Chapter 1: New Job Orientation Day

Jon Clark was depressed. He had been laid off from his job at the insurance company in Wausau, Wisconsin. He had been looking for other jobs, including those that paid half as much as his Vice President of Operations job when he was let go. He had worked for Wisconsin Security Insurance, WSI, for nearly 15 years when it was purchased by a huge Minnesota insurance competitor. Thankfully the Minnesota company retained most of the hourly and lower-level supervision and managers but considered the senior officers in the company ‘redundant’ and ‘having values incompatible with the new corporate culture’.

The severance package kept the Clark’s head above water for six months, during which time Jon exhausted all his contacts in the industry looking for a position, even middle management. He and his wife Joni had assumed his high salary and bonuses would only grow over time. They lived a lavish lifestyle, purchased one of the nicest homes in Wausau with gorgeous views of the ski slopes of Rib Mountain and denied their children nothing.

As a result, when the gravy train came to a sudden stop, they found themselves deep in debt with a mortgage they could not meet and were soon faced with the prospect of having to cancel club memberships and other luxuries. He was not looking forward to telling the girls, that had just received their driver’s licenses, they were not getting a car they were promised over a year ago. In past years they had always planned a week’s vacation in some warm and exotic locale for the holidays as a respite from the brutal Wausau winters. That was a definite ‘no go’ this year. There also would not be much of a Christmas.

Joni had only worked volunteer jobs in the last decade and a half since they started a family. Since graduating from UW Madison with a degree in Interior Design, she had only worked for a small design firm for a couple of years, part time, before she decided she would rather be a full-time mom. Since Jon’s career was so successful, she never felt a need to keep up professional licenses or current industry practices and as a result, she saw few prospects for her getting a job that used her degree.

Both Jon and Joni were devoted to their kids. The twin girls were now 16 and were looking forward to college. Pamela and Tammy were popular in high school and both excelled at gymnastics as well as the girls’ volleyball team. In the cliques that prevailed in the halls of high schools everywhere, they were near the top and the other kids had dubbed them “Pam-Tam”. Strangers had a hard time telling them apart. They both had long blonde hair, beautiful athletic figures and gorgeous looks. Unbeknownst to their parents they had a bit of a reputation as the ‘mean girls’ and were capable of verbally bullying some unfortunate, less popular girls.

Jon and Joni did their best to raise them with correct moral values and made all their kids attend church regularly. At the same time, neither of their parents were naïve enough to believe their very beautiful high schoolers were virgins any longer.

Mike, their 14-year-old son, on the other hand was a geeky computer nerd. He and his friends spent most of their time playing war games on line. His older sisters did their best to pretend that Mike was not their brother and when forced to be together as a family treated him with distance and distain. He excelled in school and was a straight A student. He was in several advanced placement classes including programming, calculus and theoretical physics. About the only time the girls paid attention to him was when they needed help with a homework assignment.

Joni and Jon kept themselves in good shape, thanks to regular workouts and personal trainers at a local health spa. Joni, at 37 could have passed as an older sister to the twins, thanks to her work out routine and some help from some minor cosmetic surgery and regular Botox injections. To Jon, she was just as beautiful as when they graduated college together. She had adopted a shorter shoulder-length hairstyle since school, more appropriate for a socialite mother of three, but to Jon she looked the same.

For the first six months, Jon tried to find a job that would allow them to stay in their home so the kids would not have to leave friends. As time wore on with no offers in sight, Jon altered his online job search to include a willingness to relocate anywhere in the U.S. and ultimately anywhere in the world but still could not find positions. As a former executive unemployed for a full year, it seemed he was toxic. He was considered over-qualified for many jobs in middle management. Even though he expressed interest in those positions, the recruiters shied away from him thinking he would only work for them until something better opened up despite his assurances. He was becoming desperate. Their savings were depleted and he had cashed in his 401K. He knew if he found nothing soon, they would be faced with foreclosure and bankruptcy.

