Diana considered the introduction of Manda to Hunter a huge success. The fact that they spent the entire evening together was like whipped cream on her sundae. They were a perfect match.

She was even more pleasantly surprised to receive Manda’s text message that she’d found her a date and would get to meet him at the ball.

That night, she strolled on the deck alone, letting the warm breeze caress her body. She’d done three laps before she was finally relaxed enough to try to get some sleep.

The next morning, as she made her way to the dining room for breakfast, she eyed each man she passed wondering if he was her potential suitor.

What would he be like? Would he be taller than her? Would he have a sense of humor, or would he be another dud?

In a perfect world, she’d simply have a few dances with whoever Manda chose for her and the rest of her trip she’d finish the job and report back to her father.

Daddy.

Grayson Alexander Tolliver, CEO of Tolliver Enterprises. What was it going to take to make him truly happy? Nothing within her power, that’s for sure. The man was impossible. He had control issues, flying issues, hell, he had more issues than she could ever hope to handle.

In fact, when she called him for their nightly update she was barely two minutes late, and she’d have thought it was more like an hour the way he ranted about wasting his valuable time. On top of it, he threatened her position with the company if she continued to fail to provide him with more relevant information other than uniforms for the male employees.

Why couldn’t he be more like his father? Charles Hamilton Tolliver started the business forty-three years ago with the first Tolliver hotel, followed by thirty more over the next few years, all across the United States.

If it hadn’t been for Grandpa Tolliver, she’d have been a lost cause after her mother passed away when she was barely fourteen. It was her grandfather who instilled in her that there was nothing she couldn’t do just because she was a girl. Too bad he couldn’t encourage that kind of forward thinking into his own son.

Her father spent every moment of his waking life expanding Tolliver Towers into Tolliver Enterprises, and he’d all but forgotten about her. She’d gone to school, receiving her MBA in Business Communications just so she could work with him and be a part of his life, such that it was.

While she waited for Manda to join her, she put her mind to good use, coming up with a few ideas to test the staff. She hated this part of the job; testing an employee’s ability to handle change or annoying customers, finding out who had the spirit to make sure the customer is always right. It was a necessary evil, and she’d feel guilty as hell, but it had to be done. Cruise ships and the service industry were about giving the customer the ultimate vacation of their dreams.

She was jotting down notes while intermittently scanning the crowd in line for the buffet table. Diana gave up and ordered her breakfast.

She sent it back twice. First, her complaint was the eggs were too runny. The second time overcooked. They’d been perfect in both cases. The waitress handled it like a pro. She smiled, removed the plate, and delivered the new one with the finesse of a saint.

When Diana finished eating, she made her way to Manda’s room to collect her for their spa day.

Diana didn’t remember much of the conversation they shared at the spa. Instead, she relished the massage, mani/pedi, and shampoo, rinse, and styling of her hair. She hadn’t been pampered in ages.

Hell, she and Viv had been so busy there had been little spare time to play.

After almost three hours of relaxation, while others took care of her needs, she and Manda decided to go to the costume shop before all the good ones were taken.

There wasn’t much for her to choose from that would suit her height, but after a few minutes, she spied a shimmery, pewter, toga-like dress…viola…Diana the Huntress at your service. In a matter of minutes, she was done.

Finding what Manda wanted was a bit harder. Her heart was set on Cinderella, but from the looks of things and the way the ball gowns had been picked over, all the other women had the same idea.

“Who’d have thought it would be so hard to find a blue dress?” Diana asked.

A gentleman stepped into the costume area and coughed. “Are either of you Manda Reilly?”

“I am,” Manda acknowledged, and the guy proceeded to escort her to a large dressing room.Manda’s hands covered her pink cheeks. Her smile was magnificent, and her jaw was going to ache if she didn’t calm down.

“I’m going to change. If you need help, yell.” Diana slipped into the next dressing room.

Leave it to Hunter to have thought of everything. He must have worked with the people organizing the costume ball and had them select everything Manda could want.

The expression on Manda’s face when she realized what Hunter had done for her touched Diana deeply. Hunter really was a great guy and perfect for Manda.

Seeing such happiness on Manda’s face and the appreciation for what he’d done for her, was grand on every scale.

When Diana walked out of her dressing room, she noticed Hunter helping Manda tie up her dress. Since he had things under control, Diana left to head back to her room and set up her next situation for the crew.

At the same time, depression set in. She’d never be one of those lucky women to find a match made in heaven. No, that kind of thing only happened to women like Manda. In her case, it was like her and Viv’s game. There was no such thing as a Mr. Right—only Mr. Right Now.

Diana no longer wanted to go to the party. She wouldn’t be able to hide the dysfunctional attitude she was feeling. And while the guy was probably nice enough, she was sure her behavior would make him feel as if he did something wrong. No one deserved that.

Diana was in desperate need of an attitude adjustment.

She’d been so miserable lately. Her relationship with her father seemed to have soured even more. It was time to figure out what she really wanted out of life; and if that decision meant she no longer worked for her father, then that’s how it had to be.

Could she actually quit?

Would she throw everything she’d worked for away?

It was definitely something she would have to consider.

She’d put everything into her job. Her heart and soul were heavily invested in Tolliver Enterprises, but no matter how hard she worked, it would never be enough.

It was time to cut her losses.

She’d do this one last job for her father, and when she returned, if he still couldn’t see her as a senior staff member, she’d turn in her resignation.

It was hard to believe, but taking the cruise had led her to the only conclusion she could think of—one that actually made her feel better.

Of course, convincing Viv was another thing. Viv would go along, but she’d make it difficult. They were a team—two for the price of one, and worth every penny.

Viv was the innovative one. When it came to testing employees, she was the best.

Once back in her room, Diana put on her Viv-like thinking cap and proceeded to clog the toilet. She called facilities, timing them on how long it took to get to her room and clean up the mess. Barely fifteen minutes later, Diana was back on the phone to housekeeping to come get the spider on her wall.

From there, she went to the concierge and kept the poor woman busy for two hours, during which she changed her mind about excursions several times, only to cancel everything at the end. The woman was tight-lipped with her response, but smiled and said to let her know if she changed her mind.

She joined the afternoon activity of shuffleboard on deck and then followed it up with observing high tea in the garden room. She wasn’t a tea person, but they did present a beautiful experience, and the tea and pastries were decadent.

High tea was served in delicate Royal Albert Old Country Rose cup and saucers with a matching dessert plate for the delicacies. She tried one of each to get an idea of the chef’s taste buds.

The chef served the usual crustless chicken curry and cucumber mint sandwiches, as well as scones with Devonshire cream. Also, the chef played off the cooking shows and delivered a variety of intricately decorated cookies too pretty to eat, colorful petit fours, stuffed macaroons, and cupcakes.

The staff even brought a tiramisu served in a martini glass. The chef put every bit of panache and finesse into the food as the servers put into presentation.

When she was full, she made her way to the kitchen to offer her compliments to the chef.