LOVE on The Horizon (Breaking The Rules #1) (10 page)

My brother Sam got engaged.

At only a year older than me, the news that he was getting married freaked me out. Being the two youngest of five, we’d always clung to each other while growing up. We were considered Irish twins, and our connection was just as strong. He was my best friend, until I picked up and took off with little warning. He didn’t mince his words the day I left, letting me know exactly how angry he was. I tried to explain I needed to follow my heart and take that chance. I sent him a bunch of postcards from the different ports of call we’d visited. I always asked about him when I called home. On one rare occasion, I actually spoke to him over the phone. He never once mentioned he planned to propose to Ginny, especially since I was the only one who knew he still loved Lydia. We told each other everything our entire lives. The fact he didn’t tell me was the part that hurt the most.

When my mom shared his announcement over the phone, I had to stifle a sigh. At first, I was confused why that upset me so much. Sure, I hoped marriage was in my future someday, but I wasn’t ready for it yet. As the conversation progressed, I realized there were several reasons I was so upset by the call.

The fact that my closest brother was making such a responsible move in his life made me feel immature and flighty. When my mom asked if there was anyone special in my life, I felt sick. That one question made me feel like an errant child who knew she was behaving badly but didn’t care. I lied to my mother, claiming there wasn’t time for relationships on a cruise ship. Mentioning Marco or our relationship would start a whole new round of interrogations…and I was not in the mood to defend myself. Of all people, my mom would absolutely be the one to call me out on my recklessness. It wouldn’t matter that I fell in love with my boss; the only thing she would focus on was that I was fucking my boss.

My phone call home left me feeling unsettled and cranky for the first time since stepping foot on
The Horizon
. Ricky picked up on my sour mood when we met for lunch. The crew’s dining hall was always busiest on departure days. We walked around with our lunch trays in hand, looking for an empty table. “Maybe I’ll just take this back to my room,” I suggested after a few minutes of searching.

“What’s wrong?” He stopped walking and stared me down. “And don’t say ‘nothing’ again.” His eyebrows shot up as if he had a brilliant idea. “Follow me.”

Moodily, I followed him out of the dining hall and into the crew lounge. “Sit.” He pointed to a couch while he took the upholstered bucket chair it faced. “So spill it. Why are you in a bad mood?”

I looked at my fruit salad, wondering where to begin. “My brother Sam is engaged.” He opened his mouth to speak, and I pointed a finger in his face. “No, it’s not because I want to get married. That’s the furthest thing from my mind. It just surprised me.”

Ricky watched as I picked at my food, waiting for me to continue. “We’re thirteen months apart. Sam and I have always been close…always. The fact he went ahead and proposed, without telling me first, bothers me greatly. The fact that I’m sailing around the Caribbean without a care in the world makes me feel like a…” I stopped, afraid to voice it out loud.

“What?” he prompted as he impatiently rolled his eyes.

“A promiscuous scatterbrain.”

“Gee, thanks,” he said sarcastically. “We’re just a bunch of scatterbrained zombies on a floating vessel of sin.”

“That’s not what I meant. You don’t know my family.”

“Are they still giving you a hard time for being here? I thought that stopped.”

“It did.” A few crewmembers came into the lounge and sat in the opposite corner. I lowered my voice and continued. “They’ve been fairly supportive these last few weeks. It wasn’t until my mom asked if I had anyone special in my life that I felt wayward. I couldn’t even tell her that I did, because I really don’t know if I do, or if he thinks he is…” I looked up and asked, “You following me?”

“Strangely so, I am. Continue.”

“Anyway, I told my mom that there wasn’t time for a relationship, and I hung up feeling like a lying floozy.”

“So, basically you’re upset that your brother is getting married, and you feel like a dumb floozy for screwing your boss.” Ricky always simplified life to the point it made me feel like a drama queen. That was the furthest from my truth. Of all things, drama was not in my makeup.

“Yeah, that sums it up. It’s stupid and reckless. I’ve always been the one who went left when everyone else went right. I never cared about the rules. Ironic, right?”

“Rules are meant to be broken.” He once again enabled my irresponsible behavior.

“I need to talk to him. I need to know, if we’re going to continue to play with fire, what will happen when we get burned? He has a lot more to lose than I do. I can pick up and start over. I have a few measly months under my belt. He has years. He’s worked very hard for his success, and he deserves better than me ruining his career.”

