The Power Trip

Captain Dickson was not as happy with his crew as he should have been. He’d had to say yes to the hire of a few replacement crew members when three of his regulars had dropped out at the last minute. This did not please him, as he preferred working with a crew who knew exactly how he expected them to behave.

One of the new hires was a Mexican girl, Mercedes, that Guy had seen fit to take on as a stewardess. Captain Dickson considered her too attractive for her own good. He didn’t want any of the female guests getting annoyed or jealous; he’d seen that happen before. He instructed Guy to keep a strong eye on her.

‘No worries,’ Guy had assured him. ‘I’ve checked out her references — not one complaint. I’ll watch her.’

‘You’d better,’ Captain Dickson had warned him. ‘Her kind are inclined to give us problems.’

Her kind, Guy thought, convinced that Captain Dickson was some sort of old-style British racist. Apart from one African-American engineer, the rest of the crew were all white. Besides, Mercedes wasn’t that attractive. For a start she was on the short side, and was it his imagination, or was her left eye slightly squinty? And could he detect the beginnings of a very faint moustache? However, he had to admit that she gave off a sexier vibe than most of the fresh-faced girls he usually worked with. Anyway, there hadn’t been much time left, so he’d hired her. Personally, he kind of liked the idea of introducing a bit of flavour to the trip. As long as she did her job, he was cool with it.

Over the last year Guy had worked on several high-profile cruises — one with a famous female talk-show host, another with a dominating captain of industry, and then there was the trip with the two NBA players.

The female talk-show titan had turned out to be a secret lesbian. The captain of industry had turned out to be a raging pervert. And the two NBA players had turned out to be hooker hounds with libidos that never quit.

Guy figured if he could handle that lot, then he was certainly well equipped to deal with one sexy little Mexican stewardess.

* * *

‘Nice!’ Taye exclaimed, exploring their accommodations, which consisted of a large, stylishly decorated VIP stateroom — colour scheme pale blue — with a king-size bed, plenty of built-in closet space, a small private terrace, and an all-marble en-suite bathroom.

‘Not bad,’ Ashley agreed, trying to conceal her excitement at actually being on the same trip as Cliff Baxter. The Cliff Baxter. People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. GQ’s Man of the Year. Rolling Stone’s Actor of the Decade. Not to mention hundreds of other accolades.

Ashley had a major crush. And was it her imagination, or had Cliff given her a long lingering look — a look rife with sexual promise? Ashley was full of expectations. What if Cliff Baxter came onto her? What would she do? How would she handle it?

She felt quite light-headed.

Was she capable of cheating on Taye? She never had, but this was Cliff Baxter, every woman’s fantasy, so surely a quick fling was allowed? The very thought made her tingle with the anticipation of the forbidden.

She’d relished the expression of shock on uptight Jeromy’s face when he’d discovered that she and Taye were guests on the yacht. Jeromy could be such an annoying snob at times, so she and Taye being included kind of evened-out the playing-field.

In the meantime she couldn’t wait to have a girls’ gossip with Bianca, get the scoop on everyone. She’d already decided that Cliff Baxter’s girlfriend was no big deal. The girl had a nice body and flaming red hair — probably dyed — but Lori wasn’t drop-dead Hollywood gorgeous — just kind of ordinary really. Ashley had thought Cliff would have a raving beauty on his arm, someone of the Angelina Jolie calibre.

‘What’re you thinkin’?’ Taye asked, plopping himself down on the bed and patting a spot beside him.

‘I’m wondering what I should wear for dinner,’ Ashley mused, fluffing out her blond curls. ‘Do you think we’re eating outside?’

‘I expect so,’ Taye responded. ‘Heard someone mention dinner is on one of the decks. It’s all go, ain’t it, toots?’

‘Cool it with the toots,’ Ashley said irritably. ‘We wouldn’t want to sound like the poor relatives, would we?’

Taye shot her a dirty look. ‘Poor what?’

She’d hit a sensitive spot. Taye hated it when she intimated that they weren’t good enough. She suspected it had something to do with him being black. Not that it mattered to her, she wasn’t her mother’s daughter when it came to racist thoughts.

‘Nothing,’ she said, sitting on the bed beside him.

The bed was soft, welcoming. They’d been travelling all day, so she was entitled to be tired, what with the time-change and all. And it was important that she looked her best for cocktails at five thirty. Yes, she wouldn’t mind a nap before dinner.

Cocktails first, then dinner in the company of Cliff Baxter. If she was lucky, maybe she’d be seated next to him at the dinner-table.

Ashley couldn’t wait.

* * *

‘I can’t believe how Taye and Ashley managed to get themselves invited,’ Jeromy fumed. ‘I should never have told them about the trip. It’s quite obvious they solicited their own invitation once they heard about it.’

‘I thought you liked Ashley,’ Luca remarked. ‘Didn’t you bring her in as your partner?’

‘Only for the name value.’ Jeromy sniffed. ‘And do not forget that Taye invested money in the business too. You could say she bought her way in.’

Luca stripped off his shirt and threw it on the bed, next he dropped his pants.

‘What are you doing?’ Jeromy asked, alarmed — because after the sex marathon with the Luttmans of the previous evening, he was not in the mood for more of the same. Although with Luca it would be oral and that was about it.

‘I’m off to the pool,’ Luca said, opening a drawer and trying to discover where the valet who’d unpacked for them had put his swimming shorts.

‘Oh,’ Jeromy said. ‘I was thinking perhaps a nap might be more of a plan.’

Luca located his colourful Versace shorts and slipped them on. ‘Not for me,’ he said cheerfully. ‘I’m catching up with Bianca. Promised I’d meet her by the pool.’

‘Should I come with?’

‘Not necessary,’ Luca said, running a hand through his thick head of blond hair. ‘We’d probably bore you with our reminiscences.’

Reminiscences? Luca and Bianca? Yes, he would be bored listening to the stories of how the two of them first met.

‘Then I shall stay here and rest,’ Jeromy decided.

‘See you later,’ Luca said, and he was gone, leaving Jeromy to stew over the fact that he was being disincluded.

* * *

‘Impressed?’ Cliff questioned, gesturing around their luxurious stateroom.

‘With what?’ Lori retorted, opening up her carry-on bag.

‘You know what,’ he said, a tad irritable.

‘No, I don’t,’ she said, being purposely obtuse.

‘Oh come on,’ Cliff said, stifling a yawn. ‘The yacht. The other guests. This whole incredible set-up.’

She turned on him. ‘Are you impressed, Cliff?’

‘Why would I be impressed?’ he said, laughing and shaking his head.

‘Then why would I?’ she countered, taking out her makeup case.

‘’Cause you’re twenty-four, sweetie,’ he pointed out. ‘You’ve got to admit that you’ve never seen anything like this yacht before. You shouldn’t forget that you’re one very, very lucky girl.’

‘Am I?’ she said, giving him a piercing look.

‘For fuck’s sake, what’s the matter with you?’ Cliff said, his handsome face suddenly scowling. ‘You’ve been acting like a petulant little bitch ever since we left L.A.’