green shingles stood out. “I started to compile a list last night and will get it to you soon.”
“I already have a spreadsheet ready to go,” said the woman with thick dark curls—Vanessa, that was it.
While Paige hadn’t turned to address Danae, she gave Vanessa her full attention. “As head of publicity, I’ll need to see it first for approval.”
“As social media manager, I’m always happy to add more contacts to my ever-growing list, so I’d love to combine our efforts and reach more places. Once you get your list ready, of course.”
They shared a tight smile that made Josh want to back away, which was pretty much how he always felt nowadays when he encountered any kind of drama.
Danae raised her voice and spoke in a placating tone. “It’s going to be more important than ever for us to all work together, so if you could both send those lists to each other and come up with a finalized version to send me, I’d appreciate it.”
The light tapping of keys filled the air. “Done,” Vanessa said, and Paige lifted her open laptop and began furiously typing away.
Ah, the bad ol’ days, when he’d had to play nice in conference rooms, even when it felt like he and his colleagues were competing rather than collaborating. What a waste of time. Although remembering how hard it could be to keep coworkers on task and happy made him think he should cut Danae, with her emails and constant itinerary alterations, some slack.
A subject change might do everyone some good, so he switched into tour guide mode. “Coming up, you’ll see Fort Adams State Park.” He swept his hand toward the approaching peninsula and the gray brick fort that looked more like a castle without turrets. “Anyone been to the Newport Jazz Festival?”
Paige, Franco, and Vanessa chimed in that they had, and Josh asked how they’d enjoyed it. The four of them began chatting and comparing who they’d seen, and Danae’s toe started tapping, her posture growing more anxious the longer the stories went on. Couldn’t she see that Vanessa and Paige were now talking about something they had in common, the earlier tension gone? Possibly not. But Josh had done several of these corporate retreats, using the skills he’d had to learn when he worked in the office world.
“Okay, well, let’s talk about what prompted you to go to the festival,” Danae said. “Flyers? Social media posts? How can we tie that into our marketing strategy?”
As they began discussing that, Josh returned to the helm, where he stayed until lunch.
After they ate, he readied the boat so he could loop them around and get close to the famous mansions, as Danae had requested. Call it a peace offering. Although with the wind kicking up and more dark clouds rolling in, he wasn’t sure how long the sailing would be smooth.
About thirty minutes later, the mansions were in view, although the sun no longer was. Josh walked across the deck, to where everyone lined the portside. The boat rocked more than it had earlier today, before the temperature began to drop, and a spray of water came over the side and made the passengers jump back.
Strike that. Everyone but Danae—heedless of her doused shoes—scooted back.
A green lawn led to a beige brick house with several chimneys and even more windows. The property owners kept the trees trimmed to allow those windows a view of the bay, which gave people who sailed by a peek at the luxurious life. Around the bend was an enormous neoclassical house with floor-to-ceiling windows, columns, and an atrium with a fountain. From their current position, it wasn’t easy to see, and the thick gray fog that had come rolling in certainly wasn’t helping matters.
“This is as close as I can get,” Josh said, and Danae glanced at Vanessa.
“Will this work for you?” she asked, automatically gripping the railing and shifting her weight to the back foot as the boat swayed again. Either she’d recalibrated in record time or she’d been on a boat a few times before.
Vanessa lifted her phone and frowned at the screen. “It’s too hard to get a good shot through the fog. With my eyes, I can sorta see the pale brick, but once I lift the screen…” She made a disgruntled noise low in her throat. “The phone isn’t picking up any details through the fog, and if I zoom in, it’s just more convoluted.”
“What about the three-story mansion with the red roof