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She froze, her hamstring giving a nasty twang as her leg slipped from the bar, when Zac strode past, barely breaking stride.
No way. Seeing him now was too soon, too awkward, too much.
He faced the room as twenty women sighed in unison. She didn’t—she was supposed to be forgetting last night, remember—but she couldn’t blame them, not with him standing there looking decidedly drool-worthy in navy shorts, white polo shirt, resident charming smile in place.
“Good morning, ladies. I can see you’re all keen to start working out to be up this early. Unfortunately, Shelley had an accident ashore last night and has a severely sprained ankle. So I’m sorry, but these classes will be canceled for the remainder of the cruise.”
Loud groans echoed through the room and Lana stifled a grin. Zac didn’t have a clue how desperate a bunch of women craving their daily endorphin fix could be, and if he thought a simple apology would cut it, he was in for a big surprise.
“However, she’ll be able to check your gym programs from tomorrow. She’ll be here between ten and three, though purely in a supervisory role. Thanks for your understanding.”
His thanks were pre-emptive. He’d barely finished speaking when angry women besieged him.
“You’ve got to be joking,” said a thirty-year old in skintight black leggings and matching singlet. “I’ve saved for five years to take this cruise and that’s it, no aerobic classes? I must do my classes every day.”
“When I pay for service, I damn well expect it,” said an octogenarian in a velvet leisure suit.
“The company who operates this ship will be hearing about this when I get off.” This, from a fifty-something woman wearing serious workout gear.
“Isn’t there anyone else to take over?” Asked the youngest member of the crowd, a perky teen in a crop top and bike shorts.
Zac held up his hands, his smile long gone in the face of the tirade. “Ladies, please, if you’ll give me a chance to—”
“Now listen here, mister. This is my tenth cruise and I’ve cruised with different shipping lines all over the world. So far, the service on this ship stinks.” A large woman crow-barred into a purple leotard stood toe to toe with him, hands planted on ample hips. “Ever since I set foot on this tug, things have gone wrong. The air conditioning in my cabin didn’t work, the balcony door jammed, the incompetent waiters mixed up my dinner, the dance instructor was called away at the last minute only to be replaced by the likes ofyou,and now this. What next?”
Another woman stepped forward, her rake-thin body clad in designer gear, the type you don’t sweat in, and her artfully dyed blonde hair coifed for such an early hour of the morning.
“I’m surprised, Mr. McCoy. In my day, a PR man knew how to handle life’s little dramas such as this. In fact, he was paid to promote the delights of cruising.” Her eyes narrowed and her lips thinned in disapproval. “You, on the other hand, don’t seem to be earning your wage at all. I would hazard to say you’re rather incompetent.”
Uh-oh.The situation had turned from tense to downright ugly in the space of two minutes and Lana felt sorry for Zac, wanting to help but unwilling to interfere.
Before Zac could utter a word, the designer dame jabbed an accusatory finger in his direction. “I presume you know who I am, Mr. McCoy?”
He nodded, his lips set in a grim line, but his confident aura firmly in place. She’d glimpsed the same unflappability last night after the kiss, when she’d slammed her barriers back in place and taken her anger out on him.
“Not only do Mr. Rock and I contribute handsomely to this particular shipping line, our personal recommendations go a long way to securing promotions for staff onboard. Personally, I’m having a hard time finding any worthy staff on this ship.” She punctuated the air with short, sharp jabs of her hand. “And furthermore, I recommend you rectify this farce as soon as possible.”
She spun around and sailed out of the room like the ocean liners of old, majestic, impressive, unstoppable.
Nobody deserved to be publicly berated like that and taking in Zac’s tense posture and clenched jaw, Lana empathized. She knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of criticism like that, had faced it eight weeks earlier when she’d appealed to the museum’s CEO to let her be the spokesperson on the Egypt trip.
The result? If her self-confidence hadn’t been good to being with, it had been non-existent after that meeting when he’d told her in no uncertain terms she ‘wasn’t the face the museum was looking for’. Apparently, she was too reserved, too serious, too conservative. All perfectly legitimate qualities for head curator, but not good enough to front TV cameras and reporters at the digs of the newest discovery. That honor had gone to her trainee, a woman with a bigger mouth, bigger boobs, and a bigger wardrobe than her.
It had hurt. A lot. A whole damn lot. Lana was brilliant at her job, the one thing that made her feel good about herself. Little wonder her limited self-esteem had plummeted as a result and she needed this trip to give it a boost in the right direction.
Battling the sting of bitter tears and overwhelming humiliation that day in the CEO’s office, she’d pledged to gain confidence and never be overlooked for a work opportunity again.
After that kiss last night, she’d taken a huge backward step, retreat her best form of defence. But now, she possessed skills to help Zac, maybe she could take another baby step forward?
What better way than taking a class she’d been trained for?
She taught at the museum all the time, instructed students and peers, and it was the only time she never felt self-conscious in front of a group. She enjoyed teaching, enjoyed imparting skills to others, so why not here, now?
Clenching and unclenching her hands several times, she shook them out, wishing she could shake off her nerves as easily. Tension clawed at her tumbling tummy and she inhaled in and out, long, slow breaths to clear her head and give her clarity of thought.
But taking time to calm her nerves wasn’t a good idea, as the more she thought about her proposition, the more she wanted to bolt for the safety of her cabin.
Though hiding away wouldn’t improve her confidence.
