Frequent Traveller (Cathy Dixon #1) (11 page)

"Tom Tom ..."

"You have to show me your stuff, Cat."

"There's really nothing to show Tom, I promise. And I think you have to stop watching those James Bond reruns."

"Oh but those spy movies are right about one thing, you know," he said ruefully as they went back into their room.

Cathy turned to face him. She wondered what else his mind was going to churn out. "Hot chicks, like you."

"Tom!" This time he was not fast enough and her elbow dug into his ribs.

"Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying. And you know there is some of your other stuff that you can show me, spy woman."

"Really now?" Cathy giggled as he pulled her into bed with him.

VENICE, ITALY

December 2008

Stretched across one hundred islands, the city of Venice has made its mark in history with a variety of different titles. It has been labelled as the City of Masks, the City of Bridges, the Floating City and City of Canals, to name a few. Having started out as a powerful marketing force, that controlled silk trade and spices, Venice diversified its specialties through the years. For centuries, especially during the blossoming days of the Renaissance period, it has been the birthplace to many a musician, composer and painter. This includes Antonio Vivaldi, Andrea Gabrieli and Giovanni Belinni.

It was also home to Philosopher Elena Piscopia, the first woman in the world to receive a Doctorate Degree. In tandem with its rich culture in music, art and history, Venice has continued the various festivals which had made the city popular in the past. The Carnival of Masks which is a popular tourist attraction is held before Ash Wednesday and has also become an annual gathering for a few artistic organisations.

Venice Biennale is a festival that celebrates artistic ventures and has been held annually since 1893. It is an international attraction alongside the Venice Film Festival which is held in August every year. The city lent its name to Shakespeare's play the Merchant of Venice and has been the scenic backdrop for a variety of Hollywood blockbusters such as The Talented Mr. Ripley, Lara Croft, The Italian Job and was the setting for Madonna's controversial hit "Like A Virgin".

Venice is also labelled as one of the most visited cities in the world with tourism accounting for 28% of its economy. It offers visitors a riveting journey into the past through its well maintained historical buildings and sites. It also offers newer tourist options that include a host of luxurious hotels, boutiques and European cuisine. If anything, a snapshot of its picturesque background is reason enough for anyone to visit Venice.

The day after Christmas was always a busy time for the associates of MoonStar Venice. The annual Boxing Day Gala meant that The Venetian, the main restaurant at the property hosted a special buffet which opened from the wee hours of 6:00 a.m. on Boxing Day till 6:00 a.m. the following day. At any given time, 1001 dishes were presented to Christmas diners. Twelve different types of liquors were available and flowed freely through the day. Priced at $800 per person, it was the "all you can eat" buffet one dreamt about.

Most guests stopped by for the three main meals. They leisurely explored each culinary delight but went about their day attending to last minute Christmas gifts or meeting with family and friends. Of course, some parked themselves, with family and friends in tow, at the restaurant and took full advantage of the amount they had paid for the buffet.

From his glass office at the corner of the lobby, Gary, the property's Guest Services Manager watched. Making full use of their digital cameras, a group of youngsters swarmed the main lobby. The guys held out small shoots of mistletoe which the laughing girls spotted. They each smacked a kiss on the guys' lips. More pictures were snapped. More hugs were shared. Yes, joy floated in the air.

But Gary's thoughts were far from anything that resembled Christmas joy. He looked around him at the guest service office of MoonStar Venice. He had worked at this MoonStar property for more than three years and with the hotel chain for more than ten. Years earlier, in desperate need of an after school job to support his ailing mother, he had applied to be a bellboy at MoonStar London.

Guests had adored his gentle manner and the polite smile he offered them, irrelevant of how he was treated. Within a year, hotel management took notice and offered him an internship with the hotel chain. The opportunity of a lifetime to travel, meet people and be able to support his mother. It did not take him long to accept. He hired Mama a good nurse to care for her and even stay with her. He sent her the money she needed and still he had enough to live his dream.

The internship program he joined had allowed him to choose which department he would work for. He had selected guest services. He loved to see a happy guest, answer their questions and solve their problems. He always believed every guest needed assurances that "a holiday did not have to be coupled with worry".

For Gary, it was never just a job. Every single day, he lived for it. At least it was, until five weeks ago, when the website had cropped up. The pictures were horrific. Proof and accusations the site piled up against him were tremendous. He had no way of refuting any of it. He wrote to the site administrator and asked to have it taken down. He even begged over the phone. But they laughed at him and said he had finally got what he deserved.

Then the emails started. Each one was delivered from a different email address and each threatened to inform MoonStar Corporate, guests he had previously dealt with and acquaintances. Rude phone calls woke him up at 3:00 a.m. then kept him awake for days. Each time the hushed voice told him to burn in hell and sounded a cackling laugh. A few days before Christmas, he had received a note during morning briefing. It said that a Christmas gift which he must receive in person was waiting for him in his office.

When he arrived, the entire glass space was filled with pictures from the website. Printed in various sizes, the pictures were stuck for all of MoonStar Venice to see. Unsure of who else had seen it, he removed the pictures as fast as he could.

For all the good he had accomplished in his life, he was tormented in a way he knew he did not deserve. But who would listen? In the few weeks the site had been operational, discussion groups had formed, opinions added and more people informed. The last he checked, the site had reached more than three million viewers. Who was he to go against three million people?

Hushed voices greeted Cathy as she approached the executive meeting room at MoonStar Venice. Eight days earlier, their Guest Services Manager had committed suicide at the staff quarters where he had lived. Gary had hung himself from a wooden beam in the room with a belt.

