by Diana X Dunn
"Who are we talking about then, or shall I guess?" Randy grinned.
"Actually, hard as it is to believe, we were just getting drinks." Suzy hated to disappoint him with that mundane truth.
"What a shame! Whom shall we talk about then?" Randy was undeterred from his desire for gossip.
"I think I should get out of everyone's way," Henry interjected stiffly
“Now you need to be getting out of my kitchen, too," Marta told Suzy and Randy. "I've got to get dinner started and send a lunch tray up to Genifer as well.”
Randy rolled his eyes at Suzy behind Marta's back and then he offered her his arm.
"Let's get out of the way, then," he suggested, waving toward the door with a flourish. "We can chat outside as well as in."
Suzy and her companion made their way back onto the deck, settling into deck chairs that were side by side. Randy slid his as close to hers as he could and then winked at Suzy.
"So what's up with the lunch on a tray thing?" he asked in a whisper.
"I've no idea," Suzy whispered back. “I didn't even know we had that option.”
Randy laughed. “I don't think we do have that option, but nothing is too good for Genifer, even if lunchtime was over an hour ago.”
Suzy nodded, sipping her drink and wishing she could be anywhere else, maybe chasing armed-to-the-teeth terrorists across a desert in a sandstorm. That would undoubtedly be a lot more fun than this cruise.
“Knowing her, lunch was two lettuce leaves and a half a cup of fat-free plain yogurt, so I guess that wasn’t too much work for Marta,” Suzy suggested.
Randy shuddered. “I don’t know how she lives on so little food.”
Suzy grinned to herself. Randy fancied himself as something of a gourmet, which usually kept him on Marta’s good side. Marta loved to cook and create new dishes and Randy could always be counted on to enjoy them.
"Of course," Randy continued, "she isn't the only one getting special treatment on this little boat.”
Suzy could hear the resentment in his voice.
"Now, now," Suzy soothed, "she's just a novelty."
Randy glanced over at the woman they were discussing. "Novelty, that's one word for her."
The woman in question who was stretched lazily across a padded recliner, raised a hand and snapped her fingers. Both of the girls from the serving staff raced to her side, nearly tripping over each other in their eagerness to help.
"While you're at it," a voice drawled from a chair next to the woman, "I could do with a cold drink as well."
The wait staff hurried away to meet their demands and Randy and Suzy exchanged looks.
"I don't get that kind of service anymore," Randy complained.
"Me either," Suzy shrugged. "I never got that kind of service."
"That's because you're a mostly nice person, and you never demanded it." Randy sounded as if he was almost thinking out loud. “Even the first time you were here, when you were the 'novelty', you weren't a bitch about it.”
Suzy grinned at him. She worked too hard in real life to act too ridiculously spoiled unless it was absolutely necessary. These long cruises with Max let her be spoiled in every possible way, but even at her worst she could never measure up to the level of bitchiness that some women exuded effortlessly.
Suzy sipped her drink again, watching the scene unfolding in front of her. Drinks were delivered and the woman sat up and took a long drink.
"Yummy," she giggled.
The man next to her sat up and took a sip of his own drink. "It's okay," he told her, "but I'd rather have straight whiskey."
Chrystal Sands raised her eyebrows at him. “Straight whiskey? Yuck. I like my drinks to be fruity and fun.”
Peter Palmer smiled ingratiatingly. Fruity is good, too,” he agreed, downing the rest of his drink in a quick swallow and not quite hiding a grimace. He stretched and wriggled in his chair. He was in his mid-fifties, and his face and his body showed every minute of his age, with graying and thinning hair and a stomach that was unattractively rolling over the waistband of his shorts. As a successful businessman, he could probably have afforded to have such things fixed, but his own appearance clearly wasn’t a priority for him.
