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"Aha, you do care. I knew it! So now that I failed the test forHow to Successfully Sneak Past Romeo Without Getting Caught, cough up the details surrounding Drake's firing. You were a bit cryptic when you called me."
"I'll share, but you have to pretend you haven't heard a thing. No one knows the details."
"Then how do you know?"
Romeo arches an eyebrow. "I know everything around here. Of course, it helps when Natalia goes to Katherine's office to talk and neglects to shut the door all the way."
"You eavesdropped!"
"I did no such thing. I was merely caring for the potted shrub outside Katherine's door."
"We have a service for that. The company comes weekly to take care of the plants."
Romeo's eyes widen, his mouth opening like a capital O as his palm covers it. He dramatically pulls his hand away. "Oh, my. I didn't know."
"Bravo!" I clap my hands appreciatively. "That's one of the best acting jobs I've seen in a while."
"Thank you, sweetie," Romeo beams. "Now, on to Drake. He turned in the story he'd pitched for the world's best swim-up pool bars. When it got sent to copy editing, some glaring mistakes were found, such as describing a pool bar at a resort in French Polynesia and saying it was located in Thailand. The article also listed a resort that closed during the pandemic. Through some questioning and research, Marcus's team discovered that our intern Candace had drafted the story, hoping to show it to Katherine, and Drake stole it. A deeper dive into Drake's work revealed that one of the stories he's currently working on was published by another magazine last year, and he was tweaking it enough to pass it off as his."
"That slimy piece of shit. So the hot-air ballooning story I called Drake on wasn't the only one he'd stolen."
"It wasn't, and now Katherine and Natalia are trying to uncover the extent of his pilfering and plagiarism. Unfortunately, the episode brought Candace's faulty research skills to light, so I rechecked the information she gave you. I wasn't surprised that Candace's financial data on Voyager River Cruises was incorrect. But I was shocked to learn her data on the owner, Arthur Evans, was grossly incomplete. She only listed his wife and child from his second marriage, completely ignoring his Bulgarian wife and two children, Rada and Dane, from his first marriage. I almost went into cardiac arrest when I put two and two together and realized your delicious Bulgarian bartender was none other than the owner's son."
"I suppose I owe you a thank-you for saving me from a bigger headache later. Oh, yeah, and for not having a heart attack. I'd hate having to attend your funeral, knowing I was responsible."
"I would hate you for killing me too."
"How? You'd be dead."
"I hold horrible grudges."
That was it. As tired as I was, I had to laugh at the absurdity of a dead Romeo pissed at me and holding a grudge. Wiping my eyes, I do a U-turn to the subject of Drake and Candace. "I assume Candace is no longer here."
"She is not. Now, enough of the office drama. I want to know what happened to you and that hunk of a man of yours. Did you work it out?"
"I'd rather not talk about Dane."
"Uh-oh, that comment speaks volumes. You can tell me the dirty little details, or I can sit in your office all day and make noises."
"Great. You'd do it too, and I don't even want to know what kind of noises. But can I get some coffee first? I didn't get much sleep after flying home yesterday, and I'm exhausted."
"No, because if you leave, you won't return, and then I'll be forced to occupy your office. Besides, I remembered you flew home yesterday and would be here this morning. Being proactive, I asked Jonathan, our new intern, to get you a caramel macchiato along with Katherine and Natalia's order."
"You're such a lifesaver. I really would be lost without you."
"I agree. Now sit and give me the dirt. What happened after I gave you the news and you hung up?"
I reluctantly plop down in one of the chairs in front of Romeo's desk, setting my purse and bag on the floor. Telling him what happened with Dane would be easier in the long run than dealing with anything he'd do to me if I didn't. Gettingcomfortable, I prepare for Romeo's upcoming questions and commentary and then spill the story.
"I'll give you the condensed version since the full story is too ugly. I was shocked and pissed after you told me who Dane was and went after him for costing me a promotion and possibly my job. He tried to soothe me, which didn't help. He got upset and attacked me for the same thing, saying I put his and the company's reputations at risk. I told him not to touch or talk to me again and went back to the ship."
"That was rough. What happened after that?"
"Nothing. I got up early the next morning, wrote a note to the four ladies I'd met, telling them I enjoyed meeting them, and slipped it under one of their cabin doors. Then I left the ship, catching a taxi to the airport. It was five o'clock, so no one saw me leave except the crew member at the reception desk."
"You left just like that. No talking about it or telling the man goodbye?"
"Yep."
