As the date of the trip loomed closer, Amy became busier finalising the travel arrangements. She had not known that preparing a trip entailed so much preparation. Fortunately, the people she contacted in Thailand responded promptly to her requests, which made her job much easier.
She also found time at lunch to buy facial masks and garishly coloured long-sleeved tops and bottoms. Let's hope they work in keeping Matt away from her during the trip, she thought.
A few days before the trip, Maia came by Amy's desk.
"How are the trip preparations coming along?" asked Maia, smiling at Amy.
"Everything's almost done," replied Amy.
"That's great to hear!" said Maia. "Having travelled quite a bit, I've found that there are some things which come in handy on trips, but that people seldom remember to pack," continued Maia.
"Oh, what are they?" asked Amy. "Do let me know so that I can make the trip a good one for the participants."
"Do you have any plans for lunch today?" asked Maia. Seeing Amy shake her head, Maia continued, "Let's go for lunch together and we can go shopping after that."
"It's a date! See you later, Maia," said Amy. Turning back to her laptop, Amy failed to see Maia's blissful expression.
During lunch, Maia regaled Amy with tales of trips which she had led in the past. "When the company was new, there was just Larry and me," Maia reminisced. "We had to do everything ourselves and I led many tour groups. We started with trips within South East Asia and later on, expanded to trips across Asia. Most customers were friendly and some were generous when it came to giving tips at the end of the trip. A few customers found fault with everything, from the room to the meals and the itinerary. I often wonder why they signed up for the tour if they didn't like the itinerary," she said. "The worst trips were those where there were family members fighting with one another. The whole atmosphere would be tense and everyone else would be drawn into the hostility. In the bus, there would either be deathly silence or sarcastic comments lobbed back and forth. I really don't know which is worse."
"Wow, I had no idea being a tour manager was so tough," said Amy. "It's not just getting them from point A to point B and taking care of them during the trip. We need to manage relationships as well so that they will have happy memories. I think I understand better now why Matt wanted two people to go on this trip. He wanted to focus on keeping the women happy. It's a mean thing to say of my own gender, but some women can be quite bitchy."
"Yes, you're right" agreed Maia. "Come, let's go to a supermarket first and then a pharmacy. I think we should be able to get everything we need from these two places."
"First, you'll need safety pins to make any quick and dirty repairs to clothes. Clothes can tear and a safety pin can be a lifesaver. Transparent storage bags are handy too, as they're water-tight and can be used for keeping liquids and toiletries. They work for non-liquids too. Because they're clear, you can see at a glance what the contents are, which makes searching for things easier," said Maia when they were at the supermarket. "Bring some stationery too, like markers and pens. The markers are for you to use in case you need to label anything. The pens can be given out to the participants in case they need to fill in any forms." Maia picked out the items as they navigated the supermarket aisles, placing the items into the basket which Amy had collected at the entrance.
While they were paying, Maia continued, "We'll head to a pharmacy next to pick up a small first-aid kit. Let's hope no one gets injured or ill during the trip, but you should have it on standby just in case." Wrinkling her nose, Maia said, "I'm surprised Matt didn't brief you on the first-aid kit. It's a standard item for our tour managers to bring along."
"I think he's got his hands full managing the women. They seem to be calling him very often," Amy said, before wondering why she was defending Matt.
"Ah yes, Matt the Auntie Killer. He's got the kind of face that women go crazy over," said Maia.
Not me, thought Amy fervently, but she kept her expression neutral.
Back in the office, Amy packed the items that she and Maia had bought.
"Uni grad!"
Amy scowled. This was the limit!
Marching to Matt's desk, she slapped her palms on it. "I have a name, and it's not 'uni grad'. My name is Amy, please try to remember it," she said through gritted teeth.
"Whatever..." said Matt dismissively. "Anyway, I've got something more important to discuss than your name. There's going to be a tour briefing for the Thailand trip and we'll, no, you'll," Matt corrected himself, "need to get the conference room ready. Clean the table, make sure the chairs are neatly arranged, and prepare enough bottled water for everyone. Have a few extra bottles as some people may take more than one. I've also printed copies of the tour itinerary and they're in a stack below my desk. Place one copy on the table in front of each chair. Okay? Now, scoot, the briefing will be starting at 3pm," said Matt.
After Amy had prepared the room to Matt's satisfaction, she made her way to his desk. Matt was in the conference room running through his presentation slides.
The area below Matt's desk was stacked with piles of dusty paper and Amy sneezed a few times. What a slob he is, Amy thought. She rummaged through the piles but could not see the itinerary which Matt had spoken about. Mid-way through her search, she finally spotted the print-outs. They had been buried in a stack of papers. She tried to extricate the print-outs without dislodging the entire pile, but failed. The stack of papers collapsed like a house of cards and to her surprise, a photo frame fell out.
Picking it up curiously, she saw that it held a polytechnic diploma. Who frames a polytechnic diploma? She thought scornfully. Unless, she gasped, could it be his highest educational qualification? However, Amy did not have time to follow this train of thought as a cry of "Uni grad!" filled the office. Hurriedly, she carried the itinerary print-outs to the conference room and arranged them neatly on the table, one sheet in front of each chair as instructed.
It was not a moment too soon. The first tour participant was already pushing open the door to the travel agency, with the others trickling in.
During the briefing, Matt went through his slides. Amy saw that he had an easy manner with the women, bantering with them and keeping them in good spirits. He's really good at this, thought Amy. I guess it's just me he can't stand.
"And this is Amy," said Matt to the trip participants. "She'll be joining us and helping with the arrangements."
Amy smiled brightly but it went unappreciated by the audience. The women barely looked at her, continuing instead to gaze at Matt tenderly.
