She backed up against the door, thumbed on her ballpoint and started with the questions, but he immediately interrupted her.
Ill be fine with any food you serve. He radiated impatience, more than annoyance. I need some meeting time with my staff. The dining room would work best because of the table size. Whens it free?
Whenever you want it to be. Ivan would be proud of her. It was a kowtowers answer, even if her chin was already chucked up to hold her own. The man was too damn tall. Not counting his other faults.
This is the deal. I want my staff to have a vacation out of this. Want to see them interacting in relaxed situations, onshore, offshore, meals and all. But I need to secure some uninterrupted time with each of them-with the door closed, just me and each of the men, for a good hour each day.
So you specifically need the dining room then. Morning or night?
Morning. After breakfast. Obviously, that schedule will need to be flexible, depending on the trip agenda for that day.
No sweat. Dining rooms yours from nine until ten-or later if you want it. I do need to start setting up for lunch by eleven-thirty, ballpark. If that wont work for you, just let me know.
Fine. Now, problem two. The captain told me youd be sleeping down here.
She wasnt sure where he was headed, but somehow she was already bristling. Yes. If the captain didnt mention it, his usual chef is a man, who came with his son, who worked as a cabin boy. Normally, everyone bunks in the crew quarters. But when the chef had emergency surgery, the job came open for me-
I dont need all these details.
I was only trying to explain that the crew quarters were set up for men. I mean, its an open space, everyone bunking together. I could have done that if I had to, but Id rather have some privacy, and you didnt book all the cabins, so there was the small cabin aft, has its own head. If youre afraid Ill be noisy-
I dont need all these details.
I was only trying to explain that the crew quarters were set up for men. I mean, its an open space, everyone bunking together. I could have done that if I had to, but Id rather have some privacy, and you didnt book all the cabins, so there was the small cabin aft, has its own head. If youre afraid Ill be noisy-
Im not afraid youll be noisy. Im afraid youll be an awkward distraction. He took another impatient breath, looked away, then back at her. Arthurs married. The others arent.
I have to admit, I think Fiske is adorable, she offered, referring to the oldest of his staff, but he just sighed at her attempt at lightness. Clearly, he had no sense of humor.
This is the story, Cate. I inherited my uncles pharmaceutical company when he died a few months ago. At the time I was living across the country, outside Portland, Oregon, but I moved, put the life I had there on complete hold. There just was no one else to take on Future, Inc. It was more than a family commitment. The company was in the middle of doingextraordinary things. None of that is your business or your problem. But my situation is that my science management team is in the middle of a major crisis. Im using these two weeks of being trapped on this boat to ferret out personalities, problems, solutions. But Ive got my hands full without adding further complications to thissoup.
Aw, shoot. I was planning to seduce Yale one night, Purdue the next and run down the halls naked between cabins at all hours of the day and night. Eek. He wasnt smiling. And suddenly she felt awkward as a prickly thorn. Hed shared something of a problem and shed buzzed him off. If he hadnt implied shed be a sexual distraction for his employees, shed have behaved better. Darn it, Cate knew she got ticked off easily. So now she had to try to fix it. I didnt mean to make light of a touchy situation. And I appreciate your filling me in. When youre working with your guys, Ill do my best to keep us all out of your way.
Its you Im concerned with. Not the rest of the crew.
Well, hell. He got her back up all over again. Trust me. There wont be a problem, she said stiffly.
Im not trying to offend you.
You arent. He was.
Im just trying to make sure you arent caught in the crosshairs of an awkward situation-
Trust me. I wont be. If her spine got any stiffer, she could have drawn a straight line with it. Above deck, she heard the engines start up.
He sighed. CateI apologize. I can see in your face that Ive handled this badly. I havent slept in two nights-
You havent handled anything wrong, and even if you did, youre the boss. But I need to head up now. Ill see you at lunch.
She ducked through the door, scampered topside and kept on going. That man might be stupendously good-looking and hotter than any man shed known in the last decade. But so far, everything hed said had rubbed her mightily the wrong way.
Still Her spirits lifted as she neared the galley again. From the summer when she was eight-and lost her parents and whole world to a fire-shed never depended on anyone or anything to make her happy. She could survive anything, and had. She never let anyone so close that a loss could destroy her.
