The Ruthless Gentleman(56)

“I’m sure a clever girl like you knows more than you think you do. You’ve already confirmed he’s on the boat, so thank you for that.”

I snapped my head around. “I did no such thing.”

“But you didn’t deny it, and that’s as good as a confirmation as far as I’m concerned.”

Shit, had I given Hayden’s location away? He was so careful, so private about everything. It would be horrifying to be the person who fucked that up for him. “I didn’t confirm or deny anything. It’s none of your business who’s on my yacht.”

“If the information’s good, the money could go up,” he said, ignoring my denial. My bliss seeped away, and I wanted to grab him by the collar and force him to confess that I hadn’t confirmed who our guest was, but of course, I’d just make things worse. It would cement what he clearly already knew.

“Five thousand dollars? Come on, it’s easy money. Just tell me what he’s working on, who he’s talking to. Think of it as a tip. You’re used to tips, right?”

Easy money? Was there any such thing? Five thousand dollars would mean a great deal for my family. Didn’t I owe more loyalty to my family than a near-perfect stranger? If I asked my dad I knew what he’d say. He’d tell me my character was priceless. I couldn’t take the money for my family when I knew they’d be disappointed if they ever found out how I’d come by it.

As we rounded the corner, the tender came into view.

“Eric,” I shouted, and I waved when he looked up. I turned to the man. “I don’t have anything to say to you, sorry,” I said, then broke into a run. It wasn’t worth it. I would just work harder for bigger tips rather than take money to steal secrets and sell them. That wasn’t how I was raised, and more than I wanted that extra money, I wanted to be my father’s daughter.

I didn’t look to see if he was following me. I just focused on Eric, the tender and getting back to the yacht.

“Hey, I thought you’d go back to the yacht last night,” Eric said, taking my hand as I stepped into the boat. “You weren’t at dinner.”

I frowned as I turned to see Phil had disappeared. I hadn’t told him anything, yet he’d twisted it and made me feel bad.

“Avery?”

I turned away to look at Eric. “Sorry, yeah.” Should I tell Eric about the approach from Phil? Maybe he’d approached other members of the crew while they’d been ashore. What had they told him? Was Hayden under surveillance or something?

“Did the guy I saw you with get lucky?”

It took me a couple of seconds to see which dots he’d connected. Eric had assumed the man I’d been approached by was my lover. I’d not thought about what I was going to say about where I’d been last night. I’d been too wrapped up in the shadows of last night, still drunk on Hayden’s touch, to think through my excuses and get my story straight. I shrugged. “You can’t ask me that,” I said and winked at him.

Eric clearly hadn’t recognized the guy, so perhaps Phil had only approached me. I’d mention it to the captain so he could remind everyone to take their duty of confidentiality seriously. I wasn’t sure if I’d tell Hayden. I’d not revealed anything to Phil but whoever he was, he’d intimated that I had. I hated the thought Hayden might get the same impression, might believe I wasn’t on his side or didn’t have his best interests at heart.

I knew the truth. But would he believe me? Or was it better to just keep quiet?





Twenty-Four





Hayden


“Can anyone here play chess?” I asked as I wandered into the galley. I was waiting for a phone call from the U.S. and had forty minutes to kill. As the deal progressed, the bulk of the work I needed to do had tapered off and I became increasingly reliant on the lawyers to move things along.

Three people turned to look at me, and though Avery kept her head down, the blush in her cheeks was all the attention I needed.

“Not me. I’m a card man,” Neill said.

“I can set you up with a Jet Ski if you like?” Eric offered.

I shoved my hands in my pockets. “I only have forty minutes.”

“Avery, you do that thing on the board. Isn’t that chess?” August asked.

Avery looked up. “Backgammon,” she said simply.

“That will do,” I replied. I enjoyed the thought of some one-on-one time with Avery, even with the rest of the crew milling about. “Come on, Walker.” I turned and headed to the smaller salon and dining room, where the games were kept.

“What are you doing?” Avery hissed, bending to pull out the red leather backgammon set from the sideboard.

I frowned. “Killing some time until the next draft of the agreements is circulated. What’s the problem?”

“Main deck?”

“Sure, do you want a drink? Skylar,” I called, and she popped her head out of the galley. “Can you get me a glass of water please? Avery, what do you want?”

Avery glared at me, so I shrugged. “That’s fine, just the water.”

Taking the backgammon set, Avery headed out to the main deck.

“You can’t offer me a drink like I’m your guest, Hayden. It’s weird.”