Chapter 1
Emily
"Do you want this?" Sarah held up two bikinis.
"Or this? What other choice could you possibly have? You are taking both of them."
I rolled my eyes.
"Duhh" I purred. "Those aren't necessary. It's a small coastal town for f**k sake." I explained to my best friend for the umpteenth time that day.
Sarah can be obstinate sometimes, especially when it comes to my matters. This is one of those cases.
One of the bikinis had a very thin strip making it very revealing. I wonder what the designer was thinking. The other was red. Red is not my thing.
"Emily. You are taking both of them. Sanibel Island has a lot of beaches. You are going to relax and get inspiration. This will come in handy." Sarah said, with a tone of finality.
She stuffed whatsoever in my box, then zipped it up. She came over to sit beside me.
"Emily." She held my hands. "No matter what, you can't come back empty-headed. You'll surely lose your job this time."
"I know. I know. Whatever you say is okay. This was all your idea in the first place." I withdrew my hands and turned to do my face routine.
"Stop. You are making me look like a bad person." Sarah intoned. "Don't forget to get a boyfriend too." She added.
What the hell? I threw her whatever my hand could find on the dresser.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
She let out a shrill giggle.
"Oh my God, Emily. You need one." She helped remove the clips I was using to hold my hair in place.
"You know what I mean." She gave me a knowing look.
"Okay. It's late already. Don't you think you should be preparing to leave?" I asked.
"Are you pursuing me, your best friend? I'm not going again."
"s**t! We won't be up early and I would miss my flight."
"We will book another one."
What do I do with this girl? I sighed. This is gonna be a long night.
Daniel
I stared at the shore, unsure of what to do about my present predicament. For f**k sake, what would make these sea animals lay lifeless at the shore?
That's the third time it's happened in two months.
"Should we dive into a little bit of investigation? Hardy asked
I sighed. "You wouldn't like what you'd see. Call Greg and inform him of the latest development. Let's get out here"
"Okay, boss."
We walked toward the truck, then a scene caught my eye. My eyes caught a glimpse of a young lady standing by the curb, gracefully waiting for a taxi. She had an aura of elegance and sophistication that immediately caught my attention.
A young boy of about 11 years old was in the middle of pickpocketing her. She seems to be oblivious to her surrounding.
I told Hardy to wait for me in the truck, then walked closer to them.
"You know you shouldn't be doing that," I said, and the boy flinched.
"Now, runoff." He didn't wait for me to finish my statement when he ran off.
The lady turned to look at me with a somewhat surprised look on her gorgeous face. Damn! Did I just say gorgeous? She is. I got lost in the brown eyes staring directly at me. Holy s**t! How can a woman be this beautiful?
Her long, luscious hair cascaded down her shoulders in soft, bouncy waves, and her skin glowed with a healthy radiance that only a few could boast of. Her sharp cheekbones were complemented by a pair of large, expressive eyes that sparkled with an unmistakable liveliness.
She had a slender nose that curved gracefully, leading down to a pair of full, luscious lips that were painted with a soft, rosy hue.
Her attire was just as stunning as she was, as she wore a simple yet stylish dress that accentuated her curves in all the right places. The way she carried herself with such confidence and poise only added to her already breathtaking beauty.
As I walked past her, I couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for this striking young woman. At that moment, I knew that I had just witnessed a truly beautiful sight, one that would stay with me for a long time to come.
"Thank you." She let out a laugh. "I didn't know that was about to happen."
"You should be careful next time. I won't be around next time." I said, in an attempt to make a joke.
Oh! That worked. She laughed. I have to admit she had a beautiful smile. I haven't seen that in a long time now.
"Are you new in town?" I couldn't help but ask the question. I've never seen that face before. She was standing beside her luggage.
"Yeah." She nodded
"Where are you headed?"
"White House. I was hoping I'd get a taxi or something, but none is forthcoming."
I let out a laugh. No doubt, she's new here.
"You can't get a taxi here, at this time of the day. They will be downtown."
"Oh. That explains it then. So, how do I get out of here?"
"Here comes your knight in shiny armor. Daniel to the rescue." I bowed.
She smiled.
"Daniel? Wow!"
"What? You don't like the name?"
"No. That's not it. I've had a history with Daniels."
I chuckled.
"I hope it's a very good one."
She smiled. Man, does she smile a lot?
"What's your name?"
"Emily."
"Alright, Emily. My truck is over there." I pointed in the opposite direction. "I'll drive you to the White House if you don't mind."
"Aww! That's so nice of you. Thank you so much." Only if she knows what those expressions are doing to me
"You are welcome." I helped her with the luggage and we walked toward the truck.
Hardy had a confused look when we got to the truck. Emily settled in the back seat while I stack up her luggage in the boot.
She was staring out the window all through the journey. I guessed she was mesmerized by what she was seeing. Sanel Beach has its charm.
"So, Emily. How long will you be here?" I asked.
"I don't know. 6 months I guess." She shrugged.
"Are you here for work or just leisure?"
"All of the above"
"You mean both? Wow! You'll need to do both side by side. All work and no play make Emily a dull girl."
She chuckled. "You turned our Nursery Rhyme into something else."
"Only for you"
Hardy stared at me the whole time. Probably still confused.
"Dude, put your eyes elsewhere. Do you want her to get the wrong idea?"
Hardy coughed and focused on driving. We soon got to the White House in no time. White House is meant for tourists. On a normal day, this place is usually full to the brim. There are tourists everywhere. Once again, Sanel Beach has its charm.
Emily waved us goodbye for the last time.
"I'll see you around," I said before Hardy drove off.
Just then, the phone let out a shrill sound. Hardy connected to the Bluetooth and the next thing we heard was Greg's voice.
"Daniel, there's a problem," Greg said from the other end of the phone.
"Shoot." I was getting impatient.
"The sea animals you brought the last time. I ran some tests here in the lab. I'm still waiting for the result, but just now we noticed there were black molds all over them. These molds aren't ordinary." He paused.
"Do I need to tell you to go on?"
"Boss...they contain carbon dioxide." Greg stammered.
