Billionaire At Sea

16

Damian

Now that was something I wanted to remedy. A much more enjoyable place for a woman should always be the bedroom.

“That’s only because she hasn’t had anything cooking in the bedroom for so long,” joked Ridley, who must have been reading my mind.

Mia gave her a dirty look. “Please ignore her. Apparently, Ridley has forgotten how deep the ocean can get and how easily one could fall overboard.”

Ridley chuckled.

Smiling myself, I gave them a tour of the yacht, starting at the main salon, which was where most of the guests usually hung out in the evening. There were several sofas, including two sectionals, a grand piano, a fully stocked bar, and three recently added poker tables.

“This is beautiful,” said Mia, running her hand over the mahogany entertainment center.

“Thank you,” I said, thinking the same thing about her. She had on a white and blue sundress, which showed off her slender figure and long legs. My palms began to itch as I imagined unzipping the back of her dress and letting it drop to the floor.

“You seem to have very good taste,” said Ridley, staring at me with a smirk. She nodded toward Mia, who wasn’t paying attention.

I smiled. “You’re very observant.”

“Yes, I am,” she replied.

I chuckled.

“What was that?” asked Mia, turning around.

“We were talking about the piano,” Ridley said, touching the keys. “I told him he had very good taste.”

“Do you play, Damian?” asked Mia.

“A little,” I replied.

“Please. Play something for us,” said Ridley.

“Yes, please. We’d love it. Play whatever you want,” said Mia, her face brightening.

“Okay. It’s been a while, but I’ll give it a shot.” I sat down and began playing one of my favorite pieces, Moonlight Sonata, by Beethoven.

Mia

I didn’t recognize the song but was totally enthralled as he played it for us. It was such a beautifully haunting piece; it took my breath away.

Ridley and I looked at each other.

“Wow,” she mouthed.

I nodded.

We watched in stunned silence as his fingers danced over the keys like it was second-nature; he played with such passion and skill that it literally gave me the chills. After a few minutes, Damian stopped.

“Sorry,” he said, turning to us with a crooked smile. “I sometimes get a little caught up in that song.”

I cleared my throat. “It was beautiful. I could listen to you play for hours.”

“Thank you,” he said softly. “I used to play it for hours. I suppose that’s why it all came back to me so easily.”

“It gave me goosebumps,” said Ridley, holding out her arm. “It’s obvious that besides being a great baseball player, you’re musically talented. It must run in the family.”

“That’s very kind of you. To be honest, I’m better at playing other people’s music. Unlike my cousin, who creates her own,” he said.

“Have you ever tried writing anything?” I asked.

“Once, when I was first learning to play the piano,” he admitted. “Unfortunately, I don’t know what happened to it.”

“How old were you when you started playing?” asked Ridley.

“Six. My grandfather used to play and I wanted to be like him. He started giving me lessons and then eventually, they hired a piano teacher for me,” he said.

“I always wanted to learn how to play,” I said.

“You should take lessons,” he suggested.

I laughed. “No. I’m too old.”

His eyes widened. “Too old? Nonsense. Anyone can learn how to play. You just have to have patience and a willingness to keep practicing.”

“He’s right. My mother learned how to play when she was thirty,” said Ridley.

“I don’t have a piano,” I said. “And I’m certainly not going to buy one just to take lessons.”

“You just need a keyboard,” he said. “Look, if you’d like… I can give you a few lessons while you’re on the ship.”

I laughed nervously. “Thank you. That’s very kind, but you don’t have to.”

“It’s not a problem at all,” he said quickly. “I can show you some basic things and then you can decide if it’s something you want to pursue on your own.”

“You should do it,” said Ridley. “You know you want to.”

She was right. After listening to him play, it had brought back memories of when I was younger and had begged my mother to let me take piano lessons. Unfortunately, back then she didn’t have the extra money and so it never happened.

I smiled. “Okay. If you’re up for it and don’t mind…”

“Of course I don’t mind. We can start later this evening, after dinner, if you’d like,” he said. “Just a quick half-hour lesson.”

“Sounds good,” I replied, looking forward to it. I knew I’d probably never be as good as Damian, but the thought of being able to play a few simple songs was thrilling.

“Great.” He stood up. “In the meantime, let me show you the rest of the ship before the sun goes down. Afterward, you can relax at the pool before dinner, if you’d like.”

