I rub circles on his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat.
“Liza’s taken care of. She’s being reassigned and possibly transferred. It took a few weeks, but she’ll soon be permanently gone from my life. I won’t have to see her at work every day.”
“How did this happen?
“Let’s just say, I found a way to influence people who make decisions. Even though I’m new to the base and haven’t been serving long, I’ve spent years getting to know people. Nate and I are damn good at our jobs. Not only because we have the formal education but also because we love the dynamics and details. I spoke to a few people, and Liza will be meeting with her boss in a few days.”
“The Bryce voodoo magic.” I giggle.
He chuckles under my cheek and strokes his fingers through my hair.
“How’s she going to take it?”
&nb
sp; “Personally, I don’t give a flying fuck. She’s lucky I didn’t trash her name. I wanted to destroy her but took the best route to get her away from me.”
“It’s not your style to ruin her career. Should we be worried about any backlash? “
“I don’t think she’s one to boil bunnies, but she’s going to freak out. She’s worked really hard to get where she is, and this is going to hit her hard. She’ll have to start over with a new team wherever she lands.”
“Has she tried to contact you?”
“Every fucking day. It was hard on the ship, but I managed to avoid her. She also had to spend a lot of time trying to dodge the rumors. I think the captain even had someone assigned to watch her closely.”
“Rumors?”
“Yeah, I heard she liked to fuck on the ship, even though it’s prohibited. I even heard she has no problem sleeping her way to the top.”
“Oh my God! You did that!”
“I’ll deny ‘til I die.”
I giggle until my side starts to ache. “Bitch deserves it. I only wish I could have seen her face.”
“Oh, she was pissed. No one, not even the other females, wanted to associate with her for the risk of being labeled. After the way she treated Dani at Tommy’s that night even Dani dropped her.”
“Speaking of Dani and Tommy, what’s going on with them?”
“Rick is the only one I’ve really made an effort to talk to the last few weeks. Tommy cornered me once, not understanding why I was so angry, and asked for me to forgive his comments.”
“What’d you say?”
“I shook his hand and told him there was nothing to forgive. He’s a great sailor with a limitless career ahead of him. I appreciated all he did for me and the good times we had. Our paths will always cross if we stay on the ship, and I’d like it if we could continue the amicable professional relationship.”
“Liza did a good job of putting everyone in the line of fire. Tommy really didn’t do anything.”
“The casualty of our friendship may have been because of Liza, but he knew how much I love you. For him to think I’d cheat with Liza was a hit to my character. I like Tommy, but I thought this was the best way to close down any expectations with Nicole.”
“It is.”
I tell him about her phone call, and he stops running his fingers through my hair and moves me up to him. “Are you okay?” His face is full of concern.
“Yes, Bryce. I handled it. You have to stop thinking I’m going to break. No one’s going to make me doubt you ever again. We’ve had more people plotting against us in a few years than most do in a lifetime. That’s over. I promise you that we’re solid.”
“Thank God.”
“Now, if we’re done talking, it’s way past time for me to thank you for the generous gifts the last two weeks.”