The whole ship was all a buzz about Mr. Tipton coming in person. Well, the whole ship, as in, all the employees and Zack's group of friends. Zack paced his room, thinking about how he would confront Mr. Tipton, who would arrive on the ship the next morning.
He heard his door open and in came Cody. "Hey, thought you were getting ready for bed."
"I was, but then I started thinking about the fact that our plan actually worked." He looked around the room. "You shouldn't be in here since there are cameras. Mr. Tipton will see us together and will know that we faked everything."
Cody smirked. "Okay, one, he's going to find that out anyway; and two, I talked to Kirby. While there are cameras in every nook and cranny of the ship, even in the restrooms, as creepy as that is, there aren't any in the cabins. Thank goodness."
"Well, he still can see you come into my room."
"Just forget that. Now, Mr. Tipton is coming at 10am tomorrow, but there's school."
"I'm cutting class. This is more important." He paused and eyed his bother. "Have you seen London? That bodyguard of hers took her away and I haven't seen her since. She wasn't even in the remaining classes for the day."
"Yeah, she came up to me after school and screamed, rather loudly I might add, that her dad is coming onto the ship. She had been talking with him on the phone for three hours straight, so that's why she wasn't in class. She was trying to convince him to let her stay with me, but, of course, he had none of it, which made him have the desire to come onto the ship even more."
Zack smirked. "Clever, even for her. That's my girl."
Cody put a hand on Zack's shoulder. "Good luck, man."
"Thanks. I'm gonna need it."
Cody patted his shoulder. "Well, get some sleep. You're going to need that, too."
Zack nodded and Cody left. His heart pounded, knowing that he would face Mr. Tipton in twelve hours. "Oh, crap..."
~ ~ ~
There was a whole group of people in the lobby, waiting to greet Mr. Tipton, and most of those people were ship employees. Mr. Moseby stood in front of everyone, instructing them to be their best selves. Zack stood in the back of the crowd, hiding from Mr. Moseby. He saw London standing off to the side of the entrance, waiting as well.
Wow, she looks hot in that green dress...
A couple of men in suites came into the lobby and Mr. Moseby hushed everyone. That was when a whole group of men came into the lobby. Mr. Moseby came up to them, grinning. "Mr. Tipton, is it such an honor to have you come aboard this ship. And I must say, I love what you did with the bodyguards. Very slimming."
"Thank you, Mr. Moseby," Mr. Tipton said as he was hidden by his guards. "Now, I am not going to waste any time. London?"
"Hello, Daddy."
London didn't seem pleased to see her father. The man said, "It is great to see you again, London, and I am flattered that you came to greet me, but you really should be in school right now."
She folded her arms. "I just wanted to say that you coming here was pointless because I'm not going to break up with a second guy who I fell in love with, and who's far better than the last one."
Zack's chest pinched, even though he knew she was making things up. Did she really have to say that Cody was better than him, though? Well, it may be true in many aspects, but still.
"London..." he sighed, "let us talk in my suite alone, but after school. Now run along to your class and meet me at my suite when you are through."
"Yes, Daddy," she said, then glanced at Zack. It wouldn't be her that would show up, it would be him, and it would be much earlier than 3pm when school let out.
The group of people greeted Mr. Tipton, and soon, the man and his guards were out of sight. The group dispersed and Zack went along with them as to not be seen by Mr. Moseby. Once in a hallway, he took a breath, and it caught right up in him when London ran around the corner.
"Zack!"
Zack's heart pulsed in alarm. "London, we can't be seen with each other, not until I talk to him."
"I don't care. You're going to talk to him anyway."
She embraced him, and his will left him and he embraced her back. He loved how she felt against him, especially after not being able to hug her for a few days... and oh, how he loved that perfume! "London, I should go. We can't waste any time."
She looked back at him as they still held onto him. His will was weak again... He leaned in and kissed her, and she kissed him back. They got a bit into it, but Zack broke away, as much as he didn't want to. "Really, I have to go."
"You keep on saying that, but you never leave."
"That's because I love this too much."
"Well, I love you and you love me, and that's why you're going to talk to Daddy."
He nodded, knowing it was true. "Yeah." He let go of her. "Well, until after I talk to your dad. Wish me luck."
"Good luck. And by the way, I hate fake-dating Cody. It's disgusting."
