The Companion

by Chelsea Hale

  It was part of Mandy’s act. She didn’t want to be with him. She was only placating him so that he wouldn’t change Grams’ opinions of this whole experience.

  Shoving the box in the outside pocket of his suitcase, he wheeled the luggage out of his room and went to breakfast.

  Mandy was seated across from Grams at the table. Who should he sit by? He’d rotated through the cruise. An ache overwhelmed him as he thought about sitting next to Mandy for the last time, maybe draping his arm across her shoulders. But he blinked the thought away and sat next to Grams.

  Grams patted his hand after he ordered. “Hasn’t this been a lovely vacation?” She looked toward Mandy. “And I have you to thank for it. We’ve had a lovely time, haven’t we, Derek?”

  Mandy’s eyes locked with his, a question in them. He did his best to force a natural smile. Grams was happy, and that was what mattered. He’d make Grams happy. “It’s the best cruise I’ve been on.”

  Mandy’s brow relaxed a little, like she really cared about his response.

  She doesn’t really care. This is all part of her act.

  She opened her purse and passed two small USB drives toward him and Grams. “I bought you a final souvenir. All of the pictures we’ve taken around the ship for you to have.”

  He’d wanted to go and get some pictures printed. But digital would work. He’d frame a picture of him and Grams together and give it to Grams.

  “You’ll be able to remember all the fun we had and share your memories with your friends.”

  Ah. There it was. The not so discreet sales pitch for Grams to talk to her friends about how much fun she had and to recommend Mandy as a companion for them. His stomach soured.

  “I can’t wait to look through them,” Grams said.

  Mandy beamed. “I also put all the pictures I took on my camera to a shared drive.” She pulled out a small card. “Here’s the website, and instructions are posted. If you have any questions, you can always e-mail me.”

  She pulled out another card for him, but he waved it away. “I’ll share Grams.”

  Grams took the extra card, handing it to Derek. “Don’t be rude. It’s your way to contact her after the cruise.”

  Derek cleared his throat. He’d explain in a few months to Grams that between both of their work schedules he and Mandy wouldn’t be able to connect. No need to tip her off now.

  “Are you ever up in New York?” Grams asked.

  Mandy looked to Derek before she answered. “I’ve taken a few cruises out of New York, but I’m afraid work keeps me out of the city. Though I was thinking about coming up soon.” She paused then added, “My-my roommate just got married, and she lives in New York now, so I was thinking I should visit her sometime soon.”

  Grams smiled wider if that were possible. “Well you let me know when you’re in town, I’d love to have you over. We can all go to Martha’s Vineyard and have a reunion up there.”

  Mandy said, “It sounds nice,” at the same time Derek said, “I’m not sure that would work.”

  Mandy glanced between both of them.

  Grams turned to Derek. “Why not? I’ll tell the board you’ll take a mandatory weekend off.”

  Derek smiled, sure Grams would put it on company letterhead and make a fuss. “My work isn’t the problem. It’s Mandy’s work. She’s in her busy season, and besides, can you imagine if she tried to keep in touch with all of her clients after their cruises?”

  “Oh I would love to come.” Mandy leaned forward.

  He had to give it to her. She knew how to look sincere.

  Grams smiled. “I suppose we’ll see when it happens. Either way, this has been a vacation I will never forget, thank you.”

  They spent the rest of the meal talking about favorite moments on the cruise, and what they liked the most. Grams and Mandy went back and forth laughing. Grams was happy. That was the important thing—the trip had been a success for her.

  He pulled out his phone. Realizing he had service, he tapped on a message. It was from Adam, not urgent, but still, it was an excuse to leave the table. “I’ve got to take care of something. I’ll meet you on the gangway, Grams.” He knew he’d need to say something to Mandy, and his throat went dry as he tried to formulate the words. “Thanks, Mandy,” he said, trying to sound sincere.

  “It’s been my pleasure.” She looked like she’d say more, but he didn’t want to hear it.

  “I’ve got to take care of this.” He motioned to his phone and left the restaurant.

