The Power Trip

Karma’s a bitch, bitch.

Bianca smiled her satisfaction.

* * *

The moment of reckoning was near. Sierra was well aware that it had to take place soon, and she was not avoiding it; in a perverse way she was even looking forward to it. Standing up to Hammond was something she should’ve done a long time ago. He’d cheated and lied his way into her life, she’d lost Flynn’s baby because of him, and he’d kept her a prisoner with his dire threats against her and her family. Well, no more. It was over, and she was finally ready to break free.

They met up in their stateroom. She’d gone straight there after her underwater adventure, taken a shower, dressed, and waited for him to appear.

Hammond walked in wearing dark glasses, which he immediately removed to show off a serious black eye. ‘This is because of you,’ he said accusingly. ‘This is what your piece of shit boyfriend did to me for no good reason.’

‘He’s not my boyfriend,’ she said evenly. ‘And I’m sure you gave him an excellent reason.’

‘You think so, do you?’ Hammond sneered.

‘I understand you were both drinking.’

‘Where did you hear that?’ he said, his tone bitter. ‘Did your boyfriend come running to tell you?’

‘No Hammond, he didn’t,’ she replied, determined not to break. ‘And I’d appreciate it if we can conduct an adult conversation for once.’

‘Go ahead,’ he said coldly. ‘Say what you have to say.’

She took a long drawn-out breath and went for it. ‘I’m sure you know how unhappy I am, and that we’d be better apart, so I’ve made a decision. I will stay with you for the duration of this trip, present a united front to prevent embarrassing you. And then, when the trip is over — so are we.’ She swallowed hard. ‘I want a divorce, Hammond. I mean it.’

‘Really?’ he said, surprisingly calm.

‘Look,’ she continued, her words tumbling over each other, ‘I understand this has political implications for you — only surely you can see that it doesn’t mean the end of your career? These things happen. Divorce is not uncommon amongst politicians—’

‘You vapid, asinine bitch!’ Hammond exploded, his voice filled with venom. ‘God Almighty, I knew you were stupid, but this kind of talk goes beyond stupidity. Don’t you understand that it’s not possible? I repeat — divorce is not possible.’ His voice rose to a vicious shout. ‘One day I am going to be the fucking President of America, and you — my dear wife — are going to be right up there next to me. Otherwise—’

‘Otherwise what?’ she said bravely, holding her ground, trying not to revert to the weak-willed Sierra who’d put up with his bullying and threats for too many years.

‘Otherwise,’ Hammond said ominously, ‘you’ll be dead. And so will your fucking boyfriend.’

* * *

Listening outside their door, Mercedes felt a shiver of excitement. Drama on the high seas. Only this drama would mean nothing in comparison to what was to come. Little did they know what was in store for them.

Guy had sent her to deliver a message to Senator Patterson about someone trying to reach him via satellite phone. Guy was in a shitty mood, barking orders as if he was the Captain. Idiota. He would never make Captain, he didn’t have the stones. Besides, he was gay, and how many gay men made Captain?

Probably this wasn’t a good time to interrupt the Pattersons. She knocked on the door anyway. What did she care that the imbecil was threatening to kill his wife. The puta probably deserved it, seeing that she was jumping the bones of the sexy journalist guy, or at least it looked that way.

Hammond flung open the door. ‘What?’ he said curtly.

Mercedes stared at his mother of a black eye, handed him the neatly typed message and enquired if he’d like her to accompany him to the communications room.

He barely glanced at the message, said a short, sharp ‘No!’ and slammed the door in her face.

What a cabron. Mercedes thought, switching her allegiance to the wife, who seemed like a nice enough woman, unlike the other putas on the boat who all acted as if they were better than everyone else, especially the blonde with the big tits and the hot black husband.

Yet another hot guy. If she wasn’t working, this could be quite a trip. However, work always came first. And at the conclusion of this particular trip she was going for it, taking everything she could get her greedy hands on.

Money and jewelry. She considered it her bonus.

Chapter Sixty-Two

On any boat at sea in close quarters — albeit extremely luxurious ones — friends are made, idle gossip abounds, and all thoughts of the real world drift away. Aleksandr’s ploy of enticing everyone to give up their iPhones, BlackBerrys, iPads and computers for a delicious uninterrupted week of lazy bliss was a solid one. For emergencies there was always satellite communication.

A successful vacation equals relaxation — and Aleksandr expected his guests to leave their everyday lives behind.

Personally he was enjoying himself. Sex with Bianca was spectacular, although her nagging about Xuan was annoying. His conversations with the Asian woman were interesting and in a way quite challenging, and in spite of Bianca’s objections he had no intention of giving them up. Trust Flynn to have come up with a woman who was not only very attractive, but smart too. And he was most impressed that Xuan wasn’t intimidated by him, not at all.

If he wasn’t with Bianca, Aleksandr realized that he might have entertained different thoughts about Xuan. Sexual thoughts. However, he was in a committed relationship with Bianca, so all fantasies of sex with Xuan were banished to the back of his mind. Besides, she was with Flynn, and he would never disrespect a man like Flynn, whom he considered a true friend.

He was disturbed that Senator Patterson had behaved so badly the night before. The man had deserved to get hit. Quite frankly, Aleksandr was pleased to see Hammond receive a black eye, for he’d already decided there was something about him that he didn’t like. Hammond possessed a pleasant and ingratiating exterior, but lurking beneath was a deep hard core of something else.

Aleksandr had always considered himself to be an astute judge of character, and he didn’t trust Hammond. He decided he would keep an eye on the man’s further rise to power, then he would act accordingly when the inevitable request came to donate money and support for the Senator’s campaign.

Yes, Aleksandr knew for sure that the day would eventually come.

* * *

After the race, Bianca hung out with Luca and Taye by the pool. She wasn’t about to run back to Aleksandr’s side. He could sometimes be unpredictable and bossy. It pissed her off. How dare he get mad at her! He was the one paying too much attention to Little Miss Intensity.

She was particularly irritated because she’d never treated a man as well as she’d treated Aleksandr. Shouldn’t he be kissing her beautiful tight ass like everyone else?

Didn’t Aleksandr get it? She was Bianca. A super-star in her field. She was not used to being lectured and told what to do.

Damn him! And damn Flynn for bringing his Asian girlfriend aboard. The two of them were hardly the same calibre as the other guests.

Bianca sighed. It was her own fault, she should’ve vetted the guest-list more closely. Xuan and Flynn were not a good fit for the rest of the group, although she had to admit that Flynn was wildly sexy with his action movie-