Glass Ceilings (39 page)

When they docked
again at the island’s harbour—
with a full complement
,
Verity
acknowledged
gratefully—
she
hastened to disembark, but only after making certain someone
would
help Royce if he needed it
.

‘You OK to get off, mate?’ The skipper
was looking at Royce
with kind concern.

‘Yep, I’m
al
right.’
Royce left the boat, still feeling numb. Once on terra firma again, he looked among
the milling people for Verity. When there was no sign of her, he swore loudly. He
hadn’t thank
ed
her
properly
for res
c
uing him
.

She saved my life
.
If not for her, I’d be crab tucker by now.

The
thought hit him like a fist to the stomach, and he came to
an abrupt halt.
Warm feelings of gratitude
,
and some deeper
emotion
,
welled
inside him.

Oh hell
, he grimaced
,
not some sort
of pathetic hero worship
.

He snorted and shook his head before trudging
up the beach towards the resort. The prospect of a hot shower and a glass
or two
of liquid c
almer was reviving his spirits.

Back in her unit,
Verity c
ouldn’t
allow herself the
rest
she needed
following the
morning
’s excitement
.
Although
the
meeting wasn’t due to
commence
for another two hours
,
she spent
most of the
time talking to various people
in person, and on the telephone. Over a quick coffee
with Guy,
she
confided her suspicions that Kerry had sabotaged
the
pink
equipment
,
meaning it
for Verity.
Guy’s frown deepened as Verity
related what the dive shop attendant had told her about his conversation with Kerry
and her
subsequent
offer to help
.

Verity
also told Guy she suspected Kerry of
other malicious acts, such as
leaking the information to John Reardon about his impending dismissal, and of withholding details of the journalist’s visit
to put Verity in a compromising situation.

‘I believ
e she’s gone out of her way
to
try to
discredit
and now
physically
harm
me, and do you know the silliest and the saddest
part of
all this Guy?’ At the
i
nquiring
shake of his head
, Verity
smiled sadly, ‘I think it all started because she thought there was something between Royce and me
. She
was jealous.
Of me and Royce, h
ow ridiculous is that?’

Guy greeted her humourless laugh with an unexpectedly penetrating look.
He set down his cup and leaned
back in his chair.
‘Now lil’ lady, how’s about ya tell me why that should be ridiculous.
The bit about you ’n Royce, I mean.
’ Guy’s drawl softened his words, but
his eyes were serious
and probing
.

‘Well … bec
ause I … he … well, it just is,’
she stammered, before adding with conviction, ‘Royce has no feelings for me apart from resentment and distrust, and my feelings for him aren’t much different.’ It was
her turn to put down her coffee mug
, sit back in her c
hair and eye
her companion
.

‘And how do ya know his feelings, have ya asked him?’ Guy’s right eyebrow was dancing and his mouth wore the shadow of a grin.

Verity
’s brow creased and uncertainty crept into her
expression
.
‘Of course not, that would be inappropria
te, considering I’m his
boss
. W
e have to remain
professional and avoid any personal stuff.
Anyway,
’ she said more confidently,
‘
I don’t
need
to ask him,
I
know
he feels this way. B
ecause of
what he did in the past
, and
how he acted
toward me.’

Guy remained silent but regarded her intently.
Verity’s eyes wondered past
his
face to gaze out
the
window onto
the beach below. Her expression gre
w
contemplative
and her voice
was
pensive,
almost
dream-like,
when she said,
‘At first he hardly knew I existed,
I was
simply
a
nother
fac
eless pleb
. And
then I bec
ame a thorn in his side, one
that took something he
badly
wanted, something he
’d assumed was already his. H
e was never going to take
tha
t
lying down.
’ With a swift
glance at Guy she added,
‘Of course
you have first-
hand knowledge of
what he did
.
’

Guy gave a rueful nod.

‘A
ll of this tells
me better than words can, how Royc
e
James
feels about me.’

