Super G

by Pepper Pace

  Sheena whooped and then gave her a quick hug. “That’s my girl!”

  ~Six Months Later~

  Sidney stepped out of the Uber dressed as if she had just stepped out of a limo. The driver rushed to retrieve her bags; one thirty-inch burnt orange alligator skin suitcase with matching twenty-eight-inch carryon and a small satchel.

  She’d gotten the new luggage when she could afford to spend a month’s salary frivolously. She knew that once she stepped into the airport she would look like that woman that had once been a part of a six-figure household instead of the woman that she was now--one that would barely make forty-thousand dollars this year.

  Instead of wearing sensible shoes and yoga pants for the flight, Sidney wore heels and a pair of black slacks that stretched in a complimentary manner over her rounded hips. Her sheer blouse hugged her breasts and torso while the matching black jacket snatched her waist, amplifying her hour-glass attributes.

  She was flying first class compliments of Wesley’s black credit card, and there would be no one sitting next to her compliments of Wesley’s stray dick.

  After checking her bags and gliding past security due to the Global Entry status that Wesley had insisted they get, Sidney was soon sitting in the airport lounge having a glass of champagne.

  Her heart was beating anxiously. She’d never flown internationally. It was going to be an eleven-hour flight, including transfer. But her seat was going to fold out into some type of bed. Wes had joked about them joining the mile-high club…

  She closed her eyes. Stop it Sidney, she chided herself. This is the last time you will think about him. This is your trip; your much-needed vacation from the real world. Just have fun.

  She nodded and finished off her glass of champagne and ordered another.

  Twelve relatively short hours later Sidney was getting out of a limo in front of her hotel in Barcelona Spain.

  She stared in awe at the busy street lined with shops, condos and restaurants while the driver arranged for her bags to be carried inside.

  So, this is Spain. Discreetly she retrieved her cell phone and took a few quick photos to send to Sheena. She hurried into the hotel where a receptionist was waiting for her with a huge smile.

  “Mrs. Wyatt-”

  “Miss,” Sidney corrected.

  “My apologies,” the older man said in confusion that he quickly hid. “Welcome to the Hotel San Sebastian. If you’ll just sign the registry I will retrieve your key. Your suite is ready for you.”

  His accent was nice. She liked how the Spanish rolled their Rs. Europeans sounded so classy.

  Sidney had called ahead to make sure that anything that made reference to a ‘honeymoon’ was removed from both the hotel and ship. She had also made sure that she would not be addressed as Mrs. Salinger. One final sting at what would have been her name stabbed at her, because now there was a different Mrs. Salinger and a little baby Salinger…

  She swallowed and pushed back the thought, pleased that there were no balloons or images of clinking champagne glasses adorning the door to her suite.

  When she opened the door she had to whip out her camera again. It was huge! The entrance led into a living area with a white sofa sheathed in white throws. A chaise was nearby situated in front of a fireplace and an obnoxiously large television set. The room led to a set of French doors adorned by sheer, champagne colored curtains. When she opened the doors, she saw her luggage was there waiting for her in front of a large King sized four poster bed that was also surrounded by the same sheer drapes.

  Sidney walked to the bed and ran her hands along the rich silk cream-colored duvet. Pillows were piled tastefully at the head and even though she had been able to lie down on the plane her back craved the feel of a nice big bed.

  Sidney kicked out of her heels and then stripped down to her panties and bra. She pulled back the duvet and then jumped into the bed like she was five years old.

  “Oh…this is heaven,” she murmured. She could have fallen asleep, but she only had one day in Barcelona and she wanted to explore. She went into the five-piece bathroom and decided that instead of a quick shower she would run a hot bath in the Jacuzzi tub.

  Sidney luxuriated in the tub until the water-cooled and became tepid. Not once did she think about calls that she’d had to block from Wesley or the letters that she had returned unopened. Today and for the next two weeks, she was a new person.

