Shipwrecked Holiday

Shipwrecked

"Ugh..." Lucy moaned as she started to lift herself on shaky arms. She could feel the sun beating down on her back as she wiped a pile of sand off her face. She cracked open bleary eyes and tried to take in the area around her.

She was on a beach, which made sense since she was in the Islands this weekend. All around her was blue green ocean, white sandy coastline and ahead was a dense jungle. Ocean air filled her nose, which after a quick hard blow was clean of sand and the sounds of birds chattering on about something. Seemed so very typical for the area, but the thing that stood out was the wrecked sailboat several yards from her.

This was not her weekend was supposed to go.

No, right now she should be sitting at the tiki bar, negotiating with Makarov Dreyar over the new bullet train system in Magnolia. She should be looking wonderful in a nice sundress, with her hair styled and cute sandals on her feet. She should be enjoying a cool Bellini and laughing at perverted old man jokes. Instead, she just had to listen to her assistant...

"M-Mard?" she spat out as she managed to stand up and dust more sand off her capri pants. Though grateful for the life vest, she pulled it off, taking in a deep breath when her boobs were no longer pinned inside. Lucy put her hand over her eyes to shield out the horrible sun and try to get her bearings.

All she knew was that last night she went sailing with Mard, it was a chance to talk to him about transferring to a different division and grow his career. He was the best assistant she ever had, and she thought he had earned the promotion. Though those weren't the only reasons for her wanting him to move on. Then like so many things in her life, an unexpected storm hit and after much screaming, here she was. Washed up on a beach, hoping Mard was not heavily injured if not dead.

Lucy took unsteady steps as she came near the wreckage of the ship, she bit her lip, this was not good. "Okay, Lucy, stay calm, the resort knows you were out last night," she tried to reassure herself. Though the little pessimistic side of her brain was not listening. It went on and on about being trapped here, alone for months and with her lack of survival skills, she'd be dead in a week. Her brain really didn't like her.

Last thing she needed was to lose this deal, she promised herself a real vacation after contracts were signed. It had to of been at least five years since her last one and even then, that vacation did not go as planned. She pinched her forehead, she didn't want to think about that failed romance. What kind of asshole takes you to a romantic ski resort just to break up with you? Her ex, that's who.

Thinking about that was not going to help, right now she had to get back to civilization and finish business, to make her deceased parents proud of her. It was also going to do a lot for Magnolia's economy and maybe just a bit for her ego, she needed to make this happen. Too much was on the line but it all just didn't stack up to the thought that Mard was nowhere to be seen.

Oh, Goddess above, if she lost that man, she'd be lost. In many ways.

"Mard!" she called out, thinking of her assistant. The man had never failed to be by her side and since he was the last person her father hired, he was kind of important. She could still remember the day she met the man, it was the last meeting she had with her father before his massive cardiac incident.

Jude had introduced her to Mard, saying that with her upcoming promotion she was going to need the very finest of assistants. She had been leery of her father's choice, until she met Mard Geer Tartaros and then something just clicked. Lucy wasn't certain if it was because of his experience, his voice, the thoroughness of his work or the fact that if he didn't have on the cheap suit and dorky glasses, he could be hot as sin.

Three days later Jude had died and Mard had not left her side since, to the point of where he moved into the guest house on the property to be with her while she was up late negotiating international deals. He would even get her junk food in the middle of the night when she couldn't sleep, and he knew how to make a damn fine cup of coffee. For as sweet as he was, Lucy knew he could be positively demonic to anyone who dared throw her the smallest bit of shade.