Page 49 of Standing Still

“Sure, yeah, thanks Sarah.” When she leaves, I look at Rex. “What’s been going on?”

“A few cancellations, that’s all. I mean, I can’t blame the guys today. If you’re not hardened fishermen like us, who wants to go out on a boat in this weather?”

“Yeah, but three in two weeks. That’s not normal.”

“I don’t know what to say, man. Sorry.”

“Not your fault.”

“Want me to go help with the haul?”

“No, put your feet up, have a coffee,” I pull a face at him. He laughs and heads out.

I go back to the office and pull up the bookings and start going through everything while the guys finish up. I get lost in the numbers and only realize it’s lunch when Sarah brings me a sandwich and a coffee and lets me know she’s heading home. It’s not like we’re losing money, our books are actually really healthy, but we are losing bookings. There is only one reason for that.

“Fuck,” I grunt as I get up. I take out my cell, but there are no missed calls. I’m not sure why I’m so bothered, but having not heard from Elle since she left the diner yesterday is really pissing me off. While she is trying to decide what to do with her life, shit is going wrong here.

I’m not stupid. People don’t just cancel like this. Not without a proper explanation. Yeah, maybe today was genuine, but the rest of them?

I head outside. The sun is shining through the clouds now and although the rain hasn’t completely stopped, it will have been done in the next hour or so. I glance up and down the dock and narrow my eyes when I see the Day Away boat.

There is a group of men with a couple of women walking towards it, all laughing and joking. Daley, the slimy fucker who was eyeballing Elle yesterday, is ushering them ahead of him, laughing boisterously. Once everyone is on board, he glances around. When he sees me watching him, he salutes me with a grin before getting on the boat.

“Fucking asshole.”

“Boat has a problem.”

“What?” I turn to look at Charlie, who has stomped over to me. He’s still in his waterproof gear.

“Some damage to the hull. I checked on it before we went out and it seemed okay, but I’m not so sure it’s weathered that storm.”

“Fuck, this is all I need. Show me.”

We head down to the boat together. After walking all around and checking it out, I see what he means. “That looks natural to you, Charlie?” I ask, eyeballing the small tear on the side of the boat, which unchecked will start taking on water.

“Only if Dev drove, would I think that was caused accidentally,” he says.

We don’t let Dev drive, he tends to over-steer.

“Yeah,.

I look up as the Day Away boat passes us. I have no proof, no way of ever getting anyone to admit anything, but we’re losing clients and now our boat is damaged. Would that asshole really sink so low as to sabotage our boats? Stealing clients for charters, I can see it, but this? We don’t have any security cameras down here, because we’ve never needed it.

Now, I’m starting to wonder if it’s something we should invest in. Although who the fuck knows if it will be worth it if I don’t hear back from Elle soon?

“I’ll call Ken,” Charlie says. “Get him to come look at it. He owes me a favor or two.”

“Thanks Charlie.”

He nods and walks away. I stay where I am, staring at the boat sailing out onto the river, loud obnoxious music and laughter filling the air. I’m done with this. I take out my phone and call Elle. It rings out. I try again and it rings out again. The third time, it goes straight to voicemail.

Is she serious?

What the fuck?

I storm back into the office, grab my coat and keys, tell Rex I’ll be back and get in the truck to drive to the Hyatt. I want an answer. Today. Now. If I’m gonna be able to fight Day Away, I need to at least know I don’t have a damn takeover hanging over me.

I’m halfway to the Hyatt when my phone rings. I glance at the screen, expecting Elle, but it’s not her. It’s Larry. My gut clenches and I hold my breath. Is this why she won’t answer? Because she’s made her decision and doesn’t want to face me? Is everything I’ve done over the last few days for nothing? Last night?

---