Turbulence Read online

  “That sir, is the problem that brings me here today. One of the governmental agencies, customs, I believe, is severely hampering our opening by impounding our food purchases in both our dry and cold storage, resulting in shutting down much needed training and preparation for the opening of the hotel.”

  “Well, Mr. Logan, that is unfortunate, but according to our sources, self-inflicted. It is my understanding that your representatives signed an agreement at the onset of the project to purchase as much as possible from within the country.”

  “Yes, that’s true and we did, and we will open our books at any time to prove just how much we have not only purchased, but we have actually set up manufacturing facilities here to furnish the hotel. However, what we are now facing is our decision to purchase food and beverage and related service products only outside the country, and local management determined that local sources were not sufficient yet as to the quality, and respectfully, I suggest that we are the only ones qualified to make that decision.”

  Mr. Choo adjusted his glasses. “I’m not sure I can help you in this because, clearly, we have a difference of opinion and you will just have to work it out with the officials. I’m sorry that there is a time problem now, but you will have to go along, follow instructions, and negotiate product by product, if necessary, until both parties are satisfied.”

  “Sir, we are prepared to negotiate, and hopefully we will get to the point where we can agree on food and beverage sourcing, but I thought that the invitations for the grand opening had already been sent, since we are a little more than a week away.”

  “Yes, of course, all of us have received them. Thank you,” said Choo

  “Well, then, we are only left with one of two choices. Either we cancel the grand opening party, or we substitute hors d’oeuvres at the grand opening instead of dinner. With either decision we then release a statement to the attendees and press explaining why.”

  “What? Say again, Mr. Logan?”

  “I’m sorry, but we will not take our food out while it is impounded and we will not open the hotel or celebrate until we are ready to do so professionally, and this is our only chance to make things both professional and on schedule.”

  I leaned back, clasped my hands together, placed my thumbs under my chin, and set my lips and jaw. Everything that followed was anticlimactic and tense, but having laid out the options, we agreed to clear the custom’s action and have the grand opening unimpeded, and later came to some sort of compromise that was satisfactory to both of us. As the driver carried me back to the hotel, I let out a sigh of relief that Mr. Choo decided on the lesser evil, because the hotel might survive, but I wouldn’t have. And I was using that survival term in reference to employment, but immediately began thinking about plane reservations and the personal problem I was facing. No amount of clever negotiations would appear to solve that problem, I feared.

  Helmut and Kim came up to the suite with me, happy to know that we would be off the hook, but they also wanted to know the details and what would happen next. We spent the next hour discussing the how. The when was based upon a call from customs, and as soon as that came, they would arrange to remove the tape and we could immediately go to work with our training and other opening preparations, possibly tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. My gut feeling told me that Helmut would receive that call right away and if so, Helmut suggested that should the refrigeration be accessible, he would like to have a small practice dinner for a few of the top hotel executives at the Fifth Gate tonight and hoped for my presence. I asked him to let me know as soon as he received the call and that I would need at least a couple of hours. Now, it was a bit early to catch Russ, or Al but Len would most likely be up at home at six am.

  Sure enough, six a.m. was not too early for Len.

  “Hey, Kevin, what the hell time is it over there?” he asked, after the greeting.

  “Its seven o’clock tomorrow evening.”

  “ That’s crazy, I never talked to anyone from tomorrow before.”

  “Well, you won’t have to do it again anytime soon, I’m calling to let you know that I’m leaving tomorrow, spending a night in Honolulu, and heading from there to New York.”

  “You have my fax number?”

  “Yea, I have it in front of me and as soon as I make plane reservations, you’ll have my schedule.”

  “Look I don’t want to keep up with your time changes and your flights, just let me know when you’re coming in, and if it’s on the weekend, you have my home telephone number.

  “OK. You find out anything?”

  “No, nothing to discuss yet, but I’m going to talk to the vice squad and see if they can hook me up to some of these drug fronts they’ve been watching, and maybe I’ll hear some scuttlebutt.”

  “Okay, good. Thanks, Len. Be in touch.”

  I pull out my OAG, find my highlights, and make my reservations. I need to talk to Al, and get an update on these guys, so I call him a bit early for a Mexico manager.

  “Al, can you hear me?” I say, trying to clear his hola mumble.

  “Yea, Kevin, just getting up, but go ahead”

  “Al, I’m not calling to tell you anything. Have you heard anything more?”

  .“Yes, more confusing than before, I guess. One of my informants that lives close by says that Maria and Juan are gone, to where or why, I don’t know, but apparently they have left that house and no sign of anyone since.”

  “When?”

  “Since I talked to you last. When was that, yesterday?”

  “Sorry to call you early, Al, I’ll be out of pocket until I get to Honolulu, so will call later. If you hear anything more, call me in Honolulu.”

  The moment I hang up, it’s Helmut calling with word that someone will take the tape down within the hour. We settle on dinner at nine p.m. and I head for the shower, leaving a note on the desk to call Russ to tell him the good news before I leave for dinner at the Fifth Gate.

