around the shops. The lobby area was done in glass and wood with a skylight installed in the domed ceiling overhead that displayed a blue summer sky studded with white, puffy clouds.
But she wasn’t exactly on a sightseeing mission. She plowed through the crowd to a booth where one of Nick’s employees stood ready to help passengers with answers to their questions. The man in the red shirt and white slacks wearing a name tag that read Jeff gave Jenna a welcoming smile as he asked, “How can I help you?”
She tried not to take her frustration out on him. After all, he was trying to help. “Hi, I’m Jenna Baker, and I’m in cabin 2A on the Riviera deck and-”
“Jenna Baker?” he interrupted her quickly, frowned a little, then checked a clipboard on the desk in front of him.
“Yes,” she said, attempting to draw his attention back to her. “I just came from my cabin and my key card didn’t work, so-”
“Ms. Baker,” he said, his attitude changing from flirtatious and friendly to crisp professionalism. “There’s a notation here asking that you be escorted to the Splendor Deck.”
Where Mary’s new cabin was. So Nick had upgraded Jenna, as well? Unexpected and frankly, a relief. A suite would be much more comfortable than the closet she’d been assigned.
But…“All of my things are still in my cabin, so I really need to get in there to pack and-”
“No, ma’am,” Jeff said quickly, smiling again. “Your cabin was packed up by the staff and your luggage has already been moved. If you’ll just take that elevator-” he paused to point at a bank of elevators opposite them “-to the Splendor Deck, you’ll be met and directed to your new cabin.”
Strange. She didn’t know how she felt about someone else rooting through her things, but if it meant she could get into a shower, change clothes and get ready for her meeting with Nick, then she’d go with it. “Okay then, and, um, thanks.”
“It’s a pleasure, Ms. Baker. I hope you enjoy your stay with Falcon Cruises.”
“Uh-huh.” She waved distractedly and headed for the elevators. Not much chance of her enjoying her cruise when she was here to do battle with the King of Cruise Lines. Nope, the most she could hope for was getting out of the pit and into a nicer cabin courtesy of one Mr. Nick Falco.
When the elevator stopped on the Splendor Deck, Jenna stepped out into a wide, lushly carpeted hallway. The ceiling was tinted glass, open to the skies but dark enough to keep people from frying in direct sunlight. The walls were the color of rich cream and dotted with paintings of tropical islands, ships at sea and even simple ocean scenes with whitecaps that looked real enough to wet your fingers if you reached out to touch them.
The one thing she didn’t see was someone to tell her where to go now that she was here. But almost before that thought formed in her mind, Jenna heard the sound of footsteps hurrying toward her. She turned and buried her surprise when she recognized Teresa Hogan, Nick’s assistant.
“Jenna. It’s good to see you,” the older woman said, striding to her with long, determined steps. Her smile looked real, her sharp green eyes were warm and when she reached out a hand in welcome, Jenna was happy to take it.
“Nice to see you, too, Teresa.” They’d met during that magical week with Nick more than a year ago. Ordinarily, as just an assistant to the cruise director, Jenna never would have come into contact with the big boss’s righthand woman. But as the woman having an affair with Nick, Jenna’d met Teresa almost right away.
Teresa had been friendly enough, until the truth about Jenna being one of Nick’s employees had come out. Then the coolly efficient Teresa had drawn a line in the sand, metaphorically speaking. She chose to defend Nick and make sure Jenna never had the chance to get near him again.
At the time, it had made Jenna furious, now she could understand that loyalty. And even appreciate it in a way.
“How’ve you been?” Jenna smiled as she asked, determined to keep the friendly tone that Teresa had begun.
“Busy.” The older woman shrugged. “You know the boss. He keeps us hopping.”
“Yes,” Jenna mused. “He always did.”
A long, uncomfortable moment passed before Teresa said, “So, you know about the cabins on the Riviera Deck being sealed.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Jenna said, shooting a glance up and down the long, empty hallway. “I saw Mary Curran earlier, she told me she and her husband had been upgraded. And then I went to my cabin and couldn’t get in. Jeff at information sent me here.”
“Good.” Teresa nodded and her short, dark hair didn’t so much as dip with the movement. She pointed behind Jenna to the end of the wide, plush hall. “The Currans’ suite is right along there. And now if you’ll come with me, I’ll take you to your new cabin. We can talk as we go.”
They headed off in the opposite direction of the Currans’. Walking toward the bow of the great ship, Jenna casually glanced at the artwork as she passed it and tried to figure out what was going on. Being escorted by the owner’s assistant seemed unusual. Shouldn’t a steward have been put in charge of seeing her to her new accommodations? But did it really matter? Jenna followed along in Teresa’s wake, hurrying to keep up with the woman who seemed always to be in high gear.
“You can imagine,” Teresa said over her shoulder, “that Nick was appalled to find out the cabins on the lowest deck had been rented.”
“Appalled, huh?” Jenna rolled her eyes. Clearly Teresa was still faithful to the boss. “Then why rent them at all?”
Teresa’s steps hitched a little as she acknowledged, “It was a mistake. The cabins below were supposed to have been sealed before leaving port for this maiden voyage. The person responsible for going against the boss’s orders was reprimanded.”
“Shot at dawn? Or just fired without references?” Jenna asked in a low-pitched voice.
Teresa stopped dead and Jenna almost ran right into her.
“Nick doesn’t fire indiscriminately and you know it.” Teresa lifted her chin pointedly as she moved to protect her boss. “
A flush stole through her. Yes, she’d lied. She hadn’t meant to, but that’s what had happened. And she hadn’t been able to find a way out of the lie once it had begun. Still, he might have listened to her once the bag was open and the cat was out.
“He could have let me explain,” Jenna argued and met that cool green stare steadily.
Just for an instant the harsh planes of Teresa’s expression softened a bit. She shook her head and blew out a breath. “Look, Nick’s not perfect-”
“Quite the admission coming from you.”
Teresa smiled tightly. “True. I do defend him. I do what I can to help him. He’s a good boss. And he’s been good to me. I’m not saying that how he handled the…situation with you was right-”
Jenna stopped her, holding up both hands. “You know what? Never mind. It was more than a year ago. It’s over and done. And whatever Nick and I had has ended, too.”
Teresa cocked her head to one side and looked at her thoughtfully. “You really think so, hmm?”
“Trust me on this,” Jenna said as they started walking again. “Nick is
“If you say so.” Teresa stopped in front of a set of double doors. Waving one hand at them as if she were a game show hostess displaying a brand-new refrigerator, she said, “Here we are. Your new quarters. I hope you like them.”
“I’m sure they’ll be great. Way better than the Riviera Deck anyway.”
“Oh,” Teresa said with a smile, “that’s certainly a fair statement. You go on in, your things have been unpacked. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again.”
“Okay.” Jenna stood in the hall and watched as Teresa strode briskly down the long hallway. There was something going on here, she thought, she just couldn’t quite puzzle it out yet.
Then she glanced at her wristwatch, saw she had less than an hour to get ready for her dinner with Nick and opened the door with the key card Teresa had given her.
She walked inside, took a deep breath and almost genuflected.
The room was incredible-huge, and sprawlingly spacious, with glass walls that displayed a view of the ocean that stretched out into infinity. The wide blue sky was splashed with white clouds and the roiling sea reflected that
