Sail Away (18 page)

“Oh, Marnie,” he whispered against her ear, his skin slick with sweat. “Sweet, sweet Marnie.”

“I
t’s good to have you back, even if it’s only temporary.” Kate Delany set a cup of coffee on the corner of Marnie’s desk, the desk she’d occupied while she still worked full-time for the firm, in the office that she’d come to look upon as a prison.

“Thanks. I need this.” She picked up the mug, let the steam drift toward her nostrils and sighed. “You know, I never thought I’d admit it, but it’s good to be back.” Despite her bid for independence, Marnie surprised herself by missing some of the people she’d worked with. She’d also had trouble adjusting to the slower pace of her own office. Now, working at Montgomery Inns, she discovered she enjoyed the bustle and energy of a hotel swarming with hundreds of guests and employees.

Cradling her own cup of coffee, Kate dropped into one of the chairs near the desk. “So how’s it going for Montgomery Public Relations? Any new accounts?” She crossed one slim leg over the other.

“A couple. But this one—” she tapped the eraser end of her pencil on a press release she was working on for Montgomery Inns “—takes up most of my time.”

“Your father will be pleased.” Kate’s dark eyes twinkled. “He’s never gotten over the fact that you walked out on him.”

Marnie shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She didn’t expect a reprimand, not even a gentle one, from Kate. “I only needed a little breathing space.”

“I think he understands that now.”

“You talked to him about it?” Marnie guessed, sipping the strong, hot coffee.

Kate laughed. “For hours. It takes a long while to convince your father of anything.” At that her laughter died, and a cloud appeared in her eyes. Marnie guessed she was thinking of Victor’s reluctance to remarry.

Marnie said, “Well, since you championed my cause, maybe I can champion yours.”

“I wish
someone
could,” Kate admitted, “but I don’t think it’s possible. Oh, well, no one can say I didn’t try.” She took a long swallow of coffee and seemed lost in her thoughts—nostalgic thoughts from the expression on her face. “I’d convinced myself after Ben and I divorced that I’d never find anyone else. Not that I was still in love with him or anything like that. Ben was far from perfect, a little boy who never grew up. Didn’t like the responsibility of marriage, wasn’t ready to support a wife, and wouldn’t hear of starting a family.” She smiled sadly. “But he was fun. The kind of boy you’d love to date but hate to marry. Anyway, it didn’t work out and I came to work here and I met your father and he was everything Ben wasn’t. Strong, dependable, steady as a rock. I couldn’t believe it when he noticed me, plucked me out of the secretarial pool…” Kate’s voice trailed off, and she cleared her throat. Tiny lines of disappointment surrounded her lips. “Well, that was a long time ago.”

Marnie hated to see Kate so defeated. “Don’t give up on him just yet,” she said.

“Never say never, right?” Kate asked, finishing her coffee.

“Right!”

“Okay. So enough of me crying in my beer—or coffee. What about you, Marnie?” Kate asked as she stood. “Why don’t you give Kent a second chance?”

Another little push from Kate. Marnie was surprised. “I’m not a glutton for punishment.”

“Was it that bad?”

“Worse, but it doesn’t matter,” Marnie said, uncomfortable at the turn in the conversation.

“Is there someone else?”

Marnie thought of Adam and his reluctance to commit to her. Yes, she was falling in love with him. They were treading water, waiting for the tidal wave that would eventually drive them apart. “No one serious,” she said when she caught Kate’s probing gaze.

Kate lifted a skeptical brow. “Victor told me you were seeing Adam Drake.”

Marnie didn’t comment, but Kate sighed and drummed her fingers on her empty cup. “Take my word for it, Marnie. That man’s trouble with a capital
T.
And if you ever want to hurt your father to the point that he’ll never forgive you, then I suppose you can just keep on seeing Adam. When Victor finds out, he’ll be devastated.”

“My father can’t choose whom I date.”

