“Hello there Miss. I’m Sandy Potts and I’m the Chief Persor here.” He says it with a smile and a knowing chuckle, brow cocked. “Forgive me for saying so miss, but you look a little lost. Can I help you with anything?”
Oh, this is going to be easy.
“Well actually you can,” I say with a purr, smiling. “You see I had made some arrangements and reservations a while back, and I’m here to board the cruise. I’m not too early, am I?”
There, I’m no longer going to be dealing with Robin and his grumping about the party at the hotel, I’m going to be enjoying myself on a cruise! This is turning out to be a much better day than I planned.
He smiles back at me and nods, pulling out his tablet to do what I assume are check the guest list and mark me as in attendance.
“Sure thing; I’ll just need your name to check you in and then you’ll be all set.”
“Robyn Carmichael.”
He frowns, looking at me, then down at his list, and then back up at me again. I can almost see the gears turning in his head as he tries to figure out if he’s made an assumption, and to take the tension off –and save my own ass– I laugh, shrugging with a flirty smile and a wink in his direction.
“Oh Mr. Potts; you assumed that I was a man, didn’t you? It’s alright,” I say with a reassuring smile and a sigh. “It’s a common assumption and I don’t take offence. Robyn isn’t just a man’s name you know; you ought to be less surprised that a wealthy woman wants to treat herself to a cruise.”
“Of course, of course, Miss Carmichael.” He stumbles over his words and blushes a bit, obviously feeling caught off guard. “Forgive me for the assumption.”
I knew that Robin often had others do his bidding and make arrangements for him, but it still surprises me that so few people actually know what my brother looks like. Not that I’m complaining, obviously —I just talked myself onto a cruise meant for him— but it’s still amusing to think about.
“No need to apologize, honestly. I get it all the time.”
He nods gratefully and smiles, and then he ticks off a few more things on his list with a smirk, looking over my shoulder like I’m forgetting something. I cock my brow at him and smile, giggling quietly. I’m not sure what he’s looking for, but I figure if I flirt and bat my lashes a bit then I’ll be able to end the conversation quickly enough and start enjoying myself.
“Mr. Potts are you looking for something?”
“Well no,” He replies with a chuckle, smiling and shrugging his shoulders, “I’m just wondering where your girlfriend is.”
Robin’s girlfriend Emily was obviously going to be attending the cruise with him, but she certainly wasn’t going to be attending with me. I didn’t have to worry about her coming down to the wharf and ruining things though, at least; Robin had called her to let her know that the trip was cancelled. So I decide to just bluff my way out of it for simplicity’s sake, and to get on the ship.
So I offer him a warm smile and nod, winking.
“Oh she’ll be along, she wouldn’t miss it. She’s just getting a few last minute things before she meets me here.”
There, that should take care of that.
He breathes a sigh of relief and I wonder why he’s so concerned with my brother’s girlfriend; it seems odd. Then he flashes me an ear to ear grin and nods, swiping his screen and marking things off as he speaks, clearly reading from a list.
“Oh good, because your proposal plan is all approved and in place. You’re clear to do it over the captain’s dinner at the end of the first week, and all of the requests you made have been accommodated and put in place. I promise you, miss; this will be a gesture that she won’t ever forget!”
Well, shit.
I didn’t realize that Robin was planning on proposing to Emily this week on the cruise, so now I’ve got to somehow come up with a lie to not only cover up the fact that I’m not my brother, but that I don’t have a fiancé. Fuck, I don’t even have a girlfriend anymore. I feel a brief split second of regret at getting myself into this but I force a smile to my face and nod, keeping up the happy façade.
“That’s great news! Thank you. For now though,” I say with a sigh and exaggeratingly looking at my watch. “I’ve really got to get going and get checked into my room. I hoped to do some shopping and have a trip to the spa before we departed, to get myself into the vacation mindset.”
I shake his hand again and thank him once more for his help, and I run off towards the cruise ship before he has a chance to spring anything else on me or ask any more questions. I have no clue how I’m going to get myself out of this lie, let alone having to spin another one on top of that when he asks me something else.
I really didn’t think this through, did I?
I’m not a
bout to let this ruin my fun though; I’ve got a cruise to attend and I’ll be damned if something as simple as forged identity and non-existent fiancés for a marriage proposal get in the way of my fun.
It shouldn’t be that complicated to figure out, right?
Four