raced with both excitement and trepidation. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The idea of embarking on such an adventure was incredibly exciting, but I knew better than to accept anything without thoroughly understanding the terms. I needed to know what they expected from me in return. There was always a catch. They weren’t going to fork over money without getting something in return.

Taking a deep breath, I settled into a chair as the representatives from the company began their pitch. The prospect of exploring the seas, documenting the awe-inspiring whale migration, and contributing to marine biology research filled my mind with visions of grandeur. However, amidst the enthusiasm, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of apprehension. I noticed they were usingtheyinstead ofyou. I would wait until the end to ask them my questions.

As the presentation went on, they revealed the catch. I would have to work alongside James Mulligan, a man I had known for years and, to put it mildly, loathed. James was infamous for his arrogance and self-proclaimed expertise in marine biology. He had an ego the size of a blue whale and believed he was God’s gift to the scientific community.

At that moment, a sense of doubt crept over me. How could I embark on such a meaningful project if it meant having to tolerate James’s condescending attitude and insufferable behavior? This was my idea. My project. James would take all the credit. I would get no recognition. He would be more interested in selling the data instead of trying to understand what it meant to the whales and the world as a whole.

Although the idea of working with James made me want to decline the offer outright, I knew better than to let my personal feelings get in the way of my dreams. I had to swallow my pride if I wanted to make the whale migration a reality.

The representatives exchanged a glance before one of them spoke up. “We’ve already scheduled a meeting between you and James for tomorrow. We suggest you prepare thoroughly for it, as it will determine whether we can offer the funding. We’re trusting James’s experience to help guide us on this. From what we see here, it looks like you have it all laid out. I don’t think there will be an issue at all. It’s a well-crafted proposal.”

“Thank you,” I said, smiling.

I knew I had a decision to make. As the meeting ended, I stayed behind to speak with the company representatives privately. I voiced my concerns and told them that I couldn’t work with James Mulligan. They listened patiently, nodding their understanding. After a moment of silence, the lead representative spoke.

“Look, we understand your concerns. Working with James can be challenging, but he is the best in the field. We need him for the project to succeed.”

I sighed, already knowing what they were going to say next. James had name recognition and would add validity to the project. I was a no one in the field. They needed to make sure they were going to get their money’s worth.

“Can I have a few days to go over the contract?” I asked.

“Of course,” the head of the group said. “James is thrilled to get to work with you. He is certain there is a lot he can teach you.”

I nearly bit my tongue off. “Oh, I’m sure he’s certain he could,” I said with a tight smile.

“This project could lead to lucrative speaking engagements all around the world,” he reminded me. “We want to make sure it is set up for success.”

“I appreciate that,” I said. “I’ll get back to you. Thank you for your time.”

After the meeting, I left feeling like I had taken one step forward and two steps back. I could not imagine living on a boat with James Mulligan. I already knew about his rotten reputation before I had the misfortune of meeting him a few times at conferences. The guy was beyond arrogant.

We were talking about spending months together in a very small space. There was no way I could tolerate him every minute of every day. I would lose my shit and throw him overboard. There was just no world in which I could do this expedition with him.

That left me with no funding. I glanced up at the sky and saw the dark clouds rolling in. I could ride it out on my boat or hang out at Ryder’s.

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