Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
I wouldn’t have lied to you if I’d known it would hurt you this badly.
I wouldn’t have kissed you if I’d known you’d think we were more than just a casual hookup.
I wouldn’t have let you go if I’d known I’d miss you this badly.
That last one was a stupid, aching kind of hope that I was a fool for even thinking. I knew the truth was likely more along the lines of I wouldn’t have agreed to this show had I known you’d be on it.
Why did he agree to this show? I knew why I was here. I had my first shot at chief stew. This was my chance to prove myself not just to my father, but to other captains in the industry. A few charters of this size and I could get my dream job.
The money was fantastic, between what they paid us for each episode and the tips we’d get over the next eight weeks. But why would he need the money if he had his restaurant?
How the hell had he ended up back in yachting at all?
Was it because the restaurant had failed?
Was it because he missed me? (Again, that stupid hope.)
Oh, God… was it for her?
The likelihood of that made my stomach roil. I hadn’t been enough for him, but clearly Gisella was. He was here with her instead of back in Ireland. He’d chosen yachting with her when he’d blatantly shut down that possibility with me.
Suddenly, a camera slid into the already cramped space we were in, the lens nearly knocking into the side of Finn’s head with its entrance.
I cleared my throat, tucking my hair behind one ear as I retreated back several inches. “Yeah, I’ll make sure to add some specialty cheeses to the provisions list. I think a charcuterie board when the guests arrive is a great idea.”
Finn swallowed, his nostrils flaring with his next exhale as he watched me back away, knowing the camera was on us now.
Knowing there was nothing more to say even if it wasn’t.
And with the last pretend smile I had in me, I turned, hustling through the galley and taking the stairs two at a time down to the crew quarters.
POST-PRODUCTION CONFESSIONAL
CLOSE QUARTERS
SEASON 4
GARY PARKS: CAPTAIN
PRODUCER
Let’s go back to that first day on board. When you had the team meeting, how were you feeling about the season ahead?
CAPTAIN GARY
Oh, I was absolutely buzzing. I mean, we had a great crew. I had full faith we were going to run that boat beautifully.
PRODUCER
You told the crew that you’d never worked with a crew member couple on board before.
CAPTAIN GARY
That’s right. It was a first for me.
PRODUCER
You weren’t worried?
Captain Gary runs a hand over his jaw, shrugs.
CAPTAIN GARY
Honestly? No. But I guess I should have been, aye?
PRODUCER
Care to tell us what you mean by that?
Captain Gary chuckles, shakes his head.
CAPTAIN GARY
I don’t know what you want me to say here. It wasn’t a problem until it was, and then it was quite the problem, indeed.
PRODUCER
You knew there was a risk, though. Young people in a relationship on a yacht with tight quarters, emotions running high after stressful days working…
CAPTAIN GARY
Sure. I knew it was a risk. But I’m not the only one who picked the crew, am I?
Captain Gary gives producer a pointed look.
CAPTAIN GARY
I was handed a stack of CVs for potential crew members. I just culled from there. Other than my recommendation for Ember, I was sort of along for the ride. And had I known her history with Finn…
PRODUCER
Are you saying you wouldn’t have hired Ember as chief stew, had you known she and Finn had a past?
CAPTAIN GARY
I’m saying this whole couple on board thing wasn’t just as simple as a chef and a deck stew dating. That I think we would have survived. But a chef and a chief stew, who used to be in love, back together for the first time in two years… and now she’s rooming with his new girlfriend?
Captain Gary arches a brow, takes a sip of water, shrugs.
CAPTAIN GARY
Come now, mate. What the hell did we expect?
It was just past seven that evening when Captain Gary called a preference sheet meeting.
We already knew the guests coming aboard in the morning, along with all their preferences. We had to know in order to provision the boat correctly. But this meeting was for the cameras. I knew from watching the show that this was how the viewers were introduced to the guests, how the showrunners foreshadowed any potential issues.
I was already exhausted as I made my way to the crew mess, the day having sped by in a flurry of vacuuming and polishing and organizing the boat. I mumbled curse words to myself on the way down the stairs, fumbling with the mic attached to me and trying to figure out how to place it where the clip and cord would be comfortably out of my way.