  Twenty minutes later Grams approached the gangway with Mandy by his side. Derek was in the middle of choosing his food options for his catered lunches next week, but he wasn’t going to let on that it was trivial. “I’ll need the first option, and see that it’s delivered on time.”

  “Would you like that for Tuesday, sir?” his secretary Meredith asked.

  “I want it delivered on Monday. What can you get me on Tuesday?”

  “We can do the sushi bar, or we have—”

  “That will work. Just make sure that Roger is in that meeting. It will be a waste if he isn’t there, and I don’t want to reschedule.”

  “Yes, sir. Now about Wednesday?”

  He glanced over at Grams and Mandy. They were standing there listening to him. Good. The more he talked on the phone the less time he’d have to say goodbye. He pointed to the phone and shrugged. They seemed to catch the hint, and Mandy gave Grams a heartfelt hug.

  “Did I lose you, Mr. Thompson?” Meredith’s voice came through the phone.

  The emotion in Mandy’s face looked so real. He was glad Grams wouldn’t suspect that Mandy really just wanted a good review from her.

  He cleared his throat. “I’m here. No, I can’t do Wednesday. I have a previous engagement. What do you have for me for Thursday?”

  Meredith droned on about the choices, and Derek answered back, being cryptic.

  The man next to the gangway tried to usher them through, but Grams wouldn’t move yet. Derek made the same gesture to allow Grams to proceed him through the door, but she nodded toward Mandy, who stood in front of him awkwardly. He pointed automatically to his phone and ordered for Thursday and Friday but kept the phone up to his ear even after Meredith hung up. He mouthed the word sorry, though he wasn’t.

  Mandy chewed on her bottom lip, and he snapped his gaze up to her eyes. No way would he dwell on how much he liked kissing her.

  “It was nice meeting you. I’m glad you came on the cruise. I-I’m glad you and Alice had so much fun,” Mandy said. She stuck out her hand, and he shook it firmly.

  “Thanks,” he mouthed. He nodded then escorted Grams through the door.

  Once he was out of sight from the door he put his phone in his pocket and rolled his neck. Grams stopped halfway up the ramp and sighed. “Were you even on a call?”

  He didn’t meet her gaze. “I was. I had to relay some information to Meredith to pass along. Urgent stuff.”

  “Meredith? The only thing that woman knows how to do right is order catered food, and even that is on a cycle.”

  Derek cleared his throat and tried to keep walking, but Grams blocked his path and rolled her eyes. “Ordering next week’s food was that urgent?” she asked.

  Derek lifted his chin, feeling caught. “Sometimes I have to make a change to the menu. Roger is coming in on Tuesday. He’s in a much better mood for negotiations if we have sushi.”

  Grams reached up and patted his cheek lightly. “You’re so much like your grandfather, I sometimes wonder if you’ll ever settle down.”

  They were seated in First Class, and Grams went to ask the flight attendant about something. Derek had pulled out the velvet box before he had checked his luggage. He knew what he needed to do with it. He put it on Grams’ tray before she returned to her seat then busied himself reading his e-mails and catching up on everything he’d missed at work.

  Grams came back to her seat. She raised her eyebrows and asked, “What’s this?”

  He smi
led. He was going to be a better grandson from now on. More attentive. And here was the start of that. It was perfect that he hadn’t given it to Mandy after all. “Something I picked up on the cruise. To remind you of the fun you had.”

  “We had,” she corrected him.

  He swallowed. Much of it had been fun. Time with Mandy had been fun. Until today. He needed to separate the experiences with Mandy from his experiences with Grams. He had fun with Grams, and that didn’t need to be tainted by the fact that the entire time Mandy had been nice to him, she’d detested being in his company. She’d put on a poised face, and he’d never known that inwardly she couldn’t stand him.

  Grams opened the box, and she gasped. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Let me help you put it on.” Derek fumbled with the clasp, and finally Grams did it herself.

  “Thank you, Derek, that was very thoughtful of you.”