“Or marry?” Kate asked, and Marnie’s head snapped up. For a second a fleeting look of understanding passed between them and Marnie realized that she was much like Kate, caught in a love affair that could only end badly, emotionally tied to a man, who, for reasons of his own, couldn’t or wouldn’t allow himself to be tied down forever. Depression weighted her heart.

Kate stood, rounded the desk and touched her lightly on the shoulder. “Kent’s a good man, Marnie, though I know he has his faults. But he knows he hurt you, and I believe he’d never hurt you again. As for Dolores—”

Marnie’s eyes widened.
Kate knew?
Her cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment. How many other employees knew or guessed that Kent had two-timed the boss’s daughter? What about her father?

Her anxiety must have registered, because Kate said, “Victor doesn’t know. And not that many people in the firm had any idea that he was…seeing anyone while you were engaged. In fact, the only reason I knew was that I came upon Dolores crying in the ladies’ room one day and I took her back to my office to calm her down. She let everything out. She was nearly hysterical, sobbing and carrying on. Kent had told her he didn’t want to see her again and she didn’t believe him. She wanted to quit Montgomery Inns, but I convinced her to stay, at least for a while. But, from the looks of it, Kent broke up with her for good.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Marnie heard herself saying. She didn’t love Kent. Never had. And in the past few weeks she’d seen a side to him that was frightening.

“Probably not. I doubt if I’d ever forgive him, if I were in your shoes. But I thought you should know the full story. Done with that?” she asked, flicking her finger toward Marnie’s nearly empty cup.

“Yes. And thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m just glad you’re back and back on your own terms. See ya later.” She swept out of the room, leaving Marnie restless and concerned.

She spent the better part of the first week working with the Montgomery Inns account and spending more time at the hotel than she did at her own office. Donna, ever efficient, swore that she had the situation under control, but the most difficult part of Marnie’s job was being so removed from Adam. After Kate’s rebuff, when he’d tried and failed to contact Victor, he’d decided not to call Montgomery Inns. Marnie had to content herself with seeing him in the evenings at her place. At the thought of their nights together, she smiled.

At the hotel, she worked with Todd Byers, who had assumed her position for the few weeks she’d been gone. Todd was about twenty-seven, with unruly blond hair and round, owlish-looking glasses.

“That about does it,” he said, flopping back in a chair near her desk and resting his heels on another chair. “We should have all the publicity for Puget Sound West done for the next six months.”

Marnie rubbed her chin. She couldn’t afford to blow this account. “You’re right, but I’ll follow up just in case.”

Todd shrugged, obviously thinking she was overly careful. “The next project’s in California. San Francisco. Renovations are half finished,” Todd said. “Victor wants us to go there next month.”

“I know,” Marnie admitted, remembering her conversation with her father about her schedule and wondering how she was going to juggle her time as it was. She thought about leaving Adam, and her heart tugged a little, but she ignored that tiny pain.

“Well, I’ve got a few loose ends to tie up, then I’m outta here,” Todd said, dropping his feet to the floor and slapping his hands on his legs. “It’s almost seven.”

The time had gone by so quickly, Marnie had barely noticed. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as Todd smiled, saluted her, and exited.

Twenty minutes later, as she was leaving, she bumped into Rose Trullinger in the hallway. “Just the person I wanted to see,” Rose said, though she was wearing a full-length coat and was tugging on a pair of gloves as if she were heading outside to her car. “I don’t have time to go into it right now, but I want the Puget West brochure changed. The pictures of the suites don’t do justice to the design.”

Marnie couldn’t believe it. “But you approved those shots.” A courtesy, since Rose really had no authority over publicity. But Marnie had tried to please everyone.

“I know, I know. I made a mistake.” She finished with the glove and met Marnie’s gaze levelly, as if she were daring Marnie to challenge her.

“The brochures are already being printed.”

Rose smiled thinly. “Then get them back,” she said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“You bet you will,” Marnie said under her breath. She headed toward her father’s office, but discovered that he and Kate were already gone for the day. In fact, the executive offices were practically deserted. She should go home, work on the Jorgenson Real Estate account, her latest client, but she was in no hurry, as Adam was out of town, meeting with some investors from Los Angeles.

