“Please continue.”
Lupita hesitated.
She had worked at the Grand Regent for fourteen years.
She knew what happened to employees who embarrassed managers in front of executives.
But she also remembered the sleeping child at the desk and the way Ethan had accepted insult after insult simply to keep her asleep.
“They told him there was no reservation,” Lupita said.
“He asked them to check the executive block.
They refused.
He asked for Mr.
Mercer.
They refused that too.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
Lupita continued.
“They told him to try a cheaper motel.”
The lobby became very quiet.
Daniel looked at Patricia.
“Is that true?”
Patricia’s mouth opened.
“I was trying to manage expectations.
We’re sold out and—”
“You had a confirmed executive reservation,” Daniel said.
“It wasn’t showing on the first screen.”
“And when he specifically told you where to look?”
Patricia said nothing.
Karla stepped in.
“We deal with people making false claims all the time.
He didn’t exactly look like—”
She stopped.
Too late.
Ethan’s gaze settled on her.
“Like what?”
Karla’s face flushed.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean?”
No one rescued her.
Behind them, the elevator doors opened and two gala guests stepped out, then slowed when they sensed the tension.
Karla looked at Daniel.
“We were protecting the hotel.”
Ethan glanced around the lobby he had spent years helping design.
The Italian marble had been Sarah’s choice.
She had thought the original floor plan felt too cold, so she convinced Ethan to add warm walnut panels and softer lighting around the seating areas.
“A beautiful hotel is easy,” Sarah had once told him.
“The difficult part is making people feel welcome inside it.”
At the time, Ethan had laughed and told her she should be running the company.
Standing in that lobby now, he could almost hear her saying it again.
He looked at Karla.
“You thought humiliating a tired father protected the hotel?”
Karla lowered her eyes.
Ethan turned to Daniel.
“How long have they worked here?”
“Patricia, four years.
Karla, almost three.”
“And Lupita?”
“Fourteen.”
Ethan nodded slowly.
Patricia suddenly seemed to understand the full shape of the moment.
