11. Marina

Marina had never been to Emmett"s office before, but mostly it looked like she"d imagined it would. The furniture was much too big and flashy for the modest size of the room and precisely the kind she would have expected to be owned by the hybrid Kra-ell, flamboyant performer, who was the face of Safe Haven.

She hadn"t expected the large glass sliding door that opened to an inner courtyard.

The truth was that she didn"t like Emmett, and not because he had Kra-ell blood in him or because of his need to stand out and attract attention. He acted too theatrically for her taste and tried to make himself appear larger than life. Still, she was grateful for his part in freeing her and others from Igor"s oppressive rule. If not for him, the clan would have never known of their existence, let alone come to their aid.

As for Eleanor, Marina had liked her and her no-nonsense attitude until the welcoming hug she"d given Peter.

Despite his claim that he had never been intimate with Eleanor, there was a history between them. Marina had no doubt of that, but Emmett seemed either oblivious, or he simply didn"t care. After all, he was a hybrid Kra-ell, and jealousy was not part of the Kra-ell vocabulary. They didn"t form committed relationships with just one person, and it had always seemed strange to her that Emmett and Eleanor appeared to be a couple in every sense of the word.

"So, Marina," Emmett said in that booming theater actor"s voice. "How did you enjoy working on the clan"s first family cruise?"

Marina was surprised that Emmett Haderech knew her name, but then Peter had probably called him ahead of time and requested a meeting, so he must have told him what it was about.

She turned to Peter and smiled. "It was wonderful. I enjoyed it very much."

Peter helped her into one of the chairs facing Emmett"s desk. "I would like to say that it was smooth sailing, but we encountered some rough waters, metaphorically speaking."

"Oh, yes," Emmett said. "I have heard about the altercations."

"Would you like some coffee?" Eleanor asked.

Marina was dying for a cup, but she would never presume to have Eleanor or Emmett serving her.

"Yes, thank you, I would," Peter said. "We had drinks and sandwiches on the bus, but it was all cold, and I would love a hot cup of coffee. I don"t want to inconvenience you, though."

Snorting, Eleanor picked up the receiver of Emmett"s landline. "I need four cups of coffee delivered to Emmett"s office. Cream and sugar on the side, please, and also add a plate of cookies. Thank you." She put the receiver down. "That"s as inconvenienced as I"m willing to get."

Marina stifled a chuckle. She liked the woman"s assertiveness. Heck, she envied it. She also envied Eleanor"s relationship with Peter, no matter how long ago it was and how inconsequential.

"How is Sofia doing?" Emmett asked as Eleanor perched on the corner of his desk. "Were she and Marcel one of the couples who got married on the cruise?"

"No," Peter said. "But I saw her dancing and having fun. She"s adjusting well to life in the village."

Emmett leaned back in his chair. "I will never forget her standing in this office after betraying me to Igor." He shifted his gaze to Marina. "But all"s well that ends well, right? Without her help, we wouldn"t have been able to liberate your compound, or rather liberate it with almost no casualties."

Peter nodded. "It was the Fates" will."

Eleanor crossed her arms over her chest and looked between Peter and Marina. "As much as I"m enjoying all this reminiscing, I want to get to the point before Marina falls flat on her face from exhaustion."

Smoothing a hand over her hair, Marina wondered if she looked as haggard as Eleanor"s comment suggested.

"I"m okay. I slept on the bus."

"Good." Emmett cast her a smile before turning to Peter. "Because I want to hear more about the cruise."

Peter was about to answer, but then a knock sounded on the door. A moment later it opened, and Shamia walked in with a tray.

She put it down on Emmett"s desk and cast a quick, questioning look at Marina.

Marina just smiled and nodded, signaling that she was okay.

"Thank you, Shamia." Emmett dismissed her.

"You"re welcome, sir." She dipped her head and then turned to Marina. "Welcome back."

"Thank you," Marina said.

Shamia looked like she wanted to ask her about the cruise but then thought better of it. "I"ll talk to you later." She dipped her head again and hurried out of the office.