Chapter 31 Ore
Chapter 31
Ore
It was game on. She had no time to mess around anymore. Henry hadn’t been forceful on the phone but he had made himself clear. No article, no staff job. She’d let herself get distracted by Daniel, and where his loyalties lay, as though it wasn’t damned obvious that they resided firmly with the billionaire paying his wages. She needed to stop trying to be everyone’s friend and buckle up. He could report back to Chuck if he wanted; she’d deal with that when the time came.
‘So, Carlos, thanks for speaking to me. First of all are you happy to go on the record or is this on background?’
Carlos shrugged, opened his mouth to say something then seemed to decide better of it and instead said, ‘Let’s play it safe and say on background.’
It was to be expected, thought Ore. ‘Right, OK, well let’s start nice and easy. How did you end up working for Chuck?’
‘It’s a very long story …’ Carlos began, and he was right, it was. It started with his childhood in Beirut and ended with him living hand to mouth as a private chef in Paris. That was where he happened across one particularly rich-seeming guest.
‘What do you mean by “rich-seeming”?’ Ore probed, having surmised that he was talking about Chuck.
‘Oh you know, he was dressed terribly, and in Paris if you’re being invited to those kinds of private functions, and you turn up wearing cargo shorts, you must have the bank account to compensate, you know. And then there was the fact that he was an American, and everyone around the table was French, but speaking in English, just for him! Imagine!’ Carlos was so animated, Ore couldn’t help but giggle.
‘And so after dinner, while the Parisians were on the balcony smoking, I went and spoke to Mr Regas, and he complimented me on the food, and well, as you say, the rest is history.’
‘And what do you think of Mr Regas now? Is he a good boss?’ Ore held her pen poised over her notebook, anxious that Carlos was about to clam up, as the others had done.
‘He is a fine boss – like most rich people he can afford to be nice, most of the time, you know what I mean?’ Carlos paused, his question not rhetorical, it seemed.
‘Not really …’ Ore wanted to know more.
Carlos rolled his eyes at what he saw as Ore’s naivety. ‘He does not need to shout at people to get them to do what he wants. Everyone understands the power of money implicitly. It is like the cargo shorts, you see – he has nothing to prove, because the billions in his bank account do the talking.’ Carlos leant back, seemingly very pleased with his insight.
Ore furrowed her brow and waited for him to feel the need to further explain himself. He took the bait.
‘So for example, the other captain, Mr Regas never asked her to give Mr Claude a private tour. Claude said he would like a tour and then Captain Annie, she offered, and Mr Regas only said that that was very thoughtful of her, but I am sure he knew that Mr Claude is a … a pushy man.’
Ore tried to keep her expression composed, as though Carlos had not just said out loud what everyone else seemed to have been whispering behind her back since she arrived on the boat. Maybe it was the cramped quarters but she was sure she could feel Daniel tense up behind her. She soldiered on before Carlos caught on that he was overstepping.
With an even tone she asked, ‘And what happened to Captain Annie in the end?’ Without Vicky in the room, Ore was determined to make the most of Carlos’ loose lips.
‘Well she had to go. Claude is one of the biggest investors for Mr Regas as you know.’ Ore nodded as if she did; she didn’t want to spook Carlos, as she furiously took notes. ‘So when he tried it on, I think Annie had a bit of a … uh … struggle on her hands.’ Carlos looked down as he said this, visibly upset. Ore felt bad for digging, but that was the job, so she leant forward, laid a hand softly on his and waited for him to recover himself.
‘She ran down to the mess actually and Vicky was there, and then Dudley and myself got there too. Then she went straight to report it to Agatha. I think Annie thought that she could speak woman to woman.’ Carlos huffed indignantly at the memory. ‘Of course Agatha went straight to Mr Regas.’
Daniel coughed loudly from behind Ore, and she knew that her time was running short. ‘And then what happened?’
‘Oh well, she was made to sign a DNA … no … what do you call it … damn …’
Carlos waved his hands around agitatedly and Ore interrupted impatiently. ‘An NDA?’
