Beneath the surface 12

The team.
On first impressions the photo manager appeared to be a decent bloke, on first impressions most men seem like decent blokes. He was rather portly, wore glasses and spoke with a strong Australian accent.
‘Hi I’m Robert. You must be Felicity and you must be Marrissa. So just to let you know… I expect you both to reach my high photographic standards.’
‘Yeyyyssss,’ said Marrissa.
Her interruption was quite untimely.
Oh no!
‘Marissa from Braaaaaaaaazil. Rio. Very Nice,’ she said.
Robert’s jaw locked while he eyed her curiously.
Silence.
Awkward silence.
Three invisible tumble weeds rolled past with a cold wind.
A grinning Brazilian grinned and… silence.
‘Right, I see. Erm…’ He coughed. ‘Erm… Felicity I have seen your work and I have also worked as a sports photographer. I had my own company too. I have a similar attitude to you. I do have my own way of doing things and expect you to adopt my methods. I am your manager and I am in charge. There is no room for manoeuvre. You will learn that I am the best and expect MY team to emulate me.’
I listened, I remained quiet. Was he a control freak or just a complete dick?
Ken and Linda had warned me about him: ‘you will find Robert a little odd, he has a huge ego so be careful. Just smile and get on with your job.’ Lynda advised.
It was apparent that Ken didn’t like him either. During one telephone call where Ken had been involved in a self admiring monologue and I was washing up, he mentioned that he was having a few issues with Robert. ‘You know Felicity I would like your honest opinion on him. He can be a bit of a bully but I know you won’t take it,’ he said.
The snake wanted my opinion on the man I was supposed to respect and take orders from. I had frowned, something wasn’t right. How could the director of a company put a new employee in such an awkward position? It made me a potential snitch and that made Ken an even greater shit.

‘So Ken employed you both. To be straight down the line I can’t stand the man. He’s an idiot and a liar - you’ll see. Unfortunately everything he told you to get you here was a lie. I suggest you try to enjoy yourself and forget about earning money. Look at it as an experience. You won’t make anything here but you will work your guts out for nothing. So be prepared because that is the truth.’
Marrissa just smiled and glanced about in a mental waft, ‘very ni…ce!’
Robert glanced at me purposely, I assume he was studying my reaction. I focused on creating my best poker face and revealed nothing other than sheer horror.

The last member of the team, the Assistant Manager, Jose was a good looking Columbian. He was tall, dark and amusing. Admittedly he had a look that suggested he was observing and at any moment could flip out. He had already been on the ship six months and sanity usually evacuated at four. He had been on the ship too long and something was out of balance. What was he holding back?
When Jose left Robert turned to me, ‘Jose was meant to go home two months ago. He is on the edge and the simplest thing tips him over. Just be aware of that and tread carefully around him. You know what it is like when you get to six months - you hate everyone and everything… So be nice.’
Robert was being truthful in such a confined space everything always became exaggerated. What’s more that meant he was going to loose it at some point. God I hoped it wasn’t at me.
I glanced at the team- what a random combination. I prayed we would work well together; however, my instinct was contrary. The truth was the team consisted of a huge ego, volatility, an unaware and an over analytical. In essence the perfect combination for conflict. What a joy!