Bab 16: Scammed at first sight
The boarding was successful despite the few delays that occurred.
Emma put the matter of that man tricking her at the back of her mind.
'I can't ruin a trip because of an insignificant stranger whom I'm probably never gonna see again' She logically thought.
She swore she wouldn't have thought like this if she knew how many interactions with this man lay ahead of her.
But you can't predict the future. Can you?
After getting on the cruise, Emma let out a sigh of relief.
'That's it, Emma. Now you have to focus on self-development and mental health during these six months without any external disturbance. And you have to make use of this trip to achieve your goal.' She reminded herself.
The last few months had been hard on her and she didn't want to deal with the aftermath of the broken engagement.
Emma knew it was a cowardly move but she didn't think she could cope with that situation with an open mind.
She felt refreshed just by the fact that she was going away from all of this.
An employee wearing a navy-colored uniform with a crossbow tie and black pants approached her.
"Hello, ma'am! Can I see your ticket to take you to your designated cabin?" He asked professionally.
"Here you go!" Emma said handing over her ticket to him.
"Cabin 436, hallway 18 on the right side of the captain's cabinet," He mumbled confusedly.
Then he looked straight at Emma and said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry to inform you but there must have been a mistake and you are required to renew your ticket. Cabin 436 is never available for normal guests as it is exclusive to honorary guests or celebrities. I'm extremely sorry for the inconvenience. Now, if you please follow me to the administration office, we can get you back on our system quickly. We hope you have an amazing voyage with us!" He smiled at the end.
Emma was baffled by his statement because her grandfather had exclusively bought this ticket for her and he wouldn't have made such a mistake. She was bewildered for a moment but regained her composure soon as she remembered repeated reminders given by her grandfather to be aware of such scams.
"So, you are trying to say that because of your incapability to do your work properly, I have to go through all the procedures again?" Emma smiled sweetly at him asking as if she was genuinely curious. Now she understood why her Grandpa was emphasizing the fact that it was an all-inclusive ticket.
'It's not been even 5 minutes since I boarded and they are asking me to renew my ticket. What a rip-off! Do they think I'm a sheep that they can shave whenever they want?' Emma was a bit angered by this behavior but decided to play along.
The man got flustered as he had not expected Emma to question him. His gesture showed how he had done this plenty of times. But since nobody wanted to ruin their vacation, they just went along with it. But today was not the day as they were dealing with Emma Woods.
A lot of people stopped in their tracks after they heard Emma's question, frowning at the employee as they had never heard of such an absurd reason to deny guests of their cabin.
One thing about the rich is that they don't pay attention to trivial things but will do anything to appear magnanimous in others' eyes.
"Ma'am, it is indeed a mistake on our part but we ask for your understanding and cooperation to make this trip a memorable experience for you. If you can please follow me," Another employee standing on the side, stepped in for his co-worker's defense.
"Um, can you kindly tell me which way to go? And do I have to pay any fees?" Emma asked as she put on the façade of a dumb person.
She saw how their eyes glowed when she mentioned additional costs. "Thank you so much for your cooperation young miss. This way please." The first man said gesturing toward the west, opposite the administration office.
"I think you are mistaken. I read that the administration office is towards the east of the boarding gate when I came up" Emma was not going to let them go easily.
"Miss, you are making things difficult for us. If you continue this behavior, I have no choice but to deboard you and possibly ban you from possible future voyages as well." The first man finally lost his cool and said strictly. He had never met a guest who asked so many questions before so his patience ran out.
"I'm just asking-" Before Emma could finish, she was interrupted by someone.
"Do you think we are blind and we don't see how you are trying to con this child?" Someone said in a heavy voice. It was the man from downstairs.
For a second, even Emma was scared by his tone. To her surprise, the employees were unfazed.
In the contrast, they became even more resolute in their stance.
"Sir, you do realize that we have the authority to deboard you and cancel your booking because you are trying to obstruct our duties." The second one said uprightly.
"Yes, I'm aware that you are trying to get money out of this child's pocket by forcing her to re-buy her ticket and renew her booking." The man came before Emma, blocking her view with his huge back.
'He's way over 6 feet. And looking at his muscles, he works out regularly.' Emma once again let her intrusive thoughts win over her.
'Emma, it's not the time for that. Pay attention,' She yelled in her brain.
She glared at the man's back wanting to burn a hole through him but decided to do it after he gets rid of these employees for her. After all who didn't like a free meal? And the man was getting rid of the trouble for her.
Probably due to the commotion, which is highly unlikely to happen with first-class passengers, the captain came.
Emma saw him coming from the corner of her eye. Nobody else had noticed his arrival until he cleared his throat and asked, "What seems to be the problem here?"
He was a bulked-up old man in white sailor clothes with a nametag that read "Captain Jacob"
Before anyone could respond, Emma stuck her head out from behind that trickster and said, "Sir, there seems to be a problem with my ticket and they said they will help me rectify it."
Emma saw both the captain and that con man frown at her response.
The captain looked at her and the employees who were scared silly due to the captain's arrival.
He seemed to have guessed what was happening here but still asked, "Can I see your ticket please?" He asked in a pacifying tone as if he was talking to a five-year-old child.
It irked Emma but she managed to maintain her smile.
"It is with them," she politely pointed at the two employees.
"Ticket" He only said a single word. Albeit reluctantly, the first man gingerly handed over the ticket.
The captain glanced at the ticket and then at Emma. All the while ignoring the con man standing beside her.
After a few minutes, he said, "There is no problem with the ticket. You can go to your assigned cabin."
He smiled as he asked his aide to guide Emma and that con man to their cabins.
Emma was annoyed because that con man once again took advantage of her.
She was about to move when she heard the captain say again, "For future reference, you don't hand over your ticket even to the employees who work on the cruise. Keep it safe and with you at all times." He instructed and then left with those two employees.
'They are probably gonna get fired' Emma thought.
"Let me guide you to your cabin. Miss." The aide was a man in his 40s and had a darker complexion. He was very cooperative and easy to be around.
Emma followed him and went to cabin 436, which was going to be her home for the next 6 months.
At this moment, the con man whom she had forgotten about took out his ticket and showed the aide.
"Looks like we are neighbors." He smiled a devilish smile as he displayed his ticket which showed cabin 439. Since cabins were divided into even and odd numbers on one side, he ended up being opposite to Emma's cabin.
Emma gritted her teeth at the revelation. On the other hand, the aide looked surprised. "Are you two not together?" He asked.
"No, we're not." They both replied at the same time.
The aide looked concerned at the answer and said to Emma, "You have to take extra care so you don't get scammed in the future. I'm afraid to say there are a lot of scammers on board. You must be careful. If you have any problem, look for me or Captain Jacob." He instructed and handed over a card before taking his leave.
Emma said she'll take care before realizing another problem. She had no way to get into her cabin as she didn't have the key.
She was irritated at the course of events. 'Why do these things always happen to me? Am I some kind of magnet that attracts all kinds of bad energy?'
Emma lamented as she leaned against the wall and thought about what to do next.
The con man had been watching her for a while, he lightly laughed which was enough to garner Emma's attention.
"Don't tell me you don't have the key?" He asked holding back his laugh.
Emma wanted to murder this man at this moment. Why did he have to be so annoying?
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