Suzy smiled at the interplay between the pair. Peter was working hard to secure a deal with Max by playing up to Max’s newest traveling companion. Henry was working hard at the same goal in a very different way. Suzy wondered which man would achieve his objective before the ship was next ready to dock. At the moment she would give the edge to Peter, simply because he had managed to befriend Chrystal, while Henry had not. Chrystal’s opinion, at the moment, seemed to hold some sway with their illustrious host.
“Well now, things are about to get interesting,” Randy murmured from Suzy’s side.
The door to the bridge had swung open and Captain John Grayson stepped through it. He was exactly what a yacht captain should be, at least in Suzy’s opinion. He was only in his early forties, but years on the sea had given him a sexily weathered appearance. His hair was dark brown and always looked as if it had just been blown around by a gale. He had an almost perfectly fit body and was dressed in a blue dress uniform with braids and buttons that presumably signified his rank and importance. He was wearing an expensive pair of sunglasses that hid eyes that seemed to miss nothing as he surveyed the deck of the ship he obviously considered his own.
He nodded toward Suzy and Randy and then carefully made his way toward the others.
“I trust everyone is having an enjoyable time,” the man said casually, staring at Chrystal.
Chrystal looked up lazily at the man and then inclined her head slightly. “Everything’s fine,” she remarked in a bored tone.
“If there is anything I can do to improve things….” he trailed off, looking away to stare at the sea.
“I can’t really think of anything that you could do,” Chrystal put the emphasis on “you” and Suzy frowned at the captain winced at the remark.
“Okay, well, then.” The captain shook his head and turned back toward the bridge. He paused for a moment, as if waiting to be sure that no one had any further comment, and then walked resolutely back inside.
Randy chuckled softly. “So that’s him put in his place for today,” he remarked to Suzy. Then he frowned. “Of course if she isn’t dallying with our beloved captain any more, then she must have decided to go after Max with everything she’s got. I think I might have to kill her.”
Suzy shook her head at him. “Stop it, you know you don’t mean that. Max gets in these moods and has little flings all the time. They don’t mean anything.”
“I’m afraid this one seems to think she is more than a little fling,” Randy protested. “She is getting herself mixed up in Max’s business deals and trying her best to get between me and Max. I think the only thing that is saving me at the moment is the Genifer hates her.”
“But we all hate Genifer,” Suzy laughed.
“I know. It’s a conundrum. I hate Genifer, but she hates Chrystal and I hate Chrystal more than I hate Genifer.”
Suzy laughed again. “Just don’t hate me,” she mock-pleaded.
“Oh please,” Randy rolled his eyes. “You are the only thing that keeps me sane on this stupid boat.”
Their conversation was interrupted yet again as the ship’s owner, Maximilian Hart himself, strolled on to the deck. He was tall and slender, without being overly muscled. Wearing shorts and a T-shirt, he looked casually comfortable in the hot sun. Suzy knew he was at least forty-five, but he looked much younger, with wavy blonde hair that hung to his shoulders and looked casually tousled. Behind his enormous sunglasses, Suzy knew his eyes would be whatever color he’d felt like this morning.
She looked at him over her sunglasses and mentally added up all of the cosmetic work that he had had done in just the two years since she had met him. It was a good thing he was worth billions, she decided, because he was spending money like water. She laughed to herself. The cost of the cos
metic work must have been very small compared to the cost of this enormous luxury yacht, fully staffed and fitted out. Really, though, everything that Suzy knew about him suggested that he could afford it all.
A moment later Chrystal noticed their host. She jumped up from her chair and stretched dramatically. The tiny, jeweled, pink string bikini she was wearing struggled to contain her artificially oversized breasts and she twisted her deeply tanned body, aiming to give Max the best possible view.
Chrystal took a couple of steps toward Max and tossed her long, blonde hair. It cascaded down her back in a tangle of curls and waves that Suzy knew wouldn’t have come cheaply. Chrystal was wearing incredibly high heels with her tiny bikini and as she took another step toward Max she managed to fake a tumble right into his arms.
