Chapter 52
Ore
Ore was breathless as she bounded down the stairs. As she passed Claude and his men she kept her eyes to the floor, afraid they might be able to see some sort of evidence of what had just happened on her face.
Claude had resolutely ignored her since their exchange on the island, and she was glad of it. Today though, as much as she hated the idea, she needed to try and keep an eye on him. It was frustrating not to have the full story from Daniel yet, but she could make an educated guess that Chuck was somehow involved with Klauparten Inc.
It was clear that whatever the company actually did, they didn’t want anyone to know about it. The branded diving equipment suggested that Chuck was telling the truth about this being some sort of business trip, and that said business was to take place, at least partially, underwater.
It struck Ore that maybe this whole plan, to come to the reef in the first place, was nothing to do with Mel’s love of marine wildlife and all about Claude, as Mel herself had suspected. That also explained why Chuck had insisted on sailing through that insane storm and was so eager to ‘set off early’ this morning.
What she didn’t understand was why he had invited herand Daniel to come along. If they were up to some dodgy stuff then why invite a journalist?
By the time the boat arrived at its new anchoring spot, Ore still hadn’t come up with a credible theory.
As the anchor was lowered, Ore went out onto the deck. The three men had fully suited up now. Not an inch of skin could be seen. What looked like blacked-out goggles covered their eyes, and they had breathing tubes in their mouths.
‘You guys look like aliens.’ It was Mel, who was now standing behind Ore, with her hands on hips. ‘Is that what I’m going to wear too?’ Despite her best efforts, she sounded excited.
Claude turned to face them, and Ore caught his gaze. A glance at the icy grey was enough to have her trying to find anywhere else to look.
‘You are going with the captain; these boys are going on their own expedition.’ Claude tried a smile, but the result was unconvincing.
Chuck appeared on deck just in time for Mel to turn her questions to him. ‘So are you coming with me and Daniel then?’
‘Um no, sweetie, I don’t know if I fancy it. I thought I’d stay on board with Claude, but Ore will go with you, won’t you?’ So that’s why she was here: to babysit. She was slightly offended that Chuck regarded her as closer to a nanny than an actual reporter.
In all honesty, Ore was totally horrified by the idea of scuba diving, but the combination of Chuck’s not so negotiable insistence and Mel’s self-pity pushed her to say, ‘Sure … would you like that, Mel?’
Mel glared daggers at Chuck, and then shrugged at Ore.
‘Well that’s settled then. You and Mel and the captain willgo to the reef!’ Chuck grinned, triumphant. It was interesting, thought Ore, that a man so accustomed to getting his own way was still so thrilled by it.
In response Mel stormed back inside. Chuck gave Ore something of an apologetic look and went over to join Claude. Ore wanted to stay put and try her hand at eavesdropping, but it was too obvious so she followed Mel instead.
She’d retreated to her spot in the corner of the large sofa, and was texting someone furiously. She looked up momentarily when Ore entered and then went back to her correspondence.
Ore hovered awkwardly, unsure how to proceed. Should she change? What on earth was she going to do with her braids? Mel was wearing what looked like an expensive, Lycra babygrow, similar to what the men outside had under their wetsuits. Hers though, was that sort of trendy shade between green and grey, she wore it with the hood down and the gloves dangling from her wrists. Ore certainly hadn’t brought anything like that. At the last minute she had stuffed an old black Speedo swimming costume into her bag, for fear of getting caught out like she had at the island. But it occurred to her now that she’d probably need far more sun protection …
It was Daniel who broke her out of her fretting. She hadn’t heard the sliding doors open behind her, but when he laid a hand softly on her shoulder, she didn’t jump. The warmth of his palm spread a calmness over her, but it also sent the vivid memory of those same hands grasping at her waist not twenty minutes before, flashing through her mind. Her breath caught in her throat.
‘Sorry to startle you,’ Daniel said softly, misinterpreting her reaction, for which she was grateful.
‘No problem!’ Her voice was strained with faux casualness. When the two of them caught eyes briefly, they both looked away at the same time. Ore was reassured that it wasn’t just her who felt thrown by their passionate encounter upstairs.
‘So Mr Regas just informed me that it’s to be the three of us out on the reef today. Is that right?’ Daniel was directing the question at Ore. He seemed to have surmised that she wasn’t the ‘underwater type’. In particular he eyed up the braids that trailed down to the bottom of her back.
‘Yeah, he’s not coming because he hates me.’ Mel didn’t look up from her phone.
‘Right …’ Daniel appeared unsure how to respond.
‘But we’re going to have a great time together anyway, aren’t we, Daniel?’ Ore was determined to cheer Mel up. Partly because she genuinely felt bad for the girl, and partly because spending the day with her in this mood, made the whole babysitting gig even more unappealing.
‘Sure we are!’ Daniel said, right on cue. Mel shrugged. ‘So shall we go get some kit on and learn the basics?’
Mel looked up at Daniel then, her expression incredulous. ‘The basics? I’m literally a certified scuba instructor, Dan. I completed my training in Belize last summer.’
‘Please don’t call me Dan.’ The sharpness in Daniel’s tone took both Ore and Mel by surprise. So much so that Mel even put her phone down.