Carlos clapped his hands excitedly, the sound reverberating around the cramped space and making Ore jump. ‘Aha! Yes that is it, an NDA, and then twenty-four hours later she was flown off the boat.’ He shrugged and then his expression dulled and he suddenly looked sad.
Ore had one more question: ‘Thanks for sharing that with me, Carlos. I just have one more question for you, does Klauparten mean anything to you?’ For the first time during the interview Carlos looked wary. He shot a look over Ore’s shoulder in Daniel’s direction but whatever response he got seemed to reassure him.
‘I am not totally sure, but from what I can gather … and this is off of the record as you say?’ Carlos was getting nervy.
Ore nodded emphatically.
‘It is the name of Claude’s company, although I am not sure what it is. It seems to make him very much money. That is all I can say. I really must be getting on now!’
And with that the interview was over, but Ore was buzzing. It was the most headway she’d made since she got on the boat. ‘Thank you so much, Carlos, I really appreciate it.’
‘Yes, yes no problem. I will show you out; I have prep to do.’ Carlos ushered them out of the office and back through the kitchen. Once they were standing in the corridor with the door still swinging, Daniel turned to Ore.
‘I didn’t know about the NDA stuff,’ he said quietly.
Ore wasn’t sure whether she believed him anymore. ‘Are you going to tell on Carlos?’ Ore was surprised by how wounded he looked by the question.
‘No, of course not. Listen, Ore …’ She was looking at him expectantly when he cut himself off. ‘Not here.’
He grabbed her by the hand and led her down a flight of steps and across the bottom deck. She thought about pulling her hand away at first, but despite herself, his touch felt comforting.
‘Where are you taking me?’ Ore asked, a little breathless from the pace.
‘Kit cupboard number 6,’ Daniel replied. As though that actually explained anything.
It turned out it did. It was a bit bigger than a cupboard, but it was full of kit, life jackets, water skis, one of those big blow-up banana things, though in its deflated state. The number 6 was painted on the door.
Inside, there was just about enough space for them both to stand between the shelves stacked with various iterations of neoprene.
‘Why are we here, Daniel?’ Ore felt exasperated and she wanted to get back to her pile of notes.
‘I wanted to speak to you in private, and I feel like there’s nowhere private on this boat.’ Daniel seemed flustered as he looked down at her hand, which he was still holding. He dropped it suddenly. ‘Oh God I’m sorry, this is actually so inappropriate. I’ve brought you to this weird cupboard and now you probably think I’m trying to … I don’t know …’ He went to reach for the door, but Ore grabbed his arm. She hadn’t seen him lose his cool quite like this, and it was kind of endearing.
‘It’s OK, Daniel. I’m OK. I don’t think you’ve lured me here to “do a Claude” or anything.’ She cringed; it was probably too soon to be making a joke of that, but Daniel laughed nervously and appeared to calm down.
‘I actually feel very safe around you.’ It came out of nowhere. She hadn’t believed she felt that way until she said it out loud. But it was true. ‘Although I was naive enough to think I could also trust you, so maybe I’m not the best judge of character,’ she added quickly.
There was that wounded expression again. ‘I didn’t mean to lie – it’s actually very unlike me. I don’t know why I did. I think that maybe I wanted you to … and in the end I never actually reported back anything that you …’ Daniel trailed off, breaking eye contact and standing up straighter. ‘Sorry, this is not your problem, I just wanted to bring you here to say that I’m not going to say anything to Chuck, and you don’t have to believe me but I’m saying it anyway.’
Ore was undecided; her body was so treacherous when she was around him. Everything about his presence made her feel calm and trusting but she couldn’t get Agatha’s words out of her head. ‘Agatha said I can’t trust you. She said she knew about the stuff I’ve been getting people to say about Chuck; she said he’s not happy about it,’ she said bluntly.
Daniel sighed heavily. ‘Ah, so that’s what she told you on the island.’
There really were spies everywhere apparently. ‘Yes.’ Ore was standing with her hands on her hips, waiting for his explanation.
