Corey, like most people, had a love-hate relationship with his new job, as a private concierge for a handful of his airline's top frequent flyers. He was thrilled to finally get out of that office environment where big brother was always watching, to this new job, where he had total freedom of movement on, literally, a global scale.
Since Corey's clients were always on the move, as long as Corey had data access through his smartphone, tablet or laptop, he could be anywhere in the world serving his clients. And now that his company had fitted all their aircraft with wifi, Corey was no longer limited to being on the ground during the hours that his clients were also on the ground. Plus having only a few clients meant that is was a very rare occasion when that would happen. The only part of the job that Corey disliked was the fact that he was on call 24/7 and that meant that in addition to having to know his clients' flight schedules, he had to adapt to their habits and foresee any needs.
Weekends were usually quieter than weekdays but come Sunday there was always a request as, most of the time, clients were either flying out in the evening to arrive at their destination the next morning or wanted to be in town by Sunday night. That meant that Friday night until Sunday morning was the ideal time to get some down time and take in the city. Wherever that might be on any given weekend.
Corey's job didn't end at making sure that his clients were taken care of during flights or at airports. He was responsible for all of their travel needs and anything else they needed while travelling for business. And because these clients were always away on business, that meant that Corey needed to be a Jack of all trades. Since Corey had worked in the tourism industry for many years prior to his promotion, he had every contact one could imagine, in almost any part of the world. He made sure that everything was seamless for his clients, and based on his recent performance, the company knew they had a keeper. But a short tempered one, who had little patience for management, although he made sure his clients were happy. And that meant, the company made sure that Corey was also well taken care of, and that they loosened the strings liberally, in order not to piss him off. In addition to Corey's generous salary, he was given an expense account that would make most top company executives blush. This was so Corey could be anywhere, anytime he needed, and be pampered while doing so. The company knew that if he was happy, then their loyal, profitable clients would be happy too. And that meant that regardless of Corey's travel expenditures, they were still making a considerable profit.
It was dark out when Corey opened the blinds to look outside. He knew that Jake was arriving in Zurich so he wanted to make sure that he was up and ready for any request that might come his way. Although he had already left instructions with the ground agents in Zurich, there was always something he had to deal with. So, in order for him to not stress over things, he always made sure to be up and ready for flight arrivals.
He turned on his smartphone, looked up the flight, and saw that it had an early arrival into Zurich. He had just poured a fresh cup of coffee and was holding it with both hands as a chill ran down his back at the sight of the blowing snow outside. They had just had a huge dump the day before and he was hoping that this was just a dusting and not another blizzard. All his clients were, at least for now, far from the eastern seaboard and if there were any delays out today, he wouldn't have to deal with any of them. Just then his phone rang and it was Luca on the other line.
"Corey my friend. Mr. Otero's flight just landed so I wanted to give you a heads up. They should be pulling into the gate within the next 10 minutes.".
"Thanks Luca. He hasn't left me with any arrival instructions so I am guessing he wanted to wait until after the flight to decide. I need you to ask him what he needs as soon as he gets off the plane so that I can get things in motion for him. I have the driver on standby just in case he decides to head to the office or hotel right away. Just let me know what he decides".
He always appreciated Luca's calls. He always knew that if he overslept, Luca's heads-up would serve as his alarm clock.
"Absolutely, Corey. He should be coming out any minute now so I will text you right away.".
As Corey awaited instructions, he started to get ready to leave. He needed a quick shower but knew to wait until he got instructions from Luca before heading into the bathroom. He texted the driver to be alert for his instructions and called the hotel concierge to let him know that the client had landed. He wanted to make sure that Jake's room was ready and waiting in case Jake wanted to head to the room and freshen up or rest.
Since his clients' were frequent flyers, they were also VIPs at most international hotel chains. And because of their extensive travels, frequent flyers tended to spend more time in hotels than they did at home. This made it that much easier to deal with the hotels when Corey called because both parties had the same interest in keeping the client happy. And although they all worked for different companies, they worked well as a group to pamper their best clients.
The text came in from Luca letting Corey know that Jake was going to have a second breakfast and take a shower before leaving the airport for his meeting. Corey texted the driver with an ETA and jumped into the shower knowing he had at least an hour before he was needed again. Not long after his shower, Corey got the second text letting him know that they were headed to the car so Corey texted the driver and sent a quick text to the hotel concierge to let him know to be ready in case Jake showed up there first.
He packed up his things and headed downstairs where a car was waiting to take Corey to the airport. The snow had stopped and that was good news for him and everyone working at the airport. Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport was always ready for this kind of weather but it still caused uncontrollable delays, and that meant the feeling of chaos in the terminal. Behind the scenes everything went smooth, but in the passenger area there were always issues. Luckily, Corey could slip through the chaos without being seen as he headed through the employee secure area, was screened and passed through into the hallway with gates full of passengers waiting for their flights.
He had already looked up the flight he wanted to be on, and knew the pilots flying the plane, so he headed to the pilot lounge for a little small talk and to confirm who would be in the cockpit on his flight. The flight was full but he wasn't planning on taking up a seat in the cabin anyway, he was planning to stay under the radar, and deadheading would accomplish just that. Without a reserved seat, Corey could be wherever he wanted to be and no one would be the wiser. He loved his freedom.
He confirmed the cockpit jump seat was available and just needed to pick up a few things at the convenience store before departure. At that moment, Corey received a text from the driver confirming that he dropped Jake off at the office, was heading to the hotel with his luggage and that his services were not required for the rest of the day.
Corey put his phone away, picked up his items at the convenience store and headed to the gate. He did the regular small chat with the gate agents before boarding the plane. And again had to small talk with the flight attendants as he boarded before heading into the cockpit.
"Hey Corey" The captain said. "Thought you weren't going to show up for a moment there".
"Had to get a few things for the trip but that's all taken care of now. If you get tired and need someone to take over let me know" he laughed.
The Captain chuckled, finished his preflight checklist with the co-pilot, and began the routine departure protocol. As the plane was being pushed back from the gate, Corey took out his smartphone, switched over to the aircraft wifi and looked out the window at the all the trucks in the process of cleaning the airport grounds. He breathed in a sigh, sat back and closed his eyes planning the days ahead. He would arrive at his next destination just in time for a late dinner
YOU ARE READING
Frequent Flyer
Mystery / Thriller"An international serial crime thriller" Jake Otero turns heads wherever his travels take him. A businessman travelling the globe helping companies stay alive. So why is there a trail of murders left behind in each city he visits? A romantic encoun...
