The city was decorated for Christmas. She thought it was still early, but perhaps since they were in the commercial center of the universe…
Now he was going to try his mesmerism on the desk clerk. Fortunately, the hotel was pared down to a skeleton crew at four o’clock in the morning, so there was no one but Morgaine to witness it.
Sly made eye contact with the man and held his gaze for a few seconds before saying, “I called about the corporate suite. Is it still available?”
The desk clerk answered him, cheerfully. “Yes sir. Do you have a credit card?”
“But the place is already paid for.”
“Of course, but we need a credit card for incidentals.”
Sly reached into his inner coat pocket and withdrew an invisible wallet. He went through the motions of looking for something. “I’m sorry. I must have left all my cards at home. That shouldn’t matter, though, right? The company will pay for everything.”
“Very true, sir. We prefer a card for identification but if you don’t have one, you’ll need to fill out this form.” He handed a slip of paper to Sly and returned to his computer while Sly filled out only the top portion asking for a name. He scribbled in the other spaces, then slid the form across the desk.
“Thank you, sir.”
Sly made it look like he was extracting some money from his billfold and slid nothing across the counter. “A tip for your trouble.”
“Thank you, sir.” The guy smiled at both of them and said, “I hope you have a pleasant stay Mr. and Mrs. Flores.”
Mrs. Flores?Had he registered that way? Or did the desk clerk just assume they were married? She hadn’t paid much attention to what name or names he actually wrote. She supposed he could have gotten away with registering as Mickey Mouse with the desk clerk under his thrall.
On the way up to their suite, she became curious and had to ask. “Sly? Have you ever done that mesmerizing thing on me?”
He wrapped an arm around her waist. “Nope. I tried it when you had a panic attack, but it didn’t work.”
“Damn. It would have been easier.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“Why didn’t it work on me?”
He kissed her temple. “I’m not sure, but I’m glad it didn’t. For one thing, it’s a trick. Whatever a person says or does isn’t real. You’re taking away their free will. If you want to know what they’d really say or do—who they are—you can’t manipulate them.”
“That makes sense, but what if I gave you permission? Like, in an emergency.”
“I suppose…”
The elevator stopped and the doors whooshed open. Sly picked up her suitcase and followed the corridor to their suite. He used the key card and opened the door for her.
Morgaine strolled inside and flicked on the lights. Across the thick carpet sat a stately tan sofa, two overstuffed armchairs, and some mahogany end tables, plus a coffee table polished to a bright gleam. “Pretty!”
“Yeah, it’s almost too nice. Maybe I should ask for another, crappier room?”
She whirled on him. “Why?”
He laughed. “I was kidding.”
“Oh.” She felt silly whenever she didn’t recognize his humor. Oh well, she’d catch on eventually.
“Getting back to why I didn’t mesmerize you…”
“Yes?”
“If I hadn’t let you talk, I wouldn’t have discovered some important information.”
She stopped admiring the artwork and turned to face him. “What information?”