“Hell, yeah. Count me in,” said Ridley, perking up.

For the next hour, Damian showed us much more of the yacht and both of us were thoroughly impressed. Not only did it have a theater and game room, but there was a gym, a sauna, and of course, the pool.

“I could get used to this,” said Ridley, taking her shoe off. She dipped her toes into the water. “You’ll know where to find me when I’m not in the kitchen.”

“Do you swim much?” I asked Damian

“A little. Mostly to cool down,” he replied. “When I was in high school, I joined the swim team for a couple of years. I eventually had to quit because it interfered with baseball.”

“That’s too bad,” I replied.

He shrugged. “Eh… to be honest, I’d rather relax in the water these days anyway.”

“Maybe Damian would like to give you swimming lessons, too?” said Ridley with a smirk.

He looked at me. “Of course.”

“I think one type of lesson will be enough,” I said, giving her a warning look. “I’d hate to monopolize all of Damian’s time.”

“Believe me, there will be plenty of time next week,” he said, a twinkle in his eyes. “So, if you’d like lessons on anything that I’m familiar with, just ask.”

“That’s very kind of you,” I said. “As I said, I think the piano lesson will be quite enough.”

“Feel free to change your mind,” he replied. “I’m sure I’ll be out here anyway once Jake arrives. He loves to swim.”

“I bet he’s a little fish,” said Ridley.

“He loves the water,” said Damian, smiling. “I have a hard time getting him to leave the pool at home.”

“Ridley and I can’t wait to meet him,” I said.

“Jake is a good kid. He’s a little confused right now, with everything going on. But, I’m hoping that with me not traveling so much, he’ll come around.”

“I’m sure he will,” said Ridley, putting her shoe back on. “It’s just going to take a little time.”

“Divorce can be hard on a kid,” I said, thinking back to my parents again. “But, it’s still better than living with people who are miserable and always fighting.”

He nodded. “We certainly did enough of that.”

“I survived. Jake will, too,” I said.

“Your parents divorced?” he asked.

“Yes.” I told him about my parents and their struggles. “I understood that it was for the better, even though it took some time getting used to. I never stopped loving either of them, though.”

Damian smiled. “It’s too bad. I’m sure your father might have even still loved your mother. Alcoholism is a horrible disease. I’ve also seen what it does to people.”

I thought about John’s warning, but brushed it aside. I’d lived with an alcoholic and Damian didn’t strike me as one. “I’m sure he did, too. Unfortunately, there was a long line of alcoholics on my dad’s side of the family. Every last one of them were in denial.”

“That’s unfortunate,” he said. “What about you? Do you have any addictions?”

“None that I’m aware of,” I said and then smiled. “Maybe food.”

His eyes lowered. “It doesn’t seem to be hurting you.”

I chuckled. “That’s because I jog most mornings.”

“Sorry, no places to jog on the ship. Just the treadmills,” he said.

“That works, too,” I replied.

“Speaking of food, I should probably show you the galley next.”

“Good idea,” said Ridley, who’d been listening silently.

“We’ve had some of your orders delivered already. If there’s anything else you think you’ll need, let me know.”

“I think we’ll be good,” I replied.

“We’re setting sail pretty late tomorrow. So, if you do notice something missing, we should be able to remedy the situation,” he said.

“I know we’re supposed to be receiving a final delivery tomorrow,” said Ridley. “The meat market promised to have our shipment here by ten a.m.”

Damian nodded. “Okay. I’ll have my crew watch for them.”

“In the meantime, we should probably verify everything that’s been received so far,” I said to Ridley.

“Definitely.” She looked at him and smiled. “And then afterward, I’m going for a swim.”

“Good idea. You’ll probably want to use it as much as you can before the guests arrive. Once they’re here, I’d recommend that you avoid it until they’re gone,” said Damian.

“I understand. We’ll be on the clock anyway,” said Ridley.

“That’s not it,” he replied.

He doesn’t want us mingling with the guests, I thought.

As if reading my mind, he told us that he thought it would just be safer, since we were the only two females on board.

“To be honest, I don’t know much about these guests, other than they’re friends with the guy getting married. I trust him. I just don’t entirely trust his buddies. Your safety is my utmost concern.”

