Chapter 35 Daniel
Chapter 35
Daniel
It was getting dark and the sea was unusually calm. It usually was before a storm, as the saying went. Daniel stood on the top deck looking out at the expanse of silver. The sun was beginning to dip behind a forebodingly dark smudge of clouds on the horizon. He checked his watch. Chuck was supposed to have met him fifteen minutes ago, but it seemed he was, as usual, running to his own schedule.
When Chuck did eventually come up the stairs, he seemed totally unrushed. His phone was nestled in the crook of his shoulder, and as he approached Daniel, he was wrapped up in the conversation. ‘The thing is, Derek, that he’ll need to see the site. Well that’s not exactly right, he wants to see the site, before he invests the equipment, and the rest of the money …’ Chuck looked up at Daniel and rolled his eyes, making a motion with his hands that meant ‘I’m trying to wrap this up’ as he leant against the railing.
‘Sorry, Derek, I have to go now. I’ll keep you in the loop, but stop worrying – this is in the bag; we just need these last moving parts to slot into place.’
It was funny, thought Daniel, how ‘business speak’ was so particular and yet so vague. Chuck wasn’t really saying anything. ‘Copy that’ seemed perfectly suitable and far more efficient to Daniel.
‘Sorry, Dan, my bad – running a bit behind today.’ Chuck slid his phone into his pocket. ‘You know how business is?’ He turned to Daniel, a single eyebrow raised.
This was why Daniel had been dreading this encounter. Chuck was a master at making him feel somehow inadequate and a little flustered. Both were feelings he had been relatively unused to before this job. Between Chuck and Ore, Daniel was watching his carefully constructed composure splinter away.
‘Not particularly, sir, but not to worry. What did you want to discuss?’ Even when Daniel did manage a neutral answer, it felt like Chuck was mocking him.
‘Right, Captain, OK, straight to the point as usual – that’s what I like about you.’ Daniel did not feel like this was true.
He just nodded in response. He wanted this interaction to be over as soon as possible.
Chuck held Daniel’s gaze for a moment too long, narrowing his eyes slightly, as if willing him to speak. Daniel held firm. It always felt like a conversation with Chuck turned into an unspoken power struggle.
‘Right well, I wanted to talk about resetting course this morning. I’m not sure what that’s about.’ Chuck was smiling, an expression of faux curiosity on his face. ‘And I don’t remember approving it.’
Daniel ground his teeth, trying to contain his annoyance. He was the captain. He understood that Chuck was his boss, and that the very wealthy are accustomed to having things go their way, but Daniel was new to this level of micromanagement. He had never had his boating experience questioned before. Usually his boss and their guests were happy as long as meals were served on time and the pool towels were restocked regularly.
‘Sorry, sir, as I explained in the memo …’ Daniel had slipped the note under the door of Agatha’s office that morning ‘… there is some really bad weather forecast for tonight and we need to go around it.’
Chuck frowned and looked petulant, as if he was considering who he needed to call to get the weather in line.
‘What happens to the itinerary if we go round?’ Chuck asked finally.
‘We’ll be about twenty-four hours behind, so we won’t get to the reef until the day after tomorrow,’ Daniel said flatly.
Chuck huffed, and then ran his hands through his hair exasperatedly. ‘And if we go through, we can stay on schedule?’
‘Well, in theory yes, but we can’t go through, sir, it’s a cyclone.’ Daniel had assumed that would put an end to the matter, but Chuck persisted.
‘What category?’
Daniel was surprised that he knew to ask the question, and felt himself fumble. ‘Well, er, it’s category one … but er, I wouldn’t recommend—’
But Chuck was already waving his hand dismissively. ‘Category one! Is that all? Annie steered us through those all the time – sometimes I really miss her tenacity.’ Chuck shot an accusatory look at Daniel and then stared almost wistfully into the middle distance.
‘And yet that is the very reason you fired her?’ It slipped out before Daniel could stop himself, and as he watched the shock wash across Chuck’s face he imagined his own was probably fixed into a similar expression.
‘Excuse me, Captain?’ Chuck’s tone grew icy and menacingly quiet.
‘My apologies, sir, I don’t know what came over me.’ Daniel felt the heat rising into his cheeks and he dropped his head.
‘You better make sure it doesn’t come over you again, Captain. As Annie found out, I am generous, but I am not forgiving.’ It sounded like a threat, and by the look on Chuck’s face, he meant it to.
‘Those I hold close, those I trust, I will go a long way to protect, but those who betray me, they often come to regret it,’ Chuck continued, his voice totally devoid of emotion.
Daniel found himself saying ‘yes, sir’ and keeping his head bowed.
There was silence for a moment and then Chuck changed the subject. ‘So have you got any updates on our lady journalist?’
Daniel got the distinct feeling these two thoughts were not really disconnected at all. Chuck was putting his loyalty to the test.
‘Not really, sir, the crew are pretty discreet, although I did see she had the opportunity to talk to Claude and the other investors the other day, which I was not privy to.’
Chuck stiffened, almost imperceptibly, and for his next question he re-engaged the friendly tone he had had before. ‘You don’t need to worry about that. Claude and the others wouldn’t have had much to say …’ Chuck smiled at Daniel. ‘Unless she’s mentioned anything to you?’
‘No, sir,’ Daniel answered a little too quickly, and berated himself as he watched suspicion flash across Chuck’s face.
‘Right, well, as I’ve mentioned, it would be deeply … unfortunate if you weren’t being straight with me, Dan, and if Ore were to publish anything … unsubstantiated, it would be detrimental to her career as well. I have a few friends in the papers who think of me as a very good judge of character.’ The litany of threats was delivered with nonchalance, but Daniel understood the severity of them. If Ore published something Chuck didn’t like, she wouldn’t work again, and neither would he.
‘I understand, sir,’ Daniel said, finally looking up to meet Chuck’s intense gaze. For a moment they were locked in, neither wanting to back down. Eventually it was the ringing of Chuck’s phone that cracked the tension.
‘Let’s stay on course please, Captain – the only way is through!’ Chuck said before answering the phone and heading back the way he came. ‘Sandra, hi, talk to me …’