Justin discovers his father has a less than ideal job for him.

Prologue

Tortoise Beach Resort, California - Early June

My father barely glanced up from the business section of the local newspaper as I came trudging into the private dining room of the resort. "Your mother called you over fifteen minutes ago," he commented as he took a drink of his coffee.

"I was in the shower," I told him as I plopped down into the chair at the other end and grabbed a piece of toast to start buttering it. I slathered on some strawberry jelly, licking some of the sticky confection off my thumb as my mother set some scrambled eggs and bacon down in front of me. "Thanks, Mom," I told her as she smiled before taking her place next to me.

"Any luck finding a summer job?" Craig casually asked me from behind the paper.

I sighed, figuring that would be his opening salvo. I had been trying to obtain a job as a strolling caricaturist on the boardwalk approximately a mile down the road from our resort ever since high school graduation two weeks ago, but so far I hadn't been successful. My friend, Daphne, worked down at the boardwalk in one of the souvenir shops, and I knew from what she had told me that the tourists tipped the artists very well for their efforts. I was hoping to secure one of the highly-coveted jobs there so I could save up enough cash before I entered the prestigious Oceanside Art Academy in the fall to purchase a dependable, used car to get me back and forth. Despite my persistent efforts, however, and Daphne's enthusiast assurance that I was more than qualified for the job, all the openings for that type of work had been filled already, so my only hope was that one of the current artists would quit for some reason.

I knew my father could well afford to buy me a car, but I didn't want to be indebted to him. Besides, he was already upset with me over choosing to attend art school rather than enrolling at USC, where he had obtained his business management degree.

"Well, you won't have to worry about a job any longer," my father unexpectedly said as he lowered his paper to peer over at me. My pulse sped up in anxiety as I noticed my mom appearing a little uneasy, and I immediately became concerned; that was not a good sign. "What do you mean, Dad?"

"Well, you need a job and I happen to have one. You can't spend all summer long just drawing sketches of the beach or cleaning out the swimming pool. I happen to have the perfect solution for you, and you are more than able to do it."

I exchanged a wary look with my mother, who flashed me a sympathetic smile, before he dropped the bomb on me. "The resort's experiencing a severe shortage of lifeguards this year for some reason, and without enough of them I can't keep the beach open for our guests; that's very bad for business."

My eyes grew large in disbelief. I had undergone previous CPR and lifeguard training a few years ago when I had volunteered to help disadvantaged kids swim at the local Y as part of my graduation requirement at school, and I had kept up both certifications, but...

"You want me to be a lifeguard?" I asked him incredulously, my mouth hanging open. At least at the Y it had been indoors; I could only imagine how burnt to a crisp I would get languishing under the hot, brutal, summer sun as I sat in one of those wooden, lifeguard station chairs. I would have to wear a sunscreen lotion with at least a reading of 45 - and invest in a bucketful of it, to boot - if I had any hopes at all of not resembling a lobster with my light skin.

He nodded at me, his eyes boring into mine. "Why...is that so hard to imagine? You have the training, and you're living here anyway; rent-free, I might add," he pointed out. "Is the job beneath you, Son?"

I huffed in aggravation. "It's not that," I insisted. "It's just that..."

"Well, what, Justin?"

I silently seethed at his condescending tone of voice, almost like I was being a petulant child. My father never had encouraged me to pursue my goal, deeming it to be non-sustainable financially and a foolish endeavor. What he failed to realize, however, was that it had been my dream, my passion, since I was practically out of diapers to be an artist, and I couldn't imagine any other career, no matter HOW challenging it might prove to be. "It's just that I wanted to find a job this summer that would allow me to take advantage of my artistic ability."

He snorted as I fumed. "Drawing pictures of the tourists? You can't make a living being a damn cartoonist, Justin, and I need the help. You're part of this family, and I expect you to contribute."

"Well, what about my being out in the sun for so long?" I countered. "You know how easily I can get sunburned." Even when I strolled out onto the beach to sit on a large boulder overlooking the crashing, ocean waves to sketch, I always made sure I had on plenty of sunscreen and a hat as a precaution. And I never stayed out there for more than an hour at a time. This would be completely different.

"Craig..." I could hear my mom starting to come to my defense, but my father held up his hand to stop my mother from speaking.

"Let me finish, Jen," he curtly demanded. "It's simple: you need the money, and I need a lifeguard. This place is finally starting to turn a profit, Justin, and develop a strong clientele, but if I don't have sufficient lifeguards I have no beach facilities to offer. And without a beach, I'm just another hotel. No one's going to come to a five-star resort and not expect to swim in the ocean. I will pay you the same rate of pay that the other lifeguards will be getting, which is a hell of a lot more than they would pay you down at that boardwalk," he insisted, even though he wasn't adding in the tips I would be making on top of my base pay. Without sounding cocky, I was blond, cute, and had a great smile, which would attract male and female patrons alike. Now, however, it didn't seem to make any difference. "And we have sun blocker at the surfer shop; you can take whatever you need, and there's a beach umbrella at the lifeguard station."

I sighed, knowing this was a battle that I wasn't going to win. I DID need the money, and at least he was going to pay me for it. I was surprised, frankly, that he didn't make me do it for free. "When do I have to start?"

"Tomorrow morning. You'll be working in the South Station near the surfing rental shop. I'll have one of the staff send your uniform over to your room later today, along with a key for the lifeguard shack where the gear is stowed. I'll be meeting with the advertising representative tomorrow over breakfast, so I need your word that you will be ready to start first thing in the morning."

I glumly nodded as I stabbed at a piece of scrambled egg with more vigor than necessary.

"Justin?" He prodded.

"Yeah, okay," I grumbled as he curtly nodded. Picking up the paper and hiding behind it, I was summarily dismissed now that he had what he wanted. My mother cast a sympathetic glance over at me before she, too, began eating her quickly-cooling breakfast.

Thank you to my beta, boriqua522.