‘Agatha and I … we had …’ He stalled again, searching her face for something, which he seemed to find. ‘We had a strange night. I can barely remember it …’
‘Oh God, Daniel, it’s OK. I don’t need to hear this; it’s none of my business.’ Ore was trying to stay level-headed, but her heart was beating too fast, and something like dread was coursing through her veins. Why was she having such a strong reaction to this?
‘ No, no it’s not like that. Well it sort of is, but …’ Daniel sighed again.
Ore was trying to concentrate on keeping her breathing steady.
‘Basically she was complaining about Chuck and I told her that she wasn’t alone and that a lot of people you had spoken to insinuated similar stuff … I was trying to make her feel better … and then she tried to kiss me.’ He spoke with such earnestness and the room was so stuffy.
Ore felt disorientated. She didn’t know if she felt like laughing or crying. Every time she thought she was getting to the bottom of something, some other detail would emerge. She felt her heart slow, as she regained her composure. ‘I see.’ So it was Agatha who couldn’t be trusted? Or maybe it was both of them? Or everyone. She looked up at Daniel’s face. His deep brown eyes called to something in her, and she knew she was doomed to have faith in this man, in spite of any evidence that urged the contrary.
‘So you won’t tell Chuck about Carlos’ interview?’ Ore heard the pleading vulnerability in her own voice.
‘I promise,’ he whispered, and once again, she believed him, hoping with her whole heart that she wasn’t making a huge mistake.
They had gravitated even closer to each other in the small space. The intensity of their exchange pulled them to within touching distance, and Ore felt the urge again, to be held by him. The feeling was not excitement, like she usually felt with the men she was attracted to; she was not overcome by lust. It was something heavier, a grounding sensation. It was the same feeling she had had with Kyle.
They gazed at each other for a moment, and she thought she saw a glimmer of something in his eyes, something that she recognised. She imagined what it would be like to lean in, and cup his face in her hands. And then he took a step back.
‘That NDA stuff is dodgy,’ he said suddenly, looking away and bursting the bubble.
‘Yeah totally.’ She took his lead; this was not the time to get caught up in some romantic fantasy. The memory of Kyle’s rejection flashed through her head. She was doing it again, looking for comfort in others when she should be finding it in herself.
‘I mean Claude obviously has some hold over Chuck …’ she was musing out loud.
‘It can’t just be the money, but then they did go to school together so maybe it’s just an old friend’s loyalty?’ Daniel offered.
‘I mean how easy is it to find a new captain though? Surely it’s got to be a lot of hassle.’ Ore wasn’t sure how all that worked. She couldn’t imagine it was the sort of thing where you just put up a LinkedIn ad.
‘It is. The agency was lucky that I had some time booked off, and I could jump in to replace Annie at the last minute.’
‘I think that’s the missing link. I need to work out what Claude is offering Chuck that’s worth all that hassle, not to mention the bad blood it’s created with all his staff …’ Ore felt sure this was the key; she just had no idea how to work it out.
‘What do you know about his Klauparten company thing?’ Daniel asked, and Ore was quietly impressed that he had followed the interview so intently.
‘I couldn’t find anything when I googled it, but I’ll have another look tonight.’ They stood for a moment in silence, each mulling over the puzzle.
‘I think we should get out of this cupboard now; sorry it’s all so cloak and dagger. I’m probably overreacting.’ Daniel made for the door.
‘You don’t strike me as the sort of man who overreacts, Daniel, and you know this world better than me, so maybe we should try and only talk about this stuff when we’re alone like this.’ Ore felt a thrill at their newfound camaraderie.
‘OK, well if I hear anything, I’ll knock on your door, and then we can meet here to discuss it.’
‘So you’re a double agent then?’ she said teasingly. ‘Turning on your former spymaster to work for the enemy?’
But Daniel looked serious as he responded, ‘Honestly? I wanted to stay out of it all, but if I am going to get involved, I want to be on the right side … with you.’
Ore felt heat rising into her cheeks. ‘Well, glad to have you on board, Captain Wilsons, if you’ll pardon the pun.’
He laughed, and it made Ore feel less alone.