Robin Alexander - Murky Waters

“I agree his behavior was totally inappropriate, but I think with a transfer and a letter of reprimand, he will understand the seriousness of his actions.” Avoiding looking at Tristan and Claire, Eugene addressed Cameron casually.

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Tristan could not hide her anger. “So, what you’re saying is, you plan to slap him on the hand and make him someone else’s problem?”

“Miss Delacroix, with all due respect, I don’t believe we should end this man’s career for his lack of judgment on this matter.”

Tristan was about to retort when she was interrupted by Cam.

“Mr. Morris, from what I have heard here today, I believe Mike has some problems. I cannot force you to fire him, but I do not expect to ever see him anywhere near here after today.

Furthermore, he is not to have any contact with Miss Murray at all.

No emails, phone calls, or any sort of correspondence whatsoever.”

Eugene was about to say something when Cam cut him off. “Mr.

Morris, I’ve run this company for a long time. Let me say first that I don’t like your attitude toward Miss Murray. The first thing you should have done was apologize for the behavior of one of your employees. You have downplayed this situation by simply giving him a transfer.

“With that in mind, I have decided to hire Miss Murray as our travel manager. Her first assignment will be to acquire a new travel agency to attend our needs. Please inform your superiors that we will no longer require the services of Suarez Travel.”

Eugene paled at the thought of losing such a lucrative contract. “I assure you, Mr. Hughes, we will make sure that Mike has no contact with Claire or anyone associated with Valor. We appreciate your business, and we will do whatever we can within reason to make sure you are satisfied.”

It was Tristan who interrupted then. “If you are finished with the ass kissing, I would like that piece of crap taking up my office space removed now.”

Ever the professional, Cam shot Tristan a look and tried hard not to laugh at the incredulous glare Eugene was giving Tristan. She stared back into his eyes until he had to look away.

Cam addressed Eugene again. “Mr. Morris, we can consider this meeting adjourned. I’ll have security escort you upstairs to inform your employees of the changes that are being made. You can make whatever arrangements you need to clear your equipment out of the building, and I would like that done today.”

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Cam opened his door and allowed two security guards to enter his office. “These gentlemen will escort you upstairs, and you and your staff will leave without incident, or I will have the police here in a matter of minutes. Do I make myself clear?”

Eugene Morris nodded mutely as he gathered his things and followed the security staff out of the office.

“Claire, I’m sorry that I didn’t give you more warning on what I had planned to do. I was hoping that he would have been a little more aggressive in handling this issue. He made it apparent when you walked in the room with whom he had chosen to side.

“I’ve seen it many times before. The one who files the complaint is often treated worse than the offending party. I hope you’re okay with the decision I made for you. I will assure you that you will have much better benefits with the Valor family, and we will treat you with dignity and respect.”

Shocked by the change of events, Claire had not realized fully that Cameron had submitted her resignation and hired her in a matter of minutes. “Thank you,” she replied, still dumbstruck by all that transpired.

Tristan was equally stupefied. “Cam, don’t get me wrong when I say this, but couldn’t you have at least given us a heads up on what you were planning?”

“I’m sorry, Tris, but I just didn’t like what I heard. Claire has become important to Lucy and me both, and there was no way I was going to leave all this up to that little prick to handle,” Cam replied apologetically.

Claire stood and hugged Cam, surprising him and Tristan.

“Thank you for taking care of me, Cam. I’ll never forget it.”

“I’ll always stand up for my girls,” he said as he winked at Tristan. He made it clear that Claire was more than just a member of the Valor family, she had been welcomed into his family, as well.

“Now if you two will excuse me, I want to make sure my orders are being followed, then I have to call my attorney. Suarez may be foolish enough to give me grief over the broken contract.”

Tristan reached over and took Claire’s hand into hers. “Are you okay with all this?”

“Of course I’m okay. I just lost one job and got another all in one day.”

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Tristan couldn’t help but chuckle. “I think I’m still in shock.

Let’s go over to human resources and make this official. You have a lot of paperwork to fill out.”

“I have to do one thing first. I need to tell Ellen about this. She will kill me if she finds out from someone else,” Claire said as she pulled Tristan into her arms and kissed her.

Claire had moved most of her belongings into Tristan’s house, and very little of her furniture remained in her apartment. Their house began to feel like a home for both of them. Even though they shared the master bedroom, Tristan set aside one room just for Claire to do with what she wanted.

One Saturday afternoon, Tristan went out to the yard to clean the flowerbeds of the plants that died due to an early October frost.

Claire spent time in her room setting up her home computer and sorting out her belongings. She came across the box that contained all her copies of the pictures sent to her by the stalker. She debated throwing them away but thought better of it.

She wanted to store them in a safe place and remembered how Tristan kept her storage room under lock and key. She reasoned that the locked room would be the perfect place to keep such items. She walked into the kitchen and got Tristan’s key ring off the hook where she always kept it. Claire would just slip them inside the door without invading the sacred space that held Tristan’s memories of her father.

Walking back through the house, Claire caught a glimpse of her lover working in the yard. Tristan was absorbed in her work, down on her hands and knees. She pruned shrubs and pulled the dead plants out of the beds and was applying a new layer of mulch.

Claire smiled as she watched Tristan doing one of the things she truly loved. Ralph ran around the yard, pouncing on insects dislodged from their homes as Tristan worked. Claire sighed with contentment, feeling so happy and peaceful in her surroundings.

With her box at her feet, Claire fumbled with the keys until she found the right one. When she stepped into the room, the mustiness of it assaulted her sinuses. She made a mental note to air it out. Along the far wall were plastic storage bins full of all sorts 178

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of equipment she recognized from her tour of one of the towboats.

She figured they were the belongings of Tristan’s dad.

Claire noticed something out of place in the dusty room. In the corner sat a workstation, complete with a computer, printer, and scanner. Claire took her box over to the desk and sat down. She felt a strange foreboding as she stared at the equipment. Slowly, she opened one of the hutch doors. Her eyes widened as she looked at the contents inside.

She picked up a camera no larger than an ink pen and studied it.

Dumbstruck by all the digital camera equipment, she pulled out each piece. Claire wondered if perhaps Tristan had been storing the equipment for her mother. She remembered Tristan saying at the Myrtles that she didn’t even own a camera. Why would she lie?