Smooth Sailing Read Free Page A

planning to use it for dual purposes in case one of the technical guys needed to call her. She’d never used her position to get any special treatment, but today was an exception. If Terry tried to slough her off, she was going to show him that her place in the company was higher than his bosses’ bosses’ boss, and then some. It was a breach of every tenet of the Teddy Bear brand, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
    Resolved, she strode back to the Internet Café to find Terry huddled with yet another earnest young man, both of them leaning over her laptop. “What’s up?” she asked.
    “Oh, hi, Ms. Nielsen,” Terry said. He looked worried enough that he must have figured out she was a VIP. “We’re having a heck of a time with your access.”
    “Well, I need it. I’ll just use a desktop until you can fix it.”
    “Oh, sure.” He walked over to a computer and instructed her in putting in her stateroom and name. But, once again, her access was denied.
    It was very hard to keep her temper under control, but these guys were screwing with her life. “Terry, I don’t have time to play with this. Give me an access code that will work. Now.”
    His eyes grew wide and he gave his companion a quick glance. “We’re not allowed to let anyone use our codes. That’s cause for termination.”
    “If you don’t give me a code, the new park in Osaka might be delayed,” she hissed quietly, making sure no one else could hear. “I’ve got things I have to do today. They’re vital.”
    “I’ll call someone in Miami,” he said, almost shaking.
    She cooled her heels for a few minutes, trying to think of a way to properly apologize for scaring the poor kid. But when he came back, he looked more puzzled than intimidated, and it slipped her mind. “Miami says you’re not allowed to use the Internet, Ms. Nielsen.”
    “What?” Her shout made every head turn. “What?”
    “I don’t understand what’s going on, but someone in Los Angeles put a block on your access. We’re under strict orders not to let you use any of our computers.” He looked sad, as though she were being fired and he was delivering the bad news. “I’m genuinely sorry.”
    She walked over to Terry’s comrade and held out her hands. He put the laptop in them and she started to leave, then remembered her manners and said, “I’m very sorry for losing my temper. I’ve been under a lot of pressure. Please don’t take it personally.”
    “I understand,” he said, his smile back in place. “Have a super sweet day, filled with honey!”
    *
     
    It took a long time for her to calm down enough to convince herself not to jump overboard and swim to shore. Yes, she’d probably drown, but at least she’d have gone down with a fight. It was absolutely infuriating that this was supposed to be relaxing. It was like being forced to stand in the corner for two weeks. Human Resources was populated by people who’d never had a deadline in their lives, and they didn’t know a thing about pressure. She’d clashed with HR too many times to count, and they were obviously using this vacation gambit to put her in her place. But no one in HR would be humiliated on two continents if the theme part didn’t open on time. Only she’d get that honor.
    Thinking about it just agitated her, but what else was there to do with no phone, and no internet? Her cabin, though nice enough, was small, and after a while the walls were closing in on her. With nothing to do until her eight-thirty dinner reservation, she went onto the pool deck and found an empty deck chair. Turning it to face the water, she thought about ways to smooth the opening of the park—her park—in Osaka. She was achingly lonely, like she was the only person around who realized how difficult it was to make tough things look easy. Suddenly, it hit her. She was among friends. Everyone working on the ship knew how hard it was, and it was their job to make sure the passengers did not.