Robin Alexander: Murky Waters

“The whole reason we have a travel department in house is so you can become intimately involved with what we do. The more you know about us, the more you can do for us. Rhonda has gotten even worse since she became pregnant. Her head has simply not been in the game.

“Tristan’s department is responsible for crewing all our vessels.

Unless business is slow or they have mechanical failure, our boats are in constant movement. Therefore, in order to swap out crews, they have to hit a moving target. That’s where you come in. Valor spends a large amount of money each year to make this happen.

We need someone who can work closely with her and keep the travel costs down.

“Tristan is really a great person to work with. She is very dedicated and will work all the hours it takes to assure the job is done. As a manager, she is very well respected because she stands 19

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behind her people. She does not expect perfection, but she does expect those who work with her to strive for it. You will work more closely with her than you do your own people.”

Claire didn’t know whether to be excited about the prospect of working with Miss Pepper Ass or not. However, she did enjoy her shopping trip with Ellen and lunch at a Mexican restaurant not far from the office. While eating chips and salsa, Ellen decided to warn Claire that Tristan was an out and out lesbian. After the short choking spell, Claire recovered nicely.

“Don’t get me wrong, Claire, I have no problem with that.

Whatever floats your boat, but I thought I would give you a little heads up since you’ll be working so closely with her.”

Claire debated telling Ellen right then that she and Tristan had that in common, but at the last minute, she chickened out. She felt deep inside that she had started her new life out with a big fat lie hanging over her head. “It’s no big deal to me, Ellen. I have worked with gays and lesbians before.” She tried to look Ellen in the eye as she chatted on about it nonchalantly.

Two enchiladas and a half a pack of cigarettes later, they made their way back to Valor. Ellen took Claire to the third floor to her new office. They entered a large room with waist-high cubicles dividing it down the middle. The rear of the room was made up of three glass offices, affording its occupants a full view of the room that housed the cubicles, as well as the adjoining offices.

There were four people occupying the cubicles. Two were on the phone; the other two were diligently working at their computers.

Each one glanced up at Claire and Ellen as they made their way to the glass offices. The largest of the three belonged to Tristan. The one next to hers was to be Claire’s, and the one on the other side of Claire’s housed the travel agents.

“As you can see, you will be right next to your staff and of course Tristan, who is probably still in meetings. This way, you will be accessible to your people and Tristan’s staff, as well.”

As Ellen chatted with one of the coordinators, Claire took a moment to peek into Tristan’s office. Obviously, Tristan appreciated order; not one thing could be found out of place. The oak bookshelves were neatly kept and adorned with breathtaking undersea photos. A fish tank occupied one corner, and a replica of 20

Robin Alexander

a towboat, complete with functioning running lights, that sat in a glass case, took up the remaining free wall of the office.

Claire excused herself from Ellen for a moment and went to visit the travel agents. It was a relief to see Mike and Lauren’s familiar faces; she had worked with them before. Both greeted her with warm hugs.

“We’ve been looking forward to working with you again,”

Lauren said with a smile. “I’m sorry, but Rhonda decided to let Friday be her last day. I think she was avoiding Tristan. The two of them have been at each other’s throats. She did leave you a detailed report of her daily duties. I don’t think you will have any problems picking up where she left off.”

“Tristan did tell me this morning that she was disappointed in Rhonda’s performance and basically tore me a new one.” Claire winced as she remembered the encounter. “I hope you both will work with me to improve our working relations. I’d like to meet with you later if time permits. This is something I want to tackle as soon as possible.”

After Ellen helped familiarize Claire with her new office, she left her alone to get started. Claire made it a point first to look over Rhonda’s filing system. Satisfied that everything was in order, she began customizing her computer to fit her work habits.

Glancing up from her project, she watched as Tristan entered the work area and spoke with the crew coordinators before heading to her office. Tristan acknowledged Claire with a slight nod and went on seemingly oblivious to her presence. Claire had hoped that they could start off on better footing, but Tristan made it obvious that she wasn’t interested in chatting.

Claire silently thanked whomever designed their offices to include glass walls. She stole a few glances as Tristan entered her office and took off her jacket. She hung it neatly over the back of her chair as she checked her voice mail. Claire noticed that the silk shirt fit Tristan as though it was tailored just for her, displaying her well-developed figure. She grinned, thinking this would be a very pleasant distraction.

An hour had passed when Claire heard a soft knock on her already open door. Looking up, Claire noticed Tristan standing in the doorway. Claire silently appreciated her manners and invited 21

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her in. Tristan remained standing until Claire offered her a seat in one of the high-backed leather chairs.

“I only need a moment of your time. I’ve been designated as your tour guide for tomorrow.” If Tristan took any pleasure in this task, her face did not show it. “Ellen tells me you already have your boots. I will have the rest of your safety gear by tomorrow morning. You’ll need to wear a pair of jeans, and I brought you this.” She handed Claire a denim shirt with the Valor logo on the breast pocket. “You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to, but I thought it would make a nice welcome-aboard gift,” Tristan went on nervously, hoping to avoid any awkward silence. “You will need to be here at 7 a.m. I would like to start out at our fleet; one of our boats is there having some repairs done.”

Claire put on her best smile and tried to take advantage of the opportunity. “I really do want things to work out here. I’m hoping while we’re out tomorrow that you and I can discuss candidly the issues you had with Rhonda. I don’t want to make the same mistakes. Valor is our customer, and it is in our best interest to make sure you get the work you expect.”

Tristan looked at her thoughtfully before she spoke. “I appreciate that, Claire. We have a lot to talk about.” Saying nothing more, she politely excused herself and returned to her office. Claire sat back and expelled the breath that she had been holding the moment she stopped speaking. She was unsure of what the response would be after her little speech. As far as she could tell, she had scored a point for the travel team.

For the remainder of the afternoon, Claire met with Mike and Lauren. She nearly filled an entire notebook with the information she gleaned from the two agents. For the most part, they felt that Rhonda had brought the problems on herself. She was not very dedicated, and her attendance was poor, as well as her attitude.

Claire felt confident that she could improve on those problems quickly.

She would do whatever was within her power to satisfy Tristan.

Not merely because her job depended on it, but there was something within her that wanted to please the dark-haired woman whom she could not shake from her thoughts. It had been a long time since she had met anyone who excited her this way. Had 22