Always one for punctuality, a junior associate suspected something amiss when he had not shown up for work and had gone looking for him. She saw him hanging from the beam through a window and had asked Security to break down the door. It was at that very moment that hell made a quick descent on this property.

Even in death, Gary was thoughtful. Politely, his letter apologised for any mess or inconvenience he might have caused. He provided detailed arrangements for his funeral. Other details included medical and accommodation arrangements for his mother. Obviously, Gary had put much thought into his suicide. This had raised many questions with management. As they started asking around, they came across the website, GayGary.com which showed Gary engaged in various sexual acts with other men, even teenage boys. He was seen kissing in bars and even having one of the MoonStar associates perform oral sex on him in his office.

For a hotel chain that preached non-discriminatory work ethics and then had an associate commit suicide because he was pressured about his sexuality, also meant suicide for the property. Cathy was summoned as the property carried out its internal investigation into the website.

"You know, Cathy, on the one hand, I want to tell everyone that it's no big deal. Go back to work. It's business as usual. But the fact that our associates participated in creating such a website and nobody brought it to our attention sooner, well ... that's one of the reasons you're here," said Terry Kimel, the General Manager of the property.

He seemed distraught and for good reason. The negative reaction this could set off was fatal for everyone involved and needed to be handled as cautiously as possible.

"For more than twenty years, I've held this post and I've never seen anything like this. They keep telling me technology is moving us forward. Bah!" He was agitated, his temples visibly vibrated as he raised his voice. Part of him was furious while the other seemed reminiscent of days when websites were a luxury not misused for creating mischief.

"And we are absolutely certain that Adam started the site?" he asked. He stood up but continued to look down at the paperwork on his desk.

Oliver, the Security Manager nodded. "IT checked and he's been banging on about it every minute of the day. His Twitter account is full of it as well. Gary denied his leave application for the Christmas holidays so this is what he did." The man splayed his hands in frustration. "Damn twit, if you ask me."

"But Cathy, you can issue a statement that this was the act of one employee, no? We have to get the word out that this is not MoonStar practice. We're nearing the deadline for our new room promotions, not to mention the bookings we'll be receiving for the Carnival of Venice. Cancellations of any kind are bound to rock the boat," piped in Pietro the Director of Sales and Marketing.

"Until HR makes a final decision about how they want to deal with Adam, I'll keep telling the press the same thing, ‘We do not discriminate and that this is a time to focus on the special person Gary was and to ensure his family receive the support they need’. No one else is allowed to comment any media unless I say otherwise," Cathy prompted.

The mood in the room got gloomier by the minute. Cathy expected no change any time soon. 'Common sense isn't common, that was a given,' she thought, 'but when you act as though your actions do not have consequences and rummage through someone else's life, you are definitely in for a rude awakening.'

"What kinds of animals raise people like these? When I confronted Adam yesterday, he actually thought all of this was funny. That it was his right to say whatever he wanted using information any way he saw fit," fumed Oliver.

"I get it Oliver, you see fault with his parents, the media will see fault in MoonStar. They will stress that we didn't teach tolerance," Cathy said softly but a little impatient. "We all loved Gary, especially those who worked with him everyday. His sexual orientation didn't matter to us. Who he dated was none of our business but the media will put words in our mouths and emotions where they don't belong. Like it or not that's what we're up against," she continued.

"What about other MoonStar associates who are gay? I'm sure we can mention them," Pietro wondered out loud.

"Yes, when push comes to shove we can use them as a public front. I don't think anyone who has worked with MoonStar can even broach the topic of discrimination on any level," Cathy responded.

A loud knock on the door distracted them. A bespectacled head peered through the slightly opened door.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but uhhh ... something's not right ... and you should know," said Andy the IT Manager.

Terry motioned for him to enter. He looked just as exhausted as everyone else in the room. Cathy guessed he would have been one of the first few who were pressured for information when the website surfaced. Rumours that the site had been started using the Internet connection from within the property, made his job even more difficult.

"The pictures ... the ones on the site ... GayGary.com ... it's not Gary," he blurted out.

A stunned silence fell on the occupants of the room.

"Apparently he dated this girl awhile back, Natalia. She's from the spa and she came to my office. She wanted help ... she asked me to scan a picture they had taken together at last year's associates picnic. She said that it was the only picture she had of them together and wanted to remember him ..."

He spoke quickly. He was obviously excited about the information he was sharing but was missing the impact that this had on his colleagues.

"Andy, how do you know it's not Gary?" Terry prompted as his patience was stretched a little further.

"Oh, yes ... as I was scanning the picture I saw that Gary had a birthmark or scar on his left shoulder," he motioned to his own shoulder, "and the pictures on GayGary.com didn't have the mark. I enhanced the pictures and I looked ... three times. That's when I saw the touch up marks on each photo. The images are not real."

He appeared smug but the others looked with horror at each other. This shed a whole new light on things, sprouting a whole new set of different offenses. Yes, the issue of discrimination could be thrown out now. But, the fact that a MoonStar associate with enough time on his hands but not enough humanity in his heart had carried out such a heinous act was bound to raise questions.

Ready to explode, Oliver, the Security Manager blurted out what everyone else was thinking, "I want to be very clear about what you are saying. You are telling me that this cretin was bothered enough to take someone else's pictures, edit them and embarrass Gary to the point of suicide, all because Gary denied his leave application?"