He smirked, amused. "You and I think the same." He started walking away. "See ya. And remember, no matter what happens, we're still going to be together."
She nodded, and he walked on, and once on the other side of the ship where the Imperial Suite was, he stood a ways down the hall and stared at the doors that were guarded by two large men. Heart hammering, and knowing that he just had to do it, he went up to the guards and stood as tall as his five-foot-six stature would allow.
"Excuse me, I need to talk to Mr. Tipton."
"Not a chance, kid," said one of the guards in a deep voice. "Beat it."
Zack wouldn't take no for an answer. He fixed his blue plaid shirt collar. He should fib his way in. Well, half-fib since he really was the one dating London. "No, I have to talk to him. I'm the guy dating London."
The two men stared at Zack for a moment, and one of them touched his earpiece. "Sir, the boy who is dating your daughter is at the door and wishes to speak with you. Shall I let him in?" There was a pause. "Very well. I will tell him." He said to Zack, "He says to stay away from London or he will fly you back to Boston where you belong."
Zack gave him a challenging smirk and folded his arms. "Really? And Mr. Tipton is not man enough to say that to me in person? Wow..."
The guard touched his earpiece. "What was that, Sir?" A pause. "Very well."
The guard turned and held open one of the two double-doors. Zack's brows rose. Bad-mouthing Mr. Tipton worked. His pride shooting up, Zack went on in, and he tried not to let his nervousness show. He stopped when he came in and gaped at the large suite with fancy furniture. This was just the living room, too! How big was the bedroom and kitchen?
"Whoa..." he let out in awe. "I wouldn't mind staying in this suite."
"And you never will, not in your lifetime," he heard and looked over at the back of a brown leather sofa and saw a head above the back of it. "In fact, you wouldn't even be able to make enough money in your whole lifetime to rent this suite out for even a night."
Zack took a couple steps to the sofa, wowed that he was able to see the actual man without his bodyguards. Given it was just the back of his head, but still. "That may be true, but you never know what will happen in the future."
"Correct, but I know of one thing: your future will not have my daughter in it."
Here it comes. Zack mustered his courage. "I would have to disagree with that, Sir."
Mr. Tipton shifted a bit but did not turn or get up from the sofa. "You say that with such firmness. I will admit, Mr. Martin, that you were the one twin I disliked the least, but I still do not want you with my daughter. She needs to focus on her studies."
He thought that Zack was Cody. Their plan worked! He should clear things up. "I think, Sir, that you're referring to my brother Cody. I'm Zack, the guy who's really dating London. She just pretended to dump me and start dating Cody just so you would come onto the ship and I would have the chance to talk to you in person."
Silence ensued, and Zack swore that Mr. Tipton could hear his heart bang against his ribs. He waited for Mr. Tipton to respond. He heard the man sigh long and hard. "I see that I was manipulated. I should have expected as much, especially from the brothers who are the bane of my existence and the existence of everyone who knows them."
Annoyed that what he said was true, admittedly, Zack jumped when Mr. Tipton stood up and turned to face him. His eyes widened at finally being able to see Mr. Tipton in person, and not Asian like he thought he was. He was a forty-something-year-old brown-haired Caucasian man in a trim black suit and blue tie.
"There is a reason why I wanted you away from my daughter, Mr. Martin, and you being here, cutting school, is just one reason for that, along with the myriad of other reasons why my hotel and this ship almost crumbled at the hands of you and your brother."
Zack stood tall again. "Well, I can't lie and say that Cody and I may have caused a bit of trouble in the past, but that is all behind us, especially me. I'm not that trouble-maker from before—I've changed, and that's thanks to London. She's made me a better person, and really, she's the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I don't mean to brag, but I have made her happier than the biggest diamond or the biggest wad of cash ever could have."
Mr. Tipton smirked and walked out from behind the sofa and stood a few feet away from Zack, his blue eyes firm. "You think so highly of yourself. While I admit that London was happy with you, you are not good for her. I will never allow her to be with you, your brother, or any other boy on this ship. She is to focus on her studies and that is final."
The man stood with his arms behind his back, giving Zack an 'I won and you never will' look, but Zack wouldn't accept it. He stood his ground, not wanting to be told off that easily. "I respect the fact that you want your daughter to do well in school, but she can't do well in it if she's unhappy. She's happy when she's with me, and as shocking as it is, her grades have gone up since she started dating me. Keeping us apart is just a recipe for her to fail school, to not graduate until she's twenty-five, and to never be happy again. And I might add that she won't be a big fan of you, either."
