"Champagne, ma'am?"
Kathy Meadows waved the glass away with a quick shake of her head. "No, thank you." She replied.
She adjusted the neckline of her tailored black dress and stepped aside as the waiter glided past.
The deck of the cruise ship sparkled under strings of fairy lights, music playing gently from hidden speakers, and the Mediterranean sea stretched in every direction beyond the railing.
The party was in full swing, glittering gowns from women who were there to snatch hearts, sleek tuxedos, laughter spilling over clinking glasses.
To most, it was a dream. Unfortunately to Kathy, it was work.
One of the billionaires aboard had thrown the extravagant charity gala and welcome party, and while everyone else treated it like a luxury vacation, Kathy had a mission: charm, pitch, and secure three potential clients before sunrise.
She scanned the crowd and immediately spotted her first target: Mr. Forster Lane, CEO of a luxury travel line they were hoping to brand. She had done her homework on Mr. Lane, and would get a heavy bonus at the end of the month if she could secure him.
The man was a walking bag of money, but his stylist was either missing it, or he had not bothered to be dressed for the event. Either way, she was not leaving the cruise without his complementary card.
Kathy stepped into motion, heels clicking with practiced confidence. She moved past two women who were giggling at a man they had their eyes on. Just a few more steps and she would get to him.
Then she saw her.
Natalie Shaw.
Kathy's eyes narrowed. Damn! Natalie, sleek in red satin and representing their biggest rival fashion agency, was already in the crowd. Kathy scoffed softly. Figures.
She had no idea that Natalie was even in the cruise too. With Natalie there, it posed a bigger problem for her. The value of her potential client just skyrocketed.
Client number one began to move, weaving past guests, shaking hands. Kathy followed, maintaining just enough distance not to appear desperate. Lane paused to chat with a man near the champagne tower, and Kathy closed the gap.
Nearly there.
But Natalie was faster.
"Mr. Lane," Natalie beamed, sliding in effortlessly, her laughter fake and flawless.
Kathy stopped short, jaw clenched as she watched Natalie touch his elbow and pull him into conversation like they were old friends. She fought the urge to curse aloud. Just like that, the moment was gone.
If there was a word to describe how she felt at the moment, it was frustrated. She would have to top whatever Natalie was proposing. She pulled out her phone and checked it. Nothing.
Where the hell are they? Her team, her colleagues. They were supposed to be shadowing the other two clients. They'd split up earlier to cover more ground, as it would be useless for three of them to focus on one person.
No messages. No missed calls. She really hoped they were not 'having fun' but actually working.
"Unbelievable," she muttered under her breath.
Deciding she'd regroup and freshen up before trying again, Kathy made her way through the crowd and toward her shared suite. She and Charles, her fiance of three years, had left together earlier, each determined to nail down separate targets tonight.
She worked in fashion, he worked in PR. She was glad they had taken the job, at least , they would spend the night together and have fun; Something they haven't done in a long time. But before that, she had to work.
Her heels tapped down the hallway. As she reached the suite, she paused.
The door was slightly open.
Her brows pulled together. That's odd. Charles was supposed to be downstairs and she had remembered locking up before they left earlier.
Pushing the door gently, Kathy stepped inside the room.
"Charles?" she called softly.
No answer.
Then she heard it. Laughter. Muffled voices. Sheets rustling.
Her heart plummeted. She took another step in and turned toward the bedroom.
There he was.
Charles. Her fiancé.
In bed.
With two of her colleagues, who should have been working. Their clothes were scattered across the floor like fallen leaves.
Time stopped.
They didn't notice her right away. Then one of the women looked up and gasped. Charles sat up, eyes wide as he saw her. "Kathy… I thought you were still at the party." He stuttered.
She said nothing.
Not at first.
She just looked at him, at them, at the wreckage of her engagement and her work team all tangled together. He had not only cheated on her, but he had done so with two of her colleagues.
She wasn't shocked. Not really. She'd seen the signs, Charles's distance, the way he stayed late with "client calls," how he no longer touched her unless it was for show.
Still, seeing it with her own eyes burned.
At first, she had thought they were drifting apart because he was busy with work, and had even blamed herself for not being available. But now she knew that he was busy, but it wasn't work.
"Wow," she said finally. "At least now I know why you kept missing meetings."
Charles stood quickly, yanking a sheet around his waist, and causing her colleagues to start searching for their clothes to cover their bodies. The shame was evident in their eyes.
"Kathy, I… It's not what it looks like." He stuttered in an attempt to explain, but they were past that.
She let out a sharp laugh. "Oh, please. I'm not an idiot. But thank you for making this easy." She muttered.
He reached out, but she stepped back. Whatever he was thinking, he had better not do it.
"Don't. Just… don't." she whispered, her voice already shaking.
She didn't trust herself to remain there and watch the scene in front of her, so she turned on her heel and left. Her hands were shaking, but her head was high.
Tears blurred her vision as she stumbled onto the deck of the cruise ship, the cool night air hitting her like a slap. Her chest was tight, breath shallow, but she kept walking, anywhere, just away.
Work was impossible now. Her heart felt cracked open and raw, and she needed space to breathe, to think… to not fall apart in front of anyone else.
She glanced around, hoping for something, anything, to distract her from the image of Charles tangled in the sheets with her colleagues. With her friends.
She saw the soft glow of the bar at the end of the deck and walked straight to it, pulled by the warm lights like a moth to a flame.