Indian Ocean Drama - 8. Orc Chapter 8

I wondered if I should steer clear of the Indian Ocean Territories, until a new administrator is found, as I could easily keep myself busy in Broome for the next few months, and that is exactly what I decided to do, and I contacted the administration manager, to let him know that I would be staying on for at least a week or more.

Over the next few days, I received emails from the Shire Councils of Christmas Island, Cocos Keeling Islands and the Council of Chiefs at Chagos Archipelago, all stating they all welcomed the injection of funds to improve infrastructure in their region, as well as the return of the regular flights from Broome and Darwin, to help boost Tourism.

The email I sent to the IOTA administrator was redirected to the Office of the Governor General of Australia, and I received an email from the GG a week after the others. “Dear Sir Lewis, Her Excellency has stated that she is very disappointed that you have refused to accept the re-instalment of your life Peerage, and regretfully, she has accepted your decision on that matter.

She states that she is equally disappointed, that you will not consider taking on the vacant position of IOA Territory Administrator, for what I must agree, you did an excellent job in the position in the past, both in Chagos Archipelago and more recently the whole of the Indian Ocean Territories of Australia. Her Excellency understands your resentment on what happened to you, regarding the incident in Singapore, and so she also regretfully, accept that you will not accept the position once again.

Thank you for restarting your airline flights back to the region, which Her Excellency is sure, will dramatically improve life for the people of the Indian Ocean Territories, and for all your public service in the past. Kind Regards, Private Secretary to the Governor General of Australia.”

I received another unexpected email, this one coming from Claremont, a western suburb of Perth. “Dear Sir Lewis, as you are now aware, we have lost our beloved employer, Sebastian, due to a high-speed crash in the Swiss Alps. My nephews and I have spent the last few days packing up the house in London, in preparation for it being put on the market, and flying home to Perth, where Sebastian has provided us with a lovely home.

Although I am now retired, my nephews at such a young age, are left somewhat with no job, and so I am asking if you would consider taking on Wyatt and Xavier as your staff, we understand that the wages will not be as high as what Sebastian offered, the boys just want to find a happy place to be employed, and you were the first person who came to mind. We look forward to hearing a response from you soon. Regards, June Cooper.”

I was aware of the exact amount that Mrs Cooper and her two nephews were paid, which was well above the average salary, with Mrs Cooper receiving 45,000 pounds per annum, plus superannuation and 5 weeks holidays per year, while the two lads received 32,000 pounds per annum, plus superannuation and 4 weeks holidays per year.

Converting that to Australian dollars, that is about $60,000 Australian per year each for the lads, which I felt was a little too steep. After doing some research and seeing that the minimum wage for personal assistants is $40,000, and it can be as high as $70,000, and working out what my income will be from current income from the accommodation businesses in Kalbarri and Broome, I worked out that I could afford to pay them no more than $52,000 each.

Although it was a significant drop in their wages, it was all that I could offer, and I sent a response to Mrs Cooper’s email, with the offer of a job for both of her nephews, but at the reduced amount. I was a little surprised when I received a reply from her less than ten minutes later, saying that the lads have accepted the job at the wages offered, and asked for details of when they would start, and where they would be living.

After some thought, I decided that it would be best to make Denham, as my home base for now, as it is only a 2 hour flight to Broome, and a 1 ¾ hour flight to Perth, although I had not checked out the accommodations that I now owned, I did a quick check of the Oceanside Village, that I now owned, and I booked two deluxe villas at the back of the property, for a period of two months, starting from late next week.

Once I had done that, I went to the front reception and asked to speak to the manager, and I was directed to the back of the reception area, where the manager was on the phone, but on seeing me, he quickly ended the call. “How can I assist you sir Lewis?” he asked me.

“I will be staying only a few days, as my plans have changed, as I stated before, I wanted to reduce the number of vehicles available to VIP Guests, instead of selling one Trailblazer and one Colorado, I want them both trucked down to my other holiday accommodation property in Denham, as that will be my main base from now on” I announced.

“Very good sir, we have a local trucking company that make weekly journeys from Broome to Geraldton, leaving on Mondays, is that suitable time to send them next week?” the manager stated, “Yes that will be fine, and I will fly out from here to Denham on Wednesday, next week” I replied.

With that sorted, I returned to my unit, and prepared to send an email to Wyatt and Xavier. “Dear lads, I am very pleased that you will be joining me, as I have always enjoyed your company. As of late next week, I will be setting up my home base in the town of Denham, as I own holiday accommodation there, and I have already reserved a two-bedroom villa for you both, that will be next door to my villa. I will arrange for you both to fly to Denham in a chartered flight on Saturday next week. Regards Lewis Shaw.”

Next, I did a google maps search of Fowlers Bay, Denham, and all that I saw was a few tracks that lead to a sort of point, just 22 kms south of town. I guessed that it was just a patch of ground that Sebastian had bought, with plans to build something there in the future.

What I was not aware, is that since the Google maps recorded that view, the property had some large changes made to it, including a garrison fence and a double garrison gateway along the eastern boundary, that goes from North to South, and goes all the way to the low tide mark in the water, which is made of steel with a thick poly coating to fight rust and corrosion, with the boundary being 1.2 kms from the main Shark Bay Road, along a gravel access road,

What originally was planned to be an environmentally friendly research and visitors centre, on 214,490 square metres or 53 acres of rare freehold land, has become a large cyclone code private home, right near the foreshore, with unlimited views of Shark Bay.

Built alongside a small hillside, to give it wind protection on one side, with views of the small bay, the square shaped house is raised 2.5 metres off the ground, and has a large square open courtyard in the middle, with a double garage, under each side, and a large entry foyer in the front, with a large staircase leading to the upstairs living area.

