“Pardon the intrusion, Petula. When I saw tonight’s dinner list, your name wasn’t on it. When I inquired at the dining room as to why, they told me you had canceled. I feared you had become ill.”
Charlie would have laughed, had he not been so bloody pissed off. “Petula?…I feared you had become ill?” He muttered to himself, “That son of a bitch.” He wondered how the hell Pet would handle it.
He heard her laugh and quite naturally explain, “Oh, no, I’m not the least bit ill. I have work to do. I’m working on designs for my new collection and preparing for a show in London at the same time. The scheduling for the show is brutal. It happens practically as soon as I step off the ship.”
“Surely, Petula, you could take some time to have a meal with me.”
Charlie figured the Captain wouldn’t give up easily. He hoped Pet could say no to him.
“I’ve already arranged to take my meals in my cabin, with some of my staff. That’s the joy of being the boss. I can arrange working dinners and no one can complain. Isn’t that correct, Jennifer?” He heard Pet pause, then say, “Oh, I am sorry, Captain Driscoll, this is Jennifer. She’s one of my models.”
Charlie heard Jen respond, “It certainly is a pleasure to meet you.”
“And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Jennifer. Can’t you please talk some sense into your boss for me?”
“I’m afraid, Captain, there’s no talking her out of it. We have to get ready for the show. What’s left of this trip is the best opportunity we’ll have.”
Before the Captain could say anything, Pet went for the jugular. “Perhaps I can arrange for my seat to be filled this evening by another of my models. Jennifer, don’t you think Suzy would enjoy meeting the Captain?”
“Let me ring her up and ask if she’s available.”
Just when Charlie thought the ladies had the situation in hand, he heard the Captain ask, “I see you’ve also had your luncheon here. Seems I missed meeting another member of your staff.”
“That would be my assistant, Derrick. I sent him back to his cabin to gather some sketches I left with him. He’ll be back in a bit.”
“Excuse me, Captain Driscoll. I have Suzy on the line. If it wouldn’t be an intrusion, she would be delighted to take Petula’s seat this evening. Would that be acceptable?”
“Yes, indeed, it surely would.”
“Splendid.” Charlie heard Jennifer give Suzy the news, and then add, “Captain, Suzy wants to know if perhaps you could show her the bridge after dinner?”
“I don’t see why not.” Charlie could tell that the Captain, just like the rest of the crew, wanted some female company. Pet giving him a substitute did the trick.
“Captain Driscoll, I do appreciate your concern. I am so sorry I will miss dinner, but as you well know, duty calls.”
“Perhaps before the voyage ends, you will do me the honor of sharing dinner with me privately.”
“Thank you, Captain. I will certainly remember you made the offer.”
Charlie murmured, “Yeah, so will I.”
He waited for the all clear from Pet before emerging from the loo. When he came out, Pet had another G and T waiting for him. “Here, you look like you could use this.”
Charlie took the glass, but didn’t drink. He gestured toward the door with the glass. “You know that son of a bitch wants to get laid. He had his eye on you.”
Pet held her ground with Charlie. “Well, he’s too frigging late, isn’t he? You beat him to it.” Then she turned to Jennifer. “Jen, ring Derrick and make sure he knows he had lunch with us this afternoon. While you’re at it, let him know he’s invited to an exclusive party tomorrow night. Tell him there will be someone there who wants to meet him, and that if he tells anyone, I’ll personally cut off his knackers and feed them to him.”
Charlie had a good swallow of his G and T before he asked, “What about the other two girls? Do they know about tomorrow night?”
“I’ll call them, too, and tell them what’s what,” Jennifer volunteered.
Charlie asked Pet, “Can we trust them to keep their mouths shut? If Suzy ends up shagging the Captain tonight, loose lips can really sink this ship.”
“Don’t worry. They travel with me frequently. They know how to keep a secret, don’t they, Jen?”
Jennifer laughed. “Working for Pet, they have to, professionally and personally.”
While Jennifer rang up the others, Charlie whispered to Pet, “I don’t want to rush things along, but we should get going soon. Dinner will be delivered in a couple of hours, and then I have to leave.”
Pet trailed her finger down the crack of his arse and whispered back, “Understood.”
When Jennifer finished making her calls, she reported back to Pet. “Derrick values his knackers and won’t breathe a word. He also knows to cover for this afternoon if it comes up. Suzy understands the whole thing now and is cool with it. Tess has a request.”
Pet seemed bemused. “And what would that be?”
Jennifer spoke directly to Charlie. “Do you know someone named Sparky?”
“Sure I do. Why?”
“Tess has been seeing him. She’s spent the last few nights in his cabin. She said she won’t come to the party unless he’s invited.”
Charlie had just sipped his G and T and practically blew it out his nose. “Are you shitting me?”
“No, that’s what she said.”
Pet interjected, “Does he have a key?”
“Sure he does. He’s the one that gave it to me to copy.”
“Then we can invite him, can’t we?”
“We absolutely can. Morgy may have already told him. I’ll call him now and make sure.”
“Brilliant! Then Tess will come.”
While Charlie called Morgy, Pet wheeled the lunch cart into the hall and put the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door.
When Pet returned, she caught Charlie whispering something into Jennifer’s ear. Jennifer giggled. “Go ahead, ask her. I dare you.”
“Ask me what?”
“How many pairs of knackers have you cut off?”
“Enough to earn the respect of the men who work for me.”
Charlie covered his balls protectively. “Are mine safe?”
“For now.”
“Tough, isn’t she?”
Jennifer giggled again, something Yooralla never did. “She can be. To do what she’s done, she has to be.” Then Jennifer shocked the shit out of Charlie. She pulled her dress over her head. She only had panties on underneath. Next, she peeled those down her long bronze legs and kicked them off. “Pet, should we get Charlie warmed up?”
“Oh, yes, Jen, I think that’s what we should do.”
Jennifer walked right past Charlie. As Pet took off her dress, she kept her eyes riveted to Jen’s tits. Jennifer waited until Pet tossed the dress on the floor; then she knelt in front of her. Charlie about pissed himself when Jen buried her face in Pet’s blond curls.
Pet moaned. She squeezed her own tits, one in each hand. When she looked directly at Charlie, he held her stare. They were doing this for him. There was no