“Oh dear,” she sighed as she wiggled more closely into his arms in an artificial attempt to right herself. “I think I might have had a bit too much to drink,” she sighed and then snuggled intimately into Max’s embrace.
Max smiled down at her, his eyes sweeping down the length of her flawless body. He wouldn’t care that she’d purchased every glorious inch.
“I think I’ll go visit with Marta,” Randy announced to the entire deck as he stood up. “It’s a bit much out here.”
Suzy started to try to persuade him to stay but only managed a quick word or two before the man stormed off, slamming the door to the kitchen behind him.
Max looked startled, but his attention was quickly drawn back to the woman who was still in his arms. “Maybe a bit of time out of the sun would be good for all of us,” she purred at Max. “Maybe we should go and have a nap?”
Suzy rolled her eyes behind her dark glasses. Flirting was one thing, but throwing yourself at a man like that was just tacky.
Max hesitated. It was obvious that he was tempted by the blatant offer, but Suzy knew that he also had work to do. Henry was probably furious that the man had slept until two in the afternoon today.
“I’d better get some work done this afternoon,” he told Chrystal, gently pushing her out of his arms and back on to her own two feet. “Another time, maybe.”
Chrystal frowned and then pouted. “But I’m bored,” she complained.
Max sighed. “I’m sure you can find something to do.” He dismissed her with that, his tone letting her know that he wasn’t happy about her attitude.
“Of course I can, darling,” Chrystal quickly picked up on his changed mood and poured on the effervescence. “I just meant that nothing else that I do will be anywhere near as much fun as an afternoon with you would be.”
Suzy choked back a laugh. Really the woman was too obvious. Surely Max wouldn’t fall for it all.
Max turned toward Suzy and winked at her. It seemed that Max could see right through Chrystal, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t interested in her.
Peter now spoke up. “We need to talk later today, too,” he reminded Max. “I have those figures you wanted.”
Max nodded at the other man. “Come to my office around four,” he suggested. “I should be finished with Henry by that time, and if I’m not, I’ll need the interruption.”
Everyone chuckled at that comment. Henry was tiresome, but Suzy knew he was good at his job. Max didn’t keep people around if they weren’t.
Max disappeared back into the ship’s interior, presumably heading for his office. After a moment Chrystal sank back into her deck chair and snapped her fingers for service. She and Peter fell into a pointless chat about inconsequential things as the ship sailed on with no clear destination.
Suzy settled back and pulled out her M-ped. She quickly prepared a short report for Michael detailing everything that was happening on board. Men like Max Hart needed to be subtly monitored. Their friends, business associates, and business deals were of great interest to an agency that helped keep international commerce flowing smoothly.
Max conducted nearly all of his business on board his yacht, which made any sort of electronic monitoring of his communications difficult. He docked as infrequently as possible, living life as a citizen of the world, a distinction that had unique tax advantages, but also strictly limited the amount of time he could spend in any one country. At least twice a year Suzy spent a month or more sailing with him, keeping an eye on his activities.
It wasn’t all that difficult for a young and beautiful woman with the right sort of background to secure an invitation to join his non-stop party. The ship was usually full to capacity with beautiful women, a handful of Max’s business associates, and the usual flotsam of hangers-on that crowded around the very wealthy. A week into her stay, Suzy was still trying to work out why the ship was so empty this time. She had been made to feel just as welcome as ever by Max and Randy, and Chrystal and Genifer had been polite, at least so far. Michael was checking into the situation, but so far he hadn’t been able to find out anything definite.
Suzy finished her report and sent it using the sophisticated encryption program that was built in to her device. Anyone intercepting her transmission would get to read a long and chatty message with a lot of boring details about life at sea, seemingly sent to Suzy’s third-cousin, Patty. That done, she locked down her M-ped. There were four layers of security on the device and she double-checked each layer and the super-encrypted passcodes for each. She would hate to blow her cover after spending the last two years working it.