  Guilt stabbed him, but only for a second. So what if he’d bought it originally for Mandy? No one needed to know that, and besides, he was trying to be a thoughtful grandson. He should have always planned to give it to her.

  He went through his e-mails on auto-pilot as he thought about how he could carve out time in his schedule to make Grams a regular priority. Whether Mandy liked him or not, she had inspired him to be a better grandson, and to take more time with Grams. Maybe life was more than work. And maybe it was time to show that.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Mandy chatted with her roommates on a group call, excited to tell them about Derek. No one was on the top deck, and she ordered a sundae and ate it in a small alcove. They all listened to her recap the details about Derek.

  “You like this one,” Coco said. “Sounds like you’re much more into him than you were with those double dates in the spring.”

  “Of course she is,” Jenny said, her no nonsense attitude coming forward. “Did you hear the way she gushed about him? She’s over the moon.”

  “Finally a guy I can talk about without it ending badly,” Mandy said. “And he knows my commitment to my travel up front, so that’s good.” Sure, they hadn’t really been on actual dates, but they’d spent so much time together, she felt like she really knew him.

  “That’s exciting,” Liz said. “You’ll definitely need to come out and stay with me when you come and visit him. We have a spare bedroom.”

  “Thanks, Liz,” Mandy said. “What about Coco and Jenny? What’s new?”

  Jenny spoke first. “Coco and Peter are still a hot item.”

  Coco laughed. “I love spending time with him.”

  “That’s an understatement. They spend every day working together or dating,” Jenny said.

  “What about you, Jenny?” Liz asked. “Anything new?”

  “I love my job too much to have a life outside of it right now,” Jenny said, but Mandy had a feeling that she wanted to talk about her good news in person.

  After finishing her ice cream and her phone call she assumed her position at mid-ship and waited for Jean to show up. Mandy pulled out her sketchpad and flipped through her work over the past two weeks.

  Derek may not have confidence in her ability to impress an interior designer, but she was sure there was a place for her. Would New York be the right move? She flipped through the mockups, noting how plain they looked. She pulled out her colors and began adding just enough for the designs and pictures to pop. She could so do this.

  She checked her phone about a dozen times, wondering if Derek would e-mail her or text. Nothing so far, but he was on his way home and probably didn’t use his phone on the plane.

  She turned another page, and landed on a picture of a stormy sea with the cruise ship, and her venting about Derek. She sighed, remembering the struggles she’d had with him her first few days on their cruise. He really had been a pain to deal with.

  Thank goodness that had changed. She was relieved that she hadn’t blown up too badly at him. Liz had been right—sometimes the only way to express yourself was through writing. A picture hadn’t worked this time. But now all that negativity was gone. And the two-week cruise with Alice and Derek hadn’t lasted long enough. She tore out the page and crumpled it up into a tiny ball.

  She didn’t want the reminder of their bumpy start. Things were so much better. This morning things felt a little off—Derek had seemed preoccupied and a little broodier, but she supposed it was bound to happen once he took on the weight of his job again and all of his responsibilities. She didn’t blame him for leaving breakfast early and needing to get back to real life.

  Alice was going to invite her to Martha’s Vineyard. And Derek would be there too. She’d make sure to keep a couple of weeks cleared this summer so she could visit them. Things were turning out perfectly.

  Mandy said goodbye to Jean at the airport after they’d spent two weeks in Hawaii. It was a nice cruise, but Jean hadn’t wanted to explore the islands much. It was fine, Mandy had been there before, but try as she might her mind kept wandering to Alice and how much Alice would have seen if she’d been on this cruise. And then her mind naturally went to Derek.

  She hadn’t heard from him yet. He knew that she was working on another cruise, but he also knew she had two hours a day that she checked her e-mail. He was probably busy with work. That must be it. She couldn’t expect him to stay out of that routine. He was probably extra busy for taking time off on such short notice.

  She headed back to the dock and boarded the cruise again. This time she’d go with Rose on a Mexican Riviera cruise for a week. Then she would be home for two weeks. Maybe that’d be a good time to go to New York.