Mr. Tipton's eyes blazed, and he glared at Zack for a few seconds, and Zack feared that he said too much. He really shouldn't have added that last bit, even if it was true.
"You are really bold, Mr. Martin, and I admire that, but I am not budging. London has dated other boys, and has even confessed to loving them, but they were all just wild infatuations that she eventually got over." He took a step closer to him, giving him a hard, serious look. "And she will do the same with you. I'm afraid that you will have to leave this suite and start packing your things. I will leave this evening at five o'clock, and you will be on that jet with me. Say goodbye to London, this ship and everyone on it, and say hello to your old life back in Boston." He snapped his fingers, and those two guards came in and took hold of Zack by both of his arms.
"Wait, Mr. Tipton...!"
"I'm afraid you put this on yourself, Mr. Martin. It was a pleasure chatting with you."
Zack struggled in the guards' irritatingly strong hold. "Mr. Tipton!"
They exited the suite and the guards let go of Zack and he tumbled to the floor. He stood right back up and went for the door again, but the guards pushed him back. "You can't get rid of me that easily!" he shouted at the door. "I'm not going anywhere!"
One of the guards touched his earpiece, listened, then said, "If you don't want your mother kicked out onto the streets, then Mr. Tipton suggests that you get a move on. Be at the ship's helicopter pad by 5pm sharp this evening. And he says good day."
Zack scowled, knowing that the stuffy rich man would throw his mom into the picture. "Fine, but I'm not going to stop dating London."
He stalked away and eventually made it back to his cabin. He sat on his bed and glared at a random yellow Lays chip bag on his bedroom floor.
It failed. The plan failed.
Zack sat there for a while, and he didn't even pay attention to how much time passed. When Cody walked in, he surmised that it was either lunch time or school had just gotten out. Cody came up to him. "Well? How did it go? Did you convince him?"
Zack looked up at his eager brother. "Yes, I convinced him."
Cody fist-pumped the air. "Yes! I told you if you did it right, then he would agree to let you stay with London. Good job, Zack."
Zack shot up, which startled Cody, and he gave his brother a mean look. "No, I didn't convince him to let me stay with London, I convinced him to fly me back to Boston!"
Zack walked away and covered his mouth, trying not to lose it. He heard Cody say, "What? Why would you convince him to send you to Boston?"
"You know you're a real dim-wit sometimes, Cody." He turned to face him, his blood boiling with anger. "I told him everything that I planned to tell him—that London's the best thing that has ever happened to me, that she has made me a better person and I have made her so much happier, and that I was going to continue dating her because of all that... but it all tanked and he said that I'm leaving tonight at five on a Tipton jet back to Boston."
Cody started at Zack, hurt filling his features. Zack turned away and sucked in a breath and the tears came but didn't fall. He felt Cody stand next to him. "Zack..." he said in a small voice, "you're leaving... at five tonight?"
"Yes, and if I don't, then he's going to fire Mom and she'll have to live on the streets." He went and sat on his bed. "This whole thing's a bust. London's going to be depressed."
Cody stood next to him, and they both remained there in silence for a moment. "There has to be something we can do."
"We've done enough. Having you fake-date London got Mr. Tipton onto the ship, but he wasn't happy one bit that he was manipulated. He seemed calm when he was talking to me, but he was furious, just like we thought he would be."
Cody nodded. "Then... we just made things worse."
"Yeah, we did."
There was silence again, and Cody eyed Zack for a moment. "Hold on. How could you tell that he was calm? Just by his tone of voice?"
"No, he looked calm."
Cody's eyes widened. "You actually saw him, like in person? He didn't talk to you with all his bodyguards around him? What did he look like?"
"Not like I expected. He's not Asian like I thought, but he and London have the same smile. Her mom's the Asian, apparently."
"Wow... you and London, as well as his countless wives, are probably the only people who have actually seen him without all his bodyguards surrounding him. Actually, I wonder if some of his wives have ever seen him."
"His guards were there, that's for sure. They nearly broke both of my arms off as they carried me out of that insanely awesome suite."
"At least Mr. Tipton didn't throw you overboard and is decent enough to let you fly to Boston." He gave his brother a sad look. "I'm so sorry, Zack."
