Chapter 1: Lonely Sucess
It was a dark rainy evening at the office of Enterprise Cruise Lines as the janitors began to make their rounds as all the staff had left for the day...well all except one man: lead ship designer Marlowe Barclay. Marlowe had worked at the company for 10 years working his way from intern to chief designer. Marlowe's hard work had paid off however, the sacrifices he had made during those 10 years now seem to come back and haunt him. Marlowe was now 26 and had become chief designer after his uncle died causing the position to pass on to him as his successor. Marlowe had undergone several long years of mentorship, rigorous studies, and grueling college as well under his uncle's guidance but none of that prepared him for what was to come.
Marlowe continued working until the janitor whom everyone knew as Mr. Wilson, came into his office and wasn't surprised when he saw Marlowe still in his office. Working late again? Mr. Wilson asked, with a grin on his face and Marlowe said yes, "but I'm finalizing the details for our new ship: SS Rebecca's maiden cruise, and I still haven't picked 10 people to travel on the voyage with me as observers". Mr. Wilson jokingly said "Well it's time to close up shop" and I gladly did so he could get home to his wife, Marina. Mr. Wilson is a family friend and a veteran worker of the company, he used to work as a ship maintenance worker in his younger years but now that he's 50 we gave him an easy job so he didn't have to leave because everyone knew him and respected him.
After tossing my papers into my suitcase, I patted Mr. Wilson on the shoulder and said she's all yours chief, don't be here too long and Mr. Wilson said "Don't worry I won't...my wife is cooking meatloaf" and I smiled and walked to the elevator. After I got home I made myself dinner then went directly to my office, updated my files, and continued to choose my list of people to announce tomorrow, until I was interrupted by a video call from my parents. My mom said hey honey, have you found a girlfriend yet? and I said no and my dad said "I should've never got you involved in the family company, you're a loner" and I said "Look leave me alone, just never have the time, now I have work to do, call back later" and then I hung up. I wasn't ugly or anything, I was your basic 5'7 tan guy with curly hair and muscles and a few tattoos, girls complimented my muscles all the time as they bulged through my suits, but I just never had time to fraternize, after all my job was every bit important.
After picking the names and faxing the ship's inspection schedule to the office, I went to sleep, strangely excited, even though to anyone else, it was just another ship launch and another day at work. When I got up I began receiving calls left and right from the office; telling me to turn on the news and when I did, my excitement shot through the roof. The news agencies were lined up for the unveiling of S.S. Rebecca to the public before she left the dockyard to take on passengers at her designated port about 1 day away. My sister Davina; the CEO called me as I was drinking coffee and told me to look my sharpest. She told me I would be leading the camera crews on an exclusive showcase tour of the SS Rebecca when I arrived at the office. I grabbed my suitcase along with an extra cup of coffee and headed to work nervous because I had never dealt with the press before.
When I arrived at work and entered the office floor, I was greeted by cameras as a news reporter said "Here we are with the ship's chief designer Mr. Barclay". Before the woman could ask questions I quickly said," Ladies and gentlemen we have a lot to cover, so please save your questions for the end of the tour".I showed the reporters our procedures and staff, before leading them to the shipyard entrance and distributing hard hats. When we neared the ship fitting dock, everyone's attention shifted to the Rebecca, as if she were royalty; rising over 14 decks above the water, she dominated the shipyard's skyline with her silver and white paint job and the 3 light blue R's that were mounted forward amidship and aft on the port and starboard sides. They also glowed a beautiful blue at night, marking her presence to passing ships or onlookers.
The ship had 4 funnels which had baby blue letter R's decaled on all 4 sides, however, they were cosmetic as well as the ship's 2 masts and rudder. The ship was to look like an old Titanic Era ship, only with modern-day luxury and safety which I explained to the reporter while also telling her that we like our ships to look different from others. After showing the reporters the modern safety features and luxury accommodations. I explained how the ship's design incorporated new lightweight materials and a new efficient engine design to make the ship stronger, lightweight, more economical, and more luxurious. After dealing with the press, I returned to the office at 2 p.m. to announce my team. I activated the PA system and I said "Attention workers, the following people on this listing will report to SS Rebecca On Monday Morning, of next week as company representatives, the list is as follows: Courtney Rivera, Dave Tarsley, Shylas Massey, Angelica Smith, Abbie Bennett, Daryl Jones, and Sam Cooper; congratulations on your hard work on this project and please report to my office before meeting at the ship on Monday.
