“You don’t like me much, do you, Tristan?” Mike questioned, looking her in the eye.
“No, Mike, I don’t care for your kind at all,” she answered without flinching.
“Now, why is that? Do I threaten you in some way?” he asked smugly.
“There’s nothing about you I find threatening, but your repeated attempts to get Claire to go out with you, even though she has made it plain she is not interested, are wearing on my nerves. You do know what harassment is, don’t you?”
“Tristan, are you threatening me?”
“If you were one of my employees, you’d be unemployed right now. You work for Suarez and therefore are Claire’s problem, but if you continue behaving as you have, I’m ready to step in and resolve the issue. If you want to consider that a threat, go right ahead.”
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Mike pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. He exhaled the smoke in Tristan’s direction. “I’ve heard that these boats are very dangerous. It’s been said if someone goes overboard, they could very likely be pushed under the boat by the current and drown if they are not caught up in the prop first.” He stared at Tristan with a cold intensity.
“You’re exactly right, Mike. Should someone fall over the side, all the people here watching would be helpless if the current were just right.” Tristan could feel the hair rise on her neck as she stared back at Mike. The looks between them conveyed so much more than what had been verbalized.
Mike glanced around at the people on the landing barge and levee. “Well then, I guess I better be very careful, shouldn’t I?” he said before flipping his cigarette into the water and walking away.
His thinly veiled threat did not go unnoticed. Tristan had been threatened before by much more menacing characters. Mike didn’t bother her in the least, but Claire, on the other hand, she worried for. Tristan watched as Mike made his way down the gangway back to the landing barge. “Yes, Mike, you should be very careful,” she muttered under her breath as she went to find Claire.
Tristan knew Claire would not appreciate that she had discussed her with Mike, so she decided to keep the conversation to herself.
She rode back to the office, mentally plotting how she would rid the company of Mike as Claire and Lauren chatted about the boats.
It was time for Mike to move on, and she would make sure it happened.
Busy with crew change, Claire’s days passed quickly that week.
By Friday, she and Tristan were looking forward to a quiet weekend at home. Tristan escorted Claire to her Jeep in case there were any unexpected surprises. To Claire’s relief, there was no ominous envelope waiting on her. Tristan theorized that if it were Mike or Lauren, they had been too busy this week to do anything but work. Claire listened to her reasoning, and her suspicion of her co-workers deepened.
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CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The following months yielded no envelopes for Claire. She and Tristan breathed a sigh of relief. For the most part, Claire wanted to believe that whoever had been tormenting her had simply moved on.
Detective Salmetti had been in constant contact with Claire, giving her updates on how the investigation was progressing. She had talked to Mike, as well, and he feigned shock and surprise that she had implied that Mike was a suspect. Until the next envelope arrived, all they could do was wait.
Tristan tried her best to convince Claire to fire Mike herself or file a formal complaint to her superiors. He had been smart and laid low. He was polite and cordial when he spoke, but his eyes conveyed what he really felt.
Tristan had been sent to one of the boats and was not expected home until later that night. Claire walked into the deserted parking lot after leaving work a little later than she had planned. She was in no hurry to go home to an empty house. When she arrived at her Jeep, she found Mike leaning against the driver’s side door, preventing her from getting into her vehicle. Claire felt her chest tighten and glanced around, hoping to see if anyone else was nearby.
Claire cleared her throat and tried to sound casual as she spoke.
“Mike, what are you still doing here?”
He glared at her for a moment before answering. “Is it true, Claire?”
“Is what true?”
“Is it true that you are the new conquest of the bitch we work for?” Mike spat.
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“Frankly, it is none of your business who I see, and I will thank you not to refer to her in that manner,” Claire said as she shakily stood her ground.
“Claire, you could do so much better than that. She has a reputation for screwing anything that moves. I cannot believe you would lower yourself by having anything to do with her. By the way, is that her way of marking you as her own?” he asked, pointing to the necklace hanging around Claire’s neck. “I noticed that she wears one just like it.”
“I’m not going to stand here and justify anything for you, Mike.
My private life does not concern you in the least. You need to keep your nose out of the rumor mill and more on your job. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to go home,” Claire said, hoping that he would step aside.
Mike’s feet were firmly rooted to the spot. He stared at Claire with anger flashing in his eyes. “You let me send you flowers and spend countless hours fawning over you, and you give it up to that sorry-ass bitch.”
Claire was acutely aware that the situation was spiraling out of control. She looked around again to see if anyone was nearby, and the panic rose within her when she saw they were alone. “Mike, I’ve been patient with you, even though you continued to ask me out after we discussed that it was not a good idea. You’re not leaving me a whole lot of choices here; please don’t push me to file a complaint against you.”
“File a complaint?” He laughed in her face. “Do you honestly think Suarez will do anything to me? The policies regarding sexual harassment are simply something they have put on paper to make everyone believe they take the issue seriously. I’ve already dealt with that before. Don’t you remember Charlotte? She was foolish enough to complain about me, and Suarez turned her inside out.
By the time they finished with her, they had her convinced that she was the bad guy. It’s still a man’s world, and we will always have the upper hand.
“Oh! And don’t think for a minute you are going to tag me with any stalker charges. It was a big mistake sending that detective to talk to me, Claire. I told her just how you are, and you no doubt led some poor bastard on just like you did me. Your kind always flirts and calls it being friendly, but when a man shows you any 166
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attention, you run screaming foul. Frankly, I think you like the attention.”
Regardless of being alone with Mike, Claire felt every fiber of her being grow hot with anger. “You’re the one with the problem, Mike. You prey on women who are polite and friendly to you.
Deep inside, you know you’re not worthy of a decent woman, so you turn polite gestures into something vile in that deranged mind of yours. You know what the problem really is? You’re a weak and pathetic excuse for a man, and you know it! Now, get your pudgy ass out of my way!”
“Fine, Claire!” Mike hissed through clenched teeth. “You’re a lot smarter than I gave you credit for. Screwing the boss is a good way to secure your position with the company. Too bad it didn’t work for me!”
He stepped away and watched Claire fumble nervously with her keys. Once inside, she locked the doors and looked back at Mike, who still stood next to her Jeep staring daggers at her.