“And because there may be a pattern.”
“Yes.”
Ethan pointed toward the sitting area.
“Sit down.”
Lupita started to leave.
“Not you,” Ethan said.
“Please stay.”
She sat carefully on the edge of an armchair.
Ethan looked at Daniel.
“I want the last six months of guest complaints reviewed by someone outside this property.
Not summaries.
Original complaints.
I want front-desk incident reports, service recovery notes, and internal escalations.”
Daniel nodded.
“I’ll arrange it tonight.”
“I also want anonymous staff interviews.”
Daniel looked toward Lupita.
Ethan followed his gaze.
“No retaliation.
For anyone.”
“Understood.”
Then Ethan looked at Lupita.
“You knew where the reservation might be.”
She gave a modest shrug.
“I’ve been here a long time.”
“You also knew that nobody should be treated the way I was treated.”
“That part doesn’t require experience.”
For the first time that evening, Ethan almost smiled.
The review began before midnight.
By breakfast, Daniel had already found enough to worry him.
Patricia and Karla were not the only names appearing in complaints, but theirs appeared repeatedly.
A family had written that Patricia dismissed their request for help finding a lost medication bag until another employee intervened.
An elderly couple said Karla had laughed after they asked whether a deposit could be split between two cards.
A delivery driver reported being ordered out of the lobby while waiting for a guest, even though other drivers had been permitted to stand inside during rain.
Several incidents had been closed with vague phrases: guest misunderstanding, high-volume period, communication issue.
The pattern was not dramatic enough to attract executive attention from a spreadsheet.
That was precisely why it had survived.
At nine that morning, Ethan met Daniel in a small conference room on the mezzanine.
Lily sat beside him coloring on hotel stationery while a vase of fresh water held the airport roses.
Patricia and Karla were brought in separately.
Patricia came first.
She looked as though she had not slept.
“I want to apologize,” she began.
Ethan raised one hand.
“You will have an opportunity.
First I want the truth.”
She sat down.
Daniel placed several printed complaints on the table.
Patricia stared at them.
“You were trained to check the secondary corporate tab, correct?” Ethan asked.
“Yes.”
“So why didn’t you check it when I asked?”
She swallowed.
“I assumed the reservation wasn’t there.”
“Why?”
Her eyes flicked toward Lily, then away.
