Chapter 13: Danger, Danger, Danger

All three resorts were up and running smoothly.

Kathy Larson turned out to be a wonderful general manager for the Guava resort. The guests loved her and she loved her guests, both literally and figuratively.

Jack Roberts was now our CIO, chief information officer. Glory Roberts was promoted to IT manager.

I still needed someone with experience to run our supply side of the business.

Four days before the Smiths were scheduled to leave Guava Island, I got a call from John.

“Eddie, you said to call you before I accepted any job offers. Does that mean that you might be considering the idea of hiring me?”

“The answer is yes. I am looking for a strong leader and an experienced negotiator. I need a person that can plan ahead while at the same time be aware of what is happening around him in the present. The position I need to fill is Chief Procurement Officer.”

I asked John if he’d received any offers yet.

“Yes, several to be honest. And they are all very attractive.”

I asked him what his top offer was and he replied that it was $250,000.

I made some calls and arranged that John and family will fly home tomorrow so they can pack up their belongings. John will submit his retirement paperwork next Monday, and he’ll attend a Change of Command ceremony on Tuesday and a retirement party on Wednesday. Thursday morning, the Smiths will again board our company plane and return here to become the newest residents of Paradise Island Resorts.

Minutes after I had made arrangements for John and his family to join us on our island, Jack Roberts called me.

“Eddie, can you come to my office in the Computer Center?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“You’ll see when you get here.”

When I entered Jack’s office, he was seated in front of the largest screen I have ever seen. It looked like he was watching a huge weather map.

“I’m glad you are here Eddie.” Jack pointed to a white circle that looked like it was spiraling. “This started as a disturbance off the Ivory Coast. It is now building into a tropical storm.”

“I don’t understand Jack. Why is this storm so important?”

Jack zoomed the picture out until some land masses came into view. He pointed to some small specks on the screen. “These are our islands.”

He typed in several commands and lines appeared on the screen. Each line started out as a light blue and slowly became a darker blue as the storm moved forward. At one point, the lines changed to a light red that became darker as they closed in on the land masses.

“The lines show the probable directions that this storm will take.”

“Holy Shit Jack, that bottom-line goes directly over our island.”

“Which ever line it takes, we are going to be hit with heavy rain and strong winds,” Jack said.

“When do you think it will arrive here?”

“We should see the leading edge Sunday night and the main part of the storm by Monday afternoon. The rain and wind should start to abate Monday night and Tuesday will be bright and sunny. Eddie, we are going to be hit by a hurricane force storm.”

“How accurate is this information?” I asked

“It’s the most reliable information that NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) can give.”

“That is a government group isn’t it? How did you get this projection?”

Jack said, “Well, I ah, you see, I ah kind of hacked into NOAA’s computers.”

We had several tropical storms hit the island but this would be the first time that we would experience the force of a hurricane.

I hurriedly called a meeting of my top managers. In attendance were: Matt Twain, Chief Resort Officer; Rolf Svenson, Chief Operations Officer; Alejandro Martinez, Chief Security Officer; James Collins, Chief Architect; Janice Collins, Chief Medical Officer; Jack Roberts, Chief Information Officer; Patrick Larson, General Manager of Pineapple Resort; Fred Larson, General Manager of Mango Resort; and Kathy Larson, General Manager of Guava Resort. I also invited Carol Quigley for her psychological advice.

It was a happy and energetic group of men and women when I stood up and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have experienced many things since we came to these islands. And I am happy to say that we have experienced more highs than lows. But today, I was informed that we have a tropical storm making its way west. By Friday, it will develop into a hurricane.”

Silence invaded the room. A look of concern clouded the face of everyone attending this meeting.

I asked Jack Roberts to take over the meeting.

“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted four different paths that this storm will take. One of those projections has the hurricane in a direct line with our islands. The other three predictions show the hurricane passing to the north of us.

“Regardless of the path this storm takes, we will experience strong winds, heavy rain, and flooding from the storm surge.”

Fred Larson asked about the flooding. “Just how high do you expect the flood water to get?”

“That’s a good question,” Jack said. “Our islands were formed from the ridges left from an extinct volcano. This is actually a plus for us. The seaward side of our islands are steep and deep which will reduce height of the waves associated with the storm surge. But I still expect two to six feet of flooding depending on our distance from the eye of the storm.”

Carol Quigley asked, “As soon as the guests find out about the danger of the approaching hurricane, it will elicit the flight or fight response. What are your plans for the out-going and the in-coming guests and those guests that are staying over for their second week?”

I said, “The leading edge of the hurricane will not be here until late Sunday night. That means the guests scheduled to leave or arrive this coming weekend should not be affected. Having said that, I also think that we should advise the in-coming guests about the hurricane. They can decide whether they still want to come. If they choose not to come, we will reimburse them the full amount that they have prepaid. The guests that are staying over should get the same options as the in-coming guests.”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

“Okay, here is what we need to do. Resort managers, you will be in charge of informing our current and in-coming guests about the impending storm, its severity, and give them the options they have.

“Rolf, you and your team will scour the grounds and secure any loose objects into our storage facilities. This includes all of our transportation and work vehicles.

“Al, I want you and your team to help me secure all of our boats and ferries. On Sunday, I want you to send out teams to make sure that no-one is outside of their pods once the warning siren is activated.