The Ruthless Gentleman(11)



I could almost hear him rolling his eyes. “I might just keep that information to myself.”

“Okay, whatever.” I twisted the venetian blinds, the room darkened and I picked up the torch Landon had given me along with the RF device.

I depressed the button, creating a beam of light that illuminated the bed.

“Make sure you do the inspection with the torch first. People skip that step but it can pick up things the more sophisticated stuff doesn’t,” Landon said. “You’re checking for the reflection of a camera lens or the blink of a recording device.”

“I’m on it.” I moved through the room with the light, scanning the walls and the ceilings, even the blinds and the pictures.

“And I’ll let you have more as soon as I do.”

“I’m going to check this place for bugs and then get to work.”

“And, you know, take advantage of the fucking yacht you’re on. Only for you could trouble end up looking like a luxury holiday for the rich and famous.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I’d rather be back in the City.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Shut up and get to work.” I hung up and threw the phone on the bed as I worked my way around the room.

My pulse steadied when my initial inspection found nothing. I checked the switches and sockets to see if any looked as if they’d been tampered with recently. I moved on to the smoke detector. Nothing. Apparently air fresheners and mobile phone chargers were often a prime place to put surveillance devices but nothing was plugged in where it shouldn’t be.

I changed out of my suit and into a shirt and shorts. It would be the first time I worked a deal in casual clothes, or from a sun lounger, or while being served cold drinks by a woman as beautiful as Avery Walker. None of that mattered. Nothing and no one was going to distract me from saving my business and weeding out my hidden enemies.





Five





Avery


The crew had gathered in the galley and their focus turned to me as I wandered in after showing Hayden Wolf down to his room. “He seems happy” was all I could say in response to their obvious anxiety about such an unusual charter. He’d seemed to relax a little when we were downstairs. My skin still tingled from where he’d touched me, as he tried to reassure me that I needn’t fuss. My family always told me off for fussing but guests normally enjoyed it. They paid for it, after all. “I’ll get him a drink when he’s finished unpacking.”

“No fucking phones or computers, Avery,” Neill said.

“Right,” I replied. There was nothing I could say. Neill and I had worked a few seasons together and he knew me well enough to know that I’d be pissed about the lack of phone, but I wasn’t about to lose it when August and Skylar were around. We needed to focus on the positive. “He might calm down after a couple of days. Otherwise, I’m sure the inconvenience will be reflected in our tip.” I would just have to go to shore regularly to call home.

“Something’s off with this guy,” August said as she polished a wine glass to a high shine. “I mean, who comes aboard a yacht in a suit? Even if he did look hot as hell.”

I stared at her and placed a finger over my mouth. We were in the galley, which was only a few feet away from the formal dining room. I could normally hear guest footsteps a mile away, but I was taking nothing for granted where Hayden Wolf was concerned.

“What?” she whispered. “You’ve got to admit he’s weird. Hot, but weird.”

“He’s just British,” Skylar said. “Right?” She turned to me for confirmation. “They’re all a bit stuffy, but let me tell you, they can normally drink like they’re going for gold at the liquor Olympics.”

“Husband material?” August asked Skylar.

“Maybe. I mean he’s off-the-charts hot. And he’s rich so that’s two out of three,” Skylar replied.

“He’s not husband material,” I interrupted. “Because he’s a guest. And that trumps any list of husband qualities.”

“Skylar wants a rich, good-looking husband who isn’t an asshole. The guy’s not going to live on the yacht. Surely guests are fair game once the charter’s over,” August said.

“No one should even be thinking of guests in that way,” I interjected. “Let’s focus on the job.” I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince them or me. “Speaking of the job, he did tell me he liked whiskey.” I tried to catch Neill’s eye as he pulled vegetables from the refrigerator.

He’d been in a bad mood since the captain announced that Hayden Wolf wasn’t going to be filling in a preferences sheet setting out what he liked in terms of food, drink and activities, and I thought the news that Hayden liked to drink would cheer him up.

“Did he say anything about food?” Neill asked.

“Just that he sometimes like steak and sometimes fish.”

Neill rolled his eyes and went back to sorting through the vegetables that were on the counter in front of him.

“I get the impression he’s not fussy,” I said.

“Bullshit,” Neill muttered. No doubt he’d had food sent back too many times to believe any guest on a yacht wasn’t fussy.

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