Billionaire At Sea

13

Mia

After the Adam episode, Ridley moved in with me and a couple days later, I drove her back to pick up more things while he was at work. She did speak to him several times on the phone and just as expected, he begged for her forgiveness. He even tried talking her into returning home. I almost thought she was going to go back to him, until the green-eyed monster made another appearance.

“I’ve had it,” she said, setting her purse down on the counter. “He’s being a jerk again about Damian. In fact, this time… he actually had the audacity to try and make me cancel our catering job.”

Ridley and Adam had met for lunch to try and work things out. I was almost relieved to hear that he was being difficult. I certainly didn’t want her going back to him.

“Really? What did you say?”

Even I knew that wasn’t an option, and if it was… I’d slap her silly. Especially after the way she hounded me about taking the job.

“I told him ‘absolutely not’ and that he needed psychiatric help for his jealousy problem.”

I relaxed. “I bet he didn’t like that.”

“No, but I made sure he knew that there was no way I would take him back, unless he quit drinking and saw a therapist.”

“Good for you. What was his response?”

She sighed. “He told me that I was overreacting.”

“You were overreacting? You?”

“I know… right?” she said, leaning back against the counter, looking suddenly very tired and miserable.

“I’m sorry,” I said, moving next to her. “What are you going to do?”

She grunted. “What can I do?”

“Stay here with me, as long as you want, and in the meantime, don’t let him coerce you back without meeting your demands,” I said. “Which, I know is going to be hard to do, considering you still love him.”

Ridley nodded.

“But, you can’t give in. I mean it, Ridley,” I said. “There was absolutely no reason for him to get jealous or violent. If he did it once, it will be easier for him to do it again.”

“I know,” she said softly.

I grabbed her hand. “As much as you love him, you’d be doing the both of you more harm than good if you take him back without him getting help. If he really, really loves you, he’ll give in. If he doesn’t, then you’re better off without him. Your future children will be better off without him.”

She let out a ragged sigh. “I realize that.”

“Let’s just try and focus on next week. We’ll be in Caribbean, on a luxurious yacht, having fun and making a ton of dough.”

Ridley smiled. “It’s kind of funny how our roles have reversed. The other day I was saying the same thing to you.”

“I know. You made me see the light and just like you stated, it’s going to change our lives. For the better.”

She nodded in agreement but I knew Ridley was the one who was now second-guessing everything. I was still a little anxious about the catering job myself, but deep down, I knew that this was the best thing for her and me. She needed to get away from Adam to clear her head and I needed to put John and the past behind me.

***

Ridley and I kept ourselves busy, planning the meals and ordering the supplies needed for the bachelor party. Damian was good on his word and not only paid for all of it, but deposited twenty grand into our business account.

“I think that’s it,” she said, after getting off of the phone with the owner of a fresh seafood market. “Everything is ordered and now that we’ve arranged to have our supplies delivered directly to Damian’s yacht, we can relax.”

For what seemed like the tenth time, I scanned the menus and the grocery listings, to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything. As far as I could tell, we hadn’t missed an item. “I think you’re right. The only thing left to do is pack.”

“Speaking of which,” she grinned. “I think we should treat ourselves. Let’s go shopping for some new clothing. Something we can wear when we’re not stuck in the kitchen.”

As much as I would have liked to have gone on a shopping spree myself, I knew we had important bills to attend to first. “Did you send a check to pay for the van?”

“We’re caught up. I also put aside money for taxes. In fact,” she dug into her purse and then handed me a check. It was for just over seven thousand dollars. “This includes what I said I’d help pay for rent.”

“Damn,” I said, staring at it with a smile on my face. “I don’t think I’ve ever received a check for anything this high before.”

“I know, right? By the way, I spoke to Damian last night and he hinted that the payment we’ve received doesn’t include our tip. He’d give us that at the end of the cruise. I think you should be extra special to the man, considering he likes you.” She smiled wickedly. “Although, he might have another tip in mind for you. I wonder if it’s circumcised?”

I rolled my eyes.

“Let’s hope it is. I had one that wasn’t one time and it was pretty… strange.”

I snorted. “You’re sick, you know that?”

Ridley shrugged. “I’m blunt. You know that. Anyway, back to shopping. When was the last time you bought yourself a new bathing suit?”

“It’s been awhile,” I admitted, picturing my white bikini. I hadn’t tried it on in over a year.

She stood up and grabbed her purse. “Let’s deposit your check and get to it then.”

Knowing that shopping was something that gave her joy, and she truly needed it, I agreed.

***

Three hours and five hundred dollars later, I had several new outfits, two bathing suits, and a new pair of flip-flops. I thought it was quite the haul, especially after watching Ridley spend twice the amount and had less to show for it. When I teased her about it, she blamed her extravagant spending on her mother.

“Why is it her fault?” I asked dryly as we got into my vehicle.

“She was the one who introduced me to designer clothing. Anyway, almost everything I purchased was a bargain,” she said, holding up her bags. “Maybe not by your standards, but by mine.”

“If that’s what you need to tell yourself,” I teased.

Her cell phone began to ring. Ridley frowned. “It’s him again.”

“Adam?”

“Yeah. He just won’t give up,” she replied, stuffing the phone back into her purse.

“I think you should throw your cell phone into the ocean as soon as we get onboard the ship tomorrow.”

