I want You Deeper

There were good and bad things about having internet access, even if it was spotty and slow. The good? She could pull up recipes for salmon and Brussels sprouts-the dish she planned to make for dinner. By the time she headed to the kitchen to start preparations, she had her entire meal prep for tonight planned out.

The bad? She’d gone down a rabbit hole soon after leaving Derek in the engine room. She’d searched her own name and read what locals were saying about her termination. Apparently, people thought Renee Forrester had gotten exactly what she deserved.

People hated her. Hated her. They ripped apart her voice, her delivery, her fluff pieces that she’d had no choice in doing since the juicy assignments went to those with more experience. Then there were rumors that she’d been fired for having an affair with someone. It varied from her boss to the evening news anchor to the morning traffic guy, depending on the commenter.

There were some positives-a few people defending her, most notably. She didn’t consider the people complimenting her solely on her looks as positives. The last thing she wanted to be respected for in her career was her physical appearance.

“Smells delicious.”

Renee had been so caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t even realize Derek was nearby until she heard his voice. She immediately felt selfconscious about the work she was doing here. She didn’t have the years of experience in a commercial kitchen that would make her confident enough to have her cooking watched by a billionaire.

“Thank you. It should be ready soon. Are Jake and April around?”

In all honesty, Renee had no idea how this worked. Should she have set a formal dinnertime? It wasn’t as though she was experienced in preparing dinner on a superyacht. A superyacht that was, by the way, pretty much empty.

“Captain Jake, this is Derek. Over.”

She turned around to see Derek talking into his two-way radio. Both she and April had been outfitted with their own versions soon after their initial tour of the boat. They were supposed to wear them everywhere they went, but she admittedly had forgotten it in her cabin a few times already. It was a necessary part of the job. On a boat this size, you couldn’t not have a way to reach each other.

“This is Captain Jake. Over.”

“When will dinner be ready?”

It took Renee a few seconds to realize Derek was directing that question at her. She’d assumed he was speaking to Captain Jake, despite the lack of an “over” at the end of it.

“Now?”

Even as Renee answered the question, she was scooping up the salmon and plating it. She had all four pieces in place, Brussels sprouts next to them, sauce drizzled on top, before Derek was finished communicating the message to Jake.

“Here, I’ll help.”

Renee was surprised at Derek’s offer to help her transfer the food to the table, which was no short walk. They had to climb a small staircase and walk down a long hall. She was treated to a nice view of his muscular legs as he walked ahead of her, though.

Once they had the plates on the table, he walked back with her to get the beverages for everyone. She’d already set the table up with cups, cloth napkins, and silverware, imitating a table setup she’d seen online. There were no glasses on this particular superyacht-a move she found smart considering how they’d been bumped around earlier.

When she’d been shoved directly into Derek’s chest.

It would take a lifetime to forget the way it had felt to have his arms around her. Yes, the boat had been tipping back and forth so precariously, she legit felt unsafe. But with his arm around her, everything seemed safe.

She liked that feeling.

And she’d been missing it for far too long.

“That smells delicious,” April commented when she appeared a few minutes later. Tonight, she wore a loose, flowy sundress and sandals. Her hair was down in a casual look that emphasized how young and carefree she was.

Renee was wearing her jeans and a T-shirt, mostly because she’d dressed to cook, not to enjoy it. She made a mental note to wear one of her sundresses the next night. She hadn’t packed to work on a boat for two weeks. She’d packed to hang out in an inn on an island for a few days. The good news was, she was not a light packer. Plus, she could wash whatever she needed to in the laundry area when April was finished cleaning all the linens and the guys’ clothes.

“Have a seat, everyone.” Renee stepped back, feeling a little awkward. As the chef, she would normally be expected to disappear to the kitchen and clean up. If this were a real setup, she’d probably even cook dinner in courses, delivering the appetizers, followed by the entree, then the dessert. She hadn’t even thought about dessert yet, and there definitely hadn’t been appetizers. Maybe she should pull that together for tomorrow night.

“You first,” Derek said, sliding Renee’s chair back.

That was the invitation she needed, telling her she hadn’t been wrong in assuming they’d want her to eat with them. She figured she could get away with a few rookie mistakes anyway since she was supposedly a professional chef in restaurants, not on superyachts.

“Captain Jake is going to train me to be a deckhand,” April announced as she sat down and picked up her fork. “I think I may have a career in this.”

Renee stared at her, unsure if she was serious or not. She didn’t know much about sailing, but being a deckhand sounded like hard work. “You’re prepared for a life on the sea?” Renee asked.

“I think I am.” April looked out at the water as she chewed a Brussels sprout. “I can breathe here. I’ve felt for so long like all I was doing was existing. Here, I feel like I’m living.”

Renee looked out at the water and thought about it. There was something peaceful about being out here. No texts or phone calls to respond to-although she doubted anyone wanted to talk to her, anyway. But it had that vacation-y feel that made everyday troubles seem so, so far away. When she did have to return to California, she knew those pressures would pile right back on her.