  Returning from dinner, the hotel voice mail light was on again at eleven p.m., and I wondered who would call that I haven’t talked to? Of course, it was my secretary, the ever efficient Margie. I hadn’t called, knowing that Russ would advise her of my trip, and that any messages into my office would not be transmitted unless of urgent priority. I called back immediately.

  “Yes,” she said, “you have a number of messages.” Most of them could await my return, but she thought I should know about several in the past two days. “I don’t know if they’re meaningful or not, but I had three calls asking for you, and when I told them you were out of the country, each asked when you would be back. Stranger still, they would not leave a name or number but said they would call back. It was a different person, I think twice, and the third had a Spanish accent.”

  Trying to appear nonchalant, I thanked her and assured her that I would handle it upon my return. I gave her my schedule for the Honolulu stopover and my arrival in New York. I told her that Russ had received a copy, but I’d rather not tell anybody else of my exact return, only because I didn’t want to be overloaded with the backup immediately.

  Eight

  Having said goodbye and promising to follow up with Choo, should there be any further problem after the grand opening, I wished Helmut much success next week at both the ceremonies and the lavish banquet, and also with the many responsibilities he would shoulder in the coming weeks. The dinner at the Fifth Gate last night was perfection and I wondered how they could have done all that preparation on such short notice. It doesn’t matter if they had decided to take out some items surreptitiously counting on my success. All I care is that the hotel was in good hands, management could be counted on to do whatever was necessary, and all systems were now go.

  Leaving South Korea was a little dicey because I was wearing one of my new suits. I declared the one suit in my bag and was charged a reasonable duty for it, a fair bargain. I checked my bags through to Honolulu, where the same airline would leave from Tokyo. Great. Outside of the nagging D
allas problem, I can finally relax.

  My phone call with Russ was good, with a mission accomplished message and his congratulations sincere and appreciative. I think I made an impression on Russ, and when he shows off the hotel to Jim Dunne, the chairman of Rainbow, it will be the icing on the cake. As the plane thundered up and out of Seoul, I allowed myself to daydream a bit about my future association with the company. We had been struggling to put together a group of hotels, but with additional properties and rising demands on executive time, we would be approaching critical decisions on responsibilities. As it was presently set up, the title VP-Hotel Operations is a catch-all one. We supervised the managers, of course, but right now acquisitions, mergers, development, contracting services, and even impounded cold storage was one man’s responsibilities.

  Harrison Restaurants, by contrast, have hundreds of units to supervise, many company owned and many franchises. To manage operations they are broken into geographic locations, with a regional VP for each and an executive VP to whom the regionals report. They also have a VP for development and acquisitions. While we can continue to live with the restaurant staff VPs of advertising and promotion, legal, and engineering supporting both restaurants and hotels, our line executives in the hotel division must expand, and I should be one of the first candidates for executive VP, senior VP, or maybe someday president of the hotel division. Or maybe just leave operations, and become executive VP, development and acquisitions, where I just fly around the world looking for locations on Rainbow’s routes, or even in places where they want a permit to fly. Wouldn’t that be neat, where I wouldn’t have to worry about food cost, beverage profits, or personnel problems?

  The layover time was short, but I had time to call the Aussie, Peter, our GM in Honolulu. It was about eight hours to Honolulu, but we’re heading across the international dateline so gaining time, which means we’ll get in about the time we left Tokyo a day earlier. I reached Peter and he tells me he heard I was in South Korea and was disappointed I didn’t stop on my way over. I assured him I was too, but had time problems and looked forward to seeing him before I leave. He says the occupancy is tight, but he’ll try to find a suite.

  This time I was in coach on the aisle, but it could have been worse, with most middle seats filled. I had eight solid hours to work and think, and, of course, I immediately began to process Al’s info along with Margie’s. Face it Kevin, I said to myself, the chase was in motion and I’m the prey. God, I hate indecision with a vengeance, but in this case, I really didn’t know what to do, and it was a helpless feeling. They knew who took their stuff, they knew where I worked, and they sure as hell have a plan on what to do, and I don’t. That’s a real disadvantage, and the only chance of escaping harm at the moment was Len. At least that was some consolation. Where would I be if I hadn’t contacted him? Probably be a candidate for cardiac arrest.

  I pulled the OAG out of the briefcase. Today is Friday and I could leave tomorrow and get into New York on Sunday. But why do I want to do that? The office is closed, but I could get in as I have the key. So what? I’m not sure I want to be alone at the office, at home, or anywhere else in New York. Len said I could call him at home on the weekend, but what good would that do if I’m bouncing around what could actually be ground zero in this whole mess. Actually, the closer I get to New York, the more jittery I feel. I better calm down, take a deep breath, and try to think pleasant thoughts, or I’ll do myself in.

  There are a myriad of options one chooses to use to ultimately relax: liquor, drugs, eating, sports, working out, or hanging out. From the time I became a responsible adult, mine has been having a woman to make love to, with soft music and soft lighting. Having a sweet, desirable female that I have come to know and desires me, is life’s greatest pleasure, bar none. I am accused at company headquarters from male associates that are not my great friends that I am a womanizer, and I reject that characterization. Although single and unpromised in any way, I have never, at any time in my career, fraternized with any women that worked with me or for me. That has been a solid principle of mine, first, because I’m in a business that is surrounded by beds, and second, I’ve seen enough of scandal damage to warn me. And I don’t believe that I take advantage of women any more than they do of me, and if we’re receiving mutual benefits, where’s the problem?

