“H’llo?” Buck’s voice mumbled.
Yup. He’d been sleeping.
“Hey, Buck. It’s Bobbie. I’m sorry to wake you up.”
“Bobbie.” He was instantly alert. “What’s happening. Are you alright?”
“Yeah. Sort of. Uh, maybe?” Now that she had him on the phone, she wasn’t sure exactly what to say. Just having him in her ear was going a long way toward calming her down.
“Don’t downplay on my account. You wouldn’t be calling from an unknown number at this time of night if things were okay.”
Bobbie gave out a strained laugh. “It’s my sat phone, and yeah. You’ve got me there. I guess I… I needed someone I could use as a sounding board.”
“You’ve got me,” he said without hesitation.
She could hear him shuffling around, and assumed he was getting out of bed. Her mind momentarily wandered to what he would or wouldn’t be wearing, but she somehow managed to force that picture away as she pondered how to start.
“I, uh, actually weighed anchor about three hours ago, and I’m on my way home,” she began.
“Which is about seven hours earlier than normal, am I right?” he questioned astutely.
“You are,” Bobbie confirmed.
“And I’m assuming since you don’t sound exactly thrilled, it wasn’t because you wanted to be home sooner.”
“Again, correct,” she validated on a sigh.
Buck didn’t beat around the bush. “Tell me what happened,” he demanded.
Bobbie almost didn’t know where to start, but with Buck’s stolid presence on the other end of the line, she began her tale of woe.
“When I arrived at the dock yesterday, uh Monday. Sorry. I keep forgetting it’s already Wednesday morning. Anyway, Monday, late afternoon, it wasn’t Allain from the kitchen who met me as per usual. It was the major domo of the mansion, or head lackey, or whatever Monsieur Provard calls the arrogant ass who attends to him. I’ve never been given the guy’s name.” She focused to continue. “The dick told me the boss wanted to speak to me as soon as I arrived. Before I left my boat, I instructed him to make sure everything made it to the kitchen and into the walk-ins so it didn’t go bad when I powered everything down.
“He sniffed at me like I was giving him a job that required too much effort, but luckily Allain spotted me at that moment, and came outside to take care of it.”
“So, no food spoilage,” Buck guessed.
“Nope. That wasn’t the problem.”
“Okay. I’m still here.”
“When I was escorted to Provard’s study, the man was behind his desk, and he gave me that smarmy perusal he always does that gives me the creeps.” No, she hadn’t told Buck that the prick had stroked her hand during her last visit.
Bobbie thought Buck growled low in his throat, anyway, but she couldn’t be sure.
She went on. “He told me to have a seat, which was a first when discussing menu items. In the past when he’s had something to impart, I’ve always been left standing. It kind of freaked me out, but I complied, because really, what choice did I have?”
Bobbie wished she’d told the man she was too busy to palaver, but she hadn’t. So…
“He immediately told me that he was down a guest that night for their party; that the head of some governmental department needed a companion for the evening, and that I was it.”
“What the fuck?” Buck burst out.
“Exactly what I was thinking, but couldn’t say,” Bobbie agreed. “I had to be much more diplomatic. I told him that the meal I was planning for the evening was something I needed to oversee, and that I couldn’t possibly shirk my responsibilities. When he just sat there, looking at me imperiously, I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, so I mumbled on about also not having any proper attire with me.”
“Don’t tell me,” Buck snarled. “He offered you clothes.”
“He did. It was like he never heard the first part of what I said, so I reiterated the cooking bit of business, and do you know what he told me?”
