Page 2

Movement on the dock caught her eye. Two men strolled down the gangplank from theVigil. When she was sure one of them was her boyfriend, Aaron, she waved, glad of the distraction. Her palms stung as she let go of the cold iron.
She wasn’t sure if he’d seen. If he had, he didn’t acknowledge her. About halfway towards her, they stopped, speaking with their heads close. They shook hands before they parted, and Olivia watched as the second man stalked off in the opposite direction. She didn’t recognize him from the meeting that morning, but that wasn’t a surprise – she’d been introduced to so many people, and his face was covered by the fur-trimmed hood of his parka. He could have been anyone.
Olivia frowned, but then Aaron turned to her. His cheeks were flushed from being blasted by the freezing air, his normally perfectly set curly brown hair dishevelled in the wind. He gave her a wide smile.
‘Feeling better, Livi?’ he asked once he’d made it through the security gates separating the dock from the park. He kissed her firmly before she could answer.
No, she wanted to say.I’m not ready. I’ll wait for you here, safe, on land.But she swallowed down her anxiety. She knew this was a make-or-break moment for them – in their relationship and their business. He’d put his trust in her again, even after how badly she’d messed up on the night of his big auction.
Still, he wasn’t fooled. ‘Once we’re underway, I know you’ll love it. The ship is incredible – it feels like a floating boutique hotel. You won’t even know you’re on the water.’
‘Is everything ready?’ she asked, looping her arm through his as they meandered back towards their hotel.
‘Still a few last-minute niggles.’
Aaron had been on board overseeing the installation of a special showcase of work by his star artist – Kostas Yennin. Aaron had represented Yennin’s work for years, steadily building his profile but never truly breaking him out in a big way on the art circuit. It was only after tragedy struck, resulting in Yennin’s untimely death, that his star had had a meteoric rise – his pieces selling at auction for millions of pounds, demand from galleries and museums skyrocketing, even his social media following growing exponentially. But Aaron wanted to be careful. He’d seen so many gifted artists make a big splash but then fail to transition to blue-chip status – that top echelon of artists whose paintings consistently increased in value.
He wanted to create a lasting legacy for Yennin’s art, and that required finding a way to make him stand out from the pack. Since Yennin’s paintings had all been inspired by the beauty of the polar regions, Aaron had negotiated a deal to match artist with adventure. His work would be displayed exclusively aboard the MSVigiland the passengers would have the unique opportunity to attend a high-end art auction at sea.
And if it was a success, the showcase format was going to be rolled out to the entire fleet of Pioneer cruise ships, turning Yennin into a worldwide household name and boosting the price of his artwork immeasurably – not to mention establishing Aaron as one of the premier art dealers in the world.
He’d start the Hunt Advisory off the back of it, tosearch for the next Kostas Yennin. And, to her surprise, he wantedherto join him. ‘With your brilliant financial mind to balance my creative vision, we could be unstoppable,’ he’d said.
She hadn’t known what to say. She thought she’d screwed up everything that night. Her career. Her relationship. Her mental health. But he’d offered her this lifeline and she’d grabbed it with both hands. This was her chance to rebuild.
‘What’s the issue?’ she asked.
‘The auctioneer from Art Aboard is going to be the death of me. Stefan Grenville. I wish we could have chosen our own person.’
It had been a frustrating but necessary compromise: Art Aboard had the experience of running auctions on cruise ships, so Aaron had agreed to partner with them. ‘Next time, you will be able to. I really should have been there to help.’
Aaron squeezed her arm. ‘You needed to rest. Besides, if all goes to plan, you’ll be plenty busy on board – and when we get back. I need you in top form by then.’
She nodded, leaning against his arm so he couldn’t read the expression of doubt on her face. Top form. When had she last felt like she’d been on her game? That version of herself was a distant memory, one she wasn’t sure even existed any more. Did she even want to be that person again? Before she’d met Aaron, she’d had one goal: to qualify as an actuary as fast as humanly possible, make partner at her firm, and finally get the pay bump she needed to support her mother – who needed round-the-clock care. Every month, between her own rent and her mother’s nursing home fees, she was barely scrapingby. With every passed exam, she got a small pay rise, but it never seemed to be enough.
And so five a.m. wake-up calls, sixty-hour work weeks, late-night study sessions … that had become her norm. The thought of slowing down – of letting go of her vice-like grip on her career ladder – had seemed unthinkable. Even when she’d met Aaron, the thought of easing off on her laser-like focus on her goal had never entered her mind. In fact, she’d wanted it more than ever. He lived in a world so full of glamour and sophistication. She’d loved being part of it, but she wanted to match him – not rely on him.
On the surface, they’d been living a dream life.
The reality was: it was impossible to sustain.
That night, it all got too much. She’d broken down completely, with disastrous consequences.
She thought Aaron would never trust her again.
This was her rock bottom. She’d called her GP: anxiety and burnout, he said. On one hand it had been a relief to have it confirmed. On the other – she felt helpless. She knew she couldn’t go back to the way she lived and worked before, but it was the only way she knew. Even taking a leave of absence from her job, going to therapy, trying to slow down and recharge, hadn’t felt like enough.
All the while, things for Aaron had been skyrocketing. When he came to her with his plan for the Hunt Advisory, he’d thrown her a true lifeline. An opportunity to use her skillset, earn a good living and maybe even take some time to enjoy life too.
But it all would depend on the launch of the showcase in Antarctica. And that meant facing another fear of hers.
One she thought she could keep buried forever.
Why? Why did it have to be on a boat?
Her therapist had helped her to reframe it.
You won’t be responsible, he’d told her, after she’d explained why she was so anxious about the trip.