  On the other hand, I do come across in my travels some very attractive women, and fortunately, some of them are attracted to me. I have a theory about it. An unusually attractive woman does not meet as many potential suitors as an ordinary looking woman because of the everyman’s fear of rejection. To the contrary, the more attractive they are, the more attracted I am to them, and perhaps that self-confidence has something to do with my success.

  I’m tall, in decent shape, a tad over six feet, my hair is dark with graying sides, and my looks identify me as one of the black Irish. That is, the name given by the Irish to the descendants from the south and west of Ireland where the greatest armada of naval vessels ever then assembled, attempting an invasion of England, were blown off course and shipwrecked along the Irish coast. Many of these Spaniards survived and were assimilated into the population. Their descendants then had darker hair, eyes, and skin, while retaining their Irish looks and I, Kevin Logan, was one of those breeds.

  But most of all, I really enjoy making love. At the same time, I am more than appreciative of the woman I’m with for allowing me this pleasure, and apparently it’s evident and that really matters to my partner. As a result, I’m usually invited for a return visit. It doesn’t hurt either that I’m able to travel easily to almost any destination. Finally, I love music and especially love to, and can, dance, and the latter apparently puts me in the minority of eligible males.

  All that reverie brings to mind a particular woman in Honolulu named Cindy. She was a hostess in one of the busiest lounges and restaurants in the hotel. I don’t know what her background was, but she sure fit the picture of a striking blond poured into a perfect fitting gown as the hostess of an upscale hotel restaurant. As far as skills, she didn’t need to have many, all she had to do was know the flow chart, greet the guests, seat them, hand them the menu, and smile. Who, whether it be management or the guests, could ask for anything more? I did get to Honolulu far more often than South Korea and our other new hotel on Fiji, because it was the United States and few cities in the world were more popular. As a result, I had noticed her on several of my trips. I was principled, but not blind.

  Of course, that was that, another attractive female in the employ of our company. Good for the company, but not me. On my last trip, however, one night I happened to visit a competing hotel, blocks from ours. They had a rooftop lounge and restaurant, and a music trio with dancing. I wasn’t there fifteen minutes when the elevator opened at the lounge entrance and this vision arrived, nicely dressed, with gorgeous blond hair framing the most delicate of features. Cindy. I don’t know if I was staring, but she saw me and immediately approached.

  “Oh, Mr. Logan, how are you? Are you checking the competition or just slumming? Whoa, I thought, pretty cheeky for an employee.

  “Actually, neither,” I said. “I’m here for the music. I enjoy it as often as I can.”

  “Oh,” she said again, sensing my reaction, “I didn’t mean to be so flip. I don’t work for the hotel any longer and when I did, we didn’t have much chance to talk.”

  “My turn to apologize. I wasn’t expecting to see you here and I’m sure it was a surprise to you also. When did you leave the hotel?”

  “About six weeks or more now, I guess.”

  I invited her to sit on the barstool beside me and found out that this was a special night out for her. She was married and had decided to go out for the night alone. She was having serious problems with her retired military husband, especially since she had left the hotel weeks earlier, and needed a break from the routine. I thought instantly, Wow! I mean, you talk about Casablanca, where Rick says “Of all the gin joints in the world--.”
How could I be so lucky? The night turned out to be very special. Cindy loved to dance the way I preferred, together and embraced, moving two bodies to the rhythm and beat as one. I can’t think of anything more romantic. Between drinks, dancing, and dinner we really got to know each other.

  Cindy’s inner self and outward appearance were really incompatible. This was somebody who was very conflicted and, despite her beauty, was a really shy, insecure person who had been damaged by life problems, most recently by those in her marriage. I let her do most of the talking and just provided an ear to listen. At the end of the evening she thanked me, prepared to leave, and asked me if I would be here any length of time. I said I would be here for two more days, and would be free the day after tomorrow if she was interested in a day at the beach on the far side of Oahu. She appeared delighted to continue our conversation and I gave her my room number to call me tomorrow to set up the time.

  With my week’s work completed on Saturday, I picked her up at a prearranged spot downtown, and headed out past Diamond Head to Hanauma Bay on the southeast end of Oahu. This beautiful beach and nature preserve is a lovely cove surrounded by a cliff providing easy access down from the parking lot. It was once a volcanic crater and now is home to abundant and colorful sea life. It is also remote, quiet, and an especially romantic setting. We set up our nest in a corner of the cove all by ourselves at the bottom of the cliff and away from other beachgoers. With my cooler of piña coladas, hotel blankets, and Cindy’s music, we settled into our own little paradise. She appeared to be almost a different person than the one I met at the rooftop lounge. Apparently our spontaneous meeting two days ago was cathartic and she had come out of her shell.

  We took a dip in the calm waters and I took a couple of pictures of Cindy in her bikini. After two or three piña coladas, and very little conversation while sitting on the blanket, I leaned over and kissed her. Saying she returned my affection would be a complete understatement.