The driver said "It will be about 20 minutes until we get there, open the wet bar and help yourself. There are some snacks in the cabinet to your left. I opened a soft drink and a bag of peanuts. As I watched the houses go by there seemed to be a lot of gated communities the further we went. We pulled up to a guard gate and the driver gave the guard the address and a quick phone call confirmed we were OK to continue. We went about a half mile more and turned in. There was a second guard gate onto the property. Yup, I was impressed alright.
The man who met us was in board shorts, wife beater and sandals. He smiled and said, "Hi my name is Jake La Morte, what's yours?"
"Hi, my name is Rob." As I stood there with my backpack leaning against my leg I felt way out of place. I wondered what I was doing here.
"Well, come on in and meet the family and then we will retire to the office and get to know each other a little bit." Off we went to meet his wife and daughter. The wife was a cool sophisticated woman, well preserved. And the girl was a younger version.
He offered me a drink and then he said, "OK I am dying to know how a man such as yourself goes on a job interview in a limo?" he was smiling and said "This ought to be good."
I recalled the guy that did not tell me his name, (and that was perplexing to me). He said to "Tell Jake the truth." So I started out with an abbreviated version starting with some marital problems gone astray and then splitting the charter with his friend and here I was.
He said "That will do for now but there is surely much more to that story." Now tell me about your qualifications and please be more detailed then you were about your personal life."
I started with my service life, going back to college, and then working as an engineer in a tech company. I finished with admitting that I had no experience in the boat field but I was willing to learn as long as I could travel.
Jake replied, "It looks like Carl did me a favor this time. However, let's get something straight right now. That son-of-a-bitch Carl calls my yacht a rowboat just to get my goat. Does a 164 foot yacht seem like a rowboat to you?" and then he laughs again. He wasn't expecting a answer.
He picked up the phone and said "Call captain Rogers and have him phone me. We are having a guest tonight. Make up one of the guest quarters for him. In addition we will need some dinner. Call the pilot and let him know that he is taking a guest to California tomorrow morning to see Captain Rogers. Thanks Mary, take the rest of the night off and go see your grandchildren. I am sure they miss you as much as you miss them."
The house was humongous. It assaulted your senses. I thought I needed a GPS and a map and a week's worth of water just to look around. We went to the family kitchen as opposed to the party kitchen. The family kitchen was a moderately sized kitchen which was very homey in an elegant sort of way. The other kitchen was like the rest of the house, out of control and huge. Also it was spotless.
The cook served the three of us a delicious meal. The daughter had left for the evening, out with her friends the mother informed us. As we ate dinner Jake stated to me that Captain Rogers would have the final say on hiring me. Also I would be required to take a drug test, have a background check, and have a physical. He wondered if I would be OK with that.
I assured him that everything would be fine with the exception of the current marital problems and legal issues surrounding them.
His wife did not say very much as we talked. She sort of reminded me of a Stepford wife. She was an exquisite piece of eye candy though the female of the species was not high on my priority list at the moment.
My room for the evening was like a presidential suite, or at least what I thought one would look like. It had a king-sized bed in a separate room, sitting room with all the audio and video equipment you could ever use. Hell, I could not even figure out how to turn it on. The bathroom was like five times the size of the one I had at home.
As I was flying the next day I thought I could definately get used to this. We touched down at Long Beach airport in California and a car was waiting to take me to the rowboat. No limo this time, darn. The yacht was at one of the piers in the harbor in San Pedro. I wondered how they kept the yacht gleaming. Silly me, I was about to find out.
My interview with Captain Rogers was a rehash of what Jake and I talked about the day before. I was told that I was on probation and that everything was Yes Sir, or Mr. or Miss, or Mrs. I was shown to my quarters. The honeymoon was over, there were two beds, two desks, and one couch that faced the flat screen TV and a head attached to the room that was shared by the same set- up on the other side of the head. The only good thing was I was the only one in the room.
The first mate took me around and showed me the ships layout. Stunning is the only way I would describe it. I was given a 2 inch binder with all the things that were expected of me. I was told to read it and any questions would be answered at breakfast in the morning. I read it twice and that took me three hours. By then I was beat and set the alarm for 5:30 AM to start my day.
I reported to the galley at 6AM sharp. They worked my ass off until 8PM that evening. I fell into bed and was asleep in less than a minute. Most of the crew was in there early 20's with exception of the officers. I had not done any real physical labor for years. When I awoke the next morning everything and everywhere on my body ached like I had been beaten hard and put away wet.
We were on our way to Hawaii then to Fiji, and on to Australia. I gritted my teeth and by the time we got to Hawaii I did not notice it so much. The good thing was I had lost the baby fat I had been carrying around for a while. I got into the routine and settled in.
We were going to spend three days in Hawaii with the owners and their entourage flying in for a big party on the last day. Any thoughts of getting chummy with Jake had been completely wiped out of my mind. There was no doubt that I was a hired hand and low man on the totem pole. I kept to my duties and did not see anyone for the first day. Late the second day as I was working, the captain came and got me, he said we were expected in the main salon. I figured this was it; I was going to be fired. Well at least I had given it my all. The captain had a folder in his hand. When Jake saw us enter he smiled and shook my hand. As we were talking I noticed his wife texting like mad on her smart phone. Jake asked the captain to give him assessment of me, and had everything checked out.
The captain said "Sir, everything checks out as he described it. I had my doubts the first three days that he would be able to keep up however he is coming around very nicely. I recommend that we offer him a birth if he keeps this up until we get to Australia."
The breath I had been holding seeped out of my body. My heart continued to beat, that took a load off of my mind.
Jake said "Keep up the good work," and turned to his wife and said, "Any questions dear?" "Yes" she said, "Captain I need to borrow Rob for the party tomorrow."
The captain said "I am sorry he has assigned duties for tomorrow."
Her eyes narrowed and she said "Fine then you will be the escort for Constance tomorrow; her husband had to go to Spain on unexpected business." She smiled at him as if daring him to say no.
Jake had stepped back a step as if to get out of the blast area, however he was trying to suppress a grin. There seemed to be a test of wills going on here and I was in the middle of it.
I figured I had better say something. "Excuse Mrs. La Morte I do not have the proper attire to attend your function and be an escort to anyone." That ought to narrow it down to the captain again. I really did not want to be an escort.
The captain, that evil slimy bastard through me to the wolves by saying he would reassign my duties to someone else.