An Unexpected Debt – Chapter 19

Back on the Amagi, I dump my bag in my quarters.

“Nanci, who’s on the ship?” I sigh as I sit down on the edge of the bed and unlace my boots. I feel like I’ve aged ten years in the last day. My feet are killing me from running in high-heeled shoes last night, and my chest aches from the lack of sleep that followed my very dramatic night at the charity auction. What I need right now is a sleeping pill and ten hours in my own bed. But that’s going to have to wait.

“Carlos is in the server room. Lia is in the auxiliary cargo bay, following instructions on how to plant seeds from Vivian. Marcelo’s shuttle is docked, and he is inside. I show that our new engineer is still in Concord City but approaching the spaceport. I estimate she’ll be arriving in about forty-five minutes.”

“Thank you, Nanci.”

“Also, Carlos has taken on two Flyght clients from the Diamond Level booking portal. Both guests are returning to Ossun before going on to Rio. Since that’s our current flight path, Carlos felt this would be a good match,” she says.

“Okay, fine. Might as well earn some money since we’re going that way, anyway. Did we get topped up on fuel and air? I set up the orders yesterday afternoon before I went to the charity auction.”

“All taken care of,” Nanci says. “We will not die in the blackness of space. The last thing we need to do is pay our docking fee, and we can go.”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. We will not die in the blackness of space because I am damned good at my job. Never forget that, Nanci.

“Great. Perfect.” I flop back on the bed and close my eyes for a minute. But when I jerk awake a moment later, I realize this is a bad idea. I still have a lot of work to do. I need to talk to Marcelo and prep for launch. Once we’re on route to the jump ring, Nanci can take over, and I’ll take a break. Sure, I can go to sleep early tonight, but I can’t fall asleep now. It’s not even noon on ship time.

Time to get up and move around. I change out of my city clothes and into some black knit pants and a comfortable sweatshirt. That’s better. Then I pull my hair into a ponytail and slip into a pair of fuzzy socks. That’s even better.

Leaving my room, I cross through the ship, avoid everyone in their rooms, and enter Marcelo’s shuttle airlock with a knock on the window. The door zips open, and he smiles down at me.

“Good morning, Ms. Skylar.” He tips over his wristlet. “I’m right. It is still morning in ship time. Barely.”

“We’re synced with Concord City, yes. But overnight, we’ll switch to Ossun. It’ll only be an hour’s difference. Can I come in?”

He pops in surprise. “Of course. You’re always welcome here.”

He scans my body as I step past him into his shuttle, probably reading every little twitch, gesture, or sigh.

“Vivian used to like to come here a lot,” I say, looking around. “She often told me that you make great coffee and can lend an ear when needed. I was hoping the same may be true for me.”

Marcelo’s chest expands as a faint smile grows across his lips.

Slowly, he says, “I’m honored you’re here. Please, have a seat.” He pulls out the chair at his table and crosses the small room to his galley. “I just happen to have a fresh pot all brewed up. How do you take your coffee, Ms. Skylar? I think it’s cream and sugar, right?”

“Yeah, cream and two spoonfuls of sugar. Thanks.”

While he makes coffee, I try to get comfortable with the thought of digging up all my old skeletons and laying them out for Marcelo to pick over. This is not a straightforward choice for me. My secrets involve other people, and I’d rather keep everything buried forever.

When I take my first sip of coffee, I hum. “Oh, this is nice. Thanks. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Did Saif stay over? I’ll admit I thought there was a good chance he would.”

“No. He delivered me to the hotel, and I slept alone. Or barely slept.” I wave away his concerned expression. “Don’t worry about it. The evening ended well enough. And maybe I should have slept with him, but…”

I look down into the coffee cup, hoping it will deliver the sage wisdom I need instead of having to embarrass myself in front of Marcelo.

“But?” Marcelo asks, sitting down across from me and pushing a box of butter biscuits my way. I pluck one from the box. Don’t mind if I do. I take two bites and set it on a napkin next to my cup of coffee.