Rose’s strange attitude had reminded her of her conversation with Adam. Hadn’t he said one of the accomplices could be a woman? She hesitated as an idea occurred to her—maybe she could help find the culprit. She was alone in the building, with access to all the computer files…This might be her only chance to prove, once and for all, that Adam was innocent.

She walked down a corridor, turned right and entered the accounting area for the entire hotel chain. There were twenty desks, none currently occupied, in the bookkeeping area and three offices, partitioned off from the rest of the workers: a cubicle for Fred Ainger, one for Linda Kirk and one for Desmond Cipriano, the man who had replaced Gerald Henderson.

Feeling a little like a thief, she walked straight to Fred’s desk, and using her own code, accessed the computer files for the Puget West hotel. She printed out scores of records, accounting as well as construction and research, hoping for some clue as to who took the money. She believed Adam was innocent. There were times when she didn’t trust him, but she really believed that he hadn’t taken a dime from her father. If he had, why would he want to dig up all the evidence again? No, Adam was a man hell-bent to clear his name, and to that end, Marnie decided, she could help him.

For the next three nights, she pored over the documents, making notes to herself, reading all the information until the figures swam before her eyes, but she found nothing, not one shred of evidence concerning the missing funds. True, she wasn’t trained in accounting, and a dozen lawyers and accountants and auditors had gone over the books when the discrepancy was discovered, but she’d hoped…fantasized…that she would be able to unearth the crucial evidence that would prove Adam’s innocence, absolve him of the crime, and give him back his sterling reputation.

“You are a fool,” she told herself on Saturday morning as she dressed. Adam was due back in town later in the afternoon, and she planned on using the morning to visit the
Marnie Lee.
There was still the matter of Kent’s belongings on the boat, a point he’d made several times since she’d started work at the hotel, and she wanted all trace of him out of her private life. Of course, she’d have to find a way to buy out his half of the vessel, but that would have to wait until she had a little more cash or could talk to her banker. A loan would probably be impossible, though. She’d just started her own business, didn’t own her own home and her car was worth only a few thousand dollars. Her savings had to be used to keep her afloat until the receipts for the business exceeded the expenses.

The only person who would loan her enough money to buy out Kent was Victor, and she’d sell the boat rather than crawl back to her father and beg for money just when she was trying to prove she could make it on her own. It looked as if the
Marnie Lee
would soon be on the auction block. Kent had already indicated that he couldn’t afford to buy Marnie out—so there was no other option.

She drove to the marina and walked along the waterfront. The sun was bright, the air brisk and clear, the sky a vivid blue. Only a few wispy clouds dared to float across the heavens.

Marnie zipped up her jacket and watched as sails and flags snapped in the brisk breeze. She was almost to the
Marnie Lee
’s berth when she heard her name. “Miss Montgomery!”

Turning, she spied Ed, the caretaker for the marina, scurrying toward her. He was small and wiry, not any taller than she. “Miss Montgomery. I need to talk to you!” he said, a trifle breathless.

“Hi, Ed.”

“Hey, you told me to tell you if anyone asked about your boat, you want to know about it.”

Marnie grinned. So someone wanted the
Marnie Lee!
Just when she needed the cash! “Did he leave his name and number?”

“Nope. But I know the guy,” Ed said uncomfortably. “Name’s Kent Simms.”

“Oh.” All her hopes were crumpled, and anger coursed through her blood. “And what did he want?”

“On board. But I said, ‘No dice. Not unless you’re with Miss Montgomery.’ He left, but he was none-too-pleased about the situation.”

“I’ll bet not. When was he here?”

“Just yesterday around noon, and once before.” Ed explained that Kent had been trying to get aboard the
Marnie Lee
for nearly three weeks, off and on. Marnie was annoyed before she realized that maybe he wanted more than the few belongings stashed aboard the yacht. Maybe he wanted more. Perhaps he thought he owed her one by stealing the boat, just to get back at her for taking the
Marnie Lee
the night of the party.