The Ruthless Gentleman(8)
His knuckles turned white as he tightened his fist around the handle. “That’s fine. I have it.”
His clipped tone indicated whatever was in the briefcase was important. I just hoped for all our sakes it wasn’t drugs. Yachting had a zero-tolerance policy for drug use. If even a trace of illegal drugs were found on board, a captain would be stripped of his license with no second chances. If Hayden Wolf had drugs in that briefcase, Captain Moss would cancel this charter, and we’d all be guestless and without a tip for the next eight weeks.
I glanced up as he towered above me. Despite him kicking off this charter with an entirely unreasonable demand, being this close to him made me slightly giddy, which wasn’t an adjective anyone had ever used to describe me. I was focused and diligent according to most, funny and loyal if you asked my family. But I was never giddy. Shut it down, shut it down, I chanted in my head.
“This is the main salon. We have a selection of games here,” I said, pointing to the chessboard and the card table. Not that he’d be able to play the games by himself.
He slid his free hand into his pocket. “Chess.”
I paused, waiting for him to elaborate, but he didn’t so we walked the length of the main salon.
The Athena was a beautiful yacht, just as Captain Moss had promised: simple lines, elegant and light. The whole interior looked like a Hampton’s summer house—clean, crisp and fresh in white, creams and grays. All the furniture had a high-end feel without being over the top. Sometimes yacht interiors could be a little gaudy, but if I had a yacht, I would choose something like the Athena’s decoration; it was all understated luxury.
Hayden Wolf made no comment about the decoration.
“We can make up any cocktail you like,” I said, indicating the bar in the corner. “Do you have a favorite?”
He shook his head. “Whiskey sometimes.”
We had some good whiskies on board, and I was relieved to hear he drank. Hopefully we could interest him in a tasting. “Do you have a favorite that I might be able to track down?”
He scanned the windows, looking out at the horizon. “No. Whatever you have on hand will be fine.”
“And with your meals, Neill is an excellent chef. He’d love to make you what you like. Are you a steak man?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes.”
“Fish?” I suggested.
“I’m not fussy.”
I smiled while holding myself back from calling him a liar. There was no such thing as an unfussy billionaire. I managed to say nothing and led us toward the stairwell. “We have four floors of guest accommodation, bedrooms are at the bottom, so let’s start with the top floor, just above us.”
The reflection from the water was almost blinding as we opened the door and stepped outside onto the upper deck. “It’s really just the hot tub up here. You can get a little bit of shade as well,” I said, indicating the two loungers while avoiding looking at Hayden. As a chief stewardess, I made it my business not to show my emotions and this man wouldn’t change that. “Most guests like to use the loungers on the main deck. There’s also space at the front of the boat at this level for sunbathing as well.” I pointed toward the route to the beds at the top of the boat. I bet he had strong thighs and a hard chest under that suit. Not that I would be looking. “You’ll figure out which you prefer.”
I snuck a glance when he didn’t respond. He just pursed his lips and nodded. It wasn’t that he was impolite, he just seemed a little uninterested, as if relaxation would be superfluous to him over the next eight weeks.
“Okay then, let’s head to the second lounge and dining room.” I led the way down two floors. “This is where you’ll eat if it’s too windy outside,” I said as we reached the living-dining space. I shrugged. “Or if you want a change, the main salon is bigger, but here there’s a television and some people think it’s a little cozier.”
He chuckled, and I snapped my head around in case I’d misheard, but I hadn’t. He was laughing. It was good to know he could and it suited him. Made him look younger and less serious.
“I don’t think there’s much about this boat that’s going to make me feel cozy,” he said.
He had a point. He was going to rattle around the place. “Are you planning on having any guests? We’d be happy to accommodate additional people.”
His smile disappeared. “No.”
I’d clearly touched a nerve. I just didn’t understand why. I hadn’t asked anything controversial. Getting this guy to talk was impossible. “Okay, let’s head to the bedroom level.”
At the bottom of the stairs, I paused. The space down here was tighter than elsewhere on the boat and there were no windows in the square hallway. He and I were alone in this darkened, small space, just inches between us, and the atmosphere seemed to shift slightly. He sucked in a breath, and I found myself staring at his expanding chest. I glanced up and caught his eye. Shit. “Of course you have six cabins for you to use.” Hopefully he hadn’t noticed.
“And they’re all secured?” he asked.
“Yes, privacy is a key feature.” I made my way into the second guest bedroom. As Captain Moss had indicated this would be a working vacation, I’d arranged to have all the regular furniture removed and replaced it with a large, white modern desk, a desk chair, two easy chairs and an additional office chair. “I thought it might be useful for you to have this room to work. If you need anything else, just let me know. I wasn’t quite sure what you’d want.”