At the back on the ground floor, is a large store room and maintenance workshop, plus a power generator room in one corner, and a desalination plant in the other corner, behind the house, set into the hill are 4 large storage tanks to hold plenty of fresh water.

The whole of the roof is covered in solar panels to provide all the power required to run the house. Upstairs, is a wide- open living area, that is nearly the full width of the house, and has commanding views of the bay in one direction, and overlooks the central courtyard in the other direction, with a veranda leading off the living area.

Above the courtyard, which is a large landscaped tropical style garden, with plenty of large palm trees, ferns, hibiscus and other tropical shrubs, that surround a peanut shaped swimming pool, with a 1.5 metre-high,stone wall and a cascading waterfall.

Hidden behind the wall is the pool pump and filtration system, to keep the pool running smoothly and looking clean all the time. To the left of the living area, is a large office and library, with a private lounge and a huge master suite, with a private balcony in the corner. On the right side is the formal dining room, butler’s pantry, food stores, the large kitchen, and a laundry, with a small balcony in the corner.

From the balcony, along the back of the house, is a passageway along the front, that faces the central courtyard, and this leads to a large bedroom, a private lounge room and a 2nd large bedroom, with a large shared bathroom. After spending a few more days having meetings with Sarina, regarding IOA, I spent my last two days in Broome just relaxing, and doing some sight-seeing.

On the Wednesday morning, a chartered flight collected me from Broome, and flew me south to Denham, and a taxi collected me from the small airport, and drove me into town to my accommodation. This time the receptionist did not recognise me or my well-known name, especially when I did not include my full title, and so I checked into my villa accommodation, which was surprisingly very comfortable.

It was quite warm outside, so I elected to stay indoors, where it was a lot cooler with the air conditioner going, as I began to unpack, I notice that the bed looked like it had not been made properly, so I took a closer look around the villa, and saw that the bathroom was not clean, with used towels hanging on the towel rack.

I was furious that I had been checked into a villa that had not been cleaned, and I stormed down to the reception office, to make a complaint. I wish to speak to the manager immediately, I demanded, as soon as I entered the reception foyer. “I am sorry mate, but the manager is away in Perth on business” the receptionist replied, “Well then I wish to speak to the duty manager then” I responded, getting angrier by the minute.

“I am sorry mate, but she is away also, on a shopping trip to Geraldton” the receptionist responded, “This is not good enough, who is in charge then?” I said, “that would be me mate, now what can I do for you” the receptionist replied, “First thing you can do is stop calling me mate, I am not your mate, I am a paying guest, and secondly my villa has not been cleaned, as the bathroom is filthy, there are used towels in there, and the bed also has used sheets on it” I stated, trying to calm down a little.

“I am sorry mate, err Sir, it should have been completed by now, I will have to go and check to see what had happened” the receptionist answered, “Yes you do that, as it was something you should have checked before allowing me to enter the villa” I snapped, and the receptionist stopped walking and faced me.

“Sir, we are a small business, and we are trying our best, if you are not happy, you are most welcome to try elsewhere” the receptionist said, “I will do just that, and I will also be complaining to the owners of your business about this shit place” I said, as I began to leave, “You are most welcome to do that, but as far as I am aware, the property owners are a Swiss company from Zurich” the receptionist replied, and I didn’t bother to respond, and just walked out.

Gathering my unpacked luggage, I walked out of the accommodation village, and made my way down to the Shark Bay Waterfront Apartments next door, where I was pleased to find accommodation available for myself and my two new staff members when they arrive.

Once I settled into my executive suite, I picked up my mobile, and not bothering to see what the time is, I called a number that I knew by heart. A sleepy Joachim answered the call, “you do realise that it is the middle of the night here, don’t you?” he said. “I don’t care what time it is, I have just left accommodation from hell, which is meant to be top class holiday accommodation here in Denham” I snapped.

“Oh, Lewis, is that you, what is wrong?” Joachim said as he struggled to wake up properly, “You tell me, I travelled from Broome to Denham today, expecting to find good quality accommodation, and I am checked into a villa that has not even been cleaned, with used sheets still on the bed, and used towel in the bathroom. The receptionist oversees the whole place, because the manager is away in Perth, and the deputy manager is away shopping in Carnarvon” I stated.

“Shit, that is not good, I am sorry Lewis, I was not aware that this was happening. Just before the property was handed over to you, they had a completed change of management, and I was assured that they were good quality management, a husband and wife team. Give me the number of the accommodation, and I will inform the receptionist, that the property is now owned by a Western Australia owned company, and that the new owner is coming to Denham to inspect the property and see what happens then.

Give them two hours, and go back there and introduce yourself as the new owner, and let’s see what kind of response you get, I will call you back in the morning my time, to see how it went” Joachim said, “Ok, and I am sorry for snapping at you Joachim, and the number is…” I answered, “that is ok brother, you are entitled to do that, especially when things are not going well for you, at this early stage of new life, good night” Joachim replied before ending the call.

I only waited an hour, before I walked over to the other accommodation, and there was no sign of anyone in the reception area, and after waiting ten minutes, I was about to leave when the telephone rang, so I leaned over the counter and picked up the phone.

“Oceanside Village, Denham, good morning” I said into the phone, “Who is this and where the hell is Erica” the caller demanded, “I am a guest, who has been waiting here in reception for over ten minutes with no sign of anyone about, and I was about to walk out when you called. Can I leave a message?” I responded calmly and politely, just in case it was a guest enquiry, by I suspected that it was the manager calling.

“Tell Erica to give me a call on my mobile, it is her boss speaking” the caller replied, before he ended the call abruptly. I put the telephone down, and looked around and spotted the receptionist approaching, with an arm full of dirty laundry, and not looking very happy.