“Could you come to the front desk, please?”
She listened, then glanced at Ethan.
“It’s Mr.
Vance.”
The reply on the other end was loud enough that Patricia pulled the receiver slightly away from her ear.
“He’s coming,” she said.
Lily stirred.
“Daddy?” she murmured without opening her eyes.
“I’m here,” Ethan whispered.
“Are we at the hotel?”
“Yes.”
“Did the flowers break?”
Ethan looked at the roses.
Several petals had loosened, but the bouquet had survived.
“No, sweetheart.
They’re still here.”
Lily relaxed against him again.
Lupita reached for the faded backpack hanging from Ethan’s shoulder.
“May I carry this for you?” she asked.
Ethan hesitated, then handed it to her.
“Thank you.”
It was the first offer of help he had received since entering the hotel.
The general manager arrived less than a minute later through the ballroom corridor.
Daniel Mercer was a tall man in a dark suit, with a radio clipped discreetly beneath his jacket.
His expression was tense from whatever issue he had left upstairs, but the moment he saw Ethan, the tension turned to alarm.
“Mr.
Vance,” Daniel said.
“I didn’t know you were visiting tonight.”
“That was intentional.”
Daniel looked at Lily, the roses, and the employees behind the desk.
His eyes settled on the unprepared room key and then on Patricia’s pale face.
“What happened?” he asked.
Karla answered first.
“There was a technical problem with the reservation.
We were just resolving it.”
Ethan looked at Daniel.
“Ask Patricia what she suggested I do while the problem was being resolved.”
Daniel turned toward her.
Patricia opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Lupita spoke calmly.
“She told him to take his daughter and his flowers to a cheaper motel.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
Karla stepped forward.
“That isn’t exactly how it happened.”
“It is,” said the tuxedoed man near the elevators.
Everyone turned toward him.
He seemed uncomfortable being noticed, but he continued.
“I heard it.
She also said the budget inns near the highway would be more suitable.”
One of the women wearing gala badges nodded.
“And the other clerk laughed at him,” she added.
“We were standing right there.”
Karla’s face tightened.
Ethan did not look at the witnesses.
He looked at his daughter.
Lily’s eyelids fluttered.