“Stop it!” he barked so loudly that I jumped. Ricky looked around the lounge, daring anyone to glance our way. In a low, harsh whisper, he said, “Look at me.” He waited for me to meet his gaze. “You are not a loser or a scatterbrained floozy. You are an ambitious, fearless, kind, loving, compassionate, talented, gorgeous young woman who is making a huge impression on the cruising world and who will go
very
far in her career. As far as Marco goes, I’ve never seen him this happy in seven years. He cares about you very much. Do you love him?” I wasn’t ready to admit that to Ricky or anyone. Of course, I loved him. I looked down at my plate and he said, “I thought so.”

“It’s complicated.”

“There’s nothing complicated about falling in love. People cause the complications.”

“Ricky, it’s not as simple as you make it.”

“Maybe not, but love deserves a chance, even if some corporate suits say otherwise.”

“Those corporate suits say yes or no to our careers.”

“It’s a fucking job, Rebecca. You’ll get another. He’ll get another. Such is life. Say I’m right.”

“You’re right,” I immediately repeated just to appease him. He gave me a scathing look, not at all convinced.

“Don’t ruin a good thing.” He shoved a French fry in his mouth and smiled deviously. “Now tell me all the details of your beach outing, and leave nothing out because I’ll know.”

I laughed and threw a grape at him. “You need to get your own sex life and stop living vicariously through mine.”

“This way is much more fun. No chance of catching an STD, and I get to hold what I want over Marco’s head.”

I couldn’t believe how fast time was flying by. Another departure was upon us. My staff was doing a fantastic job. Most importantly, I was enjoying every moment I spent with Rebecca. Our time on the beach was a gift. We hadn’t been able to steal any alone time after St. Maarten, and we were due. Once I met with Ricky after lunch, I planned on grilling him for this week’s itinerary, and I wasn’t referring to the one regarding the ship.

I was neck-deep in paperwork. It’s how every week began and ended. On the first ring, I distractedly picked up my phone.

“Puglia.”

“Mr. Puglia.”

The raspy, stick-up-her-ass voice came over my phone like nails on a chalkboard. I could tell her voice anywhere. “Aida.”

“Can you come over to headquarters?”

“Now? I have a cruise to prepare for.”

“I am quite aware. Regardless, I still need you to come here as soon as possible.”

The blood in my veins ran cold.

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

They knew. There was no other reason Human Resources would have me running over to Corporate just hours before departure.

Fanculo!

We were so careful. How the hell did they find out?

I left a message on Ricky’s desk phone and asked him to keep it to himself. Even though I suspected that they now suspected something was going on, I was hoping this impromptu meeting was about something else. Robotically, I left the ship, hailed a cab, and fifteen minutes later was sitting in the same conference room where we’d offered Rebecca the job.

“Thanks for coming right over,” Aida said. I was happy no one else was here. True, Aida ran the human resources department, but the fact that her boss wasn’t here was a good sign. She watched me suspiciously as I sat stone still. There was no doubt this shrew was sporting a hard-on for some reason. It was written all over her face.

“What’s this about, Aida?” I asked, cutting right to the chase.

“There’s been a formal complaint filed against you and Ms. Stanton.”

“What’s the complaint?”

“Are you and Ms. Stanton currently engaged in a sexual relationship?” The way she said it made it sound so dirty.

“I have the right to ask who filed such a complaint.” I avoided the question.

“A member of your staff filed one anonymously. They fear backlash and refuse to come forward. They included a specific time and day that Ms. Stanton was seen arriving and leaving your stateroom.”

“This is ridiculous. Do they have proof? Otherwise, it’s their word against mine. How do I know it’s not a vindictive way to punish me for some reason?” Dina immediately came to mind. She couldn’t know for sure. She must have suspected and took a chance it was true. How the fuck did she see Rebecca coming to my stateroom? Either way, she was fucking with our lives and that wasn’t acceptable.

“At this time, this is merely an informal discussion. So, you’re denying the accusations?”

“I’m merely requesting information that I feel I have the right to know.”

She pursed her lips in disapproval, causing the wrinkles around her mouth to deepen. I sat calmly, waiting for her next move. My insides were anything but calm. I felt like I could throw up. My brain was rambling off a million thoughts, and they were all in Italian. I needed to keep things professional, but the urge to tell this woman to go fuck herself sat on the tip of my tongue.

“Mr. Puglia, based on the complaint and your refusal to confirm or deny, I need to inform my supervisor. We would have to bring Ms. Stanton in for questioning. Sunset Cruise Lines has strict policies restricting relations between superiors and their staff. Sexual harassment is not something we take lightly here at Sunset. If she felt her job was on the line or threatened in any way, we would be forced to proceed with disciplinary action. The same holds true if it’s reverse harassment and she were blackmailing you for any reason.”

“Unless it’s consensual,” I interrupted.