The afternoon dragged by as Suzy and her companions watched the sea slip past while they drank a rainbow of drinks. Neither Max nor Henry appeared on deck again. Just before four Peter left to join Max in his office. Captain Grayson walked through a couple more times, carefully checking that everyone was comfortable and mostly being ignored by Chrystal. Around five Suzy finally managed to escape the tedium, returning to her spacious cabin to get ready for dinner.
Max had a number of unwritten rules onboard The Mirage and guests learned them quickly or found themselves heading home. One of the most important was that everyone dressed up for dinner. Suzy took a cooling shower in the huge and immaculate bathroom that adjoined her room and then stepped into her walk-in closet. She flipped through what felt like a nearly endless supply of formal evening dresses, rejecting each in turn for pointless reasons. The drinks, the sun, and the inactivity had put her in a foul mood and she frowned to herself as she studied the umpteenth dress that was hanging in front of her.
She shook her head and focused her thoughts. This job was a dream assignment, at least according to many of the other women at her agency. The enforced inactivity was difficult for Suzy, though, and she would happily have traded her month on the boat for an undercover job as a drug-addled teenager or a trip through the jungle chasing down suspected poachers. She preferred jobs that required every aspect of her lifetime of training.
After another few restless flips through the closet, she closed her eyes and pulled out a random dress. She shimmied her way into the blue, floor-length, skin-tight, low-cut gown with the thigh-high slit and frowned. It was slightly tighter than it should have been. A single week onboard and she had gained weight. The endless supply of sugary alcoholic drinks wasn’t good for her figure. Additionally, the food was good and plentiful. Marta was an excellent cook and she liked to see everyone eating.
Suzy usually survived on FADS bars, which were carefully balanced to provide her body with exactly what it needed in terms of nutrients and calories. Marta hated FADS and wouldn’t have them in her kitchen. She cooked all day, every day, providing real food that tasted delicious but also added a great many extra calories to Suzy’s diet.
It was important for her to stay on Marta’s good side. Marta was one of the few people in the world in whom Max actually confided. However, it seemed obvious now that Suzy had been trying too hard to please Marta by clearing her plate at every meal. It would be a help to her waistline if she could get some proper exercise, but Suzy wasn’t really the exercising type. She’d been squeezing in an hour each day on the virtual reality exercise machine, but
that was nothing compared to the sort of workout that she’d normally put herself through.
After studying herself in the mirror, she decided that the dress would have to do and she dug out matching high heels and then focused on her makeup and hair. It took only a few minutes for her to subtly play up her best features and work her hair into a suitable style. She still had half an hour until dinnertime, so she fired up her M-ped to see if Michael had found out anything that might suggest why the ship was so empty. His reply was interesting.
Apparently Chrystal and Genifer are doing their best to keep Max to themselves. We’ve spoken to a few former guests who felt unwelcome after a few days and decided to move on. Max is also doing more business at the moment than he usually does, having both Henry and Peter on board. This seems to have discouraged some of his party-minded friends. Hang in there, it seems like things might get interesting on this trip.
Suzy grinned to herself. Michael knew how much she hated this particular assignment. Still, things were definitely different this time, so maybe he was right. Maybe things would get interesting before too much longer. They couldn’t get more boring.
Four
Dinner was always served in the formal dinning room and no one was late or absent if they wanted to stay on Max’s good side. Drinks began at six and dinner was served half an hour later. Suzy made sure she was in the dining room by six-ten each evening. That gave her enough time for one drink before the food was served. She’d taken another neutralizing tablet before she’d left her room. She was going through a lot of them on this trip, but with so few people on board, she knew her actions would be much more noticeable than they usually were. It would be almost impossible to not drink.
Randy was already in the room, behind the bar mixing drinks. He was wearing a perfectly cut suit in bright green with a purple shirt and an orange tie. Suzy couldn’t help but blink at the strange combination. His face looked absolutely miserable as Suzy walked in, but he quickly beamed when he spotted her.