Then, unexpectedly, he received an offer for an online interview for an ‘Operations and Facilities Director’ position. It was through one of the lesser-known job search sites he was using. The position was on a small island called St. Andrea. Jon had never heard of the place before and had to look it up. He found it was a privately owned island off the north coast of Colombia. There was very little information about the island online and most of that revolved around a multi-billionaire hedge fund manager named Louis DeVille. According to the news articles Jon could find, DeVille purchased the island for an undisclosed amount from the Colombian government to build an exclusive resort for him and his celebrity friends. Jon looked to see if he could find information about booking reservations at the resort and there was nothing on line. Apparently, the resort was so exclusive, reservations were made by invitation only. Jon pictured the Hollywood elite and royalty paying hefty fees for the pleasure of getting away to a tropical paradise with no paparazzi, fans or gawkers.

There was an interview from 5 years ago online where a lifestyles reporter interviewed DeVille about his retirement from Wall Street and the purchase of his private island. The interview took place on St. Andrea with the resort still under construction. The tour for the reporter included a preview of the construction of beautiful villas, each having views to white sand beaches from a private patio and infinity pool. DeVille said he planned to move his personal chef, Jacques Picard, to the island. He said he lured the world-renowned chef promising the best kitchen imaginable and access to the best foods native to the surrounding Caribbean with carte blanche to create an entirely new cuisine. Other than this interview Jon could find nothing else. He assumed this was due to the exclusivity of the guests. He looked up the island on Google Maps and found it sat about 80 miles off the coast of Columbia. He tried zooming in to see some of the buildings but other than a few blurry images of buildings, a pier and landing strip he could not discern much. Jon wondered if DeVille was actually able to deter aerial photography with his massive fortune and influence.

The online response to his resume did not specify salary or benefits and promised to divulge ‘generous terms of employment’ after an initial interview. It did say the resort would pay all relocation costs for his family, tutors for his kids and living accommodations for Jon and his family at no cost. As attractive as such an offer seemed, Jon was hesitant about responding since it would obviously mean a massive lifestyle change for Joni and the kids. That evening he mentioned it to Joni. She knew their financial situation was getting desperate and had been worried for some time. She was at first taken aback by the bizarre but very attractive opportunity when Jon showed her.

“My God, Jon! Could you just imagine the life style of rubbing elbows with the rich and famous in a tropical paradise that is so exclusive that few people have even seen it?” She was trying to digest the enormity of what this would mean for them. Even if the pay was not as great as he had before, their living expenses would be covered. Facing foreclosure and debt in a cold Wausau winter, this looked pretty good to Joni. She and Jon decided to discuss the possibility with the kids to see how they would react. They didn’t think Mike would care much as long as he had an internet connection but the girls could be difficult.

They were correct that Pam and Tammy were a first upset with the prospects of giving up their friends and status in school. They knew Jon had lost his job but he and Joni had, to this point, sheltered the kids from how bad their finances had become. When discussing the job and relocation, Jon decided to hit them with the good and the bad together. The bad was there was no way they would be getting cars. The girls saw this would be a significant hit to their social status once that was discovered by their friends. Jon told them that tuition at their preferred Universities would not be there if they stayed and they would be putting the house on the market soon and moving to a less desirable neighborhood. It finally started to sink to the girls how bad this could get. There were tears in their eyes, both for themselves and for the realization of how self-centered they had been while their parent’s world had been crumbling around them. They gave Jon and Joni hugs and cried and said they were sorry that they didn’t see how bad things were.

Jon then talked to them about the possibilities of this new job in a tropical paradise. He said there was no telling who they might run into in this exclusive resort simply because it WAS so inclusive no one knew who went there. But the guests were undoubtedly the international rich and famous and could include movie stars or rock stars. Who knew who they might meet? That really got their interest. Suddenly they were excited at the possibilities and started to speculate about who was rich and famous enough of their favorite celebrities that might be guests.

Jon and Joni were also correct about Mike who figured he could play his games with his online friends from any location. Why not do that in a place that was warm and where the girls wore bikinis instead of parkas? While they discussed the potential move, Mike checked his phone to see if beaches in Columbia were topless like some places in Europe.

Jon responded to the invitation to interview. Less than an hour later he received an invitation for a Zoom conference scheduled for the following morning, which he accepted. The interview was with Mr. DeVille’s personal assistant, Ms. Ramona Hamilton. Ramona was very pleasant during the interview and was quite pretty. She asked all the routine questions one would expect and gave Jon some details of the job responsibilities. He would be responsible for the facility crews. Jon explained that one segment of his prior position as VP of Operations included managing the staff for the physical plant and grounds keepers for several office buildings. Ramona seemed impressed and said they were interested and would like to move to the next phase of the interview process.

