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“Of course, ma’am.” He bowed slightly.
Everything was spotlessly clean and meticulously decorated, from the brand-new wood flooring of the deck to the elegantly-designed deck chairs congregated around an industrial-metal table. Very chic. There was a pool, of course, with enticing turquoise waters and a jacuzzi bubbling.
I walked along the length of the pool, looking for architectural mistakes. A wobbly line or bulge in the poured concrete somewhere. But there was nothing troublesome to note. Everything looked perfect. Almost obnoxiously so. I had a hawk’s eye for detail, and it sometimes worried me at first when I couldn’t spot a problem. It didn’t make any sense to think that way; of course it was preferable for me to not find something wrong. But it was just the way my personality worked. In high school and college, I often took work as an editor, proofreading other students’ papers and even finding my way into the offices of lawyers, doctors, accountants, and businessmen to edit their copy and make sure it all sounded smooth. It was almost like a puzzle for me, trying to spot the issue, whether it was a missing comma or water damage to a stateroom on a yacht. It all went back to the same drive to fix things, to sniff out the bad and turn it into good.
By now, the young man in uniform had hurried back to my side and was anxiously trying to figure out how to address me. “M-ma’am?” he stammered, his tanned face blushing. “I could take you on a tour of the staterooms, if you’d like?”
I nodded. “Oh, that would be very helpful, thank you. I would appreciate that. And you can call me Ms. Hargrove. What’s your name?”
He looked relieved. “I’m Miguel Castaneda. Nice to meet you. Uh, Ms. Hargrove, would you like to follow me to the upper decks first?”
“Sure. That would be fine.”
He led me up the steps to the next deck, taking me through the hallway and showing me room by room. There was a grand recreational room with two billiards tables, a darts board, several vintage arcade games, and no less than three massive flat-screen televisions mounted on the walls, complete with attached, surprisingly elegant video gaming systems. The style of the design was sleek, almost minimalistic in its clean lines and sharp furnishings. The fixtures were all either silver or chrome, lending a sort of futuristic tone to the room.
Next up was a private movie theater room with fifteen ritzy leather seats and a wide, impressive screen. The theater was decorated with vintage movie posters of a shocking variety. Film noir, slasher films, action movies, and even some more obscure arthouse film posters flanked the walls. The ambiance of the room was cozy and cavernous, exactly the way one would hope a home theater to feel. It was the kind of place I would have loved to snuggle into with a bucket of buttered popcorn and watch a movie with some friends.
Next was a room that made my heart go all a-flutter. It was a private library, the walls lined with lovely built-in shelving, slam-packed with books. I was not supposed to be judging the content of the library, only the style, but I couldn’t help but notice that there were all kinds of antique books, old classics rubbing elbows with newer books. There was a huge, glossy window at the front of the room that overlooked the decks and the blue waters beyond. Two elaborately carved and upholstered armchairs sat by the window with a modern, sleek floor lamp between them. I was just itching to curl up in one of those chairs with a romance novel.
That was one of my biggest secrets, a guilty pleasure only my best friend knew about. And even she teased me for it on occasion. I loved romance books. The steamier, the cheesier, the better. I just wanted to read one of my favorites in peace, closed up in this beautiful library.
But then, it was time to move on to the next—the lower deck.
Miguel led me back down and into another grand hallway. We passed through a marvelous dining room adjoining the huge, perfectly-outfitted chef’s kitchen. There was a chandelier of crystal and a huge blue and silver rug that had to cost more than my entire apartment in Atlanta, and that was saying something. My apartment was not cheap.
“Could I see one of the bedrooms, please?” I asked Miguel.
He winced, which gave me pause. What could possibly be wrong with a bedroom? That was easily the most important room onboard. It was where the client, in this case Jeff, would be spending a lot of time.
“Uh, yes. Of course,” Miguel said quickly. “There’s a smaller bedroom just to the left—”
“Actually,” I interrupted with a smile, “I was hoping to see the master suite.”
Miguel’s face went a little ashen, but he couldn’t tell me no. Ah, so this was where the problem was. Surely there was some terrible design flaw, some mismatched carpeting or godawful wallpaper to contend with. Why else would he be so concerned?
He led me to the master suite. We stopped outside. “Go ahead inside, Ms. Hargrove. I-I think I might be needed on deck.”
“Oh,” I said, frowning as I put my hand on the doorknob. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll come back in a bit,” he added quickly, and nearly darted away down the hall. I turned back to the door, confused, and pushed it open.
At first, I was even more confused. The room was not a disaster. In fact, it was beautifully designed and well-maintained. The furnishings were lovely. The bed was—
Not made.
The sheets were piled and spilling off the bed as though it had just been slept in. That was odd. But I figured maybe they hadn’t gotten around to fully tidying up in here. No big deal. But then I saw a trail of clothing on the floor leading from the bed to the adjoining en suite bathroom.
That was also odd.
Then the bathroom door opened.
And out walked a naked man. I let out a shriek and jumped backward, dropping all my papers and my phone. I clapped a hand over my mouth and stared at the man. He was not even remotely embarrassed about my walking in on him. He was tall, at least a good head taller than me, and muscular. In fact, he was downright ripped. He gave me a smile, and not even a sheepish one. Steam rolled out of the bathroom behind him. His skin was glowing and dewy. He’d clearly just stepped out of the shower.
“Oh my God,” I gasped. “I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t r
ealize—”
“No worries,” he said, not even hiding his crotch from my view. I tried my best not to glance down but, oh God. I did. I glanced down.
