26
Maika
Dawn seeps in with an almost lazy slowness through the small slit in the curtain of Helen’s cabin, as if the Mediterranean Sea itself were dragging along the same delightful exhaustion that fills our bodies after our night of madness.
My wrinkled uniform lies in a corner next to her immaculate shirt, mixed in with a damp towel, a lone shoe, and that professional dignity we both threw overboard without the slightest remorse.
I can still feel the tingle of her skin pressed against mine, the lingering warmth of her hands, and the intensity of her gaze when, at last, she decided to throw the manuals to the wind and devote herself to devouring me.
I’m lying on my back, a smile etched on my face and my chest still heaving, while the ship moves steadily toward Cagliari.
Suddenly, I feel the mattress shift. Helen is sitting on the edge of the bed, wrapped in the white sheet up to her waist, her perfect back exposed.
And suddenly, I see her wearing her black-framed glasses—a devilishly sexy sight.
“I’m going to have to ask her to wear them more often.
” Seeing that she’s holding the tablet, I let out a hoarse chuckle.
“Please tell me you’re not actually working.”
Helen looks up over the screen, and for a second, that warm, sparkling look from a few hours ago returns to her eyes.
“I’m just going over some safety notes…” she replies in her usual calm tone.
“Let’s see. We’ve committed at least three offenses against maritime decorum tonight, and you’re reading deck reports. Seriously, you need to see a doctor,” I comment, propping myself up a little on my elbows.
“They weren’t offenses,” she retorts immediately.
“I don’t know… I’d say we violated at least Article Fifty of the company regulations,” I joke.
She blushes a little, turning a charming shade of red. I love teasing her.
“Don’t exaggerate, Maika,” she murmurs.
“Don’t exaggerate? I almost smashed my face against the railing trying to get out of the water in the dark so we wouldn’t get caught.”
“I warned you three times not to run on the wet floor,” she reminds me, setting the tablet on her bare thighs for a moment.
“And I whispered a bunch of things in your ear that you decided to ignore so you could keep giving me a hard time,” I reply with a cheeky wink.
Her lips curve a little more, breaking through her icy facade. God, what a serious and addictive problem this woman is for my sanity. I sit up slowly, and Helen fixes her gaze on me immediately, as if assessing the extent of the damage from our nighttime battle.
“Come on, put your homework aside and come here for a moment,” I ask, patting the spot next to me.
When she lies down beside me, the entire cabin seems to shrink until it becomes the most intimate place on the planet. I brush a strand of hair from her face, and as I look at her so closely, I realize that if this woman misses her chance at a promotion, I won’t forgive myself.
“Really… I need to review the report for the next meeting with Julianne,” she says, though her voice lacks conviction as she gives me a tender, lingering kiss on my bare shoulder before reaching back for the tablet.
I don’t know if I’m the one who made her feel so pressured by the inspection, but Helen remains obsessed with proving she’s perfect for the job. And maybe because I love her so much, or because I’m a sentimental idiot, I decide in that very moment what I’m going to do.
“What’s wrong?” she asks suddenly, interrupting my thoughts when she notices I’ve fallen silent, staring at her.
“Nothing important.”
“I know you too well. What are you scheming in that crazy little head of yours?” she insists, setting the screen aside to give me her full attention.
“I was just thinking that you’re incredibly attractive when you’re in work mode. It really turns me on.”
She stares at me, trying to keep a straight face, and then wrinkles her nose.
“That’s not professional or sexy.”
“Not for you, because you’re so uptight. For me, it’s pure fantasy,” I say.
Helen snorts, grabs a pillow, and smacks me in the face with it. I burst out laughing, pounce on her, and for a few precious minutes, we play around under the sheets, keeping the outside world and that damn competition locked out of our sanctuary.
· · ·
Breakfast in the crew mess hall is humiliating and embarrassing.
And no wonder. We spent the entire night kissing and stirring up storms in the corners of the ship, hiding from the officers.
But Gonzalo, who has a radar for gossip, already knows everything.
Only a blind person wouldn’t notice the glow on our faces.
He’s waiting for us, sitting at one of the tables in the back, relishing every second of our nervousness.
“Good morning, lovebirds,” he greets us as soon as he sees us appear with our trays, flashing a mocking smile.
Helen nearly drops her bowl of cereal in shock. I, drawing on all my experience as an entertainer, sit down across from him with as much dignity and composure as I can muster.
“I’m going to throw you to the sharks as soon as we round the coast of Sardinia,” I threaten, jabbing my fork into a sausage. “No, look, I think I’ll do it right now if you use that tone again.”
“Oops, death threats before the first cup of coffee. What’s up, are you still riding that adrenaline high?” he replies, completely immune to my killer stare.
Helen sits down next to me, completely stiff, avoiding looking directly at Gonzalo. A huge tactical error on her part.
“How was your night? Did you sleep well in your respective… beds?” Gonzalo asks with a hint of irony.
“Shut the hell up, Gonzalo,” Helen snaps at him immediately.
Gonzalo’s eyes widen, delighted by the reaction.
“My goodness, we’re in for a treat. By the way, girls, a technical question… how was the water in the bow hot tub? Because I’ve been told the steam last night was something else.”
Helen chokes on her sip of coffee and starts coughing.
“What…?” I dare to ask.
“Maika, please, you work on a cruise ship, not at MI6 headquarters. Here, secrets fly faster than the sliced pineapples at the poolside buffet,” he explains, resting his elbows on the table. “The ship’s walls are paper-thin.”
Helen looks like she wants the ground to swallow her up.
“No one saw us there. I made sure to check the watch roster,” she murmurs desperately.
“Maybe not directly…” Gonzalo clarifies, savoring the moment.
