for
she couldn’t imagine a crew member acting with such apparent confidence and authority
on someone else’s boat). ‘Who’s playing?’ she said cheerfully, as if she had no idea
that Nick was trying to get rid of her.
‘Harvard and Tennessee,’ he answered gruffly, amazed that Carol hadn’t got the message.
‘What’s the score?’ she said quickly, now enjoying the game that she had just created.
Nick turned around again, his quizzical look acknowledging his exasperation. ‘It’s
31-29 Harvard,’ he said sharply, ‘just before the end of the first half.’ Carol didn’t
move. She simply smiled and returned his fierce stare without blinking. ‘And it’s
the first round of the NCAA tournament and they’re playing in the Southeast Regional.
Any more questions?’
‘Just one,’ she said. ‘I would like to charter this boat for the afternoon. Are you
Nick Williams?’
He was taken by surprise. ‘Whaat?’ Nick said. At that minute Tennessee tied the basketball
game again, distracting Nick even further. He watched the game for a couple of seconds
and then tried to collect himself. ‘But I’ve had no calls from Julianne. Anyone who
wants to charter a boat here at Hemingway has to sign in at the desk and….’
‘I came down to look at another boat first. I didn’t like it. So I stopped by here
on the way back.’ Nick was watching the television again and Carol was losing her
patience with him. At first he had been amusing.
At least I don’t have to worry about his pawing me
, she thought.
The guy can’t even concentrate on me enough to get his boat chartered
. ‘Look,’ she added, ‘do you want a charter for this afternoon or not?’
The first half of the basketball game ended. ‘All right… I guess so,’ Nick said slowly,
thinking to himself,
only because I need the money
. He gestured to Carol to descend on to the deck of the boat. ‘Let me just call Julianne
and make sure you’re legit. You never know these days.’
While Nick confirmed Carol’s identification with the marina headquarters, a jaunty
young black man in his early twenties came down the jetty and stopped just opposite
the
Florida Queen
. ‘Hey, Professor,’ he said, the moment Nick was off the phone, ‘am I in the wrong
place?’ He motioned to Carol. ‘You didn’t tell me you were entertaining beauty, style,
and class today. Wooee! Look at that jewellery. And that silk blouse. Should I go
now and come back to hear your stories later?’ He winked at Carol. ‘He’s no good,
angel. All his girlfriends eventually end up with me.’
‘Cut the crap, Jefferson,’ Nick said, ‘this woman is a potential customer. And you’re
late, as usual. How do you expect me to run a charter dive boat when I don’t have
any idea when or if my crew is going to show up?’
‘Professor’—the newcomer jumped down on the boat and walked up to Carol—‘if I had
known that you had something that looked like
this
down here, I would have been here before dawn. Hello, there, young lady, my name
is Troy Jefferson. I am the rest of the crew on this lunatic asylum of a boat.’
Carol had been slightly discomfited by the arrival of Troy and the quick repartee
that followed. But she adapted swiftly and regained her composure. She took Troy’s
outstretched hand and smiled. He immediately leaned up and almost brushed his cheek
against hers. ‘Oooeee.’ Troy pulled back grinning. ‘I just caught a whiff of Oscar
de la Renta. Professor, didn’t I tell you this woman had class? Well, angel’—he looked
at Carol in mock admiration—‘I just can’t tell you how much it means to me to finally
meet up with someone like you on this tub. Usually we get old ladies, I mean
old
ladies, who want to—’
‘Enough, Jefferson,’ Nick interrupted him. ‘We have work to do. It’s almost noon already
and we’re still at least half an hour away from being ready to leave. We
she couldn’t imagine a crew member acting with such apparent confidence and authority
on someone else’s boat). ‘Who’s playing?’ she said cheerfully, as if she had no idea
that Nick was trying to get rid of her.
‘Harvard and Tennessee,’ he answered gruffly, amazed that Carol hadn’t got the message.
‘What’s the score?’ she said quickly, now enjoying the game that she had just created.
Nick turned around again, his quizzical look acknowledging his exasperation. ‘It’s
31-29 Harvard,’ he said sharply, ‘just before the end of the first half.’ Carol didn’t
move. She simply smiled and returned his fierce stare without blinking. ‘And it’s
the first round of the NCAA tournament and they’re playing in the Southeast Regional.
Any more questions?’
‘Just one,’ she said. ‘I would like to charter this boat for the afternoon. Are you
Nick Williams?’
He was taken by surprise. ‘Whaat?’ Nick said. At that minute Tennessee tied the basketball
game again, distracting Nick even further. He watched the game for a couple of seconds
and then tried to collect himself. ‘But I’ve had no calls from Julianne. Anyone who
wants to charter a boat here at Hemingway has to sign in at the desk and….’
‘I came down to look at another boat first. I didn’t like it. So I stopped by here
on the way back.’ Nick was watching the television again and Carol was losing her
patience with him. At first he had been amusing.
At least I don’t have to worry about his pawing me
, she thought.
The guy can’t even concentrate on me enough to get his boat chartered
. ‘Look,’ she added, ‘do you want a charter for this afternoon or not?’
The first half of the basketball game ended. ‘All right… I guess so,’ Nick said slowly,
thinking to himself,
only because I need the money
. He gestured to Carol to descend on to the deck of the boat. ‘Let me just call Julianne
and make sure you’re legit. You never know these days.’
While Nick confirmed Carol’s identification with the marina headquarters, a jaunty
young black man in his early twenties came down the jetty and stopped just opposite
the
Florida Queen
. ‘Hey, Professor,’ he said, the moment Nick was off the phone, ‘am I in the wrong
place?’ He motioned to Carol. ‘You didn’t tell me you were entertaining beauty, style,
and class today. Wooee! Look at that jewellery. And that silk blouse. Should I go
now and come back to hear your stories later?’ He winked at Carol. ‘He’s no good,
angel. All his girlfriends eventually end up with me.’
‘Cut the crap, Jefferson,’ Nick said, ‘this woman is a potential customer. And you’re
late, as usual. How do you expect me to run a charter dive boat when I don’t have
any idea when or if my crew is going to show up?’
‘Professor’—the newcomer jumped down on the boat and walked up to Carol—‘if I had
known that you had something that looked like
this
down here, I would have been here before dawn. Hello, there, young lady, my name
is Troy Jefferson. I am the rest of the crew on this lunatic asylum of a boat.’
Carol had been slightly discomfited by the arrival of Troy and the quick repartee
that followed. But she adapted swiftly and regained her composure. She took Troy’s
outstretched hand and smiled. He immediately leaned up and almost brushed his cheek
against hers. ‘Oooeee.’ Troy pulled back grinning. ‘I just caught a whiff of Oscar
de la Renta. Professor, didn’t I tell you this woman had class? Well, angel’—he looked
at Carol in mock admiration—‘I just can’t tell you how much it means to me to finally
meet up with someone like you on this tub. Usually we get old ladies, I mean
old
ladies, who want to—’
‘Enough, Jefferson,’ Nick interrupted him. ‘We have work to do. It’s almost noon already
and we’re still at least half an hour away from being ready to leave. We
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