Glass Ceilings Read online

  Glancing around, she took in the large cavern, lit by rays of sunlight coming through a hole in its roof. As she and Andy advanced into the room, small schools of tiny fish, some brilliant purple, others iridescent yellow, floated casually but purposefully upwards and through the hole.

  Andy touched her on the arm and pointed to a number of crayfish feelers protruding from shelves in the cave’s limestone walls. Verity wondered if Royce would find this well-stocked aisle in the ocean’s seafood supermarket.

  He’d certainly fill the quota from this lot, she thought, but I’m not going to tell him about them. I’ll leave him to find them for himself.

  She felt for the harmless creatures, preyed upon by so many. Observing them in their underwater home, alive, and then hearing them cry out when caught, was very different to seeing them cooked and dressed on a seafood platter.

  After investigating the room’s treasures, she and Andy followed the schools of fish out through the hole in the roof. Floating effortlessly up towards the rays of sunlight, Verity wondered if this was what it felt like going to Heaven. She was broken out of her reverie by another touch on her arm. Andy was gesturing towards two other divers, Royce and his buddy, and indicating they should swim over to them.

  When they reached Royce, Andy made hand signals at him, using his waving fingers to indicate crayfish feelers.

  Damn, Verity thought, so much for letting Royce find the crayfish for himself. Oh well, at least I won’t have to witness the hunt.

  Andy was pointing to the cave he and Verity had just explored. Royce gave a thumbs-up and headed in that direction. Disappointed the crayfishes’ secret was out, Verity turned to follow Andy towards another section of reef, where some unusual formations had caught her eye. The flat table of limestone had deep gouges running parallel to each other along its full length.

  Ahh, she thought, that’s why they call this Ploughman’s Reef, because it looks as though someone has run a plough over it.

  As she hovered weightlessly in the water above the reef, she saw movement in the weedy growth on its side, and then a cuttlefish emerged. She moved closer to study it, but knowing their territorial nature, made sure she stayed out of range of its sharp beak. She remembered a heart-warming story she’d read, about a diver who’d made friends with a large cuttlefish by feeding it whenever he dived in its territory.

  With a hasty glance around her, Verity realised she was once again alone. She scanned the surrounding water but couldn’t see Andy. Looking towards the crayfish cave in case he had returned there, she saw Royce’s fins disappearing into the narrow opening. But there was no sign of Andy, or of Royce’s buddy either. Verity frowned and peered through the water. She gave a snort when, in the distance, she caught sight of the fluoro green fins of Royce’s buddy accompanied by Andy’s yellow ones.

  Isn’t that typical. How careless of them to let this happen. Men! They only want to lead, never to follow. I suppose I’ll have to pair up with Royce now.

  Sighing into her mask and sending bubbles scurrying for the surface, she finned towards the cave ... only to stop abruptly, and hover.

  She couldn’t see Royce’s fins in the narrow entrance any more, but a mixture of agitated water and sand was frothing from the opening, and Verity was certain she could hear the muffled sounds of someone calling out under water. Quickly, she powered to the entrance and peered inside. She could just make out a pair of white fins, frantically kicking. They stirred up the water and sand so much she could barely see what was happening, but she knew something was wrong.

  In her mind she heard again the skipper’s words, ‘... sent to a watery grave’ and her stomach did a back-flip. She hurriedly kicked herself upwards, the frenzied action of her own fins further disturbing the sandy ocean floor. When she got above the cave, which looked like every other piece of reef, she searched desperately for the other entrance, the one she and Andy had used to exit the cave. She knew it was there somewhere, camouflaged by coral and weeds, so when she couldn’t see it, she got close enough to feel around with her gloved hands, and finally located it.

  Verity wasted no time.

