Chapter 50
Ore
Mel was not happy. Ore hadn’t clocked that what she’d seen in the interview was Mel in a relatively good mood. Now she could almost see the deep dark storm cloud hanging over her head.
‘I just want it to be perfect for you – you don’t want to have to share your experience with dozens of tourists? Surely?’ Chuck’s tone was pleading, verging on whining.
Mel had opted for the silent treatment now, and Ore wished she was anywhere else but in this room with them. She should have made a run for it when Chuck first came back in, shoulders hunched and preparing to grovel.
‘Sorry, Melly Belly, it’s going to be a little while longer …’ he’d begun. Mel had been looking at her phone as he spoke. She’d stopped scrolling but kept her eyes trained on her hands.
‘You want me to hate you, don’t you?’ Her voice was quiet and cutting.
‘Of course not! I just didn’t realise there would be so many other boats here! That’s just not how I imagined it!’ Chuck sounded hysterical. He was not a man who took well to losing control of a situation.
‘You want to know how I imagined it?’ Mel looked over atChuck then, her hazel eyes twinkling with unshed tears. ‘I never even thought about who else would be there, because the whole point was that it would be me and you, Dad, doing something we’d both remember forever.’ A single tear escaped down her cheek. ‘You asked me to come here. To join you on your stupid boat and you promised we’d see the reef. Why? You obviously would rather spend all your time with your investors!’ Mel had grown louder; she was almost shouting now.
‘You obviously don’t want me here! Why is Claude here? Why are those weird men here? I hate you!’ It looked like Mel might storm out, but then an eerie calm seemed to descend over her and the silent treatment started.
Chuck tried every tactic in the book: denial, apology, reasoning. Ore felt like they had both forgotten she was in the room, still sat at the table. Mel had settled herself on the large couch in the corner of the room, and Chuck had positioned himself just out of lashing distance from her.
Ore eyed the door; maybe if she just got up quietly, they wouldn’t notice. But then again, she was hoping that Chuck might actually answer Mel’s questions:who were those men?
When Chuck got no response, he sighed, as if defeated. ‘OK listen, the three guys out there, they work for Claude and they also want to see the reef, for business reasons.’
The absurdity of it drew Mel out. ‘They want to see the Great Barrier Reef “for business reasons”?’ Her voice was dripping with disdain. ‘I should have guessed. That’s the only reason we’re even here right? Nothing to do with me at all.’
Ore almost felt sorry for Chuck at this point. The wrath of a teenage girl was not to be suffered lightly, but then again,he’d brought it on himself. Ore had never had the chance to shout at her father, which she now considered might have been for the best.
Mel waited for a response and when Chuck hung his head and none came, she quietly got up and left the room. Thirty seconds later, a door slammed shut.
Chuck looked up and finally turned to see Ore. ‘Before you ask, no, I’m not willing to expand on which business reasons.’ He sounded subdued. He stood up and hesitated for a minute. ‘Would you mind if I asked you a personal question?’ He laughed dryly to himself. ‘As you’ve borne witness to the intimacies of my familial relationships, it only seems fair?’
‘Umm, sure,’ Ore said cautiously.
‘How do you get on with your father?’ He seemed genuinely interested.
‘I don’t really know him. He left when I was very young,’ Ore said plainly, shrugging.
‘Hmm, well you seem to have turned out OK; maybe he made the right decision,’ Chuck mused.
Ore felt a pang of anger. ‘With respect, Chuck, I’d have to disagree with you, on both counts.’
Chuck laughed. ‘And you’re funny!’
Ore stretched a tight smile across her face as Chuck left the room.
She sat alone for some time, unsure where to go. She didn’t fancy hanging out on deck with creepy Claude and his band of not-so-merry men. She wasn’t in the mood for a sulky teenager or up for another round with the eccentric billionaire. That only left two choices: stay put or go and find the handsome captain.
She knew what she wanted to do. Ever since their tense breakfast yesterday she’d wanted to clear the air. And then after she’d spoken to Carlos, she wondered if they’d both got a bit ahead of themselves. Maybe they could just enjoy each other’s company for the time she had left and not overthink it.
Before she’d even consciously decided, she found herself halfway up the stairs to the wheelhouse. She paused for a moment outside the door, admiring his silhouette through the glass window. He hadn’t spotted her, and she felt slightly giddy at the chance to observe him in his natural habitat.
He was in his civvies, a dark brown T-shirt this time, and a pair of navy slacks. With his gaze straight ahead, the lines of his face caught the sunlight. His strong nose and heavy brow, his square jaw dappled with dark tight coils of stubble, his full lips. Ore was entranced, and when he turned suddenly, she jumped. He smiled at her reaction and she felt awash with relief. She’d worried that after yesterday he might never gift her with that lovely smile again.