“We appreciate it,” said Ridley, smiling at him.

He shrugged. “I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it.”

“Thank you,” I said, warming up to him more and more. He really was a thoughtful guy.

“Now that we’re on the ship, can you at least tell us who’s getting married?” asked Ridley.

“You just can’t stand the suspense, can you?” Damian said with a wry smile.

“No. I can’t,” she admitted.

He snorted. “Fine. I imagine you’ve heard of Ransom?”

Ridley’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her face. “The singer?”

“Yes. It’s his bachelor party,” said Damian.

“Oh, my God,” she squealed. “We actually get to meet him!”

“Not if you’re going to act like that. I’ll lock you in the galley if you freak out around him,” I said, amused.

She looked at me like I was an i***t. “You do know who he is?”

“Yes. Of course,” I replied.

Everyone had heard of Ransom, the famous bad-boy singer. He’d been discovered on American Icon, a popular reality show, a few years ago. I didn’t keep tabs on celebrities or read the tabloids, however, so I had no idea that he’d been dating anyone special, let alone getting married.

“Don’t worry,” said Damian. “I had the same reaction myself when I found out. I even found myself shopping for bras, just so I could throw one at him when I saw him in concert.” He raised his voice. “He’s so dreamy.”

Ridley and I laughed.

“Talking about me behind my back again?” said an amused voice.

We all turned around to find Marshall standing there with a wide grin.

“We were talking dreamy, not dweebie,” said Damian.

Marshall put his hand on his heart. “I’m deeply offended.”

“Good. Paybacks are a b***h. Now, what’s up?” asked Damian, becoming serious again.

Ridley and I stole a glance at each other. It was obvious Damian and Marshall had a unique kind of employer-employee relationship.

“I believe this is yours?” he said, holding out a cell phone.

Damian appeared relieved. “Thank you. I was wondering where I’d left it. Where was the damn thing?”

“The bridge. Jeff actually found it,” he replied, handing it to him.

“Who’s Jeff? The captain?” asked Ridley.

“No, he’s the officer on watch. Charles Fayland is the captain. He won’t be arriving until tomorrow,” said Damian, scrolling through his phone.

“So, how do you like the ship so far?” Marshall asked.

“It’s beautiful,” said Ridley. “And huge.”

“Yes. Neither of us can get over the size,” I said.

Marshall smirked. “Well, you know what they say about guys who feel the need to compensate for what they lack in–”

“The only thing I’m lacking in is good help,” said Damian. “By the way, didn’t I fire you last week?”

“I believe it was the week before,” Marshall replied with a satisfied grin.

“That’s what I thought. He’s like a bad penny,” muttered Damian, looking up. “I just can’t seem to get rid of him.”

“I bring you luck though,” said Marshall. “If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t have met these two.”

Ridley and I looked at each other in surprise.

“We were at this party in Hollywood, or was it Beverly Hills? I can’t remember,” explained Marshall. “Damian didn’t want to go but I insisted.”

“True. Good thing I did. That’s how we met Michael,” said Damian as his phone began to vibrate.

“I don’t know how he does it but Michael always manages to rub elbows with some pretty famous people,” said Ridley.

“He’s charismatic,” I said. “People are drawn to him.”

“Yes, and he knows a little about everything, so he’s interesting to talk to. By the way, it appears that I have to step away and make a phone call,” said Damian, frowning down at his cell. He looked up. “Marshall? Could you please show them the galley and if I don’t catch up with you, the bridge as well? I have a feeling I’m going to be tied up for a while.”

“My pleasure,” said Marshall.

“Sorry to keep getting pulled away. This time it’s my ex,” said Damian. “She’s in an uproar about something.”

“Good luck with that,” said Marshall. “Just be thankful you don’t have to deal with her on a daily basis anymore.”

“Believe me, I thank my lucky stars every day. Anyway, I’ll catch up with you in a little while. I apologize.”

“No apology needed,” I said.

“We totally understand,” added Ridley.

“Thank you,” he replied.

“So, how long have you worked for Damian?” asked Ridley, after Damian left.

“Long enough to know that he’s going to be on the phone for a very long time,” he said. “So, you’re stuck with me for a while.”

“There are worse things to be stuck with,” said Ridley, smiling.

His lip twitched. “Thank you. I think?”