“But Laura, the receptionist, saw you two go up together to the restricted area at the bow. And then, coincidentally, she saw Helen come down with her hair a mess and her uniform wrinkled, and you, looking almost the same. If you put two and two together, you get an orgasm on the high seas.”
Helen slowly turns her head toward me, her eyes wide as saucers.
“Was my hair really that bad?” she asks me in a horrified whisper.
“Honey, I bet you even had your stripes on backward,” Gonzalo adds before bursting into laughter.
Seeing the great and feared security officer like this, embarrassed, disheveled because of me, and so utterly human, is so damn adorable that I can barely breathe.
“I’m not speaking to you again for the rest of the contract,” Helen mutters to Gonzalo, covering her face with both hands.
“That’s what you all say before you end up crying on my shoulder, telling me about your traumas,” he replies, winking at her.
“We don’t have traumas,” Helen protests, regaining a bit of her pride.
Gonzalo and I look at her at exactly the same time, raising an eyebrow with the same look of disbelief. She looks at us, holds out for three seconds, and finally sighs deeply, giving up.
“Fine. Maybe we do have a few.”
“Lots,” I correct her affectionately, giving her a gentle nudge with my knee under the table.
“And pretty serious ones,” Gonzalo adds, snatching a piece of toast from Helen’s tray.
Suddenly, the official communicator Helen has clipped to her belt vibrates, interrupting the moment. Helen reads the touchscreen and her expression changes instantly.
“Julianne wants to see both of us in the conference room in thirty minutes,” she announces seriously, putting the device away.
“Oh, oh, oh…” Gonzalo remarks. “A surprise meeting with the big boss. That never bodes well, girls. You’d better be on your guard.”
And, unfortunately, he’s absolutely right.
The meeting takes place in the same glass-enclosed room on the top deck. From the enormous windows, you can see the open sea and the distant, mountainous silhouette of Sardinia emerging from the mist on the horizon. Julianne Ferguson is waiting for us, seated at the designer table with her tablet.
“Before we get down to business,” she begins, “I wanted to offer you my sincere congratulations on the excellent security operation in Naples and, of course, on the overwhelming success of yesterday’s charity event at the pool. The passengers are delighted.”
Helen clears her throat, regaining her composure. I smile mischievously.
“Well, the limoncello we added at the last minute did most of the work, I won’t lie to you,” I admit honestly.
Julianne flashes a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
“I figured as much. Your ability to work as a team and resolve crises is truly exceptional, even in the most… unconventional situations.”
The words “unconventional” echo off the walls with a suspicious resonance.
“However…” Julianne continues, interlacing her fingers on the table, “there’s one crucial factor you need to understand about this position.
The company is looking for a leader capable of prioritizing the shipping line’s overall objectives above any kind of personal or emotional dynamic.
Even when she understands the passengers. ”
I feel Helen stiffen beside me. My smile vanishes instantly. Because for the first time, they’re telling us to our faces that our relationship is obvious, tangible, and that it could cost us our careers.
“Does that mean you think we’re a problem?” I ask, bluntly and without holding back.
Julianne holds my gaze without blinking.
“I think you’re both extraordinarily brilliant women.
But you must decide for yourselves whether this growing…
collaboration between the two of you adds to the day-to-day operations of the ship, or whether, on the contrary, it compromises your leadership abilities and your objectivity when competing for a position. ”
Helen takes a slow breath.
“I don’t think our work has been affected,” she says. “Quite the opposite, actually.”
“I won’t deny it, Helen. At least for now,” Julianne acknowledges, putting the tablet back in her briefcase.
“But this position requires making very difficult and sometimes solitary decisions. And we made it clear to you from day one that there is only one opening available. Think it over carefully.”
The meeting ends a few minutes later with a cold handshake. Julianne bids us farewell with a couple of recommendations about the stopover in Cagliari. Helen leaves the conference room much quieter and more introspective than usual, and we walk toward a quiet area on deck.
“I can’t stand this feeling of being analyzed and judged every second,” she confesses.
“That’s just what they do when they sense danger,” I reply, standing beside her.
“Thanks for the emotional support. Always so optimistic,” she says sarcastically.
“That’s what I’m paid for.”
Just then, seeing the shadow of worry in her eyes, I make up my mind. I stand directly in front of her, blocking her path and forcing her to look me straight in the eye.
“I’ve been thinking a lot this morning, Helen. I’ve seen you preparing meetings at six in the morning in the cabin after… well, after we were physically exhausted for hours.”
Helen immediately turns as red as a tomato, looking away.
“Maika, please, we’re on deck…”
“No, listen to me carefully because I’m serious,” I cut her off, grabbing her by the lapels of her jacket so she can’t get away. “I’ve realized something. You need this job. I see it in your eyes every time you talk about it, about the future, about stability in your life… You need this promotion.”
Helen looks down, her jaw clenched.
“Maika…”
“I’ve decided I’m not going to fight for the position,” I declare.
She jerks her head up, as if I’d slapped her.
“What? Have you lost your mind?”
“No. I’m not going to compete against you, Helen. I’m withdrawing from the process. I don’t want to be the one standing between you and the dream you’ve been working your ass off for for years.”
Helen frowns, visibly shaken and angry at the same time.
“You can’t just make a decision this big on a whim, Maika. You’re damn good at what you do, too, and you deserve that spot just as much as I do.”
“I know, I’m fantastic—don’t remind me,” I admit with a cocky smile. “But the difference is that you need that spot to find peace. I… I just need other things to be happy. Things that don’t depend on an office on the mainland.”
Even though I can see she’s angry, I can’t help but stroke her cheek with my thumb.
“It’s enough for me to see you smile and sleep peacefully at night. For that, I’d be willing to set this whole ship on fire.”