Ramona said they had already reviewed Jon’s social media accounts as part of his vetting process. Jon knew in his day and age, this was becoming a fairly routine practice, especially for management positions. At least they were honest and up-front about it. He did not have anything out there that would embarrass him. Being in executive positions and very visible, Jon was careful not to express political or social issue opinions on social media. Mostly everything that he or Joni posted were photos of family outings with the kids, birthdays and anniversaries. Ramona said she was aware that Jon was a family man with kids and wanted to know how he believed his family would handle the relocation. He said they already discussed the possibility and everyone was onboard.

She explained that they would require Tom to sign a one-year contract. The commitment was necessary since the company would be making a significant investment in relocation costs. There would be a signing bonus of $20,000 US. The salary for the first year would be $250,000 payable at the end of the contract year. She explained the reason for the end of year payment was that there was nothing for his family to purchase while at the resort. Meals, medical costs, housing and all other needs would be provided to Jon and his family free of charge. Jon asked about vacations and time off. Ramona said there would be time off in his first year but due to the small staff and his responsibilities, he would have to be on call, so he could not leave the island. She asked if this would be a problem and he said it would not. She quickly added with a smile “But once you see our island, you would be nuts to want to go elsewhere for a vacation.”

Ramona said she would need some recent photo of Joni and the kids for security badges in the event Jon was hired. She promised to give him a call on a hiring decision the following day after a discussion with Mr. DeVille. She added “I personally believe you will be a good match for us and I think there is a great chance for this to happen.”

Jon felt great after the call. For the first time in a year, things were looking up. He rushed to tell Joni but held back on telling the kids, not wanting to jinx himself. He received the job offer the next day. He had to give Ramona his bank account information for the signing bonus which was deposited in his bank account the following day.

Neither Jon nor Joni had any family in the area as three of their four parents had passed away for different reasons. Jon’s had died in a tragic car accident and Joni’s mother had passed away from cancer. Joni’s dad had divorced her mom when Joni was younger and they never kept in touch afterwards.

They had three months before they were expected in St. Andrea which allowed them time to liquidate their assets in Wisconsin say their goodbyes to friends. This also allowed the kids to complete the current school year. They received a fair offer on the house shortly after putting it on the market. They also sold their cars on-line. They arranged for a storage and transfer company to store their furniture and other belongings they would not be taking with them. It was a real challenge to get Joni and the girls to limit themselves to two suitcases each. The DeVille Resort set this limit since the last leg of their journey would be by private plane with several other new employees and their families and the plane had a weight limit. They spent the last week prior to their trip in a hotel in Milwaukee since the new owners of the home wanted to move in. Jon was pleasantly surprised that DeVille Resorts offered to pay for the hotel as part of the relocation costs. It was obvious this company had no problems spending money and were prompt in payment. Jon thought that was a very good sign his new employer was fiscally solid.

All five of them were excited as they began their journey to St. Andrea. The resort made all the travel arrangements and all they had to do was to have their bags packed. They were picked up at their hotel by a stretch limo that took them to the airport. Jon and Joni had first class tickets and the kids were in coach. They made connections in Miami to Cartagena, Colombia where they had to go through customs. On the other side of customs, they were met by an escort named Carlos that took them to a very nice hotel for the night.

At the hotel Carlos introduced them to four other families that were headed to the resort. They had a great time at the hotel restaurant getting to know each other and bond over dinner.

Tim and Ellen Lobert were fitness trainers from Los Angeles. As one would expect with people in their profession, both had bodies that made the others jealous. They explained they were given an offer that was hard to refuse for a one-year contract to conduct palates and yoga classes for the tourists at the resort. Joni was impressed by Tim’s bulging biceps and even with a polo shirt he had on, she got the impression there was an impressive six pack under there. Tim’s piercing blue eyes really helped to capture the attention of all the women at dinner, including the twins. Ellen was a cute 23-year-old who wore her long, straight brunette hair in a pony tail pulled through the back of her baseball cap. Joni wished her ass looked like Ellen’s. Maybe she could get Ellen to help her with some exercises to help her tone up.

