Chapter 5

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.

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.