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While Rhett carries on, I smooth the rounded top and flatten the walls. Then I set to carving out the long row of arches. I can’t quite remember what the guide said they once housed. Barracks, maybe?
A shadow crosses my work. He’s moved.
Fine.
I peer up. He’s quiet, although his face and neck are still red.
“You done?” I ask.
He draws in a deep breath.
Great, another spiel.
I return to my work.
I half expect him to kick the sand, but apparently, he has some restraint. I’ve almost finished forming the first arch when he kneels next to me and nudges my arm.
“Are you listening to a word I’m saying?”
These words make it through, given they’re so close to me.
I sigh. “Not really. Everyone’s been on infinite repeat since I got to the island. Bailey, you can’t be here. Bailey, you’ll get arrested. Bailey, I’m gonna tell Daddy Rhett!”
Oooh, Daddy Rhett. That sends a zip up my spine.
Probably only because he’s next to me, half-naked and wet.
“Bailey, what has gotten into you? You can’t do things like this.”
All right, I’m ready to talk. I face him.
“What has gotten into me? What got into you, Rhett Armstrong, firing me within hours of whatever bullshit Viola handed you, sending me out with security like I haven’t been your faithful sidekick for two damn years? Did you need a fall guy? A patsy? Was I simply an easy target?”
Every vein on his neck stands out. “You made a financial hole so big that I’m still trying to unravel it.”
“You don’t unravel a hole, Rhett. I can dig a hole, and you can fill it. Or I can weave a web, and you can unravel that.”
“This is not the time to correct me.”
Damn it, he’s spoiling my sand time. I want to work on my mission. “Right, because you’re the mediocre white man, and you’re always right.”
This shuts him right up.
I slide my smoothing tool along the curve of the arch, letting the action soothe my frayed nerves. “Yeah, stew on that a minute. Or don’t. Because I have a mission to sculpt. Gloria suggested I take some time to myself while she told you I was here.”
“She didn’t.”
“That’s obvious. You came out of the sea like a pissed off King Triton ready to attack Ursula.”
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
I slam the smoothing stick into the sand, burying it to the hilt. “Welcome to my world, Rhett Armstrong, where after two years of putting up with the likes of you, I get fired for something I had almost nothing to do with!”
“I’m supposed to believe that? You brought me all those requisitions, explaining how marketing was ramping up the budget to acquire new accounts, and it was all a sham!”
“You act as if I know every detail of every company we work with! I bring you all sorts of budgets. I don’t make sure the insurance company actually covers us. I bring you the bill. I don’t follow the night cleaners around to ensure they work eight hours. We pay them based on a timesheet.”
“Well, maybe you should have been more thorough.”