  She plunged into the cave’s dark interior.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Verity’s eyes were still adjusting to the underwater cavern’s gloom, but she wasted no time in powering towards the opening to the entrance corridor. Looking along the narrow tunnel, she could make out the top of Royce’s head. He was looking away from her, towards the wall. She pushed her way into the narrow space, cringing when her tank scraped against the rocks above. She forged ahead, and as she drew closer to Royce, cold fingers of fear clawed at her insides. She held her breath, and then saw him move. He was twisting and arching strangely. She put out a hand and grasped his shoulder.

  His body jerked and he wrenched his head around to face her. His eyes looked huge in his mask, the classic sign of a panicking diver. He made desperate sounds in his throat while gesturing wildly with one arm—the other one was wedged between his body and the rock wall.

  He was trapped.

  Verity’s eyes widened in horror as he made the ‘cut throat’ signal with his free hand and promptly spat out his regulator. She watched as it fell to the ocean floor, emitting only a brief burst of sparse bubbles.

  Royce was out of air.

  Verity quickly felt around behind her own tank for the spare regulator. As soon as she had hold of it, she pushed it towards Royce. He jammed it into his mouth, and she wondered if he would drain her tank dry. He closed his eyes while drawing in the precious air, and when he opened them again, she saw the panic subsiding. She smiled encouragingly at him and was pleased to see his eyes tilt weakly in return. He was safe for the moment, but she knew her tank’s air supply wouldn’t last very long with two of them breathing from it.

  She turned her attention to finding a way to release him from his rocky trap. He indicated his right side and she found his tank’s gauges there, and pulled them free. A puzzled frown crossed her face when she saw the pressure gauge still reading full. It should have indicated half empty at the most, as hers did—or had done last time she looked. She gave a shudder. Time was quickly running out and she had to free Royce as soon as possible. Once her tank was empty of air, they were both in big trouble.

  She hurriedly located the first stage on his tank, which was wedged against the roof.

  He’s caught the valve on the rocks while scraping through the tight entrance ... that could have turned it to the off position, stopping the flow to his regulator, she thought hopefully.

  If there was still air in his tank that she could release, it would give her more time to free him.

  Here’s hoping....

  Her fingers felt anxiously for the valve and managed to turn it. A thin trail of blood flowed into the water. She’d cut her fingers on the sharp rocks in the process. Royce saw the red stain suspended in the water, and made as though to grasp her hand. She shook her head impatiently and grabbed his regulator from where it floated uselessly in front of him, hurriedly pressing the release button. Nothing happened so she tried again, eager to see a rush of precious air bubbles. But once more, there was no reaction. The regulator sat limply in her hand. She tried turning the valve again, but it was no use. Royce’s air tank was empty, despite what the gauge read.

  Verity anxiously checked her own tank’s pressure. It was down to a quarter full. Dread rose in her but Royce was watching, so she had to stay calm.

  No good both of us panicking, she reproached herself.

  Drawing back a little, she took a second to think, scrunching up her face in concentration. Royce reached out and took her hand, and her heart turned over at the trust she saw in his eyes. She tried to smile reassuringly.

  I have to save him, I just have to.

  She knew he would have tried everything in his power to free himself, so he must be well and truly stuck. Judging by his position, he had become wedged in the narrow entrance after hastily trying to reverse back out, presumably
after discovering he was running out of air.

  She had to face facts, it may not be possible to get him free on her own.

  Her tank was running low, and the longer they both relied on it, the shorter the time she had to free him. When she realised she had only one option, she looked away so he couldn’t see her expression. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to grasp his free arm and pulled herself to within inches of his face. He eyed her anxiously and she gave him a confident wink, with a self-assurance she didn’t feel.

  When she gestured that she was abandoning her gear to make an emergency ascent to the surface, he gave a troubled frown but nodded his understanding. Reaching over to grip the straps of her BCD so he could hold her tank when she took it off, he pulled her as close as he could. Mask to mask, his eyes bored into hers.

  Was it fear for his own safety, or hers, she saw in their depths? She knew it was risky—divers only made emergency ascents as a last resort—but she didn’t hesitate. She undid her weight belt and the straps on her BCD in preparation for the ascent. As she braced herself to take one last breath, Royce wedged her tank under his upper body so he could touch her cheek with his one free hand.

