I felt empty, cold. I couldn’t explain it. I couldn’t tell you where it came from. But it crept up my fingers and settled in the hollow of my stomach for the entire night.
The dinner cruise was beautiful of course, filled with the routine extravagance I’d come to expect. Takahari brought his right hand man—which I suppose was a good sign—and although the merger was never directly addressed, just discreetly danced around, I got the feeling that things were on the right track.
On that note, I did my part. Earned my paycheck. I tucked away those feelings of finality and detachment and said all the right things. Did all the right things. Smiled at all the right things. It was like I was reading from a script. Playing the role of a lifetime with Oscar-winning precision. In a lot of ways, it felt like the part I was born to play. A charming, down-to-earth caricature of myself. The relatable foil to those stiff, unyielding men around me. It was the perfect ruse. But that’s exactly all it was.
A ruse.
While I kept up my end of the charade like a pro, Marcus seemed increasingly uneasy all throughout the meal. His eyes kept flickering to me like he wished that we were alone, as if there were things he wanted to say. By the time dessert was served, I found that I no longer cared.
“That was absolutely wonderful.” I squeezed Akio in a tight embrace as we stood up to leave. “Thank you so much again for coming.”
The old man bowed in an endearing way that was his custom and placed two gnarled hands on either of my arms. “The pleasure was all mine. I’m going back to Japan for a few weeks, but I’ll be back in California at the start of the New Year. I hope to see you then?”
I smiled sweetly. “I’d love to.”
Marcus’ gaze flickered again to mine, but he said nothing.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, gentlemen,” I suddenly couldn’t stand to be in the room a second longer, “I’m going to go sleep off that harrowing plane ride.”
Takahari and his men both laughed politely, but Marcus turned to me with mild alarm; a kind of muted panic shone deep in his eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for a while, Rebecca?” It sounded like a plea. “I could have the porters bring up some coffee.”
I patted his arm dismissively like a girlfriend would. “No, I’m fine. You boys get to it. I’m sure you have a lot to discuss.”
With a parting wave, I slipped off the boat and headed back down the pier, a single thought occupying every corner of my mind.
I could not wait to take off this dress.
MARCUS TOOK ME FOR a ride on his yacht. The sun glittered on the turquoise water, and the sky was the prettiest shade of blue. Of course, I took more pictures. I looked for a dolphin but didn’t see any. One of my patients begged me to bring back a picture of a dolphin.
We pulled up to next to one of the gorgeous islands. He was in plain black swim trunks. Something fitted and designer that gave me my first view of the tantalizing muscular contours running down his chest. I had gone for a simple suit as well. A nondescript, white bikini. It hugged what little curves I had but still covered a good deal more than some of the flashier options in my closet.
The captain walked over to us. “We’ve got company, but I know another place where we can go and have some peace.”
I looked at the boat next to us. Looked like the paparazzi had found us.
“I don’t want to leave,” I said. “The beach looks gorgeous. I’ve always wanted to walk on sugar-white sand.”
“But they’ll hound us,” Markus said. “And I know a much more secluded spot.”
“Hey, we want the publicity. I mean, isn’t that what you paid me for? To convince everyone that I’m your girlfriend? So why don’t you let me do my job?”
I looked at the captain. “If it’s okay with you, we would like to stay here. Is it possible to blast the music? We’re going to have a party!”
The captain laughed. “Sure. I can do that.”
The captain and Marcus were good friends, so Marcus had filled him in on our fake relationship. He was one of the few people we could talk freely in front of.
Marcus smiled as I led him out to the middle of the deck.
“Ready to bust out some dance moves?” I asked.
The party music started playing, and Marcus swirled me around. We both let loose and really got into it. I couldn’t stop dancing as he dipped me, my hair touching the ground. We danced for a good thirty minutes. And I enjoyed every minute of it, all while soaking up the sun.
Afterward, I smiled at him. “Wanna swim to shore?”
The wind blew through his wavy hair as he contemplated it. He looked so sexy in the designer sunglasses he wore.
“Sure!”