G
uy leaned over the table to
look
appraisingly at her.
‘
I hope you’ll pardon me for speakin’ my mind,
but
I think y
ou’ve gone and got ya profession
al and ya perso
nal all mixed up.
’

Verity blinked at him, open-mouthed
, and his lips tipped up at the corners. He went on,
‘
Ya gotta remember, there are
two different sides to every
coin
.
In this particular instance,
heads
is the ‘real’
Royce
, and
tails,
the
atypical
pr
ofessional
.
Sure, it’s nice to
like
both, but w
hen you flip that coin,
you’ll
wanna
have your money on
heads
,
’cos that’s the
only
one that really counts
.
’
Guy leaned back
again
and crossed his hands over his stomach
.
‘And
if ya ask me, you’re not the only one who’s confused
’bout all that, ’cos
right now
I
don’t reckon the
“
Verity coin
”
that Royce flipped
,
has landed
yet
either
.’

Verity
continued gaping
at him
, wide-eyed
,
stomach churning,
not knowing what to say or think. Guy took a
mouthful of his cooling coffee
and said
in a satisfied voice
, ‘Anyw
ays, back to this other matter
. We got ourselves a little problem to fix.’

Kerry opened the door warily, but seemed resigned
rather than surprised
to
find Verity and Guy on the doorstep of her unit. She ushered them wordlessly inside. A short time later, Verity and Guy let themselves out
again
and walked towards the resort’s boardroom,
outside which
the ot
her delegates were already congregating
.

Noticing Verity’s solemn silence, Guy
put a hand on her elbow
.
‘You’ve done the right thing,
ya
know that, don’t ya? Givin’
that green-eyed bitch an alternative she didn’t
deserve, to
tender her immediate
resign
ation
or
be dismissed for gross misconduct
.’

Verity nodded, her face grim. ‘I
hope so
.
’

They kept walking.

‘
W
e’re
just
lucky the dive company want
s
to keep this low-key as wel
l,
Guy,
and who can blame them? It shouldn’t
be possible for defective equipment to be within the reach of ... troubled ... members of the public.
’

‘’An
I’m
certain they’ll make sure it ai
n’t, after this.
’

‘
I
’m
still
so shaken by it all. I’m furious with her, and astounded she could c
ontemplate doing what
s
he did
. B
ut at the same time I can’t help thinking of Jim, and the damage to his reputation if thi
s got out
.
’

Guy gave a frowning nod
.
‘Yeah
, well Jim’s going to have to take that wife
of his in hand
.
’

‘
You know,
I still can’t comprehend that all this
actually
happened,
even
though I
know
it did.
I was there, I
saw
it happen, but
I feel like I’ve just woken from a bad dream. It’s so hard to accept that she could want to hurt me so badly.’

‘You
and
Royce
,
h
oney
,’
he reminded her gently.

‘Oh yes, Royce. What would he have been, collateral damage? I thought she had a
bit of a “
thing
”
for him?’

‘
Well n
ow
,
I don’t think she meant to harm
him
, reckon
he just got caught up in her spiteful web.
She couldn’t have known he’d swap scuba gear with you.
’ Guy rubbed his chin and
said
thoughtfully,
‘And
I’m not convinced she was
consciously trying to kill you, either.
’

T
he
y both
wince
d at the
stark
words.

Guy went on,
‘
S
he couldn’t guarantee you’d
be
stuck d
own there with
the
empty tank, ya could’a easily surfaced when the
air ran out. No, I think sh
e was just lashin’ out at you. A
nd thinking
that by
givin’ you a scare
she’d also be gettin’
back at him.’

‘But
how would
having a go at
me
get back at Royce
?’

‘Well, as they say, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and it’s often the
other
woman who cops the worst of the fury.’ He looked at her meaningfully.
‘And in Kerry’s eyes,
you’re
the
other woman.’
At the sight of Verity’s bewildered
face, Guy
gave a chuckle and
ushered he
r towards the boardroom
.