“Marcelo, men have only ever used me. My father used me to gain status in his network because I was the first-born daughter. Dominic used me as slave labor so he wouldn’t have to do anything. Juan and Miguel kept quiet and never helped me when I said I wanted to go away to school. My older brothers continue to use me to get money and favors out of the family.” My voice breaks, and I pause to let the fear and anxiety pass. “I’ve never had a boyfriend. Lovers have used me for my body and arm-candy and then left me the next morning.” I shrug. “I believe Saif is a good man. He was always forthright and sweet as a kid. And I like what I saw last night. I liked it a whole lot.”

I shake my head and avoid eye contact with Marcelo.

“But he’ll be like all the others. Nothing will last. Look at Kalvin. I thought we had a connection, and he hasn’t called or spoken to me in weeks now. He’s probably gone for good as well.”

I pull a breath in through my nose and lift my head. The coffee sits in front of me, the biscuit next to it, and Marcelo has his arms crossed.

“So, I’m here to relieve you.” It’s hard to get the words out past the lump in my throat.

His face falls into a frown.

“I’m sorry our professional relationship has to end so early, but I think it would be incredibly unfair to keep you on this task when there’s no hope for advancement. I’m sure you want to start your retirement. I don’t want to hold you back from that. I can only hope that we’ll remain friends after this.”

“Ms. Skylar…” he begins, but I raise my hand.

“One,” I say, counting on my fingers, “I have no business left to hand down to daughters if I ever find men to be with. And you know that’s important. Women like me now? They find one or two average men and settle down in a rented apartment somewhere. It makes me an undesirable candidate for these wealthy men you want to set me up with. Two, men do not want to be saddled with someone like me with no history of commitment, no future, and no family.”

“Wait,” he says, his voice hardening to stone. “You have family.”

I shake my head. “I have no one. I’m about to issue my mother an ultimatum. Dominic or me, and I know who she’ll choose. Once I’m gone, they’ll choose Mom over me. And once I tell Vivian I’ve lied to her my entire life about my relationship with my family, she’ll be gone, too. She’s a good person, and I know she loves me. But she’s been burned in the past. And this? Hearing from me that I’ve hidden this all away? She’ll be angry.” I bite my upper lip to stop the tears. “I’m so sorry. So, so sorry.”

I stand up. “I’m so sorry I’m a liar and a bitch. I have cultivated this system-wide reputation of being a princess because I only ever wanted to be rescued from my castle prison. I’ve done nothing but lie my entire life and cover it up with a bad attitude. There’s no fixing that now. So, I’m going to continue flying for Flyght until Ken revokes my license someday. And then? I don’t know. I’ll figure something out.”

Marcelo stands up too, and his sigh is bone-deep. “No, Ms. Skylar. This is far from over. And I hate to break it to you, but you’re not my boss here. Ms. Vivian is. She’s the one paying my salary, not you.”

I blink a few times as I process this. I’m a stuck data loop… processing… processing… processing.

“Yes, this makes my job harder, but I’ve bailed other women out of worse situations.” He reaches out and takes my hand. “Without naming names, I’ve helped women who were beaten, imprisoned, and abused by horrible men find security, love, and happiness again. What’s happened to you is bad, but I’ve been known to work miracles. I’ll do the same for you.”

I press my lips together as I look at him. “Marcelo, I really admire you and, well, I love you. And honestly, I don’t want you to witness my end. I’d rather just fade into obscurity.”

He jerks on my hand. “This is not the end,” he says, his voice rough. “I promise.”

He directs me to re-take my chair. I roll my eyes and sit back down.

“Drink your coffee. You look exhausted.”

That’s because I sat up all night wondering what to do. I sip, just to appease him.

“This is bad, I know. So we’re going to solve each problem, one at a time, and stay the course. I want you to consider — just consider — a change of business and letting go of this idea of buying back your mother’s ships.”

Well, now, that makes two people who are saying the same thing.

“But —” I start, and he holds up his hand.

