Seduction of Steel: The Complete Series Read Online Free PDF Page A

yesterday, she was drawing a blank.
     
    She hoped Julie got back in touch soon.  Otherwise, she'd have to write about dungeons and billionaires just to pay the bills.
     
    Chapter Three
     
    The hiring process with Enchantment Cruise Lines was fairly straightforward, and after the usual forms, interviews and background checks, Jessica was assigned to work on the company's newest ship, the Ocean Enchantment .  Built by industry leader Matsumo Heavy Industries, or MHI, the Ocean Enchantment was one of the largest and most luxurious ships afloat.  Measuring a thousand feet long and some sixteen decks high, the ship carried four thousand passengers and some fifteen hundred crew members.  The ship had a new drive system that was supposed to be quiet and more fuel efficient than those used on older ships.
     
    The ship was doing alternate trips around the Eastern and Western Caribbean, which meant there were a lot of tropical destinations to see.  Crew members did get some time off from time to time, so there would be chances to see some beaches and restaurants.  Jessica boarded the ship in Miami during its weekly stop there.
     
    She was completely overwhelmed by her new place of work.
     
    The Ocean Enchantment wasn't so much a ship as it was a floating city.  There were five swimming pools, two dining rooms, a spa, a fitness center, three nightclubs and a gorgeous five story atrium in the center of the ship that featured lots of plants, chrome, and natural light.  If you had to spend time indoors, you'd likely want to be either in the atrium or in one of the ship's fabulous luxury suites.
     
    Of course, the luxury suites were available only to paying passengers.  Crew members had to live in the crew quarters, which were somewhat less luxurious.  Actually, they were a lot less luxurious.
     
    Jessica looked around her stateroom.  “This is it?”, she asked of no one in particular.  While passenger staterooms on the thousand-foot-long Ocean Enchantment were plush and airy, with natural light and even balconies, those offered to crew members were strictly utilitarian.  There were two beds in the room; one for Jessica and one for Kristin, her Norwegian roommate. 
     
    Kristin worked in one of the dining buffets, which were open 24 hours a day.  She tended to work odd hours, and as a result, Jessica rarely saw her.  She seemed nice enough, if quiet, and had girl-next-door type non-threatening looks.  She was pretty enough, with pale porcelain skin and shoulder-length blond hair that everyone from Norway seems to have.  Jessica was sure that she and Kristin could become good friends in time.
     
    As for the room, there was a small dresser with lockable drawers for each woman to keep their belongings that sat in between the beds.  On top of the dresser was a small nineteen inch television, and near the door was an all-too-tiny bathroom that had a sink, a toilet, and the smallest shower Jessica had ever seen.  That was it; everything you need crammed into about 125 square feet.  The room was on Deck 3, which put it below the water line.  That meant that the room had no windows, not even a porthole.
     
    I guess that will make it easy to sleep in here since it's always dark.  That's one upside, she thought.
     
    It wasn't much of a room, but it was, for the next few months, home.  Jessica was grateful that she seldom saw her roommate, as the room was pretty small for two people.  It could have been worse; other ships in the company's line had four crew members to a room. 
     
    The small room size didn't really matter; Jessica's job working at the Passenger Services desk midship was going to keep her busy all the time, anyway.  Her typical day involved anywhere from twelve to fourteen hours of work, mostly working at the desk in the atrium on Deck 6.  There she helped passengers with all kinds of problems ranging from cashing traveler's checks and replacing room keys to answering customs and import duty