Chapter 4

Once in the hallway, Lenny tried to find any trace of the organization he was about to apply for. And I'm sorry to say that it was no light task. As previously mentioned, this ship was huge. Every corridor seemed like a maze. Lenny was completely lost for about five minutes trying to find his way through the seemingly endless hallways. He was starting to wish he'd asked for directions before leaving the office where he'd filled out his application. He'd thought about going back to ask, but he'd even forgotten where that office was.

"This doesn't seem professional," he said as he started to panic. "I'm on my way to an interview and I get lost. And the job involves helping lost kids. Ironic much?"

Now he was really hoping somebody would appear to give him directions. Then suddenly, to his relief, right when he was about to turn a corner…

BONK!

He accidentally bumped into another shark who almost literally appeared out of nowhere. More specifically, the two of them bumped heads.

"Ow!" Lenny exclaimed, throwing his fin to his throbbing forehead.

The other shark said the exact same thing at the exact same time. Lenny hadn't gotten a good look at the shark before they ran into each other and he'd shut his eyes completely due to pain after the impact. But after hearing the shark say "Ow," he was able to tell that it was a girl.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Lenny said with his eyes remaining shut. "I'm sorry, Miss."

"That's okay," the girl shark said, also keeping her eyes shut. "I bet you were on your way to something important."

"Yeah," Lenny replied. "A job interview. And what a great impression I've made already. First I get lost, now I'm sure I'm gonna meet the boss with a big lump on my head."

"Well I take it you don't know your way around here just yet," the girl said with a small laugh, ignoring the pain in her forehead. "But that's understandable. This is a pretty big ship and you never know when someone's gonna… appear… out of… nowhere…"

That is when the two sharks removed their fins from their foreheads, opened their eyes, and finally got a good look at each other. The moment Lenny laid his eyes on the girl shark, his mind started drawing a blank. She was the most beautiful great white female he'd ever seen in his life. Her eyes were a refreshing olive green, her physique was slender and the top of her head reached Lenny's eye level. She also appeared to be quite stylish. She wore a long, blue floral printed scarf loosely around her neck that reached down to the tips of her fins. This gave the impression that she was the free spirit type. On top of all this, she looked like she was, if not close to, the exact same age as Lenny.

Her reaction when she saw Lenny was no different. She'd taken just one look into his eyes and almost didn't finish her sentence. Now the two young great whites were staring at each other like they'd never seen another shark of the opposite gender in their lives. Their eyes were wide open, their mouths were half open, and their minds were completely shut. It was like they were in some sort of trance that would never end. Lenny could swear he felt like he was about to drool, and that's when he finally snapped out of it.

The bizarre connection of their eyes ended after about half-a-minute and they both smiled at each other feeling embarrassed.

"Anyway," the girl said trying to remember what they were previously talking about, "I hope you do well with your interview."

"Thank you," Lenny replied bashfully.

"What job is it anyway?"

"Patrick and Sons Lost and Found organization."

The girl went wide-eyed. "Get out!"

Lenny suddenly looked dumbfounded. "Uh, what?" For a moment he thought she was actually telling him to get out.

"No, I mean I work as a secretary in that organization."

"Are you kiddin' me?" Lenny asked happily. Then he realized how weird she probably thought he was acting and calmly cleared his throat. "I mean… that's pretty cool."

"Yeah," said the girl. "Well I'm actually getting ready to go on my lunch break, so if you'll excuse me."

"Wait!" Lenny said quickly, realizing that he hadn't caught her name.

"Yeah?" she asked.

Lenny became nervous again. She was looking at him with those irresistible eyes again. Those eyes made him feel so weird inside that he couldn't remember what he wanted to ask her. But then he figured he might as well ask her something else. Something that he needed to know right this second.

"Could you tell me where Patrick's office is, please?" he asked, hating himself for not remembering the question he really wanted to ask.

"Oh sure," she replied. "Go straight down this hall and then go up the stairs. Turn left at the restrooms and it's the third door on your right. But knock first, he doesn't like people barging in unannounced."

"Thank you," Lenny said. He turned quickly and started following her directions.

"Good luck!" she called after him.

As Lenny followed the stairs to the next floor up, he suddenly remembered what he wanted to ask her. He considered himself an idiot for forgetting a question as simple as, "May I have your name, please?" Upon coming to the next floor, he saw the restroom doors the girl had informed him of and turned left. While doing so, he was angrily saying to himself, "She thinks you're an idiot, she has to! The most beautiful girl shark you've ever bumped into and you can't even ask for her name? You'd better pray to God you impress the boss at this interview. That way you can actually get her name!"

Lenny's mood went from frustration to apprehension as he approached the third door from the restrooms. He hoped sincerely that he wouldn't open the door and go into a cave dark office and see a clone of his dad sitting at a desk. As far as he was concerned, that was the last person anybody (with the exception of Luca) would want for an employer. Then again, this wasn't the mob. This was an organization that seemed to love kids and helped lost ones find their way back home. Why would a mobster even consider running a business like that?

Ultimately, he decided the only way to find out was to go in there and nail that interview. His fin reached for the door handle and then froze when he remembered what the girl he just "met" had told him. "But knock first, he doesn't like people barging in unannounced." The memory of that statement put his nerves right back on top. If he recalled correctly, even Lino didn't mind people randomly bursting into his office without warning. Then again, it really depended on who it was. But the way the girl had put it, it sounded like this Patrick guy would not tolerate any unannounced interruptions from anyone.