Her heart was open, she thought, just not to hurt. An example of that was how hugely she planned to enjoy this trip. She saw it as an outstanding challenge, the chance to savor a fresh set of experiences, an opportunity to see yet another wondrous place in the world. Whether Harm Connolly was an annoyance didnt matter worth beans. She could put him out of her mind faster than a finger snap.
She had with every other man whod given her a problem.
Chapter 2
Cate wiped her hands on the linen towel. Panic was setting in. It was a comfortable, familiar panic, when a meal was just about to be served, but still, a definite panic. Lunch was a naturally easy menu to pull together, but it was still their first meal onboard, their first exposure to her as a chef. It had to be perfect. In fact, by her standards, it had to be way better than perfect.
You ready to serve, Cate? Ivan started to step in the galley.
Out, she snarled, then had to sigh when he threw his hands in the air in a gesture of comical apology. She could be nice. Really. She just didnt have that people-pleasing gene-but God knew, she tried. Seconds later, she popped her head around the corner of the galley with a brilliant smile. Just sit down, yall. Im bringing it out as we speak.
And she did, one dish at a time. The first plate just held homemade bread, still steaming, accompanied by a fat scoop of mint butter. Shed chosen the asiago potatoes, because guys always-always-liked potatoes, and it was her own recipe with the bliss potatoes and specks of fresh chives and basil with the asiago cheese melted inside. The killer course was a thinly sliced skirt steak-if the guys didnt go for that, shed have to commit suicide. She made it with heavy cream and blue cheese and baby spinach, lemon juice-fresh, of course-and a bit of shallot. The only problem with the whole meal was having to do 99 percent of it at the last minute. At least the fresh salad had been easy; all shed had to do was add some hazelnuts and mandarin oranges to perk it up.
She started to relax when she saw the Gobble Factor kick in. Each of the guys took a bite, looked at each otherthen started wolfing it down. Men were such pigs.
She was so glad.
She heard two rounds of Oh, my Gods before she allowed herself to sink into the chair next to Harm. The seating wasnt a choice. Cate had to be closest to the galley, and Harm and Ivan did the obvious male-posturing thing and had already claimed the two end chairs.
The minute they finished, she was prepared to bounce up and bring in dessert. It was an easy serve. Shed made peppermint cookies, her personal creation, and for those who wanted a heavier fare, vanilla honey-bee ice cream. For now, all she had to do was make sure no one needed anything. Ivan had the stage, was filling the guests in on the safety of the boat and the general lay of the land-or sea, as it were. There werent many rules. Well get the safety drills out of the way. Then the boats yours. We do ask that you stay out of the pilothouse unless invited. Hans and I like company up there. Well ask every one of you to join us, but there isnt space for more than two at a time
She listened. Sort of. Shed had a week onboard before the guests arrived, but shed been running full tilt to get her food on and organized. She hadnt paid a lick of attention to the safety stuff, primarily because she didnt care. Harm, she noted, was studying his men more than he was eating, and felt a sudden frown coming on. Tarnation, maybe he didnt like her skirt steak?
Ivan was onto the general itinerary by then. Today, well be at sea, so its a good afternoon to just relax, start soaking it all in. Chairs on both the fore and aft decks, with blankets and binocs. Were starting on the west side of Admiralty Island, and the first offshore stop will be tomorrow night, Tennehee Springs. Anytime we see a run of good fish, well stop, put our lines in. Any time we see whales or sea lions or bear, anything we run across, we drop anchor. Youre not in the city now. We built in time to kick back. If you dont see a dozen eagles by this afternoon, Ill be surprised.
Cate took a bite of each dish. Par for the course, she wasnt particularly hungry. Obviously, she taste-tested whatever she made, but she was fretting more how the others were responding.
Cate took a bite of each dish. Par for the course, she wasnt particularly hungry. Obviously, she taste-tested whatever she made, but she was fretting more how the others were responding.
Next to her, Fiske, as expected, pounced on anything sweet. Arthur devoured the potatoes, but wouldnt have helped himself to more if Cate hadnt unobtrusively passed the bowl again. Yale and Purdue presented no surprises; they wolfed down anything in front of them. Hans-Ivans uncle and first mate-refused to acknowledge that he had a hiatal hernia. She always had to watch out for him. If he didnt eat slowly, he could suddenly start choking.
Ivan loved everything-his not being fussy was one of the few things about the captains character she appreciated-and at least he didnt start with the liquor until after dinner.