“What did you say?”
“Just that everything was fine.” I hated how the situation I was in was making me doubt everyone around me, had me doubting myself and my judgment. I couldn’t wait to get started—buy Phoenix, have Landon find the leak and then get back to life as normal.
“I’ll have her under surveillance so we’ll see if it was genuine concern or not. I’ve got taps on all the phones of your senior team—personal and work. And I’m going to analyze their finances, check out any suspicious deposits. And on your end, I have a team on the ground to see if anyone’s watching you. You’ll need to check for surveillance gear on the yacht. Do you have the RF device?”
I pulled out the countersurveillance sweeper Landon had given me. “Yeah. But no one knows I’ve chartered this yacht—you arranged it, remember?”
“Agreed. Just make sure you do a check where you’re working and sleeping, and don’t take any phone calls anywhere else.”
I blew out a puff of air and locked the bedroom door. “Okay. I’ll do that before I unpack. And you’ll report to me daily on your progress on tracking down the leak?” Even if I did manage to acquire Phoenix, there was no point in resuming business as usual until whoever it was who was selling my corporate secrets was cut out of Wolf Enterprises like a disease.
I could almost hear him rolling his eyes. “I might just keep that information to myself.”
“Okay, whatever.” I twisted the venetian blinds, the room darkened and I picked up the torch Landon had given me along with the RF device.
I depressed the button, creating a beam of light that illuminated the bed.
“Make sure you do the inspection with the torch first. People skip that step but it can pick up things the more sophisticated stuff doesn’t,” Landon said. “You’re checking for the reflection of a camera lens or the blink of a recording device.”
“I’m on it.” I moved through the room with the light, scanning the walls and the ceilings, even the blinds and the pictures.
“And I’ll let you have more as soon as I do.”
“I’m going to check this place for bugs and then get to work.”
“And, you know, take advantage of the fucking yacht you’re on. Only for you could trouble end up looking like a luxury holiday for the rich and famous.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’d rather be back in the City.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Shut up and get to work.” I hung up and threw the phone on the bed as I worked my way around the room.
My pulse steadied when my initial inspection found nothing. I checked the switches and sockets to see if any looked as if they’d been tampered with recently. I moved on to the smoke detector. Nothing. Apparently air fresheners and mobile phone chargers were often a prime place to put surveillance devices but nothing was plugged in where it shouldn’t be.
I changed out of my suit and into a shirt and shorts. It would be the first time I worked a deal in casual clothes, or from a sun lounger, or while being served cold drinks by a woman as beautiful as Avery Walker. None of that mattered. Nothing and no one was going to distract me from saving my business and weeding out my hidden enemies.
Five
Avery
The crew had gathered in the galley and their focus turned to me as I wandered in after showing Hayden Wolf down to his room. “He seems happy” was all I could say in response to their obvious anxiety about such an unusual charter. He’d seemed to relax a little when we were downstairs. My skin still tingled from where he’d touched me, as he tried to reassure me that I needn’t fuss. My family always told me off for fussing but guests normally enjoyed it. They paid for it, after all. “I’ll get him a drink when he’s finished unpacking.”
“No fucking phones or computers, Avery,” Neill said.
“Right,” I replied. There was nothing I could say. Neill and I had worked a few seasons together and he knew me well enough to know that I’d be pissed about the lack of phone, but I wasn’t about to lose it when August and Skylar were around. We needed to focus on the positive. “He might calm down after a couple of days. Otherwise, I’m sure the inconvenience will be reflected in our tip.” I would just have to go to shore regularly to call home.
“Something’s off with this guy,” August said as she polished a wine glass to a high shine. “I mean, who comes aboard a yacht in a suit? Even if he did look hot as hell.”
I stared at her and placed a finger over my mouth. We were in the galley, which was only a few feet away from the formal dining room. I could normally hear guest footsteps a mile away, but I was taking nothing for granted where Hayden Wolf was concerned.