“What the fuck?” he spat out, jumping off the bar stool and looking down at himself like he’d been covered in acid. “You dumb fuckingbitch. This suit cost over ten grand. It’s ruined.”
“I’m so sorry,” she breathed in horror. “I’ll pay for it to be – ”
“The dry-cleaning bill would probably be more than your rent for a month, you ignorant little parasite.” His face was an unattractive shade of puce now and he was pointing his finger at her across the bar. “Where’s your boss? Does he know what an incompetent waste of space you are?” I saw her eyes flick over to the kitchen door as she bit her lip and rubbed her temple, as if willing some sort of pain to go away.
“Listen micro-dick,” a small redhead with pink-streaked hair was standing next to Urvi now, her furious gaze locked onto the angry bloke. “Tone itthe fuckdown or I’ll scoop out your testicles with a spoon and eat them as an amuse-bouche. Don’t think I won’t be able to do it. I’m a medical student so I knowallthe anaesthetic agents to use. I could put you under like that.” She clicked her fingers and the man next to me flinched. “Then it’s coq au vin for me and no future children for you.”
“You . . . I . . . I can’t believe this. Howdareyou – ”
“Get off my boat,” I told him in a low voice and he blinked then looked in my direction. I might not have known who he was but he sure as fuck knew whoIwas.
“Mr Bailey, I was just – “
“Get. Off. My. Boat.”
The idiot realised at this point that most of the party was watching him. His eyes darted left and right and then he forced a fake smile at me with an insincere chuckle.
“Come on, mate,” he said, all joviality now. “It was just a bit of bants. I’m the one with passion fruit juice soaking through into my crotch.
“You’ve been coming on to my wait staff all evening. They are not here for your entertainment, you sleazy prick. Andthenyou dare to shout at one of them for a genuine mistake.” I lowered my voice and took a step towards him. “You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats those with less power than him at any given moment. Your little display tells me that you are a worthless piece of shit and I don’t want you on my boat.”
His smile dropped. He directed a quick scowl at Urvi and the pink-haired girl before he spun on his heel and stalked out of the room. I tilted my head towards my PA and he also strode from the room to make sure the prick actually left.
“Nothing to see here folks,” pink-haired girl shouted. “Continue making your boring chat and sucking down your sickly cocktails. Just another fight in Arsehole Land.” There was a shocked silence followed by a few ripples of laughter before the “boring chat” recommenced and the room went back to normal.
I looked back at Urvi. Her face had paled and she had to steady herself on the bar for a moment.
“Urvi’s taking a break,” I told pink-haired girl. “You’re taking over from her at the bar.”
“Ya, meine führur,” the girl said as she started preparing another cocktail. I moved round the bar and took Urvi’s arm by the elbow to lead her away but she shook off my grip.
“Please,” I said, my voice feeling strained. “I really think you need to come and sit down. Eat something.” I swept my arm out for her to precede me and she sighed but moved forward towards the other side of the boat. As I followed her through the dining room I grabbed a muffin out of the breakfast basket and a Coke from the fridge. Once we were on deck at the front of the boat she collapsed down into one of the padded seats and put her head in her hands.
“You okay?” I asked, and she startled at the sound of my voice, obviously not expecting me to have followed her out here. Her head came up and she gave me a wary look.
“What do you want?” she asked.
I held out the Coke and the muffin and she looked at them like they were going to jump up and bite her.
“I really think you should eat something,” I told her and she shook her head.
“No . . . I mean yes I need to eat something but Ican’teat that stuff. It has to be something with complex carbohydrates and the sugar in that will – ”
“For Christ’s sake, what are you doing to yourself?” I snapped. She’d lost so much weight over the last few weeks, and looked even worse since coming on board the boat. Maybe drugs weren’t her only problem? Maybe she had an eating disorder as well?
“I’mtryingtolook aftermyself but it’s a little difficult without any time to prepare proper food and what with my – ”
“What are you doing on your breaks then?” I asked, knowing exactly what she was doing. Mr Blight had reported to me himself that she was spending a lot of time in the toilets.
“Wh–what do you mean?”
I sighed and sank down into the chair next to her. She shivered in the slight breeze that blew through the cool night air and I took of my jacket and draped it around her shoulders. She blinked at me and her mouth opened then shut with a snap. I’d surprised her, which annoyed me – I was a goddamn gentleman, she should know this.
“Look,” I said then paused to consider how best to word the next part without putting her on the defensive. “I can help you. I know a team in London that can really tackle with this sort of thing.”
Her eyes went wide. “You know about my–?”
“I’m not an idiot.”