“Believe me, the thought has already crossed my mind.”

We drove back to my place and then started packing. When we were finished, Ridley pulled out a bottle of champagne.

“When did you get that?” I asked.

“I bought it yesterday. I wanted to have a toast before we set sail,” she said, grabbing two wine glasses from the cupboard.

“Great idea. I think we both deserve it.”

“Hell, yeah we do.”

I opened the bottle and poured the champagne into our glasses.

Ridley picked up hers and held it in the air. “First of all, to Damian for giving us this fabulous opportunity. He could have gone with anyone else, but he’s taking a chance on us and for that I’m grateful.”

“Me, too,” I said.

“Also, let’s not forget the man who’s getting married. If not for him, we’d both be up s**t creek right now “

“Cheers to the bachelor for getting married. May he and his bride live happily ever after,” I said, clinking my glass against hers.

We both took sips of the champagne.

“Oh, wait. I have a personal toast that I’d like to make,” I said, holding up my glass again. “May this week be the start of a better life for both of us. Especially for my very best friend, whom I’d do anything in the world for.”

“Aw…,” she said, smiling warmly at me. “Thank you, Mia. I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful friend like you.”

“Me, too. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Her eyes started misting up. “Okay, I haven’t even taken my third sip and I’m already getting emotional. I hope I’m not getting my period soon. I will be so pissed off if I can’t go swimming.”

I chuckled. “Yeah. The last thing we need is for you to start drawing all of the sharks in the area. We’ll have enough to deal with on the ship as it is.”

“Exactly,” she said right as the doorbell rang.

We looked at each other.

“Are you expecting anyone?” she asked.

It was after eight and I certainly wasn’t.

“No,” I replied, setting my glass down. “Maybe it’s Adam?”

“I hope not. If it is, tell him that I’m not here right now.”

“Okay.”

I walked out of the kitchen and answered the door. Fortunately, it was Michael.

“Oh good. It’s just you,” I said, standing back so that he could come in.

“You really make a guy feel special,” he said in amusement.

“I’m sorry. I just thought that you were Adam.”

His smile fell. “Has he been bothering her?”

“He wants to get back with her but refuses to see a therapist. Thankfully, she won’t let him back into her life unless he does,” I said in a low voice.

Michael looked relieved. “I’m glad she’s sticking to her guns.”

“Me, too. Ridley!” I called loudly. “It’s your brother!”

She stepped into the living room and gave him a funny smile “Okay, what are you doing here?”

“I was in the neighborhood and wanted to check up on you,” he replied. “Is that so shocking?”

“A little,” she said, giving him a curious look. “You must be getting soft in your old age.”

“I must be because I can’t seem to stop worrying about you,” he said, opening up his briefcase. He pulled out small brown bag.

“What’s in there,” asked Ridley. “Booze?”

He chuckled. “No. I was thinking that after what happened with Adam, I think it might be a good idea for you to be carrying this around,” he said, pulling out a canister of pepper spray. “Just in case.”

She took it from him. “I don’t think I need to worry about Adam. He was inebriated when he hit me and I’m not going to be around him when he’s drinking anymore.”

“It’s not just Adam I’m worried about,” he replied, reaching into the bag again. He pulled out another canister of pepper spray and this time, handed it to me. “You two are young and beautiful and should have some kind of protection. I know neither of you own handguns, or take karate, so this should be better than nothing.”

“Thanks,” I replied, reading the directions. “It looks easy enough to use.”

“It is. I’ve started carrying one with me when I walk our dog, Marty,” said Michael. “The two pit bulls in our neighborhood see him as a chew-toy. One of them got loose once and I used the stuff. Now that dog doesn’t even look at us when we walk by his house.”

Marty was his Toy Poodle.

“I guess it’s a good idea,” she said. “Although, we don’t own a dog or walk late at night.”

“Maybe not, but you can bring it with you on the ship. I’m not sure who Damian’s inviting, but if there’s going to be a lot of drinking, I don’t want you two vulnerable,” he said.

“Ah. Now I get it. Is there something that you aren’t telling us?” Ridley asked.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Did he invite a bunch of hell-raisers?” Ridley asked.

“Honestly, I still don’t know who’s been invited. All I know is that you’re going to be stuck in the middle of the ocean, with a group of men, and I want you safe.”

“I appreciate your concern. I’ll definitely bring mine,” I said. “And, Ridley will have hers, too. I’ll make sure of it.”

He crumpled up the paper bag. “Good.”

She looked at me. “I guess they’ll come in handy if the boat gets overtaken by pirates.”

“If that happens, pepper spray isn’t going to save us,” I said dryly.

“If you get hijacked by pirates,” said Michael. “Nothing is going to help you unless you’re a strong swimmer and aren’t afraid of sharks.”

“Mia can’t swim and I’m pretty sure we’re both afraid of sharks,” she replied.

He looked at me. “You live in Florida and you can’t swim?”

“I can a little,” I said defensively. “Dog-paddle, that is.”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Ridley. “We don’t have to worry about pirates. We don’t have to worry about anything other than cooking, sunscreen, and having fun. Right, Mia?”

“Yes.”

And… staying out of Damian’s bed, I mused inwardly. Although, the more I thought of it, the less I wanted to avoid it.