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)
“Feck’s sake. I’m just trying to figure out what the hell to cook these people and don’t appreciate the galley being used as the goddamn water cooler for gossip.”
He slammed the metal bowl down, making me flinch, before angrily washing his hands with water so hot I could see it steaming from here.
I tongued my cheek, standing up straight. “Okay, Gordon Ramsay, dial it down a notch. You don’t get to take whatever has your briefs in a knot out on me. I was just coming to see you about meal plans.”
“And to be a pain in my arse, it seems.”
“Well, now that I know speaking to you is an offense punishable by my hand being bitten off, trust me — won’t happen again.” I rolled my eyes, turning to write on the little white board we used for crew notes. I may have yanked the cap off the marker with more force than necessary. I was getting whiplash from this man not even forty-eight hours into the season. One second he’s all cheeky and joking around, and the next, he’s snapping at me like my mere existence offends him?
Well, I wouldn’t be the one to turn the other cheek.
If he wanted a rematch from the last time we were in the ring together, I was more than happy to strap on my gloves and fight.
“They want lunch at three and dinner at nine. Work for you?”
“Yep,” Finn clipped, still slinging dishes around like a cowboy with a lasso.
“Great. I’ll stop by when you’re finished with your impression of Mount Vesuvius and we can talk about what dishes you want used for each course.”
Then I gave him a big thumbs up before leaving him to his fight with the vegetables.
CHARTER CONFESSIONAL
CLOSE QUARTERS
SEASON 4, EPISODE 1
CHARTER 1
FINN PEARSON: HEAD CHEF
PRODUCER
Congratulations. Charter one in the books. How are you feeling?
FINN
Considering the restrictions I had to work with? Grand.
PRODUCER
Yeah, let’s talk about the preference sheet meeting. What was going through your mind when you saw all of Theodora’s dietary needs? Remember, this is talking head footage, so it’ll be playing alongside the footage we captured of this charter.
FINN
This preference sheet is a feckin’ disaster. High vibrational food? Jaysus. I’m going to have to really think outside of the box to give these guests the level of food they’re expecting with so many restrictions.
PRODUCER
Great answer. How’s the galley so far?
FINN
I’ve worked in better galleys, but this one isn’t the worst. There’s enough space for me to do what I need to do. It does get a little crowded in there during dinner service, though. I don’t love all the chatter or feeling like I’m stuck in a can of sardines when I’m trying to focus.
PRODUCER
Yeah, let’s talk about that first dinner service.
Finn laughs, folding his arms.
FINN
Let’s not.
PRODUCER
I take it you weren’t happy with how it went?
Finn sighs, scrubs hand over his face.
FINN
That first dinner service was an absolute bin fire.
PRODUCER
And whose fault was it?
Finn smirks, shaking head.
FINN
Depends on who you ask.
Out of all the things I discovered the first day of that first charter, perhaps the worst was that Gisella was absolutely lovely.
After an already grueling day with the guests requesting access to every water toy we had, Gisella bounded into the main salon asking if Bernard and I needed help setting up for dinner or if she could offer Leah some assistance with laundry. She was a bit sun-kissed from the afternoon, brightening every room she walked into with her pearly white smile. She did dishes from lunch so Finn could start dinner service with a clean galley, tidied up the crew mess after breaks had turned it to chaos, and took care of filling drinks so Bernard could focus on setting the dining table.
The guests adored her, the crew was motivated by her, and I couldn’t help but feel the same — even though I wished desperately that I could.
I pretended I didn’t see when she sat in Finn’s lap during a brief break in the crew mess, me passing by them on my way to check on a dress Leah had steamed for Theodora. But I saw it. I saw his hands on her waist, hers in his hair. I heard her giggle after he murmured something low and deep in her ear.
I knew I’d need to get used to it. They were a couple, and if I was already having a hard time with their actions on the clock, I was really in for it when the crew went out after this first charter.
Maybe the best thing I discovered that first day was that Leah was going to be a great friend. She was the kind of stew who did what needed to be done before I even had the chance to ask, and the fact that she also did it all with a smile was a huge relief. More than that, though, she was kind and funny and sweet. We struck up conversation easily any time we worked together, and she did the same with every guest.