  Sidney dressed a bit more sensibly for her trek out of the hotel. It was June although the weather was mild in the high seventies. She wore stretch jeans, ballet slippers, a button up blouse and a light-weight cardigan. With her hair and make-up in place she felt like a million bucks.

  Ready to try the local cuisine, Sidney bypassed the complimentary fruit and bread tray, as well as the well-stocked bar. Besides, she’d had her fill of free champagne during her flight.

  In the lobby the same receptionist greeted her and offered to call her a taxi, but she declined. She wanted to explore a little on foot.

  Outside she met an older couple that had just stepped out of a taxi and was entering the hotel.

  “Hola,” they both said, clearly not European as the accent fell flat.

  Sidney grinned. “Hola.”

  The woman smiled. “American?”

  “Is my accent that bad?” Sidney replied.

  “Well, we’re from Missouri,” she replied. “Ours is worse.”

  “We’ve been trying to master the accent,” the man said, “and failing miserably.”

  “It’s something to do with rolling the tongue,” Sidney offered.

  “You’re right.” The man waved at her as he and his wife headed for the hotel.

  “There’s a very nice restaurant a block down this street and they speak English,” the woman said gesturing to the right.

  “Thanks.” They must have read her mind.

  As she headed down the street she noted that Barcelona didn’t look all that different from a big city metropolis back in the States. There were storefronts where you could buy cheap trinkets. There was a grocery store, a bakery and a clothing store all within a five-minute walk from the hotel.

  The streets were busy at just after six p.m. but not overly crowded. She noticed that a lot of people had small dogs that they walked and didn’t seem to mind that there were not many places for them to relieve themselves.

  She was tempted to stop in some of the shops but felt uncomfortable not knowing the language.

  She soon located a restaurant with outdoor seating right there on the sidewalk. She noted that many of the patrons were drinking tall glasses of beer and eating from small plates of food.

  Sidney went inside and a hostess greeted her in Spanish.

  “Do you speak English?” Sidney asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. Would you like a table for one?” The hostess was slender and young and seemed bored. Sidney hid a smile. Some things were the same no matter where you lived—young people would rather be out with their friends than serving some tourist.

  “Yes,” Sidney replied. “And can I sit outside?”

  “Certainly.”

  She was led to a table that had a candle, which the hostess lit even though it wasn’t dusk. She gave her a large menu and placed a table setting in front of her, using the silverware to prevent it from blowing away.

  “Your waitress will be here shortly.”

  Sidney perused the menu, happy to see that beneath the Spanish writing were English translations. Euros were easy to understand. One Euro equaled one dollar…give or take a few pennies.

  She saw tapas that were three or four Euros each and quickly decided on the olives, an order of anchovies in olive oil (even though back home she could do without the salty little fish), and cannelloni. It was a strange mix but what was the point of going to a foreign country and not trying some of the local food? Besides it was inexpensive, and she had to use her own money for any purchases not already paid for by…He-Who-Shall-Remain-Unnamed.

  While
she waited for her order to arrive she listened to the chatter of the other patrons, recognizing English with their varying accents.

  When her food arrived along with a tall bottle of sparkling water she took a quick picture to post to her social media. She was such a tourist!

  She popped an olive into her mouth and then closed her eyes to savor it as she slowly chewed. It was stuffed with something…anchovies? It was the best olive that she’d ever eaten in her life. Next was the plate of anchovies but they didn’t look like the ugly little fish that she saw on pizza back home. They were fresh and surrounding a bed of arugula and cherry tomatoes. She tasted one and was pleasantly surprised at the subtle balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. The cannelloni was equally as delicious and she enjoyed every bit of her meal.

  Well I’m definitely going to be bigger when I get back home.

  After eating, Sidney did more exploring and stopped in a few shops but decided not to buy any of the token trinkets. She would be travelling all over Europe for the next two weeks and would certainly find something more intriguing to purchase than a shot glass with Barcelona written across the front.

