Page 24 of Maid for My Billionaire Boss
“Right. Or when I fall over, it will pull me to the bottom, so I drown.”
“Better to drown than be eaten.”
“You’re such a planner.”
We inched closer to the boat, and I asked, “Any last words?”
“Stop,” he said in a surprisingly calm voice, before he took my hand, pulling me forward. We silently took our places, kneeling inside the boat with Trey in front. I tried not to notice how far the boat sank with both of us in it, as the top of the sides of the boat were practically level with the water’s edge. Another few pounds in this death rocket and it would have filled with water. We were basically in a food trough for crocs.
“I suppose it is too much to ask for a seat belt.” I desperately tried to pretend this was something fun, like a ride in a theme park.
“You’ll be okay. Just hold on to me.”
I carefully balanced my weight as I shimmied up a hair farther to sit right behind him—like motorcycle close now. In any other setting, this would have been exciting to sit so close to a man so handsome, but I was scared rigid and unable to enjoy anything about the moment. My eyes brimmed wide, and my ears were attuned as Trey carefully leaned his long arms over the side of the boat and dragged his backpack through the water like an underwater sail. When I felt the boat propel forward in the water, I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding.
“Trey,” I whispered after we had seemed to get going at a slow butsteady bobbing, yet somehow, miraculously floatingpatterndownstream. “I want to put in my notice.”
He chuckled for the first time all day, and I felt the edge of my lips tighten, but I was still too scared to risk a smile. “Not accepted.”
“No, I’m serious. Did you know it would be this bad when you asked me to come?”
“I mean, I thought we’d have oars, but that’s a minor logistical thing.”
“If I can’t quit, I have a complaint about my hazardous work environment and need to talk to HR.”
“I’ll get you their number as soon as we get back.”
“Like, not even joking a little bit, but I can’t die. I have a son to raise, and he already lost one parent—” My voice cracked on the word parent. I wasn’t going to get emotional about this in front of Trey but felt he needed to understand how serious this was for my son. I swallowed, trying again, “There’s no one else.”
He was quiet for a moment before finally speaking in a low voice, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“So, just so we’re clear, then.”—I sniffed, stifling my sorrow—"Let’s say we get into a situation and it’s either you or me who must be sacrificed; you just volunteered.” I tried to add sarcasm to my tone to lighten my own mood, but I’d admit I was serious about that last part.
“I guess I did, but then you’ll be left here alone.”
“Right. Bad idea.”
“It is a bad idea because you don’t need to worry about anything happening.”
I watched the river’s edge as we drifted, expecting to see huts or canoes or other people around, but it was so isolated, making it maliciously creepy. “They’re expecting us, right?” Just then, the boat wobbled, fishtailing the slightest bit as we seemed to have dropped into deeper water. My fists clenched in reflex, and I dug into Trey’s sides. Pinching my lips together, I suppressed a scream with my extremities shaking in fear. Trey must have felt my trembling because he reached back until he found my leg and gave it a slight squeeze. It was a friendly pat, totally meant to be reassuring, but it made goosebumps rocket through my body, reminding me of the attraction to him I had been randomly experiencing.
“Relax.” His voice was calmer than any person in this situation should be, like we were just going for a stroll over the lake in Central Park. “And to answer your question, yes, they are expecting us.”
“Can you remind me again why we are doing this? It seems a little extreme to visit a friend. Can’t you find a new friend on Long Island?”
“Okay, I’ll admit that I didn’t think it would bethisbad. I thought there’d be more villages and people around. I’ve traveled a lot and have seen a lot of wild lands, but this is also not what I was expecting, but since we’re here . . .”
“Right, because at this point, we don’t have a choice.”
“Right.”
“So, tell me something to keep my mind busy.”
“What do you want to hear?”
“Um, explain to me how a coder ends up doing humanitarian work out here?”
“You can ask Robert when we see him, but I don’t think there’s too much of a story. I think he heard they were looking for missionaries. He was bored of the routine job stuff and saw it as an adventure.” He motioned ahead. “I see our village and there are people by the shore.”
