Under Pressure (3 page)

“Yes. Absolutely.” She really needed to try a complete sentence. “I’m thrilled to get this opportunity.”

Masters, Dillon and Cooper was one of the premier advertising agencies in the Pacific Northwest. They handled major corporate clients with ties in the area, including an international coffee chain, a well-known airline, an adventure vacation company and many more. This was the chance of a lifetime. Exactly the kind of position she’d envisioned when she’d chosen marketing as her major.

She’d been working her ass off the past five years to earn this kind of opportunity and couldn’t believe she’d succeeded in landing it almost immediately after graduation.

Her hands started trembling, so much that Kennedy had to press the phone tight against her ear in order to hear the rest of what Simone said.

“Excellent. We’re excited to have you on board. But we need you here in three weeks. Is that doable?”

Kennedy began pacing, her restless energy and excitement needing an outlet so she wouldn’t squeal into the phone and scare the poor woman on the other end.

But that was a mistake, because when she turned, her gaze collided with Asher’s from across the terminal. He was watching her, that intense stare sending another shot of adrenaline through her body.

His presence was a reminder of the hurdles she still had to jump in order to make this work.

“As I mentioned in my interview, I’m in the middle of a major project that I can’t simply walk away from, but it should be complete by then.”

“Excellent, because your start date is important. Mr. Masters, Ms. Dillon and Mr. Cooper are forming a new division of the company and plan to make you part of that team. The kickoff meeting is in three weeks, and they require everyone present then.”

Kennedy swallowed, anxiety twisting in her belly. Three weeks wasn’t a very long time to get her life ready to move across the country, especially when she would be spending the majority of that on a ship in the middle of the Caribbean. But this was too good an opportunity to pass up.

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Wonderful. I’ll send you an email with more details and some paperwork we’ll need you to complete. Safe travels and we’ll speak soon.”

Kennedy murmured her goodbyes.

In an ideal world she’d have taken the time to make lists, sift through details and plan. But she was about to board a plane and then hop immediately onto a ship heading for the open sea. She didn’t have the luxury of time.

And if making a handful of phone calls saved her the torture of sitting back down next to Asher, even better.

The first call she placed was to Jackson. He’d been aware that she’d interviewed, but decided not to tell his business partners about her potential resignation until it was an actuality. Luckily, it was late afternoon where he was. Unfortunately, he didn’t answer his phone, so she had to leave him a message. Not the way she wanted to break the news to him, but with the difference in their time zones and them both soon being in remote locations, she didn’t have much choice.

The next call was to her parents, who were thrilled she’d gotten the position but upset she’d be leaving so soon. After sweet-talking her mom into some sorting and packing, Kennedy hung up the phone, still buzzing and giddy from the excitement.

Until she turned, her gaze landing on Asher once more and the blatant reminder that several things still had to fall into place.

No matter what happened, this documentary had to be completed on time if she had any hope of making it to Seattle.

2

I
T
HAD
BEEN
several months since he’d been on the
Amphitrite
, but he always enjoyed being out in the field. Asher pulled the sea air into his lungs, letting it fill him up. Warm sun beat down on his skin, reminding him just why he did this.

There was nothing like making your living with the beach as your office. Any beach. He’d seen some of the most gorgeous sites in the world...and some of the worst humanity had to offer.

But that was behind him, and something he’d never even think about changing. Serving with the SEALs had been an honor. A legacy. The best thing he could ever hope to do with his life.

He’d grown up with stories of his father, the hero. The flag they’d handed his grandmother across the casket had hung on the wall above his bed.

All things considered, his life had turned out pretty well...even if there were days he felt empty.

He might not have any real family—because it was difficult to think of his mom as family when he hadn’t heard from her in twenty-seven years—but he didn’t need any. He’d forged his own connections in the brotherhood he’d found with the SEALs and the two men he considered closer than friends. Jackson, Knox and the rest of the Trident team were all the family he needed.

The quiet shush of water against the hull of the ship worked to center him. A welcome distraction from the fiasco that was about to unfold.

It was late afternoon, the heavy orange-red sun hanging low against the horizon as they headed away from Nassau. It would take them several hours to reach the dive site. The team had come into port to get supplies and pick up Kennedy, himself and the production crew that had met them at the dock.

Asher had studiously avoided Kennedy and the pile of heavy black cases and bags that had been loaded on under her watchful eye. It was better for his peace of mind.

Unfortunately, her voice, sharp with censure, floated across the deck, making that difficult. “Be careful with that!”

He turned, slumping against the hard railing, arm outstretched across the smooth surface. His gaze followed her every move. She was a hard woman to ignore.

Kennedy was a whirlwind of action. She made him tired just watching. A tiny stick of dynamite. She was bossy, full of opinions and not hesitant about sharing them...with anyone and everyone. Honestly, she reminded him quite a lot of his grandmother.

He’d loved his grandma with all his heart. Had been devastated when she passed six years into his tour with the SEALs. She’d been tough and smart, sweet and exacting. She’d pushed him, often beyond the boundaries he thought he could reach.

But she’d loved him. In his entire life, his grandmother had been the only woman who ever had.

Kennedy was a princess, but not the annoying self-centered kind. It had taken him one family function with her brother and father both present to realize the men in her life had given her confidence, made her feel secure in herself and her place.

And that confidence looked good on her, even if it was occasionally intimidating.

She was barely five feet, but it was hard to remember that when she looked at you out of those whiskey-colored eyes, so warm and bright. He liked whiskey, especially on her.

Kennedy directed the group of people milling about. They reminded him of a colorful school of fish, darting here and there without any real direction. But he had no doubt she would bring order.

She instructed the production crew where to store their gear and what bunks they’d be occupying for the next few weeks. Without so much as a cheat sheet. Kennedy knew exactly who was who, where they belonged and kept all the shit straight in her head.