  The intense look in his eyes made her pause. They gazed at each other for a brief moment, their breaths almost synchronised. Smiling encouragement, Verity took the regulator out of her mouth and dropped her weight belt. Freed from the restrictive weights, her body rose quickly in the water, and she kicked herself away from Royce and towards the hole in the cave roof. When she reached its rocky edge, she held herself there and carefully lodged her bright yellow torch among the rocks as a marker, so the entrance could be more easily found. Then she looked down at Royce once more before pushing herself upwards, towards the sunlight.

  Royce watched from below as Verity’s fins disappeared through the hole. Closing his eyes, he tried to slow his breathing, wondering if these might be his final breaths. He had to preserve as much air as possible, to give them time to rescue him.

  He had so much to live for....

  Forcing herself to remember the training in her dive course, Verity opened her mouth and began carefully expelling air in a long ‘ahhh’ as she rose from the depths. Doing that seemed crazy in the circumstances, but she knew from her training that the pressurised air she held in her lungs would expand as she rose through the atmospheres, and could cause serious injury to her lungs if not released.

  She was gaining momentum, but already felt the urge to take a breath, and still had some way to go. Using all the strength in her legs, she kicked powerfully, wondering if she would get to the surface in time. Faster and faster she rose, one arm outstretched above her head, the other tucked into her side to streamline her body, bubbles coming in a continual flow from her open mouth. Her lungs strained less as she ascended and the air inside them expanded. She could see the surface rapidly approaching.

  She was going to make it.

  * * *

  Everyone was quiet and withdrawn during the trip home. Royce’s close call had given them all a fright, none more so than his errant buddy. All the way to the jetty, the man kept apologising and rebuking himself for being so irresponsible. Royce soon tired of reassuring him they were both at fault, and withdrew to a far corner of the deck. There he sat silently, watching the horizon as they headed towards the island.

  The only ones who seemed unaffected by the incident were the boat’s crew, apart from a guilt-ridden Andy. They kept recounting the story to the other returning divers, describing Verity “exploding from the water like a Polaris missile”, shouting ‘Ahhh!’ and then gasping lungs full of air and yelling to alert them of Royce’s plight below. The skipper and first mate had immediately donned scuba gear and descended, armed with a spare tank, to extract Royce from his rocky predicament.

  Verity appeared in the doorway of the bridge. She had been in there ever since Royce was helped aboard and she’d satisfied herself that he was alright. She was pale from the ordeal but her eyes held a steely gleam and her mouth was set in a grim line. She looked over to where Royce was sitting, a little detached from the other passengers. Just then, the captain beckoned her into the cabin saying, ‘I’ve got Hank from the dive shop on the radio for you,’ and she went inside again.

  Royce was oblivious to all around him as he sat lost in his own thoughts.

  When they docked again at the island’s harbour—with a full complement, Verity acknowledged gratefully—she hastened to disembark, but only after making certain someone would help Royce if he needed it.

  ‘You OK to get off, mate?’ The skipper was looking at Royce with kind concern.

  ‘Yep, I’m alright.’ Royce left the boat, still feeling numb. Once on terra firma again, he looked among the milling people for Verity. When there was no sign of her, he swore loudly. He hadn’t thanked her properly for rescuing him.

  She saved my life. If not for her, I’d be crab tucker by now.

  The thought hit him like a fist to the stomach, and he came to an abrupt halt. Warm feelings of gratitude, and some deeper emotion, welled inside him.

  Oh hell, he grimaced, not some sort of pathetic hero worship.

  He snorted and shook his head before trudging up the beach towards the resort. The prospect of a hot shower and a glass or two of liquid calmer was reviving his spirits.

