Road Warrior: Barcelona

I guess he wanted to me to look around. Maybe I could meet some of the contract workers hired by Señor Benavidez. As I was going down the elevator my spirits picked up. Maybe this was the party that Ana was attending?

It was a large room and there were obviously some of the new contract workers plus a number of Royal Cruise Lineslocal support and management personnel there in uniforms of one kind or another. There were tables of appetizers in addition to a row of tables for tasting wine and cheese at the end of the room.

The room was more crowded than I expected and I had some trouble trying to see if Ana was there. I finally found her pinned in a corner by a slick looking guy in a RCL Uniform. As I got closer I remembered his name from the list Benavidez had provided from me. Aldo Bommarito was from Naples and was a trainer in the gym. I didn't like his looks and I sure didn't like the way he was invading Ana's personal space.

As I came close Ana saw me and stepped around him, giving me a big hug. "You're here! Are you going on the cruise? Where is your cabin? I have an interior cabin on Deck Eight."

As long as Aldo was around I didn't want to tell her where I was, in the Owner's Suite on Deck Ten. That's what they had available to stash me and I wasn't going to argue.

Aldo gave me a kind of smirk, a knowing smile ... one gigolo to another. It made me feel unclean. I would certainly look for the truth, the verdad with this guy!

I finally got Ana alone to talk to her. "I didn't know you were going on this cruise, Ana."

"Yes, that's why I've been at the hotel. I'm meeting some of my family ... and Aitor's parents in Miami to see if I want to move there. Aitor had some money saved and I wanted to do something different. Are you really going to be on this ship?"

Since she had asked me to hold a confidence, I figured I could trust her. Hell, I didn't know what I was doing anyway. I took her arm and led her out into the hallway to a sitting area and explained what was going on.

"Would you like to board early? I can probably do that for you."

"Would I go on with you?"

"Sure, I can probably get you on a ships tour, too. Just a minute and let me check."

I called his home number – he told me to call if I had any questions. "Señor Benavidez, how are you? This is Charlie Castillo." I went on to tell him what I wanted to do.

"No problem, Charlie. Listen; when you see the ship dock you and your lady friend take a taxi with your luggage to the dock. They will be expecting you."

I explained to Ana and she was okay with that. We went back in to the party and circulated. I wanted everyone to think I was just another passenger. I told Ana to be ready around ten the next morning and to sleep well. I gave her a quick kiss and left her to get ready.

(to be continued)