  She headed back and was at the hotel by nightfall. She slept like an angel on a cloud and woke up refreshed and excited about going on her first cruise. Sidney lay in her cloud bed longer than she needed to as she considered that she could very well be sitting in a tiny cubicle in a loud office, calling people to remind them to pay a bill that they had no intentions of paying.

  She finally pulled herself out of bed. A limo would arrive by noon to transport her to the ship where she was supposed to be greeted by a butler of all things.

  The brochure for the ship had referred to the butlers as Superior Genies. She was traveling on a ship called the Elite, which was one of the larger ships from the Superior Ocean Cruise Lines. The idea of having a butler at her disposal was cute but a tad bit intimidating. Your every wish is our command, the ad had said.

  Yeah? Well she wished for a return of the last year and a half of her life. Grant that wish, Mr. Genie. Besides, she was a simple girl despite living in luxury for a few months with that man. She wouldn’t be comfortable with some unknown, stuffy butler hovering around. She cringed as she pictured an old wrinkled white man wearing a tux and calling her madam. She’d send the guy off as soon as she didn’t need him. She was going to be an easy gig.

  Chapter Two

  Giacomo walked into the room and silently stood beside Palo. Nicco stopped talking in mid-sentence. He narrowed his eyes.

  “Just because this will be your last season doesn’t mean you can bypass the process Mr. Anello.” Last year he had been calling him Gio, or asshole. Now he was Mr. Anello.

  Gio refused to look at the man as he responded. “I’m sorry for my tardiness.” But he wasn’t, and it was clear by his dismissive tone that he didn’t care about disrupting Nicco’s pointless meeting.

  Nicco continued to stare at him for an uncomfortably long time in which the other genies began to shuffle and look around at each other. Each wondered if the two men would finally have it out. It had been building up since before Nicco had won the coveted position as Head Superior Genie. Most thought that the position would go to Gio when old Bartholomew had retired last year. Gio had been a Superior Butler longer, had more compliments and bigger tips than any of them, but during the off-season Nicco had studied with the Guild of Professional English Butlers and had received an accreditation that Gio lacked.

  Gio wasn’t so petty as to resent a man for taking the necessary steps to move up in a position, but it did sting that it was Nicco the pretty boy with his blond hair, fair skin and cultured British accent that allowed him to fake his way through the position, despite the fact that he was actually a terrible butler. He was lazy, sarcastic, and always found ways to skip out on his duties or to pawn them off on someone with an even lower rank.

  The two men had never been the best of friends but then Francesca had entered the picture. And to put it simply, two men had been interested in one woman but Gio had not been the one to win the girl.

  Gio simply did not engage in shipboard romances. Most crewmembers looked forward to the sexual freedom of working on a cruise ship, but not Gio. His heart was too tender and when he’d been younger he would always end up with it bruised or broken. He had learned the hard way that what happened on the ship was only for the duration of that tour. A cruise ship was no place to fall in love.

  The only way to manage his huge sexual appetite was to appease it when the ship docked. There were women in every port, but at least as long as they stayed in port he wouldn’t have to see them every day for the next eight months.

  It made for a cold and lonely life but until Francesca it was the only one that he thought could work.

  Francesca was different than most of the girls he knew that tried to get his attention by cornering him on the lower decks or by exposing their body parts. She was timid and avoided the wild shipboard parties that were frequently thrown by the crewmembers. She tried to conceal her delicate beauty, but it was hard to hide even if she kept her head ducked most of the time. And for some reason that he could not fathom, she seemed to only have eyes for him no matter how much he tried to dodge those big brown eyes.

  Gio began to wonder if a relationship on a ship could work—with the right person.

  And then Nicco had begun to appear, always making her smile, inviting her to exclusive shipboard events that the hospitality crew didn’t have access to. And Gio had backed away. He was thirty-three and too old to play games of competing for a girl’s attention—at least that’s what he told himself, but in truth, he just wasn’t ready to open up again.