It was impressive.

And why she’d be so damn successful.

At first he’d been very vocal about his reluctance to hire Kennedy. She was young, still in college, and they’d been a fledgling company with enough things working against them. He’d wanted to hire someone with experience and contacts that could help get Trident Diving and Salvage established.

And then he’d met her. And his protests had doubled, not because he thought she couldn’t do the job—it had taken him five minutes to know that she could—but because he’d needed to put as much distance between them as possible for his sanity.

So he’d pushed in every way he could imagine, placing walls and anger and animosity between them, hoping they’d be insurmountable obstacles.

But somehow Kennedy always seemed to scale them.

About twenty minutes after they’d shoved off, the chaos abated. She stood on the now quiet deck, her feet spread wide to compensate for the motion of the ship. Asher had the perfect view of her ass and the tight denim shorts that cupped the curve of it. He wanted to run his palm up the bare skin of her thigh, slipping his fingers beneath the hem.

Biting back a curse, he watched her shoulders rise and fall on a heavy sigh. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides for several seconds before she unfurled them.

“Did you enjoy the show?” she finally asked, turning just enough to look at him across the slope of her shoulder.

He grinned. It shouldn’t matter that she’d known he was there, watching. But it did.

“Always entertaining to watch you work, cupcake.”

Her mouth tightened, and something dangerous flashed through her golden eyes before she got control of it again.

Turning deliberately, she faced him, letting her gaze slip across his body, taking in his negligent pose for several seconds before crossing the deck to him.

She stopped a couple of feet away, just out of reach. Smart woman.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Kennedy speared him with a level gaze. “The crew would like to start tonight. Just a few test shots.”

“Won’t it be dark?”

Her lips twitched, drawing his attention. Part of him wanted to push until that ghost of a smile went full-blown, but he didn’t. Because her smile was deadly.

“Did you notice all the crates? I’m pretty sure a few of them contained lighting equipment.”

“S-Smart-ass.” Asher ground his teeth together, forcing his mouth closed.

And there it was, what he’d been dreading from the moment Kennedy had backed him into a corner.

He waited for her to react, but she didn’t. Instead, she shrugged. “They just want to get you on camera, no pressure and nothing important.”

No pressure. That was a rich joke. This entire project was nothing but pressure. A situation he wasn’t trained for and had zero experience handling. Hell, even thinking about it made his tongue swell, choking him—or at least if felt that way. It would get so much worse once the camera was in front of him, that blank eye staring, judging, recording every one of his failures for eternity.

And with Kennedy watching...all the ingredients for a full-blown disaster.

Her eyes ran up and down his body again. With one sweeping glance she ignited every nerve ending, making them all throb relentlessly.

He didn’t want to want this woman. And, yet, he couldn’t seem to stop his physical reactions to her—all of them.

“I’ll have wardrobe come to your room in about an hour. You might want to take a shower.”

Asher forced out a wicked grin. He chose his words carefully, deliberately. “You telling me I’m dirty, angel?”

She popped out a hip, balling a fist on it and glaring at him with irritation.

“Just so we’re on the same page, are you planning on cooperating or making this whole experience a pain in my ass?”

He lifted a single eyebrow.

“Yeah, I know the question is stupid, but I had to ask.” She let out a heavy sigh, closing her eyes for a few seconds. Suddenly, he could read all the little signs of exhaustion written into her face—the miniscule lines crinkling the corners of her mouth, the faint smudges of blue beneath her eyes, her drooping shoulders—and he wanted to fix it for her.

Shit
.

“I have no intention of making your life difficult.”

She laughed, the sound far from humorous. “We both know that isn’t true, Ash. You delight in making my life difficult.”

“Not this time.”

“Yeah.” She shook her head, the soft cloud of honey-blond hair swirling around her shoulders. He wanted to take a handful of it and run it through his fingers to see if it was as silky as it looked.

He wanted to walk away from her and the weakness she caused deep inside him. That’s what he’d been doing for the past two years. Hell, that’s what he’d done his entire life. But today there was nowhere left to go. They were stuck together on this ship, and Kennedy was about to become his shadow.

His body throbbed at the idea of her being so close. Nope, not good. He couldn’t want her. He couldn’t touch her. She was Jackson’s little sister, forbidden fruit.

Asher had no doubt what his friend’s reaction would be if he ever touched Kennedy. Jackson was protective of his little sister, rightly so. He’d seen his friend put a fist through the face of a guy who had the misfortune of making a rather racy comment about Kennedy within Jackson’s hearing. Poor bastard hadn’t realized what had hit him until he was ass-down on the floor.

Jackson was family, but there was no question in Asher’s mind who he would choose if forced to take sides.

And no woman, not even Kennedy, was worth losing the only family he had and the business he’d invested his entire future in.

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” she finally said, spinning away and leaving him standing alone on the deck.

* * *

K
ENNEDY
STOOD
OFF
to the side, arms crossed over her chest as she watched the crew work. It was intriguing, her first shoot, although she had to admit she wasn’t thrilled with the way Carmen, the makeup artist, was smiling and flirting with Asher. If she giggled one more time...

As if the man needed makeup to look gorgeous anyway. She had no doubt the camera was going to love him. Those mesmerizing eyes, sharp cheekbones and the tiny scar running right along the side of his lips...rakish, charming with the perfect dash of dangerous.

They’d commandeered the office. It was deep inside the belly of the ship, so a little darker than they’d wanted, but it provided a kind of professional setting the director was aiming for in these first shots, establishing Asher’s experience and expertise before following him into the water.

She and Daniel, the director, were murmuring about the schedule when Asher’s raised voice drifted up from the other side of the room.

“I’m not wearing that.”

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor grated down Kennedy’s spine.