Derek
“Absolutelynot,”Donovansayswith the force of a battering ram.
I was already having a terrible morning after reading the most recentHot Scooparticle and fielding worried phone calls from my friends, but seeing Donovan back away from me and emphatically shake her head isn’t making my day any better. She looks like I just asked her to live in my attic and scrub my twenty thousand square feet of floors every day with a toothbrush.
Joke’s on her. I don’t have an attic.
Clenching my jaw, I give her a second to reconsider her reaction to my request. I’m offering her employer a hundred thousand dollars so I can learn how to man a boat, and she’s refusing? I know I didn’t make a good first impression the other day, but I can’t be that repulsive, can I? “Is there a problem?” I ask, unable to keep the growl out of my words.
“No!” Tate stands and waves his hand toward Donovan as if trying to make his stubborn employee disappear. “No problem! Of course we can demonstratethat for you.”
I grimace. “That’s not exactly what I meant. I need hands-on experience.”
“Only licensed guides can be on the oars,” Donovan says sharply. Her arms are folded, but they don’t fully hide the way her hands are clenched into tight fists. “Sorry, Riley, but that’s not on the table.”
“He could row the gear boat,” Tate argues and throws a glare at Donovan. “If there aren’t any passengers, I don’t see why—”
“You’re asking for a lawsuit, Spence.”
“Pops taught people all the time.”
“Those people weren’t one of the most well-known actors in the world.”
As they keep arguing, I run through my first interaction with Donovan and try to figure out why she hates me enough to argue against a whole lot of money coming her way. Beyond her nerves, most of her body language the other day conveyed confidence and disinterest, but today she’s tense with what looks like deep-seated fear. But why?
“It doesn’t have to be you,” I say, interrupting Donovan’s hissed argument as I stand. I brace myself against her glare, but it still hits me with surprising force. “There are three other guides on the trip, right?”
Pulling her hat from her head, she runs a hand through her wavy red hair and nods with clenched teeth.
“Then there shouldn’t be a problem.” I don’t know why there’s a problem in the first place. “As long as they have decent experience, one of them can…” I pause when Donovan and Tate share a look that makes me nervous. “What was that?”
“What?” they ask at the same time.
I narrow my eyes. “That look. The other guides are experienced, right?”
“Well,” Tate says, drawing out the word.
Donovan sighs. “Two of them have only been certified since the start of this season. But they’re capable.”
“Capable doesn’t mean skilled,” I say as my heart rate kicks up a notch. “No, see, I need to learn from an expert.”
“Why?” they both ask.
I glance between them, noting some similarities in their features and mannerisms. They might be more than just coworkers, but that’s not important right now. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Then we can’t help you,” Donovan says.
“What about the fourth guide?”
“Farah?” Tate rubs the back of his neck and shares another loaded look with Donovan. “She’s been with us for a couple of summers now. She’s good.”
Hardly inspiring confidence. Taking a step forward, I fix my gaze on Donovan, who tenses up again. “How long haveyoubeen rowing?” I ask in a low tone. She wasn’t listed on Red Earth River Tours’s website as one of the guides, but she’s clearly right at home here and has some influence over the company.
“Donovan’s our best,” Tate says when she stays quiet, and he flinches when she whacks him in the gut. “She started rowing fifteen years ago and has a perfect record.”
My eyebrows lift of their own accord. “Meaning what?” I ask without looking away from Donovan.
“Never flipped a boat,” Tate answers.
