Robin Alexander - Murky Waters

His thinly veiled threat did not go unnoticed. Tristan had been threatened before by much more menacing characters. Mike didn’t bother her in the least, but Claire, on the other hand, she worried for. Tristan watched as Mike made his way down the gangway back to the landing barge. “Yes, Mike, you should be very careful,” she muttered under her breath as she went to find Claire.

Tristan knew Claire would not appreciate that she had discussed her with Mike, so she decided to keep the conversation to herself.

She rode back to the office, mentally plotting how she would rid the company of Mike as Claire and Lauren chatted about the boats.

It was time for Mike to move on, and she would make sure it happened.

Busy with crew change, Claire’s days passed quickly that week.

By Friday, she and Tristan were looking forward to a quiet weekend at home. Tristan escorted Claire to her Jeep in case there were any unexpected surprises. To Claire’s relief, there was no ominous envelope waiting on her. Tristan theorized that if it were Mike or Lauren, they had been too busy this week to do anything but work. Claire listened to her reasoning, and her suspicion of her co-workers deepened.

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The following months yielded no envelopes for Claire. She and Tristan breathed a sigh of relief. For the most part, Claire wanted to believe that whoever had been tormenting her had simply moved on.

Detective Salmetti had been in constant contact with Claire, giving her updates on how the investigation was progressing. She had talked to Mike, as well, and he feigned shock and surprise that she had implied that Mike was a suspect. Until the next envelope arrived, all they could do was wait.

Tristan tried her best to convince Claire to fire Mike herself or file a formal complaint to her superiors. He had been smart and laid low. He was polite and cordial when he spoke, but his eyes conveyed what he really felt.

Tristan had been sent to one of the boats and was not expected home until later that night. Claire walked into the deserted parking lot after leaving work a little later than she had planned. She was in no hurry to go home to an empty house. When she arrived at her Jeep, she found Mike leaning against the driver’s side door, preventing her from getting into her vehicle. Claire felt her chest tighten and glanced around, hoping to see if anyone else was nearby.

Claire cleared her throat and tried to sound casual as she spoke.

“Mike, what are you still doing here?”

He glared at her for a moment before answering. “Is it true, Claire?”

“Is what true?”

“Is it true that you are the new conquest of the bitch we work for?” Mike spat.

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“Frankly, it is none of your business who I see, and I will thank you not to refer to her in that manner,” Claire said as she shakily stood her ground.

“Claire, you could do so much better than that. She has a reputation for screwing anything that moves. I cannot believe you would lower yourself by having anything to do with her. By the way, is that her way of marking you as her own?” he asked, pointing to the necklace hanging around Claire’s neck. “I noticed that she wears one just like it.”

“I’m not going to stand here and justify anything for you, Mike.

My private life does not concern you in the least. You need to keep your nose out of the rumor mill and more on your job. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to go home,” Claire said, hoping that he would step aside.

Mike’s feet were firmly rooted to the spot. He stared at Claire with anger flashing in his eyes. “You let me send you flowers and spend countless hours fawning over you, and you give it up to that sorry-ass bitch.”

Claire was acutely aware that the situation was spiraling out of control. She looked around again to see if anyone was nearby, and the panic rose within her when she saw they were alone. “Mike, I’ve been patient with you, even though you continued to ask me out after we discussed that it was not a good idea. You’re not leaving me a whole lot of choices here; please don’t push me to file a complaint against you.”

“File a complaint?” He laughed in her face. “Do you honestly think Suarez will do anything to me? The policies regarding sexual harassment are simply something they have put on paper to make everyone believe they take the issue seriously. I’ve already dealt with that before. Don’t you remember Charlotte? She was foolish enough to complain about me, and Suarez turned her inside out.

By the time they finished with her, they had her convinced that she was the bad guy. It’s still a man’s world, and we will always have the upper hand.

“Oh! And don’t think for a minute you are going to tag me with any stalker charges. It was a big mistake sending that detective to talk to me, Claire. I told her just how you are, and you no doubt led some poor bastard on just like you did me. Your kind always flirts and calls it being friendly, but when a man shows you any 166

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attention, you run screaming foul. Frankly, I think you like the attention.”

Regardless of being alone with Mike, Claire felt every fiber of her being grow hot with anger. “You’re the one with the problem, Mike. You prey on women who are polite and friendly to you.

Deep inside, you know you’re not worthy of a decent woman, so you turn polite gestures into something vile in that deranged mind of yours. You know what the problem really is? You’re a weak and pathetic excuse for a man, and you know it! Now, get your pudgy ass out of my way!”

“Fine, Claire!” Mike hissed through clenched teeth. “You’re a lot smarter than I gave you credit for. Screwing the boss is a good way to secure your position with the company. Too bad it didn’t work for me!”

He stepped away and watched Claire fumble nervously with her keys. Once inside, she locked the doors and looked back at Mike, who still stood next to her Jeep staring daggers at her.

Claire sped out of the parking lot with Mike looking on. Her hands were shaking so much she could barely hold the steering wheel. She drove toward Tristan’s house in a state of confusion.

She picked up her cell phone and called Tristan, taking a deep breath to calm herself as Tristan answered. “Hey, Tris, do you know what time you will be home?” Her voice trembled as she spoke.

“I’m almost there. Is something wrong? You sound upset.”

Tristan felt her heart pound.

“Tris, I don’t know what to do,” Claire said as she started to cry.

“Mike was waiting for me when I got to my car this afternoon. He said some things that were really upsetting.”

“Okay, just calm down,” Tristan said, trying to remain calm herself. “Where are you?”

“I’m on the interstate not far from the turnoff to your house,”

Claire whimpered as tears rolled down her face.

“I’m a mile away from the house. I’ll stay on the phone with you until you get there. Did he hurt you, Claire?”

“No, but, Tris, I’m so scared. He was so angry with me.

Apparently, he knows now that I am seeing you, and he was pissed. He thinks I led him on,” Claire cried into the phone.

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“Baby, did he threaten you?” Tristan asked, trying to keep her anger from her voice.

“No. He was angry that I was seeing you and accused me of securing my position with Valor by sleeping with my boss.”

“Just come home to me, Claire. We will call the police, and tonight, we are calling someone at Suarez. I want someone in our office Monday. He will no longer be on our account, and if I have my way, he will be in the unemployment line.”