  Back in her unit, Verity couldn’t allow herself the rest she needed following the morning’s excitement. Although the meeting wasn’t due to commence for another two hours, she spent most of the time talking to various people in person, and on the telephone. Over a quick coffee with Guy, she confided her suspicions that Kerry had sabotaged the pink equipment, meaning it for Verity. Guy’s frown deepened as Verity related what the dive shop attendant had told her about his conversation with Kerry and her subsequent offer to help.

  Verity also told Guy she suspected Kerry of other malicious acts, such as leaking the information to John Reardon about his impending dismissal, and of withholding details of the journalist’s visit to put Verity in a compromising situation.

  ‘I believe she’s gone out of her way to try to discredit and now physically harm me, and do you know the silliest and the saddest part of all this Guy?’ At the inquiring shake of his head, Verity smiled sadly, ‘I think it all started because she thought there was something between Royce and me. She was jealous. Of me and Royce, how ridiculous is that?’

  Guy greeted her humourless laugh with an unexpectedly penetrating look. He set down his cup and leaned back in his chair. ‘Now lil’ lady, how’s about ya tell me why that should be ridiculous. The bit about you ’n Royce, I mean.’ Guy’s drawl softened his words, but his eyes were serious and probing.

  ‘Well … because I … he … well, it just is,’ she stammered, before adding with conviction, ‘Royce has no feelings for me apart from resentment and distrust, and my feelings for him aren’t much different.’ It was her turn to put down her coffee mug, sit back in her chair and eye her companion.

  ‘And how do ya know his feelings, have ya asked him?’ Guy’s right eyebrow was dancing and his mouth wore the shadow of a grin.

  Verity’s brow creased and uncertainty crept into her expression. ‘Of course not, that would be inappropriate, considering I’m his boss. We have to remain professional and avoid any personal stuff. Anyway,’ she said more confidently, ‘I don’t need to ask him, I know he feels this way. Because of what he did in the past, and how he acted toward me.’

  Guy remained silent but regarded her intently. Verity’s eyes wondered past his face to gaze out the window onto the beach below. Her expression grew contemplative and her voice was pensive, almost dream-like, when she said, ‘At first he hardly knew I existed, I was simply another faceless pleb. And then I became a thorn in his side, one that took something he badly wanted, something he’d assumed was already his. He was never going to take that lying down.’ With a swift glance at Guy she added, ‘Of course you have first-hand knowledge of what he did.’

  Guy gave
a rueful nod.

  ‘All of this tells me better than words can, how Royce James feels about me.’

  Guy leaned over the table to look appraisingly at her. ‘I hope you’ll pardon me for speakin’ my mind, but I think you’ve gone and got ya professional and ya personal all mixed up.’

  Verity blinked at him, open-mouthed, and his lips tipped up at the corners. He went on, ‘Ya gotta remember, there are two different sides to every coin. In this particular instance, heads is the ‘real’ Royce, and tails, the atypical professional. Sure, it’s nice to like both, but when you flip that coin, you’ll wanna have your money on heads, ’cos that’s the only one that really counts.’ Guy leaned back again and crossed his hands over his stomach. ‘And if ya ask me, you’re not the only one who’s confused ’bout all that, ’cos right now I don’t reckon the “Verity coin” that Royce flipped, has landed yet either.’

  Verity continued gaping at him, wide-eyed, stomach churning, not knowing what to say or think. Guy took a mouthful of his cooling coffee and said in a satisfied voice, ‘Anyways, back to this other matter. We got ourselves a little problem to fix.’

  Kerry opened the door warily, but seemed resigned rather than surprised to find Verity and Guy on the doorstep of her unit. She ushered them wordlessly inside. A short time later, Verity and Guy let themselves out again and walked towards the resort’s boardroom, outside which the other delegates were already congregating.

  Noticing Verity’s solemn silence, Guy put a hand on her elbow. ‘You’ve done the right thing, ya know that, don’t ya? Givin’ that green-eyed bitch an alternative she didn’t deserve, to tender her immediate resignation or be dismissed for gross misconduct.’