Page 5 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
Danielle shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I want to find out. Based on how the others are acting, she’s accustomed to getting her way.”
Taking a closer look, Millie quickly realized the unrealistic list was not gonna happen…not by a long shot. “Have you read this?”
“Yeah.”
“Eight cases of chilled Pellegrino per day. What’s up with that?”
“According to Hannah, it’s their preferred bottled water. It helps with digestion,” Danielle said. “There’s more.”
“No kidding. Himalayan salt and freshly ground pepper for all meals, yoga mats for each contestant, unlimited use of the steam rooms.” The list went on—ridiculous demands that weren’t negotiated prior to the Belly Busters boarding. “Is Astrid here?”
“Yeah. Last I saw her, she was cowering in the corner while Hannah attempted to browbeat me. The last one is a zinger,” Danielle said sarcastically.
Millie lowered her gaze and made a choking sound. “Superhero Strong is to be played a minimum of twelve times per day for motivation.”
“Have you ever heard the song?” Danielle started humming loudly and off-key, ending in a high-pitched crescendo.
Millie winced and covered her ears. “Awful.”
“The live version is even worse, if you can believe it.”
She folded the paper. “You said Astrid is the one standing in the corner?”
“Correct.” Danielle craned her neck and peered into the room. “Hannah is the tall, skinny redhead, the one eating the Krispy Kreme donuts. It’s her second one, if you’re counting.”
“She’s skinny as a rail. Hannah must have a super high metabolism.”
“Or she burns a lot of calories because she never stops talking,” Danielle joked. “Seriously, if she isn’t stuffing her face, she’s running her mouth.”
“I’m going to nip this in the bud.”
Danielle stopped her. “A word of warning. The food flies out of her mouth when she’s talking.”
“Lovely.” Millie briefly closed her eyes, praying for patience. Something told her Hotshot Hannah would not be happy when she gave her the bad news.
Chapter 3
Millie lingered off to the side, waiting for Hannah to take a breather from eating and talking. Remembering Danielle’s advice to stay out of the “flying food zone,” she strode across the room.
Hannah slowly turned, the half-eaten Krispy Kreme midair to her mouth. Her eyes traveled from the top of Millie’s head to the tips of her toes. “Hello.”
“Hello. I don’t believe we’ve met.” Millie held out her hand and introduced herself. “Danielle, the assistant cruise director, has given me your list of requests.”
The skinny redhead shoved the rest of the donut into her mouth and licked her fingers. “All reasonable, I might add.”
“Nothing on this list was discussed or agreed upon prior to your group booking this cruise. Pellegrino water is an upcharge. Not only is it more expensive, but we haven’t stocked the quantity you’ve requested for your group.”
Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “Are you telling me you don’t have San Pellegrino on this ship?”
“We have it, but not enough for other passengers and the additional quantities your group wants.” Millie told her that the request needed to be submitted prior to finalizing the cruise contract. “Your dining room waitstaff can handle the special salt and pepper or whatever venue you choose to dine in. I’ll see what I can do about making the steam room available.”
“Good. Thank you,” Hannah beamed. “And the music…our special song being played throughout the day?”
“Will not happen,” Millie bluntly replied. “Our own custom playlist is played throughout the ship.Requesting a specific song to be repeated over and over is frankly not going to happen.”
Hannah’s expression morphed from one of victory to a glare. “Why not?” she demanded.
“Because it’s unreasonable and not fair to the other passengers to have to listen to it repeatedly.”
