Sixteen

Cory

I led Jackson out onto the deck that for now was deserted and would be until the party later this afternoon. Beyond it the pool deck was loud and crazy. We could hear the music from here, and I knew what to expect when we could see it. Lots of people barely dressed baking in the sun or splashing in the water. All of them with the same agenda, either be seen by someone, or see them. It was a classic game of cat and mouse played out every day right here. Well almost every day.

"He's right over there." I pointed to the closed off hot tub area. Max stood there with his arms folded like he normally did, but it was hard to tell if he was annoyed or just paying attention. He always had a look on his face that was hard as hell to read.

Jackson started to walk in that direction, but I caught him by the arm and pulled him back. "You stay here, and I'll go talk to him." He nodded and I hurried over to where Max stood. "Hey, sorry to bother you, Max. I just had some questions about Jackson."

"Hey, Cory, sure. What can I do for you?" he asked, without looking away from where they were working on the hot tub.

"What happened here?" I asked.

"Oh, a thong got shoved down into the drain and the filtration system sucked it in, so now we're having a hard time getting it out of there."

"You're having a hard time?" Jesse, one of the maintenance guys, said to Max as he stood in the hot tub with his arm shoved into the filter.

Max shrugged but didn't take his eyes off Jesse's arm. "Did you need something?" he asked.

"Yes, Jackson wants to pay for the time he's here. How can he do that? Or who can he talk to?" That got Max's attention and he turned to meet my eyes.

"He's supposed to be under house arrest until we can drop him off tomorrow. You know this," Max said with that look that said he meant business.

"I know. But he wants a chance at making up for a stupid choice. Max, have you ever done something stupid that you deeply regretted?" His eyes met mine and I knew he understood exactly what I meant.

"He'll have to go to the Hotel Director, he's the one who can tell you what he'd need to pay and where to pay it."

"What if he wants to work until the end of the cruise?"

"Oh, kid, you've got jokes," he said, and I could hear a little of his Brooklyn accent that he tried to hide for reasons I had no clue about.

I shrugged and folded my arms back at him. "Why not? We can always use help. He's good with kids. What if he helps in the kids' area?"

"That's a definite no. He was drunk off his ass yesterday and you want me to trust him with watching kids? Not to mention he'd need a background check to do it and as you know that shit takes time."

"How about in the kitchen?" I asked.

He hesitated a moment before looking past me to Jackson, who looked between Max and I like we'd caught him doing something even though he'd only been standing there patiently waiting. "What?" Jackson asked.

"Cory was just telling me how you want to work on the ship until the end of the cruise. Is that right?" Max asked.

"Yes, sir. I want to make up for all the trouble I've caused. First, I want to pay, and second, I want to work the rest of the trip. If that's okay," Jackson said, and some weird part of me was filled with so much pride for him. I knew from what little he'd told me this was not how he normally dealt with circumstances that were not in his control. But he really did seem to want to change that.

"Cory had mentioned that you're good with kids, but we can't just allow someone to work with kids when we haven't done a background check and checked out a few references. No offense but we take security very seriously on board."

"I understand. Is there something else that's open? I'm willing to try just about anything."

A sly grin slowly formed on Max's lips before he wiped his mouth and the smirk away. "There is, but you may not like it."

"I'll try anything," Jackson said.

"You may regret those words."

"I got it!" Jesse yelled and pulled a bright pink thong out of the panel he'd been digging around in and spun it on his finger. A few guests seated nearby cheered and clapped for him while he stood in the middle of the hot tub grinning.

"They need a dishwasher in the kitchen, are you up for the challenge?" Max asked.

"I'll give it my best shot."

"After you talk to the Hotel Director, have Cory take you to the kitchen. You'll want to talk to the Executive Chef. If you're not sure who that is just ask, they're a tight crew and they'll help you figure out who to speak to. Tell them I said it was okay for you to work until we get to Miami, so they know to plan for you to be there through to the end of the cruise," Max said.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it," Jackson said and held his hand out to Max, who shook it before turning back to the hot tub.

"Let me take you to the Hotel Director's office," I said to Jackson who was still staring at the hot tub.

"Does that happen often?" he asked as we stepped inside the ship.

"More often than you want to know. It could have been so much worse than a thong." I shivered at the memory of all the strange things that had been pulled out of that hot tub in the time I'd been here and reminded myself never—ever, to use it.

I led him down a hall that was away from the guest area of the ship where the offices were located until at the end of the hall, I saw the door we were looking for. I tentatively knocked lightly and took a deep breath when a voice from inside said to come in. Roger Dayton sat at his desk staring at his computer screen. He'd taken off his uniform jacket but still wore his white button-up shirt, and with his deep black hair cut so close on the side and faded up to his thick hair on top, he was quite the picture.

"Good morning, sir, I'm Cory Wynn. I work in the dining room on clean up. I believe Max in security told you about a stowaway?"

"Yes, what's going on with that? And why are you here telling me about it instead of my head of security?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm the stowaway," Jackson said as he stepped closer to the desk. "I want to fix what I've done."

Mr. Dayton seemed shocked for a split-second before spinning his chair to face us. "Have a seat, let's talk. Cory, doesn't your shift start soon?" he asked, and I was so shocked he'd know that, that I could only nod. "Go ahead, I wouldn't want you to be late. I'll make sure Mister Carrington is taken care of. Thank you."

"Thank you, sir." I glanced at Jackson expecting him to look worried, but he was a picture of calm. "I'll see you later, Jackson," I said, before walking out of the room.