“I don’t even know why I’m telling you that part. You could have me fired for lying my way into the audition, but I don’t think you will. I think I know you well enough to trust you on this.”
“You think you know me?” Michaela’s hackles rose so high, she felt like she had thorns bursting through her skin. “You lied, and I should keep your secret?”
Dylan’s eyes narrowed. “I had to get away. My brother cheated on my sister-in-law, has been pretty much doing his own thing for ten years and left me to run the family business. I looked after his wife and kids every time he was gone. Then he came home last year—he says for good this time—and he wanted to be super dad and the conquering businessman all at once. My mother, my sister-in-law…they both think he deserves one more chance, so what choice did I have? The kids are only twelve and seven years old. They need a dad. But Lily kept running to me instead of working it out with him. I was in the way.”
“So you thought you’d become a dancer on a cruise ship? What’s wrong with taking a normal holiday?”
“Yeah, seems a bit rich, doesn’t it? My mother danced, and I had planned to go to dance school before Brian ran off the first time. I saw the poster for the auditions, and it all seemed like it was meant to be.” He looked down at her with hooded eyes, but she didn’t buy the “meant to be” line. Not from Dylan.
“I figured working on the ship would give me something to do,” he said. “I’m not very good at holidays.”
Michaela was glad she was sitting down. He was right, she wanted to believe him and even admire him for his honesty. “It’s not just that, though, is it? You love dancing. It’s obvious to everyone who watches you.”
He shrugged.
“You’re going to admit that you lied your way into an audition so you could dance, but not that you love it?”
“I guess I didn’t…or I’d forgotten.” He paused, and his face creased as he considered what she’d said. “It’s good to move. Nice to work my body so much for a change. But it doesn’t really make any difference. It’s nice for three months is all.”
His crestfallen look touched at something deep inside Michaela. He was lost, alone with his thoughts, and she was almost loath to speak. The pause lengthened until she couldn’t resist. “Does it have to be just for three months?”
Dylan started, and the vulnerability she’d seen vanished. He’d locked it up tight somewhere deep inside of him, replacing it with the arrogance that she now understood he wore as a mask.
“Getting away is nice,” he said. “Being out of the office is nice. Being with you is nice. Maybe it could be our little secret?” He gave her a winning smile.
She returned his smile, despite her disappointment that the sincere Dylan had disappeared again. “I’m your boss, remember? Do you expect me to lie for you?”
“No. But…” He gave a pretty good imitation of someone trying not to look smug, even though she didn’t believe it for a second. “It doesn’t look like you have to. Turns out I’m a pretty good dancer—or so you keep telling me.” The look turned from smug to confident. “Why would anyone care where I’ve come from?”
“That’s not the point.”
Dylan sighed, dropping his bravado for a moment. “I just wanted you to know everything. Lily and her kids are family, and I know what it’s like to grow up without a father. They’ve counted on me for so much, I wanted to do what was best for them. I had to take a break in a way they would believe, in a way that didn’t make them feel like I was abandoning them. I thought you might understand that. I thought you valued family, too. It’s up to you what you do.”
He stood and walked out of her office with no more ceremony than if he’d only popped in to tell her what was for lunch.
…
Michaela’s drink that evening with Felicity was a welcome distraction from her thoughts. They sat in a dark corner in one of the more sophisticated bars on the ship. While upstairs there were glossy counters and golden lights, midships offered a couple of cocktail lounges where people could find a modicum of privacy. Michaela sipped at the Emerald Dream that Felicity had put in front of her and thought about the last time she had had the same drink. A sigh escaped her, and Felicity gave her a sharp look.
“Sorry. Just thinking about the captain telling me I was less capable of being cruise director because I was a woman,” she lied.
“I can’t believe he said that to you,” Felicity snarled. “And then to be so damn unapologetic.”
Banishing the sigh and its cousin, regret, Michaela flapped her hand, dismissing the captain and her thoughts of Dylan Johns. “So give me some mindless gossip,” she said. “I know I don’t usually ask, but I need the distraction.”
Felicity gave her a gentle smile and put a finger to her mouth as if contemplating which piece of juicy gossip to impart. “Well, Mr. Chocolate has gotten together with one of your young dancers, one of the twins, I think. It’s entirely unfair—I’m probably much better in bed than her—but I guess she is only twenty, and she’s gorgeous. He’s been pretty vocal about the fact he’s just looking for a bit of tail.”
“You mean you’re going to let him get away with it?”
“I can hardly force him to want my middle-aged self, can I? He’s the fool that doesn’t know what experience counts for. Although I could tie him up with so much paperwork that he has to be down at my feet the whole time, I guess. Nice idea.” Felicity gave her a grin.
“I meant flaunting a relationship with another staffer. You’re going to let him parade her around?”
“Oh, come on, it’s not news, is it? I think this is probably man number five for little miss dancer, and it’s not like Mr. Chocolate is married or anything.”
Michaela blushed, thinking of the captain, but Felicity must have missed it in the dim light.
“You’ve not noticed the sneaky flashes of eyebrow and the giggling in the corridors? And before you go off ranting at your dancer, you can’t tell me you don’t know about all the admin staff. God, this ship is one of the filthiest I’ve been on. Must be the captain setting a good example.” Felicity laughed.
Michaela looked at her friend blankly.
“I know you know about the captain.” Felicity wasn’t smiling now. “The two-faced bastard, at least he’s not with his wife anymore. Sort of makes his philandering okayish. But to go and tear strips off you for having an affair, that’s pretty rich.”