“Consider it,” he stresses. “Think about the way you’ve been treated, and whether your family is worthy of the time and effort you would expend to fix their mistakes.”

I draw in a deep breath through my nose and let it out. I don’t want him and Amira to be right.

“And I’m sorry you haven’t heard from Kalvin. I will let him know that you wish to hear from him.”

Oh! Wait. Marcelo’s been in touch with him? If Kalvin has spoken to Marcelo but not me, then it can’t be good.

“He’s trying to dump me, isn’t he?” I cross my arms over my chest.

Marcelo shoots me down with a death glare.

“I have been in touch with him. He seems to be a good young man but incredibly busy. I think his mother is in some kind of trouble.” He rubs his face. “I tried to speak with him about it, but he was skittish.”

“Sorry,” I mumble.

“No need to apologize. I’ve also seen this before. There must be trouble in his family, and he doesn’t want to get an outsider involved. He’s shielding you from whatever it is. We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”

He pushes the biscuit across the table at me, so I pick it up and eat it in three more bites.

“There we go. A little butter and sugar, and you’ll be right as rain.”

“Captain Skylar,” Nanci says, her voice coming over Marcelo’s shuttle speakers, “our two Flyght guests have arrived along with our engineer. They are all at the port cargo bay airlock.”

“Thank you, Nanci,” I say, sipping my coffee. Maybe I can get in a few more gulps before I make my way over there. I’m sure Carlos will fill in for me for a bit.

“I detect a potential problem here,” she continues. “There are some mumbled words and grumbling from the two Flyght guests. They may be having an argument.”

“Great.” I jump up from my chair and look down at my fuzzy socks. Oh well, it can’t be helped now.

“I’ll come along,” Marcelo says, following me out of his shuttle.

We walk across the cargo bay together, and I ask Nanci to open the airlock for me as we approach.

“Well, maybe you could be a little more respectful instead of just accusing her of cheating,” says a voice I recognize. I immediately break into a sweat.

“She’s a liar and a cheat, and she’s going to lose me the championship. You know there’s a reason why she’s labeled a princess throughout the Duo Systems,” the other voice bites back.

All the blood in my head plummets to my feet, and I break into a cold sweat.

Saif and Takemo appear through the airlock, and Nisrine is right behind them with two bags and a hoverlift, piled with three crates.

“What are you doing here?” I ask both men.

They both stop in their tracks.

“Hey, Skylar,” Saif says with a dashing smile.

I can only sigh in response.

“For fuck’s sake,” Takemo says, dropping his bag on the floor. “I’m going to fire my assistant.”

“Huh.” I spin around and find Carlos behind us, a puzzled expression on his face. “I thought their names looked familiar, but…” He shrugs. “Money is money, right, Captain?”

I could fry an egg on the top of my head.

“Just came to help Nisrine get settled,” Carlos says, sliding past us and heading straight for Nisrine. Her face is the picture of amusement, her lips twisted in a sly smile and eyes bright with mischief.

“Looks like I came at the right time,” she says, handing a bag to Carlos. “Carlos, it’s nice to meet you in person. Thanks for the help.”

“No problem,” he says, ushering Nisrine and her luggage past us. “Let me show you to your quarters and then to the engine room.”

“Looks like I get the five-star treatment,” she says, coming to me and squeezing my arm. “Let me know if you need me, Captain, but thanks for allowing me this trial period.”

“Of course,” I say, focusing my attention on her. “Happy to have you aboard.”

As soon as she walks away, I lift my head and voice. “Lia!”

She pokes her head out of the auxiliary cargo bay. “Yes, Captain?”

“Please show our guests to their rooms and ask them what they want for dinner.” I turn my eyes to the men. “Gentlemen, welcome to the Amagi. Feel free to use the common areas of the ship, and I hope your quarters are comfortable. Please speak to Lia if you have any problems or issues.”

I turn on my heel and walk past Marcelo.

“I’m going to the bridge,” I tell him, and I leave everyone right where they are.