Henry and Mary Brubaker were 41 and 39 respectively. Henry was a laid off mechanic and Mary was a sous chef at a restaurant in New Orleans that failed. Like the Clark’s this job for Mary working with such a famous chef was a godsend at a very tough time for their family. The job offer they added for Henry at a great salary was just a bonus. Both their daughters were redheads like their mom and were quite lovely. Mike could not stop staring at their oldest daughter Marcie. She was a drop dead gorgeous 18-year-old that reminded one of Jennifer Lawrence. Jon actually had to smack Mike in the back of the head at one point in the evening to remind him how rude it was for him to stare at her like he was. Their youngest, Carrie, was a bit shy at 15 but also very pretty.

Anthony and Vicky Johnson were a black couple from Pittsburgh. Anthony was also hired as a mechanic and his wife, like Joni, had no work assignment and was looking forward to lots of beach time in a tropical paradise. She shared many of Joni’s interests, especially true crime podcasts. Soon, the two of them were lost in conversation comparing notes on different series to which they subscribed. The Johnson’s daughter, Zoe, was a beautiful and tall 19-year-old. The blue-grey eyes she inherited from her mom gave her a very striking and exotic appearance.

Debra Pembrook, a beautiful, dark-haired, 38-year-old Registered Nurse from Seattle was excited about joining the island’s medical staff. She said she boned up on tropical diseases in the month between getting the job offer and making the trip. She confided in a side conversation with Joni that she hoped a change in venue would be good for her 16-year-old daughter, Jill. She developed a real rebellious streak since her divorce and separation from her father. Jill seemed like she could be a very pretty teen if one could get past the purple and green hair dye and the perpetual bored look.

Jon noted that all the women and girls in their group were undeniably pretty and any of the guys would be considered fairly handsome with good physiques. He figured appearance was calculated into the resort’s hiring decisions. Undoubtedly rich and famous people probably would not like to have their auras harmed by having to look at ugly people during their super exclusive vacations. Joni was glad to see so many teens were in this group that could socialize with their three.

After breakfast the next morning, their group was met by drivers that helped them pack their luggage into three vans that took all of them to a private airfield where they would fly directly to St. Andrea. Jon was surprised at the size of the private jet that would take them to the resort. The Dassault Falcon jet had an interior nearly 40 feet deep, not including the cockpit. The jet was custom painted with a ‘DeVille’ painted in red on the side. Jon saw this logo when he interviewed with Ramona Hamilton and also on the employment correspondence he signed. The ‘D’ in ‘DeVille’ had an angel’s halo it and the ‘V’ sported devil horns in an obvious play on the name ‘DeVille’.

The interior of the plane was plush with leather chairs that reclined and swiveled. The teens commandeered the seats in the rear of the plane. Mike was the only boy in the group but since he was surrounded by older cute teen girls, Jon doubted he was missing his internet connection. The flight attendant made certain all 16 passengers had secured their seat belts, closed the outer door and assured the cockpit door was closed. The plane smoothy soared over Cartagena’s massive harbor and out into the beautiful blue Caribbean.

Jon wanted to enjoy every bit of the journey and beautiful view below but possibly due to all the excitement and travel over the last couple days, he felt very tired. The more he fought to stay awake, the more his eyes drooped. He saw Joni had already dozed off next to him. He noticed his fellow passengers were also all nodding off. The last thing he remembered seeing was the flight attendant approaching his seat and curiously, she was wearing a gas mask.

Jon awoke laying on a hard surface in brightly lit room. There were skylights in the ceiling but no windows in the walls. He tried sitting up but had a splitting headache. Then he understood why the table he was on felt so cool. He was naked! Joni was laying on a table next to him but still passed out and he saw she was naked also except for a thin black band around her neck. He swung his legs off the table and tried to stand while holding on to the edge of the table trying to reach his wife.

“What the fuck!” He turned in the direction of the comment and saw a naked Tim Lobert standing next to his own table. Others started to stir. There were nine tables in this room with all nine of the adults that were on the plane. All were naked and all had the black band on their necks. Jon reached for his own neck and felt the rubber-like material. It did not seem to have a catch or buckle he could open to remove it.

Joni was waking and trying to cover her breasts and crotch with her hands as were the other four women. Joni then yelled “Where are the kids?” She was right. All seven kids were missing. Everyone started to ask questions of everyone else at once but it was obvious no one had answers.