Page 57 of Ruining His Smirk

“Well,” the captain continued, “I’ll let you get on with it. I think I’ll stay at the back for a while. Pure curiosity. I’d like to hear how this goes.”

“Yes, sir.”

He gave me another smile and moved away from the table. I checked my watch.

Two minutes.

My gaze swept over the room. Still no Dexter. That was unlike him. Dexter was never late, especially not when I was the one speaking. Usually, he showed up earlier than necessary, hovering around me, asking if I needed help with anything even when there was nothing for him to do.

I frowned and looked toward the door. A head appeared around the edge of it. Big round eyes met mine.

Dexter stood half-hidden in the corridor, staring at me as if he expected me to throw something at him.

What the hell?

I jerked my head toward the room. Move your ass.

He slipped inside and eased the door closed behind him. I expected him to come straight over and take the chair beside me. Instead, he gave me such a wide berth that he nearly brushed the opposite wall. He moved carefully, almost on tiptoe, like a man trying not to attract the attention of a dangerous animal.

My eyes narrowed. Then he surprised me again by going directly to Nate. The two of them began speaking in whispers.

I stared. Before I could decide what in the hell was going on, the screens gave a soft electronic beep, indicating it was time for me to begin the meeting. I’d have to talk to him later.

I rested both hands on the conference table and looked around once, making sure everyone had settled.

“Welcome, everyone.”

The room fell quiet.

“Thank you all for making the time. I know some of you are calling in from different time zones, and I appreciate it.”

Several heads on the giant screen nodded.

“Before we begin, would you all mind introducing yourselves? I know all of you already, but it’ll help everyone aboard the ship put names to faces.”

My colleague on the first screen unmuted herself.

“Laura Bennett. Chief structural engineer, British research station.”

“Anton Weiss. Senior mechanical engineer, German research station.”

“Mei Chen. Marine systems engineer, Chinese research station.”

“Callum Fraser. Underwater welding specialist, offshore engineering facility, Scotland.”

One by one, the remaining participants introduced themselves.

“Thank you again.”

I turned to the faces inside the room. Quite a few people looked impressed by those titles.

“The purpose of today’s meeting is straightforward. I’ve completed the preliminary recovery design for the whale skeleton, and before we begin cutting, welding, or fabricating anything, I wanted experienced eyes on the full plan. I already sent my blueprints to my colleagues you see on the screen, and they’ve had time to review them. They are all experts in their fields. If there’s a weakness in the design, this is when I’d like us to find it.”

I glanced around the data suite. “And I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting quite this many people aboard the ship to attend.”

A quiet laugh moved through the room.

“I figured it would just be Nate… I mean, Dr. Braddock, my brother, and the crew members involved in the deployment.”