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“We’ll just have to make our own fun,” Jennifer said from behind them. She was cleaning the kitchen and between the two of them, Eden didn’t know who the bigger party animal was—Ash or Jen. When the guest went to bed, they went into high gear drinking and having fun. Eden didn’t know how they did it, really. She needed her sleep and waking up the next day to take care of guests was never any fun.
“I’m sure that when we dock, you two will have plenty of fun. We’re going to Saint Tropez. Mr. Wrath says that he has business in Southern France, and we’ll be docked there for a few days, at least.”
“Old Mr. Wrath or young, hot Mr. Wrath,” Jen asked.
“Young, hot Mr. Wrath,” Ash said before Eden could even open her mouth. And he’s gotten even hotter in the year since we last saw him if that’s even possible. Jen pushed her long, blond hair back and stopped working on the pot she was scrubbing. She shot Ash a look as if to tell him that she didn’t believe a word that he was saying, and he just scoffed at her.
“You’ll see for yourself,” he said.
Eden’s father’s voice filled the kitchen over the intercom. “We’ll be setting off in ten minutes. Secure everything and make sure that our guest knows, please Eden.”
She pulled her walkie from her hip holder, “Yes Captain,” she said. Eden never called him dad or even referred to him as her father while they were working, but everyone knew how they were related. The best thing about the crew members that her father had selected to work with him was that none of them seemed to care. They didn’t treat her any differently because her daddy was the boss. In fact, her father treated her as he did everyone else on the crew.
“No fair,” Ash said. “You get to talk to our guest.”
“Well, I am the one in charge of guest relations, so there’s that,” she teased. “I’m sure he’ll toss you one of his devilishly handsome smiles at some point.” She grabbed the drink that he had requested and started up the stairs to find him in the lounge area.
“We will be leaving the dock in ten minutes, Mr. Wrath,” Eden said, handing him his drink.
“Please, call me Bowie,” he said. “My father is Mr. Wrath—as you’ve already assessed.”
“Right,” she breathed. “I’m afraid that I didn’t paint a nice picture of your father.”
“No, I don’t believe that you did. In fact, I think that you called him cranky and old if I remember correctly,” he said.
“Please don’t hold that against my other crew members,” she whispered. Their tip was pooled and divided evenly. If any one of them managed to single-handedly piss off a guest, it would affect all their tips.
“No worries,” he promised, “I’ve called my old man much worse than cranky and old. Besides, I’d say that your assessment was spot on, especially of me,” he teased, winking at her. He was trouble with a capital T, and she needed to remember her place. It was not flirting with the guest, no matter how charming he was or how hot she found him.
“Will there be anything else?” she asked.
“Um, sure,” he said. “Have dinner with me tonight.” Eden wasn’t sure if she had just heard him correctly, but if she had, her answer had to be no. There was no way that she’d break the code to have dinner with the charter guest, no matter how badly she wanted to tell him, yes.
Bowie
Bowie knew that Eden was going to turn him down. He saw it written in her pretty eyes before she told him, no, so he should have been ready for her answer—but he wasn’t.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Wrath, but that would be against the rules,” she said. “I’d like to keep my job, so my answer is going to have to be no.”
“Isn’t your father the captain?” he asked.
“Yes, I’ve already told you that he is, but that doesn’t change anything. If I’m allowed to break the rules because my father is the captain, the rest of the crew will grow to hate me,” she explained.
“I understand,” he lied, “but, I won’t pretend not to be disappointed.”
“Well, I appreciate your understanding,” she said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my duties. We’re going to shove off soon and I need to get some things done before that can happen.” He nodded and sipped his drink, trying for cool, but he felt nothing of the sort. He wanted to demand that she join him for dinner. After all, his family owned the fucking yacht. But flexing his muscles and making demands wasn’t really his way. Bowie wanted to do things differently than his father, even if it meant that he’d be dining alone.
His phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket. “Father,” he said, answering it as soon as he saw his father’s name on the screen.
“Tell me that you’re not going to the south of France,” his father demanded. Shit, the last thing he needed was for word to get out that he was going to meet with Carter Lust at his home in France. It would fuck up his plan to align the Wrath family with the rest of the families. They had all joined forces and, in his opinion, joined the current century, leaving behind the old ways. It was necessary and a change that he’d welcome, but his father would not. His best bet would be to completely lie to his father.
“As I’ve already said, I have no idea where the captain is planning on taking me,” Bowie lied.
“Bullshit,” his father spat. “Don’t play games with me, son. I got a call from Victor Sloth, and he told me that there’s a rumor that you have a meeting with Carter Lust. Tell me that he’s wrong, son,” his father demanded. He was a shitty liar when face to face with someone, but over the phone, he could lie like the best of them.
“I’m not meeting him,” Bowie lied. “I asked the captain to take me someplace with some culture where I can lay in the sun and relax. I’m guessing that he’s turned in his charter plans and we’re going to the south of France. Honestly, this is the first I’ve heard of my destination, and your friend, Victor Sloth jumped to some wild conclusion about me going there. Maybe you should call and scream at him, but I need to get off the phone. We’re heading out and I won’t have stellar phone service for a few hours until we drop anchor.” He probably wouldn’t have any service then, either, but there was no way that he’d admit that to his father before they even left the dock. His dad would have men down at the arena, pulling his ass from the yacht before he’d even knew what happened to him.
“You’re taking a vacation at the worst possible time, Bowie. With the other families joining forces, leaving the Wrath, Sloth, and Gluttony families out on their own, we’re at risk. You’re hurting the family.” He was doing no such thing. Bowie was trying to save the family and keep them relevant in the future, but his father wouldn’t understand that.
