Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
I couldn’t shake the guilt I felt, the warning bells ringing shrilly inside me — not even when Joel ignored the final twenty minutes of the movie in favor of lying me down in the sheets of that bed we shared. For the first time since being onboard, he took his time, kissing me all over and driving me wild with foreplay before he finally pressed inside me.
I faked an orgasm so he would come, too.
And then we both fell asleep.
The next day, I vowed to get myself right. It wasn’t a big deal. So what, I had a little crush. That was normal. Lots of people in relationships had crushes. And so what, I’d stumbled up on Theo in the hot tub. So what, I’d joined him at his insistence. He was the owner, after all — what was I supposed to do?
I chose to ignore the rest of what happened that night, and my avoidance tactics worked so well that after a few days, I wondered if I’d imagined all of it. My theory was aided by the fact that Theo didn’t talk to me or text me or so much as look at me. He was all business again, bringing clients onboard and attending to his business on shore. He asked me to work for him when necessary — usually through instructing Wayland to tell me rather than himself — and he stayed out of sight on the days he had off.
Part of me wondered if he’d taken my advice, if he was on shore doing some stupid touristy attraction, or forcing himself to take a real day off.
The other part of me slapped my wrist that I was thinking of him at all.
Fortunately, I was able to keep busy over the next couple of weeks, exploring culture-rich spots like La Spezia and Pisa and Portoferraio on my days off, and working for Theo when called upon to do so. I’d become accustomed to his guests. I knew how to handle them, how to please them and still keep my sanity.
At least, until we made it to the coastline near Rome, and I got my first taste of the horrific experiences I’d heard the rest of the crew talk about from their past years working charters.
The group of hellish, impossibly rude and rambunctious men boarded the yacht at a dock near Fiumicino on a warm and sunny day. I never did catch what company they were with, but they became known by myself and the rest of the crew as la sporcizia.
Translated to: the filth.
Where most of the other guests had been in small groups of two to four, this one was a large and loud group of twelve Italian men. The suits they wore their first day on the yacht was about as far as their professionalism seemed to go. And after watching their behavior for just a few hours, I knew they must be an important client for Theo to put up with their antics.
He did seem to be more severe with them than with the others he’d hosted, though, and he ensured they followed a strict day-to-day itinerary that involved conferences, meetings on shore, and strategic planning. I didn’t understand the nature of the business relationship, but I knew after being pulled this way and that, being asked to take some of the most ridiculous pictures of my life, and having a story of my own to tell Ivy and Celeste — thanks to one of the men getting me alone in the main deck salon and offering to pay me ten grand for any photos I had of Theo lounging topless on the sun deck — I was exhausted and beyond ready for them to disembark.
And I wasn’t the only one having trouble with our guests.
They put the chefs through the ringer with their outrageous requests for exotic and pricey fare, including a specific kind of fatty tuna sushi that they demanded be flown in fresh from Japan the day of the meal. Emma was ready to tear her hair out with the men’s insistence to have a themed party every night they were onboard. Ivy and Celeste looked run down and ragged after cleaning the rooms each morning, and Joel and Ace were working dawn until dusk, facilitating requests to go to shore or take out the jet skis or helping the stewardesses with hosting and serving drinks by the pool.
Even the engineers had a run of it after the air conditioning unit fritzed. Captain Chuck seemed about the only one able to keep his cool, and he was the steady rock for the rest of us through the hellish ordeal.
When la sporcizia finally departed, there was a universal sigh of relief onboard. And when Theo announced that we’d have a crew pool party the next evening as a thank you for handling the difficult guests, that sigh of relief turned into a cheer of celebration.