Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Wilt controlled his temper as he pulled into the parking lot. There wouldn’t be many spots available, so he was going to have to park up on the curb and risk a fine.
He wouldn’t be in this situation if Indigo Elara hadn’t argued with him until he gave in.
The most important rule when it came to protecting clients, was not giving into their demands if it put them in danger.
Technically, Indigo getting her own transportation to the dock wasn’t a life and death situation because there was no threat to her, but still, he should’ve put his foot down and told her he’d meet her in the hotel lobby—no arguments.
Or he should’ve just been there this morning so she had no choice but to go with him.
Now, here he was, risking a fine because she’d gone to the wrong fucking dock.
Clearly, she hadn’t read the detailed itinerary he’d given her which listed the exact location of where she would be catching the transportation to Rottnest Island.
Information she could’ve easily passed on to her driver.
Did she honestly think someone as wealthy and well known as Jeffrey Courteux would travel on a public ferry?
Given that the guy was pretty down to earth, he probably would, but this was different.
This wasn’t for a relaxing day trip to the island.
It was a business trip, and he was hauling around jewelry with an eye-watering price tag.
Wilt hopped out of the car, the movement jarring his shoulder, and a shaft of pain radiated through the joint. It shouldn’t take this long to recover from a dislocated shoulder and a through and through bullet wound, but for whatever reason, his recuperation wasn’t a speedy one.
He strode toward the area where the daily ferry left from and found Indigo immediately. No one could miss her with the pink, wide, crystal-encrusted hat she wore. If she was wanting to blend into the crowd, that wasn’t the way to go about it.
Admittedly, she wasn’t drawing any looks from the passersby, they were all eager to get in line to catch the boat.
She must have caught his scrutiny, because she turned toward him, her chocolate-brown eyes covered by large black sunglasses. A small smile ghosted her mouth, almost as if she was sorry she was inconveniencing everyone.
Which she should be.
It didn’t matter that today was a travel-and-get-settled-in day and they had some time up their sleeve, she should’ve been in the right location at the right time.
“I’m so sorry. You don’t have worry about me not being where I’m supposed to be in the future. And I won’t argue with you about transportation or anything else for the rest of the trip.”
Her apology stopped him in his tracks. It was the last thing he’d been expecting from her. He thought for sure she wouldn’t take responsibility for her actions. Then again, her agent probably told her to toe the line. That made more sense than it being her own idea.
However much he wanted to throw it back in her face, they had to work together, and it would be better if he kept his feelings about her to himself and did the job he was being paid to do. “It’s fine. Come on, let’s go.”
He grabbed her suitcase handle and started to wheel it toward the car. He expected Indigo to follow him, and she did.
He unlocked it and opened the car door for her. For a second, it looked like she was going to argue, but she murmured her thanks and got in.
Once she had her seat belt secured, he closed it and went to the rear of the car to stow her luggage. As he lifted the case, his shoulder immediately let him know it wasn’t a good idea. He swallowed down a curse and gritted his teeth as he put it in.
It wasn’t as if the case was overly heavy, it was just another indication that perhaps there was more going on with the joint than just the dislocation.
The scans hadn’t shown anything, but it was possible he could’ve had a small tear in the muscle that hadn’t been detected but had now gotten bigger.
There was nothing he could do about it at the moment, he had a job to do.
One he would do competently, and the way it deserved to be done.
Back in the car, he ignored the pain in his shoulder and concentrated on getting them out of the lot and to the correct location in double quick time.
He was aware of the woman sitting in the passenger seat, her large hat resting on her lap.
Her attention fixed on the passing scenery as her top teeth worried her lower lip.
“Are you nervous?” He couldn’t believe someone as successful as Indigo could be anxious about the upcoming shoot. Her face was everywhere. He would understand if this was the first time she was working with a world class client, but it wasn’t.
“A little. Going to the wrong place isn’t exactly a great impression, is it?”
Her honesty surprised him. He expected her to brush him off, laugh as if his comment was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard.
“Maybe not, but we’re on our way. I’m sure the others won’t be mad at you.”
She snorted, such an unladylike sound. “You can’t tell me you weren’t steaming mad when you had to come and get me.”
“A minor inconvenience.” And in the grand scheme of things, it was.
No one had seemed too annoyed that he had to go get Indigo.
Only he had, and that was more to do with his feelings toward her than anything else.
“Besides, Jeffrey and Greta weren’t there when I left.
Even if you had arrived on time, we would’ve been standing around. ”
“They’re allowed to be late. They’re the ones I’m working for. I shouldn’t be the one holding everyone up.”
Wilt checked the traffic before turning into the lot where everyone was waiting. “We can go back and forth on who’s to blame. At the end of the day, we’re all here, and if we leave twenty or thirty minutes after the scheduled time, it’s not a big deal.”
Which was a contradiction to every thought he’d had about the situation. With making their own way over to the island, they had more flexibility than if they’d been taking the ferry everyone else took.
Indigo didn’t respond, and the second he pulled the car in and turned the engine off, she practically leapt out, jamming her ridiculously large, sparkly hat on.
Wilt sighed, it was going to be a long few weeks.