The Ruthless Gentleman(17)

The corner of his mouth curled up and I wondered if he’d be a good kisser. “Good to know. I might have a use for that kinda skill.” He paused, almost as if he was going to say something, but then pulled his laptop back onto his knee as I mentally high-fived myself at getting this guy to engage a little, to loosen up. He stopped typing. “And actually, if you can throw in some carbs somewhere, that would work.”

“No problem.” I was about to walk away but I wanted more for Neill than just today’s menu. And it was my job to ensure Hayden Wolf had what he wanted.

“I guess in your business you like working with people who want to give their best. People who give one hundred percent, and are great at what they do?”

Hayden looked up from his laptop, frowning.

“Well, the crew want to do the same for you, and our mind-reading ability only goes so far. We want to give you our absolute best. Neill is a fantastic chef. This boat has amazing facilities—Jet Skis, a pool area that we can set up in the ocean that safeguards against jellyfish. We even have an inflatable banana.” I paused. “Although that might not be your thing.” It was difficult to imagine Hayden Wolf doing anything just for fun, but I was sure he’d go to his grave without sitting astride an inflatable banana. “We’re here to give one hundred percent. And we like what we do. I know you are incredibly busy, but if you could give some thought to your preferences sheet, maybe it will provide you with a little light relief between phone calls.” I set down a blank form I’d printed off in the wheelhouse earlier. “This is an unusual charter for us—just one guest, eight weeks.” I shrugged. “We would be really grateful for a bit of direction.”

He didn’t say anything but continued to look at me with his dark blue eyes after I finished speaking. “I’ll take a look,” he replied eventually.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to go on. I just—”

“I’ll take a look.” He was done talking.

“Thank you.” I headed back to the main salon. It wasn’t a promise, but maybe he’d come up with something and at least I had today’s menu for Neill.

“Avery.”

I turned back to face him.

He didn’t look up from his laptop. “I’d like to deal with you as much as possible, exclusively, in fact.”

I didn’t let my smile drop as heat stirred in my belly. He wanted more time with me? Or did he not like Skylar and August?

“It might make things easier. I don’t want to have to fend off small talk from other crew.”

I nodded. Of course that was it. It wasn’t personal. Just that I was more senior and better able to swallow the thousand questions I wanted to ask him. How had he made his money so young? What had he done to create enemies? What was his family like? Did he have a wife? I could hold back—I’d make sure I did—but I wasn’t so sure about August, so his request made sense. I hoped it at least meant he thought I was good at my job.

“No problem,” I replied. “I need to clean your room, if that’s okay?”

Hayden exhaled, then swung his legs over the lounger and stood. “I’d like to be there if that’s all right.”

The last thing I wanted was supervision while I turned his room, but I never said no to a guest. “Okay, but I don’t have to do it now if you want to drink your coffee.”

“That’s okay. I’ll fit in around you.” He slid his hands through his almost-curly hair. “I can work downstairs as easily as I can up here.”

Nothing about this charter made sense—he must understand that I was meant to fit around him not the other way around. But I couldn’t fight him on this at every turn, so I decided I would just take his offer at face value. “Careful. I might hand you a mop,” I teased, leading the way back into the interior.

He chuckled but didn’t say anything.

Once in the bedroom, he opened his laptop and settled at the small table under the window. I set to work.

I’d never felt so much like the help as I did as Hayden Wolf worked while I cleaned. Ordinarily, I didn’t mind being the maid of the rich and famous. The guests all seemed to merge into one and I was able to separate who I was from the job I was doing. Maybe it was because Hayden was here alone, or maybe it was because he wasn’t that much older than me, but the distance between Hayden and me didn’t feel as vast as it did with other guests. And I didn’t want him to see me as a stewardess. I wanted him to see the person beyond the uniform as a woman who could have gone to college and done so much more than clean his room and change his bedding.

I kept glancing across as Hayden remained laser focused on his laptop, occasionally frowning or shaking his head. Perhaps I could assist him in some way? It wasn’t as if he’d brought a personal assistant on board, which wasn’t unusual, although they normally stayed on shore somewhere rather than on the yacht.

“How long do you think you’ll be?” he asked without looking up.

Shit, had he seen me staring in his peripheral vision?

I snapped into action, pulling the sheets from the bed. “I’ll be as quick as possible, but you really don’t need to babysit me. I’m trustworthy.”

“Yeah?” he asked, turning to look at me. The intensity of his eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

“Honestly,” I said.