  Mandy sent a quick note to Liz about her summer schedule and sent a follow-up e-mail to Alice, making sure she’d been able to download all of the pictures, and seeing if Mandy could come for a visit.

  Her heart thrummed loudly in her chest, and she wondered if Alice would mention it to Derek.

  Derek didn’t see disappointment on Adam’s face when Derek handed Adam the envelope with a card congratulating him and Kira, and a sizable amount for Caden’s college tuition. But Derek didn’t need to see it, he felt it. It wasn’t personal, even though it was generous. He couldn’t take it back now.

  He had to figure out a way to change the mood. He thought of Mandy’s idea for Caden’s present and wished he’d done that instead. If there was a chance to still have Mandy make them a gift, he’d bring it up if the right opportunity presented itself.

  When Adam came into his office the next morning, Adam praised Derek for the gift. “Kira wants to thank you in person for the gift. How about dinner this weekend?”

  “Are you up for entertaining with Caden?” Derek had seen the baby twice, but only briefly. What was he supposed to do with a baby? And, what was he supposed to wear? Baby spit-up on his $5,000 suit didn’t seem to be the thing.

  “Sure. We’ll keep in casual. Besides he goes to bed early.”

  Maybe Adam could read the panic on Derek’s face, but Derek recovered quickly. “You know my schedule. I think I’m available.”

  Derek knocked on the door, hoping he wasn’t too late. He’d never thought of his lateness as a problem. Schedules revolved around him. His work running late wouldn’t have bothered him before the cruise, but he was thinking of Mandy again. She’d gotten to him with all the thoughtful ways she’d helped Grams. Mandy had pushed both him and Grams out of their comfort zones and had shown them both how to enjoy new things. Mandy had gotten him to focus on something other than work and he missed that ability to let go and live in the moment.

  Adam ushered Derek in, and he could hear Kira and Caden in the background. They chatted for a few minutes. Derek tried to keep the mood light. He wasn’t at work, he didn’t have to see Adam as just his employee.

  “While we have a few minutes,” Derek said, “I thought I’d run an idea past you. I didn’t want to give it to you until I knew it was something your wife would like.”

  He’d printed the pictures of the mockups that Mandy had had him
take with his phone. “I know your wife is an interior designer, so I didn’t want to assume that this would work for her, but Mandy, Alice’s companion on the cruise, is a very talented artist.” He handed over the designs, and Adam whistled.

  “I can’t speak for Kira, of course, but these are definitely the type of look I think she’d love.” He called his wife over and showed her the designs.

  Kira squealed in delight as she fingered each print. “I love these. Caden’s room needs these. I’ve been so busy with a new baby I haven’t found exactly what I wanted to hang in his room yet. The walls are too bare in the nursery.”

  “These are original designs from Alice’s cruise companion. It was Derek’s idea to commission her for the job, assuming we approve,” Adam said, putting his arm around his wife’s waist. “We approve, don’t we?”

  “We definitely approve. Thank you, Derek.” Kira rattled off several questions to Derek about Mandy’s background, and then asked about the price.

  “It’s my gift to you,” Derek said. “I’ll take care of the cost. You can pick these designs or she made several others you can choose from, too. They’re really your style?” He lifted his eyebrows.

  “I’m an interior designer and I own my company. I know what I like,” Kira said matter-of-factly. “And I love this.”

  Derek gave her a half smile. “I have her card. You can coordinate directly with her.”

  Adam gave him a funny look, and Derek said, “You’ll get your paintings much faster if I step out of the middleman role.”

  With that Adam laughed and took the card, kissing his wife on the cheek. “Let me take care of this, sweetheart. That way you can focus on Caden.”

  Kira rubbed her hands together. “I’m going to measure everything and see where I want them.”

  Adam nodded. “You’re the expert.”

  Mandy pulled her suitcase through the door in Colorado and breathed a sigh of relief. Traveling for five weeks straight had been exhausting. “Anyone home?” she called into the empty house, not expecting an answer from either Jenny or Coco in the middle of the day.