The day of the trip dawned bright and clear.
Worried that she would be late, Amy arrived at the airport an hour before the scheduled meeting time. She scanned the flight schedule board overhead for the correct check-in counter and made her way there. As she approached the counter, she saw Maia and waved at her happily.
"Thanks for coming down! Do you usually send groups off at the airport?" asked Amy.
Demurring, Maia said, "This is your first job, and it's your first trip to boot, so I thought I'd come to help. I've told Larry we need to support our young colleagues. I know that Matt has been hard on you. During the trip, take care of yourself and don't let him bully you. Hmm..maybe I should have a word with him."
"Oh no, please don't say anything to Matt. I'm sure he'll think less of me if I can't even manage my boss. It's not so bad," she said bravely.
"Don't say what to me?" said Matt, suddenly materialising behind Amy. Startled, Amy jumped and turned around, her eyes as wide as a deer caught in headlights.
"What a surprise to see you here, Maia," said Matt. "I don't recall ever seeing you send off tour groups. To what do we owe the honour of your presence?"
"It's Amy's first trip and she's still new to the company. I feel we should support our young colleagues," replied Maia smoothly.
"Don't remember you sending off Linda or Candy, our former travel executives when they went on their first trip," teased Matt. Seeing that Maia was on the verge of getting angry, he backed down. "Thanks for seeing us off. I can take it from here. Amy," said Matt, turning to the girl, "here, hold up our travel agency flag and walk around and see if you can spot any of our tour participants."
Leaning towards Amy, Maia gave the girl a quick hug. "Have a safe trip, Amy, and remember what I said!" She then left, her heels clicking smartly on the polished floor.
Amy set to work rounding up the tour participants, who started streaming in while chatting excitedly.
A few hours later, the plane touched down in Bangkok after a smooth flight. Amy sprang into action as soon as the group disembarked, helping to tally the participants to ensure that no one wandered off, and assisted with collecting their luggage. She was amused to see that some of the women brought along as many as five pieces of luggage each for the short trip.
Amy contacted the bus driver, and soon the group was on their way to their opulent hotel. Amy marvelled at the hotel, whose design boasted traditional Thai elements while encapsulating modern amenities.
After helping the group to check in (thankfully, no one had complaints about their room), Amy and Matt made their way to their shared room. Amy had insisted on two single beds instead of a queen bed. Swiping the hotel key card and opening the room door fearfully, Amy was relieved to see that the hotel had followed through on her request. If a queen bed had been offered, she would have preferred to take her chances on the sofa.
"Hurry up," admonished Matt. "What are you doing, still standing at the entrance? Never seen a hotel room before? We need to be back in the lobby in 15 minutes. I hope you've memorised the itinerary. Our first stop is the Grand Palace."
Reminding herself to be tolerant as Matt was her boss, Amy simply smiled and hastily carried her luggage into the room.
Ten minutes later, she was at the lobby making small talk with some of the tour participants. When she saw that everyone had assembled at the lobby, she called the bus driver, wanting to inform him that he could bring the bus to the driveway. To her mounting horror, her calls to the driver went unanswered. It was only on her fifth try that the driver picked up her call. Apparently, the driver had not remembered that he would need to drive the group to the Grand Palace, and had driven back to the bus company office.
"You need to come back right now, sir. Please!" begged Amy.
"What's the matter?" asked Matt, who saw anxiety written all over Amy's face.
Putting her phone on mute, Amy succinctly informed Matt of the situation.
"It's your fault," said Matt. "Before you dismissed him earlier, you should have reminded him of the next activity in the itinerary. Remember to do that at the end of every activity."
Amy nodded mutely. Turning back to the driver, she released the mute option on her phone and once again requested for the driver to return to the hotel.
The driver agreed but added that he would need at least 30 minutes to return to the hotel.
"Thank you so much!" said Amy to the driver.
She reported the situation to Matt, who then suggested to the tour participants that they have tea in the lobby cafe while waiting for the driver. The women were delighted to have a cosy tête-à-tête with Matt and made their way with alacrity to the cafe.
The driver was as good as his word and arrived half an hour later. Amy took Matt's advice to heart, and made sure to remind the driver of the pick-up time and venue for each subsequent activity.
Amy was exhausted when they returned to the hotel after dinner. Honestly, taking care of tour participants is like herding a flock of sheep, she thought. Entering the room, Amy was suddenly reminded of the fact that she would have to spend the following nights in the same room as a man.
Nervously, she asked Matt who should use the toilet first.
"You can shower after you've run through all the arrangements with the driver for tomorrow and the day after. No more repeats of your performance today, please," said Matt sternly. "Back home, I already told you we need to keep costs down, and this afternoon, we had to spend an unbudgeted amount on tea for the women. It wasn't cheap, I can tell you. I'll explain to Larry that since this is your first trip, we can absorb it."
Hanging her head, Amy's face flushed in shame. "I'm sorry, Matt. I promise you this won't happen again," she said.
Amy spent the next forty-five minutes running through the transport arrangements with the bus drivers for Bangkok and Hua Hin, and checking with the hotel in Hua Hin to ensure that everything was ready for the group's arrival in two days' time.
By the time she completed the call with the hotel in Hua Hin, Matt was stretched out on his bed, sound asleep.
Standing over Matt, Amy looked down at him. He's really quite good-looking, she thought, especially when he's not in a huff about something. Gazing at him, she suddenly caught herself smiling and gasped. Slapping her own cheeks a few times, she took a deep breath. I must never fall for such a rude guy, she told herself firmly. I can do better than him. I'll find someone who appreciates me. Sticking her tongue out at him, she marched to the toilet.