Chapter 65: Nicole: Sensing Trouble

Mornings in Reception always start briskly, but today feels like someone turned the dial up one notch too far. The reception desk is already crowded when I arrive ... A couple of Black cats checking out early, three White cats waiting for instructions, a pair of Blue cats hovering in the background.

I tie my hair back, take a steadying breath, before stepping behind the reception counter next to Brooke.

“Good morning,” I say, and the Black cats immediately switch their focus from Brooke to me.

Brooke quietly disengages from the conversation.

A Black cat hands me her room card. “We’re checking out early. The Tower shower was cold again.”

I smile apologetically. “I’ll log it for maintenance. Thank you for letting us know.”

She softens as they usually do in response to calm. I assist Brooke in completing the Black cats check out. Black cats always receive priority at reception. It’s a system that keeps the peace, even if it isn’t fair.

I scan their membership cards to cancel their residual booking, and send them on their way. This morning’s launch isn’t due to leave for another hour, so the Black cats will need to wait in the reception lounge.

Next, I deal with a Blue cat with a lost?property query. Then a White cat asking for permission to retrieve a vacuum from the locked cupboard. Then another Black cat wanting to hire a White cat to serve at a morning tea party in E3. I ask Brooke to deal with the lost-property query, and then to retrieve the vacuum cleaner.

The hire request needs Helen or Tessa to allocate an available White cat. Both are absent from the office at the moment, so I take the Black cat’s details and promise to arrange for a White cat to turn up at the required time. It’s considerate of the Black cat to ask us to allocate a White cat rather than ambush a passing White cat for the task. Rebecca has a talent for making any Black cat who diverts a White cat from her assigned work regret doing so. Unfortunately Tessa lacks the authority to do that, and Helen is invariably too busy to involve herself in such matters.

Underneath the familiar to and fro of the resort, something feels off. Maybe it’s the maintenance backlog. Maybe it’s the end?of?season exhaustion. For those of us who returned after the two month closure, life has been charging ahead at full speed. The new staff are still coming to grips with both their work duties and the island lifestyle. April and Chloe are making changes affecting to mood of the club. Nothing major so far, but I worry that they will make one change too many and trigger an adverse reaction from club members. The change of caste nomenclature to coloured cats hasn’t gone down well with some of the traditionalists.

Then there is Melissa’s peculiar involvement in the management decisions. She and Chloe are close ... very close ... not unlike my relationship with Olivia. However, that doesn’t explain April’s odd behaviour towards Melissa. Melissa’s role here has been strange from the outset. Initially she was designated as April’s Chattel slave ... an impractical role for a member of staff, but she and Melissa somehow made it work. Then April had Melissa assigned to the Slave caste as a Field worker. Melissa brought several personal skills to the island, but doing gardening and heavy manual labour weren’t among them. However, I’ve no complaints about Melissa. She works hard, and several mistresses have complimented Melissa’s compliance during private sessions. Even Bernice, who has a liking for heavy bondage sessions that scare the shit out of many White cats, praised Melissa’s fortitude.