Page 15 of Strictly the Worst

It’s everything I’d read about, and more.

The seatbelt sign turns off and everybody stands up in the tiny airplane.

“Ready?” a voice asks me.

“Yeah.” I nod at Linc. He’s wearing a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that hugs his chest. And I can still smell the aroma of his cologne despite us both having spent hours traveling. Our first flight was from JFK to Nassau, and it was fully booked, which meant I didn’t have to sit anywhere near Linc for the first three and a half hours of our journey.

Then we had a two hour layover before this flight, which was only forty minutes in the smallest of planes.

Luckily he fell asleep. And I stared out at the ocean below us.

As soon as we’re through immigration and customs we make our way outside to be picked up by the hotel limo. The driver greets us with his hand out, shaking mine first and then Linc’s. He tells us his name is William and before we’ve even made it out of the airport he and Linc are chatting like they’re old friends. And I realize I actually like it. Traveling with Lincoln Salinger has been better than I expected.

Because he does it so much, he knows all the tricks and shortcuts. He’s a member of the best business lounge in JFK, and he knows the bartender well enough to get the best champagne.

Even in Nassau he bumped into two people he knew working at the check-in desks. And for the first time I relaxed.

Maybe being in the Bahamas for a few days with this man won’t be so bad after all. Most people would kill to be here.

These islands really are beautiful. Even after all the research I’ve done on the area in the past few months, I didn’t expect the beaches and trees and sea to be so stunning in person. Maybe Gold was right. Being here is worth a hundred hours of research.

And for the next five days I get to really experience what the Exumas have to give. We’re due to give our final presentation to Gold the day before we leave. Which means we have four days to record material, rewrite the presentation, then show him exactly what we can do on the fly.

William pulls out of the service road. They drive on the left here, a hangover from

when the Bahamas were British colonies. It takes some getting used to, especially as I’m sitting on the right side of the backseat.

The ocean is so blue it looks like somebody has dyed it just for us.

“Nice, huh?” Linc asks me.

“It really is,” I agree, putting my straw hat on to protect my face from the sun.

“Why are you wearing that?” Linc asks, nodding at it.

“I haven’t put on any sunscreen,” I tell him. I don’t want to get sunburn.”

“It’s three strides to the hotel lobby, Carmichael. I think you’ll be okay.”

I lift a brow at him. “Skin cancer is no laughing matter. You get burned if you like, but I’m taking precautions.

He rolls his eyes as William helps us out of the car and a porter appears to take our luggage.

“Welcome to the Grand Exuma resort,” he says. “Please go inside and take a seat. Emma will be with you in just a moment..” He points at a pair of sparkling glass doors with GR frosted on the front, and we walk inside, the air-conditioned interior of the reception building cooling my skin.

Within a minute, we’re served drinks. Luckily, these are non-alcoholic because I’m already feeling a little wobbly on my feet to tell the truth. I drink the refreshing lemon-based soda drink, closing my eyes because it tastes so good.

And when I open them, Linc has his phone trained on me.

“Are you recording me?” I ask him.

“Thought I’d get a few shots in. For our presentation. We want to capture the entire experience, right? Including check in.”

“True.” I nod.

“Miss Carmichael, Mr. Salinger,” the receptionist says, walking over with a clipboard. “We have you all checked in. We just need your signatures.” She passes Linc a pen. “And Mr. Gold sends his apologies that he’s not here to greet you himself. He’s flying in on Friday.”

“That’s fine,” I say.

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