Page 106 of Dream On, Liar

“Completely?”

“A lot of people come in for the tour.”

“Right. Do you have any rooms opening soon? Like later this evening, or tonight, or even for tomorrow?” I asked. “It’s mandatory for the staff to be in the same hotel as the squad.”

She gave me a nervous look. “Let me check.”

“Thank you.”

Her attention turned back to her screen as I shifted my gaze to look around the lobby.

Every sofa was occupied. People were waiting to be checked in. Families sat around with luggage. Fans wandered through the entrance in team shirts.

The receptionist lowered her voice.

“I can offer you three options.”

By the regret in her voice, I knew I would hate all of them.

“If we have a no-show, I can give you that room. We won't know until later tonight.”

“How late?”

“A few hours. We have a no-show policy. If they don’t show up until 6 pm tonight, there reservation gets cancelled and we’re free to book that room.”

That was almost a seven hour wait. “Okay.”

“Otherwise, I can help you find another property nearby.”

“And the third?”

She hesitated.

“You could speak to your squad, and see if anyone is willing to share space until tomorrow as we have one room opening tomorrow.”

I stared at her. “Okay, can you reserve that now? If there are no rooms available by 6pm tonight, I’ll still need a place for tomorrow.”

She gave me an apologetic smile. “I’m afraid I can’t hold two possible rooms for you.”

Making a conscious attempt to not sound brittle, I spoke. “While I understand that, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make an exception for this case. This is caused by a mistake your organisation made, and while there might not be someone to be blamed directly, I’m sure reserving two spaces for an inconvenience caused by you will ensure I don’t take this further, report it to my team—who will ask your hotel to pay the fine, as well as potentially severe contracts for the future.

Her eyes widened, before she nodded.

Holding back my sigh, I gave her a quiet thanks, before walking back to where I’d sat earlier.

I pulled out my phone and opened a rental app.

Maybe I could find somewhere for one night.

Something small. Something close. Something with a bed and preferably walls thick enough that nobody would hear me complain about my skull trying to escape.

I refreshed the listings.

Nothing available for on the day booking.

I refreshed again.

The headache throbbed behind my eyes.