With a trembling fin, Lenny knocked gently on the wooden door. A few seconds later, he heard a deep, masculine voice coming from inside. "Come in!" The owner of that voice didn't sound too happy to be interrupted. Lenny now felt relieved that that girl had warned him to knock before entering.

Deciding not to keep the shark inside waiting, Lenny pushed the door open and found himself in a room that looked far too big for an office. The walls were at least seventy feet long and the roof was at least thirty feet above Lenny's head. There were multiple paintings on the two sidewalls and a large window that let in the beautiful late morning light on the wall farthest from Lenny. In front of the window was a large, elegant wooden desk that was fit for a king. Or in this case, the boss of such a major organization. Seated at the desk were, not one, but three great white males. All three, though they appeared so far away because of the huge size of the office, had their pale gray eyes set on Lenny.

"Come closer, boy," said the shark seated in the middle. His voice was the same one that had ordered Lenny to come in just seconds before. But this time, his voice didn't sound quite as thunderous.

Lenny approached the long, wooden desk, admiring the large size and interior décor of the office. He reached the three sharks and became more nervous than ever when he saw the looks on their faces. Not one of them seemed to be smiling. The one on Lenny's right, who looked like he was the youngest, looked shy and timid. The one on the left looked fierce and frankly was rather hard faced. On the plus side, he seemed a lot fiercer than the elder shark sitting between the two youngsters. Lenny took him to be Patrick and the two others were his sons. Looking at the three of them, Lenny was instantly reminded of days when he and Frankie ran the mob with their father. Not the most comforting memory.

"Can we help you?" Patrick asked.

Lenny gulped, trying to gain a calm and steady feeling. "Well, I'm new to the reef," he explained nervously, "And I was out and about earlier trying to find a job and I stumbled across this elegant ship and thought it'd be a great place to work. They gave me an application and…"

The rough faced shark to his left interrupted him. "We're not accepting new employees at this time," he snapped. "Besides, what do we look like, a burger stand? This isn't the sort of place a kid your age should be coming to for work. So why don't you just parade out of here and go back to wherever you came from…"

"Nathan!" Patrick barked.

The rough faced shark stopped talking and pouted like a three-year-old, making him look even more unattractive.

"Don't mind him, Son," Patrick said to an offended looking Lenny. "He's always been a kidder. Have a seat and we'll take a look at your application."

Lenny felt some better about Patrick; apparently he wasn't as harsh as the shark called Nathan. He sat down in the chair across from the three sharks and handed Patrick his application. It didn't take too long for them to finish, but all three seemed puzzled about some of the information Lenny had given while answering the questions.

"I rest my case," Nathan said looking Lenny in the eye. "I knew this was the first job you were applying for. Not the first time I've seen it. Some kid comes to the reef hoping to get a fancy-pants job and become a big shot. Well I got news for you, half-pint…" Out of nowhere, there came a loud snapping noise that to Lenny sounded like a shark's tailfin painfully hitting another individual. Nathan then made a face and quietly said, "Ow!" From the disapproving look on Patrick's face, Lenny could tell that what'd just happened was Patrick defending him and nonverbally telling Nathan to shut up.

"Give it a rest, Nathan," Patrick demanded. "The kid's obviously got a dream, as opposed to any sort of contact information. Care to evaluate?" he asked Lenny.

"Well it's really kinda simple," said Lenny. "I was forced to leave my home, for personal family reasons, and I needed a place to stay. I don't care to say anymore than that, it'll just bring back painful memories and give me heartache."

The youngest of the three bosses, who had been silent the whole time Lenny was present, started to whimper. "Okay, now that is devastating. You poor shark. All alone in the world and no home to go to at the end of the day?"

Nathan rolled his eyes in a mocking manner. "Shut up, Dustin! Could you be any more of a baby? I am so embarrassed to be related to you."

Now Lenny really was reminded of Frankie.

"Well forgive me for having feelings, Nathan!" Dustin retorted.

"Try too much feelings," Nathan replied. "You spend too much time with Ma."

Patrick angrily slammed his fist on the wooden desktop. "Stop it, both of you! Is this any way to act in front of interviewee?"

"No, Dad," Nathan and Dustin replied together.

"I didn't think so," said Patrick. He then returned his attention to Lenny. "Well, Lenny, you seem to be a very personal shark. Normally I'd frown upon that, but lucky for you I know sincerity when I see it. And I could tell you were sincere when you mentioned that you need a place to live. Plus, your application states that you want to help the kids. So, let me just say… congratulations."

"Really?" Lenny asked, no longer nervous. "That's great! When do I start?"

Nathan put his fins to his ears. He was either sensitive to noise or had a strict no happiness policy.

"Well," Patrick said calmly. "Let's start with introductions. I'm Patrick, the president of this organization. You will address me as either President Patrick or Sir. And these are my sons and, unfortunately, heirs to the family business. Nathan and Dustin. You'll address them as Nathan and Dustin individually and as a group you will address them as the idiots."

"Hey!" Nathan barked.

"Watch yourself, Boy," Patrick hissed.

Nathan miserably sank lower in his seat.

"You'll report here promptly at nine o'clock tomorrow morning and the idiots will give you further instructions. As for residence, we have an empty room two floors down. Room C24. I hope it'll be to your liking."

"That's likely," Lenny smiled. "I love everything about this ship so far."

"I gathered," replied Patrick. "Now get a good nights sleep and be ready to report for work first thing in the morning."

"Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed."

End of chapter