  Nicco had won the girl, but it soon became evident that she was just a game for him. Gio had once seen her leaving one of the crew parties in tears because of Nicco’s open flirting and the other man seemed unfazed. Gio had wanted to go after her and comfort her, but what could he say? Nicco had hurt her but hadn’t he done the same by not acknowledging their mutual attraction?

  So instead he’d called Nicco out and had ended up making a laughing stock of himself. As everyone said, it wasn’t his business. But once Nicco knew how Gio felt, it only caused the man to be even more cruel to the sweet girl, so that by the end of the cruise she had left the ship with a heart as bruised and broken as Gio’s had ever been.

  When he had later learned that he’d lost the Superior Genie position to Nicco, it was the straw that had broken the camel’s back. After thirteen years of working on cruise ships, Gio had turned in his notice. He knew that he could easily get another job. Over the years he had been pursued by rich as well as famous celebrities that had been impressed with his expertise.

  After this tour he would have a very nice cushion in the bank so that he could take his time selecting his next job, and that wasn’t factoring in the gifts and tips that he always received from his guests.

  Nicco finally continued with his meeting, pointlessly going over minute details that the small crew of eight would already have drilled into their DNA. None were fledglings. But instead of allowing them to enjoy their final hours of freedom he was actually making them work.

  “There’s going to be a slight change to the schedule,” Nicco said while staring at Gio. “Giacomo, you will take over the duties for the American in PH-2. I’ll be taking over the VIP Loft.” Nicco waited for Gio’s reaction but Gio didn’t so much as flinch.

  Only two penthouses required 24-hour butler service and on this tour only one had been booked. Traditionally the Head Superior Genie would have taken it because it was an unwritten rule that they took the hardest jobs.

  It wasn’t easy being on call all day, every day. Sometimes guests become inventive in the middle of the night taking glee in finding some obscure task in the wee hours of the night to test whether their genie was truly available 24-hours a day.

  Unlike the butlers that worked from morning until ten p.m., the 24-hour genies were sometimes forced to call in repla
cements, especially when dealing with a family of four or more.

  He’d obviously done it many times before when both penthouses had been booked. He had taken pride when he didn’t have to call in replacements, but there was no doubt that it was a more difficult job.

  “That’s supposed to be your assignment,” Paolo said finally breaking the silent stalemate. When he spoke, others grumbled in agreement.

  “Paolo. It’s fine.” Gio said casually. “I don’t mind the extra tips.” He gave Nicco a smug look.

  Nicco ignored him but turned his attention on Paolo, a slender Brazilian young man that was popular with the guests due to his easy smile and humorous observations. Today, though, Paolo was far from his happy-go-lucky self.

  “Paolo,” Nicco said while crossing through an item on his clipboard. “Since you are so worried about your friend’s abilities you can be his replacement.”

  Paolo raised his brow. “So, you don’t want me assigned to VIP C?”

  Nicco grinned. “You can do both, can’t you?”

  Paolo frowned. “Of course, I can. I’m a Super G.”

  Replacements rarely got tipped which is the reason that it was typically worked on a rotational basis. But he’d taken a stand and Paolo refused to back down. The others would see that Nicco was a dictator.

  Nicco walked up to both men and this time he smiled. “Your guest is an American. She’s contacted the ship no less than three times already. I’m sure she’ll be a delight.”

  Gio followed the man with his eyes, refusing to react and after a moment Nicco inhaled and backed down.

  He concluded the meeting after a few more unnecessary instructions to his crew and then they disbanded to prepare for their guests.

  “He’s even more of a dick now that his new position has gone to his head.” Paolo said after checking to ensure that Nicco wasn’t behind them as they headed down the corridor.

  Gio shrugged. “Thanks for looking out, but now you’re in his crosshairs and I’ll be gone.”