“It’s still against company policy. Either way, we need to question Ms. Stanton.”

“This is ridiculous. She’s a valuable employee to this organization who has worked tirelessly at performing her job responsibilities above and beyond expectations. I refuse to have this fabricated story blemish her reputation.” My cool façade began to crumble as my blood boiled in my veins.

“So, once again…are you denying the allegations?”

“I’ve been blindsided and have the right to know how this affects my job before I answer any questions that I feel are merely to appease your curiosity. There must be a policy to protect innocent victims from malicious lies.” I was absolutely bluffing, and I hoped to God she didn’t realize it.

“Well noted.” She handed me a folder and said, “Although you were supplied this when you accepted the job as cruise director, here’s another copy of the policy detailing relations between executives and their staff.”

“I want to know exactly what would happen to Ms. Stanton in either circumstance.” When I asked, my voice sounded shaky even to my own ears.

“Well, if you and she are indeed having a relationship, Ms. Stanton would be formally questioned to be sure there weren’t any harassment charges against you. She would then be transferred to another position within the company.”

“On a different ship,” I voiced out loud.

“Yes.”

“What if I were to request a transfer? Could this be kept confidential?”

“I would still need to question her. If she were to confirm it was indeed consensual, then I would file your transfer request immediately.”

“Would her staff or coworkers find out?”

“No. The information would remain with Human Resources, and her file would be marked confidential.”

“Fine. When would you need my formal statement?”

“When you pull back into port next weekend, you and Ms. Stanton would meet with me to discuss your options.”

“And in the meantime?”

“If there is something going on, then I suggest you refrain. Otherwise, since you’ve been warned, I’ll be forced to follow through with disciplinary action.”

What caused smart people to make stupid mistakes? How could I even think that my relationship with Rebecca was a stupid mistake? How could I not?

I prided myself on being a very levelheaded, logical, and intelligent man. I knew going in, there was a huge risk. I’d pushed it aside, and that was a stupid thing to do. I guess deep, deep down inside I’d never considered feeling something for her. In my defense, I never went into a relationship with thoughts of eternal love. Looking back, of course, I would have fallen for Rebecca. She was utterly perfect in every way. I knew the day I met her that she would be trouble for me.

I fucked up.

I paged Ricky and while waiting for him I combed through the policy, hoping a loophole bounced off the pages and smacked me in the face. I read through it twice, and no such loophole existed.

Ricky walked in, looking stressed and anxious. It wasn’t a look that suited him. He shut the door and sat across from me.

“What the hell happened?”

I quickly filled him in and watched his expression turn from anger to fear.

“Fuck. How the hell did this happen? We were so careful.”

I shrugged but didn’t bother to respond with words. Everything I wanted to say would need translation, and I was too tired.

“It’s that bitch—I know it,” Ricky went on.

I absolutely agreed, but I didn’t voice that out loud. “We may never know. It doesn’t matter. I feel completely responsible for this mess. I was hoping to just buy us time until something opened for both of us on another ship.”

“You’ll just explain you and Rebecca fell in love.”

“Ricky, they don’t care. What the hell was I thinking?
Non stavo pensando con la testa giusta.
” When I realized I had slipped back into Italian, I explained, “I wasn’t thinking with the right head.”

“Don’t try to pretend it was just physical, Marco. I won’t let you do that. You two found something beautiful in each other. It’s not fucking fair that it comes down to a stupid policy.”

“It’s a policy we knew existed and we blatantly ignored. A policy we knew could get us fired.” I scrubbed a hand over my face, hating myself more and more with each passing minute. “It’s my fault. I need to tell her. The alternative is I ignore her all week, and I won’t hurt her like that.” I let out a sarcastic huff when I realized that I already had hurt her. “It’s a no-win situation. I got her into this mess, and I need to fix it.”

“I clearly remember a conversation where she said she was a big girl and she knew what she was getting herself into. It’s no one’s fault that you two fell for each other. It’s fucking life!”

“Ricky, we need to keep it professional,” I warned him.

He glanced toward the door and muttered an apology. “Marco, some things are more important than a job.”

I met his eyes, wanting so badly to agree with him. Instead, I ignored his comment and said, “Schedule a meeting with her later tonight. A real one.”

“She’s going to want to know what it’s about.”

“Lie. Tell her you don’t know.”

He shook his head, “No way. She’ll never buy it.”

“Does it matter?” I asked, losing my patience. Glancing at my watch, I added, “It’s getting late. We have work to do.”

“What we have is a shitload of pretending to do, and it’s complete bullshit.” He stood and walked toward the door. “There has to be a solution.”

There was
, I thought. There was only one solution.