“So, what’s the plan when we get to Hawaii? Is it too soon to ask?”

April directed those questions to Derek, who had so far been focused on his food. Renee wasn’t even sure he was following the discussion at all.

“What do you mean?”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

As Derek looked up at her, Renee could tell he was trying the same little trick she’d executed earlier. He knew exactly what she meant. He was delaying while he thought up a good answer.

“Do we stay ashore as you did at the island, or do we sleep and stuff on the boat? Do we have a scheduled date of departure? Will we be going back to the island or do I need to make plans to have my stuff shipped to

Hawaii?”

Renee’s eyes widened as April’s list of questions progressed. Wow. They were all really good questions-questions Renee should be asking, in fact. If this little employment audition didn’t work out, she should be wondering, as the “chef,” whether she’d be flown home or would be expected to stay on this boat as it went to the next destination. All she was thinking about right now was whether she’d have reliable Wi-Fi so she could file her story once she’d completed her research.

“I’ve never done this before,” Derek said with a shrug. He stopped and took a sip from his cup. Another delaying tactic, Renee assumed. “I can speak to my boss, but my guess is that we’ll evaluate your performance at

some point before we arrive and decide if it’s the right fit.” Speak to his boss. Nice one.

“Will we sleep on the ship once we get to Hawaii?” Renee asked, doubling down on April’s question.

Not that Renee planned to stick with him, but there was a remote possibility that she wouldn’t have her story by the time she arrived. Whatever the case, she fully planned to stay in Hawaii a few days after letting Derek know she wouldn’t be continuing with him. She had no idea if she’d ever have the chance to visit Hawaii again, so why not?

“Unless it’s storming, we always stay with the boat.”

This came from Captain Jake. Renee wondered if he was speaking out of turn. Shouldn’t Derek be his boss? But Derek just nodded and went back to eating.

Wait a second. In his role as pretend salesperson for his own yachting operation, Derek wouldn’t be Captain Jake’s boss, so it made total sense that Captain Jake would speak up on this issue. Maybe, though, even as Derek Hughes, well-known mega entrepreneur, Captain Jake was still in charge when it came to the boat. That was how it worked if you chartered a boat, Renee was pretty sure.

“As long I get to attend a luau, fine with me,” Renee commented.

Why she was pushing that, she wasn’t sure. She didn’t need their permission to attend a luau in a couple of weeks when they arrived. She was her own boss-now and then. She might be undercover as a chef, but she did not work for either of these two men. She just had to pretend to until she got the information she needed.

Which should start tonight.

“Tell me a little about how the two of you met,” Renee said, preparing to dive into her food. If she was listening, not talking, she could settle into audience mode and enjoy her meal.

Initially, her question was met with a long silence. Uh-oh. Had she put the two of them in a position where they couldn’t answer? Maybe she shouldn’t push too hard.

“It’s a funny story,” Captain Jake finally said, taking a big swig of his drink. “Mind if I tell it?”

Derek, who was already finished with his meal, sat back in his seat with his cup of fruit tea. “Not at all. You tell it better than I do.”

“David here was the one who interviewed me because his boss couldn’t make it. I’d been running a charter boat from Los Angeles to Catalina Island for a while, and we had a full crew on board. Tackling this beast was a challenge I couldn’t resist.”

Renee looked from Derek to Jake. The weird thing was, Jake seemed completely genuine when he called Derek “David.” It was almost as though he really believed that was his name.

Maybe Jake wasn’t in on it. Maybe “David” had shown up, told Jake he was the salesperson, and Jake never questioned it. He probably wouldn’t even care as long as he got paid.

“So, David here decided he wanted to sit in on one of my charter cruises. One of my regulars agreed to let him tag along on their trip-but what I didn’t tell David was that the trip was a work thing.”

“They ran one of those referral marketing businesses,” Derek explained to April and Renee. “It was two days of ra-ra sessions and team bonding.”

“You’re skipping over the best part,” Captain Jake said with a big smile. “It was all about makeup.”

“Makeup?” Renee asked, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice.

“And guess who ended up being a judge in their makeover contest?” Jake looked at Derek, who by now had his eyes closed as he took deep inhalations in and out.

“I’m sure he knows everything about makeup.” April laughed. “What was that like?”

Derek opened his eyes and shrugged. “I did my best to avoid their sessions, but even at dinner, they talked shop. By the time the competition rolled around, I knew pretty much what the makeup was supposed to look like.”

“It was awesome.” Captain Jake leaned forward, an excited expression on his face. “I showed up just in time to hear him explaining things like full coverage and blending. He even used the term ‘smoky eye.'”

By that point, both Renee and April were laughing. She just hoped Derek knew they were laughing with him, not at him. He did have a smile on his face, so she figured that was a good sign.

“I’ll tell you what,” Derek suddenly said, standing. “I’ll take care of dessert. I’ll be right back.”