"So am I. Now I have to tell London. She's not going to like this. No one is when they find out."
"How about I tell the others and you tell London? It's lunch time now, but I don't think London would mind skipping class to talk to you."
"No, she wouldn't. Cody?"
"Yeah?"
He stared at his twin's face for a second but shook his head. "Nevermind. I'm gonna talk to London."
He stood up and left the room, not sure if he was ready to see London's reaction to all this.
~ ~ ~
London sat there at one of the tables in the Seven Seas High's cafeteria. She had her own table reserved for her and her alone. It was away from all the other kids, and the table, as well as the space around it, was decorated like she sat in a five-star restaurant. Her heart pounded in anticipation, wondering what was going on between Zack and her dad. He was probably still talking with her dad. Or would he still be talking to him? Knowing her father, it was most likely a short conversation. The other day when she talked with him for a few hours, that was her talking, not him. She wasn't usually that long-winded, she just wanted her father to understand that being with a guy who loves her and who she loves is a wonderful thing. Hopefully Zack wouldn't be as long-winded and wouldn't take a long time to talk to him.
She let out a gasp when she spotted Zack walk into the cafeteria, and her heart sank when she saw the frown on his face. Oh, no...
Zack made it to her table, and she stood up to greet him. "Zack, what happened? Did you convince Daddy?"
He was silent for a moment as he had his hands in his jeans pockets. He never did that—this had to be bad. "London..."
She may not be smart, but she knew where this was going. Tears stung her eyes, and she sat back down in her seat, and the sight of the lobster legs on her plate started to make her feel sick to her stomach. "Don't say it, Zack."
He pulled over the second chair at the table and sat next to her. "London, I tried. I told him everything, but he still..." He frowned. "He's making me fly back to Boston. Tonight."
Tears filled her eyes. "No... I thought this would work. I thought that Daddy would see just how happy I have been."
"He saw that, but he's still putting his foot down. He doesn't want you with a trouble-maker like me. He said that if I don't go, then he's going to fire my mom and she'll be kicked out onto the streets. It's winter in Boston, so it's gonna be cold and snowy."
London shook her head, not wanting to believe this was true. "No. No, Daddy isn't going to do this. If you talking to him won't work, then I'll talk to him." She stood up, but Zack grabbed her arm before she could go anywhere.
"London, don't. He's already furious as it is. I don't want him to do anything to you, either."
"I have no other choice. I don't want you to go, and you don't want to go, either. You can't stop me."
She walked away and cantered to the Imperial Suite. She met the guards there, and they blocked her way in. She gave them an appalled look. "Don't you know who I am?"
"Our apologies Miss Tipton, but your father is rather busy at the moment."
"He's not busy enough to talk to me. Now move aside!" She pushed over one of the men away with surprising force and opened the door. When she entered the living room area of the suite, she looked around. "Daddy? Where are you?"
"London?" she heard from another room, and out came her father. "London, what are you doing here? You should be in school."
"It's our lunch break right now. I just talked to Zack."
Mr. Tipton nodded, and he stood tall with his arms behind his back. "I see. Well, now you both know the consequences of that prank that you pulled to get me here, as well as the consequences of being with a boy who I don't approve of. I hope you have said goodbye to him since you will not be seeing him again, at least for a long time."
Tears stung her eyes. "Daddy, you can't do this!"
"You of all people should know that I can."
"But why? Why do you have to be so mean? I'm happy with Zack, more happy than money has ever made me, and that's really saying something."
Mr. Tipton stepped up to his daughter and gave her an apologetic look. "London, I'm sorry that I have to do this, but it's for your own good."
Anger bottled up inside of her, and it took all that she had in her not to shout. "Good for me, or good for you?"
They glared at one another. "Both. Now, run along. Your lunch hour will end soon, and I don't want you to miss any more school."
"Fine," she said, tears falling, "I'll go to school, but I'm not promising that I'm going to do well. In fact, with Zack gone, I will do worse in school, and so will Cody and Bailey and Woody and all of our friends since they're going to miss him. And that's going to be all your fault. I guess I won't be graduating any time soon."
She turned on her tall pink Gucci heel and stalked out of the room and back out into the hallway. She would not let her father do this—she would not let him ruin her life, Zack's life, and her friends' lives as well. As much as they had said that Zack was annoying, they really liked him and considered him a good friend.
She had to do something... but what?