Seventeen

Jackson

I didn't know the Hotel Director, but he was like every other executive I'd met over the years at my dad's hotel. There was actually something comfortable in dealing with him, since I knew what to expect and more importantly, I knew how to play the game.

"Good morning, sir, I would like to pay off the debt that I've incurred since I've been here."

"What debt do you have?" he asked as he steepled his fingers while resting his elbows on his desk.

"Well as I know your head of security told you, I snuck on board yesterday. I owe for the room and the food I've eaten. I lost my wallet and my phone, but I can wire you the money directly from my bank account."

He tapped on his computer before meeting my eyes again. Then suddenly he looked up. "You're staying in a crewmember's cabin?"

"Yes, there were no other rooms available, and Cory had a room to himself."

"What's your game here, Jackson Carrington?" he asked and waited for me to speak.

"There's no game. I'm an idiot. Yesterday I got really drunk and followed some passengers on board. I don't really know why I did it, but I want to make it right. Please, I'd really like to pay my way."

"We still don't have another room. Where will you stay if I allow you to continue on the cruise?"

"I'd like to stay in Cory's cabin if I could. I'd also like to work. Max mentioned they need a dishwasher in the kitchen, and I do have experience with that."

"Really? I'm surprised by that," he said and continued to stare at me.

"My father owns one of the larger private hotels in the Sacramento area. He wanted myself and my siblings to learn all aspects of running a hotel when we were younger. Since it has an expensive steakhouse located on top of it there were dishes that needed to be washed, and for a summer when I was in high school, I was the dishwasher on the weekends."

"I respect the fact you're offering to work, but I'm not sure I can trust you to do that. What if you decide to get drunk the night before and you don't show up for your shift?"

"I'm not going to do that. I feel horrible for all the trouble I've caused, and I would really like the chance to prove that I'm not the loser I know you think I am." I wasn't beyond begging, but I hoped it didn't get to that. This chance meant a lot to me, and I knew that was directly tied to Cory, but I truly wanted to show him I was willing to make an effort.

"If I let you work, you wouldn't need to pay for the cabin or the food. That's included for all employees. But if you are late, or you do not do the job we expect you to do, you'll be sitting in that cabin the rest of the voyage. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir, and thank you." I stood and offered my hand. He shook it and spent the next thirty minutes filling out the paperwork for me to become a temporary employee.

"I'll still need a copy of your passport, and your social security card."

"I can have my parents get that to you today." I hoped they were willing to help and then I realized I couldn't remember the last time I'd spoken with either of them.

"Come on then, I'll lead you to the galley and Chef can show you what you'll be doing." He stood and walked briskly down one hall and then another before we entered the biggest kitchen I'd ever been in.

"Whoa, this is huge," I mumbled, and a sous chef that was nearby prepping vegetables snickered at me.

"That it is," Roger said, before introducing me to the chef that would be showing me the dishwasher and explaining their routines.

"As you know there is food constantly being sent from the kitchen, so there are always dishes to be done. Orlando, who usually works this shift, had to leave when his wife went into labor, so we've been short the whole cruise," he explained after introducing himself as Javier. There were stacks of trays all loaded with plates of every size and hundreds of drink glasses. "Have you used an industrial dishwasher before?"

"Yes, but not this exact one," I said and paid attention as he ran a tray of dishes through and showed me every step along the way.

"Here's an apron, now show me what you've got," he said and crossed his arms as he watched me put a tray in and organize the other trays to get them ready to go. When the first one was done, I pulled it out and stacked it next to the one he'd done.

"Where do they go when they're clean?" I asked, and he grinned at me. I hoped that was a good sign and he wasn't thinking I was a complete dumbass.

"Follow me," he said, and spent the next twenty-minutes leading me around the kitchen to the different areas I'd be restocking. The kitchen was a buzz of activity, and as soon as the dishes I'd put in were clean, another kitchen worker took the tray and rushed it over to restock the plates. "You'll want to wear gloves, everything is superheated when it comes out, so don't take the chance on burning yourself."

"Got it, anything else?" I stood in front of the dishwashing station and made sure I knew where everything was and how it all worked while he was standing there. But in a strange way it all felt very familiar, and I remembered how I actually didn't mind doing this job. I could slip in my earbuds and listen to whatever I wanted as long as I kept them stocked with clean dishes.

He patted me on the back as I rinsed the tray before sliding it into the dishwasher. "Good luck, we're about to hit the lunch rush. You're going to need it," he said and walked back to where he'd been earlier.

I got into a rhythm, and I was making a big dent on the dishes that had been stacked when I first got here, but then slowly those stacks that I'd nearly finished, started to grow. I glanced at Javier who grinned at me as he rushed around the kitchen doing whatever job he was working on. The noise level went up and along with the sounds of busy conversations, the clang and clash of metal rang out through the kitchen as the lunch rush officially hit.

Putting my head down, I forced myself to focus and do the job that needed to be done. I wasn't sure yet if I could keep up with the amount of dishes going through, but I was going to give it my best shot.