“Better? How can you say that?” I asked. “You know he’s not going to read my report. He’s already dismissed me and my ideas without an ounce of consideration or respect.”
The other men in the room said nothing but their mannerisms suggested they agreed with my assessment.
Frank sighed. “We knew it was going to tricky bringing you on to work with Ark. He’s a cocky sonofabitch in addition to being stubborn. But he’s like that because he’s—”
“The best,” I finished for him.
“Right.”
“Then there is only one thing for me to do,” I said, taking my seat. “You hired me as a liaison between corporate and operations. To oversee his operation and offer improvements. If he’s not going to read my reports, then we’ll have to do this another way.”
“What are you thinking?” Frank asked. And I could hear the skepticism in his question.
“If the mountain won’t come to me, looks like I’m going to the mountain,” I said paraphrasing an age-old adage.
“You? In Hope’s Point? With Ark? Now that’s something I might want to see.”
“I’m not someone to be easily intimidated,” I assured them. I had been working in a predominantly male world my entire career.
If Noah was something more than man, well then, I was going to have to learn to deal with him, too.
“Good luck,” Frank offered. “But be fair warned, in the case of Ark…his bite is just as bad as his bark.”
“I’m not worried,” I told them even as I imagined Noah biting down on my neck. Hard.
That shouldn’t have turned me on as much as it did.
1
Hope’s Point Airport—akathe runway
Today
Ark
I looked up when I heard the sound of the plane’s engine. I could see it swaying in the wind and, for a second, I wondered if bring her out here was safe.
Who the hell was I kidding? Of course it wasn’t safe. But I needed her. Her of all people. What fucking choice did I have? Men’s lives were at stake, not to mention a shit ton of money.
Pacing in front of my truck, I felt like it took ten years before Doogie finally landed the plane and was opening the door. I saw him drop the step ladder, and when Olivia popped out, I had this crazy sense of relief.
Which was ridiculous because the woman mostly drove me insane, but there was no point in denying it.
She hitched a backpack over her shoulder and headed straight for me, the harsh winds whipping the ends of her hair around her face. By the time I could see her expression, I knew she’d gotten my message and understood how serious this was.
It was officially Alaska cold as we moved through November. And dark skies overhead threatened the Arctic snowstorm we knew was scheduled to hit in the next few hours. Temperatures had already plummeted, and the water around the offshore rig was starting to freeze over, making it difficult to get to by boat.
Which meant time was limited.
I gave Olivia an up and down glance. I usually did this to find something wrong with her attire. She had this thing where she wanted to be seen as both an engineer and a woman so every once and while when she came out to the camp she wore pencil skirts, silk blouses and four-inch, fuck-me pumps.
I liked to give her shit about it because riling up Olivia was something I considered to be entertainment. Well, at least until I pushed one button too many and she hauled off and hit me.
We weren’t the best at abiding by the Dyson Company Handbook when it came to how co-workers should treat one another. However, neither one of us had filed any official complaints so far.
This time she understood the drill. She wasn’t here for an inspection. Or to push her ideas so hard that I would be forced to look at them. This wasn’t normal business. And she didn’t need to make any damn point about her femininity. With her long, dark hair, killer, deep blue eyes and legs that went on forever, she never needed to make a point in my opinion.
Wrapped up in jeans, heavy boots and a decent winter coat, a wool cap secure over her ears and heavy gloves, she looked ready to face the serious cold.
