Ultimately though, flying off the handle wasn’t going to help anyone. I had to stay in control of my own emotions for Leah’s sake so I could handle the situation with Jefferson without making anything worse. That was what she needed from me most.
“I’m sorry, Leah,” I said as I pushed to my feet. “If I’d had any idea what he was doing, I’d have put a stop to it myself.”
“Thanks,” she replied softly, her eyes sad when they finally met mine. “I don’t need your help putting creeps in their place, though. I just need you to make sure I don’t get tossed overboard and left in the water.”
“Jefferson would never do that,” I said. “We’re too close to the shore. If he was going to toss you overboard, he’d have done it while we were out on the water.”
“Ah, but when we were out, he didn’t know I was about to alienate the son of one of the biggest buyers in Europe. If he had, I’m sure he’d have fed me to the fish before we came back.”
I chuckled, reaching out to stroke her cheek with the backs of my fingers. “He’s too classy for that. Jefferson Killen is no mobster. He doesn’t feed people to the fish.”
“What does he do then? Strangle them with couture?” she asked dryly, then shook her head. “Please just explain to him that I apologize for my outburst.”
“You don’t need to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She gave me a tight smile as she stood up, her features hard and set from stress. “I know. I only want to apologize for my outburst, not for standing up for myself. There were better ways in which I could’ve handled it.”
“I’ll deal with Jefferson,” I said again, pulling her close to brush a kiss to her cheek before I left her in the dining room and went to find our boss.
I found him on the dock, his hands in his pockets as he stared in the direction of a car racing toward the main gate. When he heard me coming, he turned slowly to face me. His expression was grim as he gave his head a small shake.
“I couldn’t convince him to stay,” he said. “He’s not happy with us, and frankly, neither am I. What the hell was that girl thinking? That was not how dinner was supposed to go.”
“Sure, but it wouldn’t have gone that way if René hadn’t acted like a total pig,” I said. “If he’s not happy, it’s his own fault. He shouldn’t have gotten handsy with a girl who clearly wasn’t interested, and that’s not mentioning his behavior and how aggressively he hit on her.”
“That’s just how he is, Dane,” he said, waving a hand dismissively. “He doesn’t mean any harm. He’s just a little overeager.”
“A little overeager doesn’t excuse what he did to her in there.” I pointed back toward the yacht. “There’s no excuse for what he did.”
“Perhaps,” he conceded but then narrowed his eyes as he looked past me over my shoulder. “But she should’ve gone along with it. I’m paying her to do so. If she didn’t like what he was saying or doing, she could’ve handled it like a lady instead of a fishwife.”
“What is it with all the fish analogies tonight?” I muttered, to myself more than to Jefferson, but he heard me anyway and replied.
“Fishwives were notoriously loud and foulmouthed,” he explained but stopped when I sighed and arched a brow at him. “You knew that, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not what I was talking about anyway,” I said. “The point is that we can’t expect her to be okay with what just happened. If it had been only the lines, it would’ve been one thing but it wasn’t. He touched her, Jefferson.”
The older man blew out a breath and turned to face the water, raking a hand through his thinning hair. “I’ve heard about his tendency to get touchy-feely. It’s just the way he is. He wouldn’t have taken it any further.”
“But he did,” I said. “It’s not acceptable to touch people’s privates without their consent.”
“No, it’s not,” he agreed, his gaze still firmly locked on the lights reflecting off the water. “It’s also not acceptable to jump up and start ranting in the middle of dinner. That’s not how ladies behave and it certainly isn’t how a sweetheart behaves.”
“Perhaps not under ordinary circumstances, but he pushed her too far. Everyone else who’s met