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The printer hummed and Sarah reached below her and brought up two sheets of paper. "I just need you to sign here." She drew an x next to a line. "And enter your license plate number here." She x'd a line opposite her signature. "And I need to see some ID please."
Everleigh pulled her driver's license from her wallet and signed the paper before her. Adding her license plate number, she turned the paperwork back to Sarah and smiled.
"You’re in room 223 and the elevators are just to the left of us here. We have breakfast in that room back there," Sarah pointed to a room behind her, "from six till nine every morning."
The perky clerk held up her forefinger, then turned and stepped into a room behind the desk. She reappeared within a minute with a fresh hot chocolate chip cookie on a small paper plate.
"Welcome." She smiled.
"Thank you." The aroma of the hot cookie wafted up to her nose and her stomach grumbled a bit. Her shoulders relaxed slightly, the stress from the drive and the unknown beginning to ease out of her body. Everleigh grabbed the key on the desk, and her cookie, then pulled her suitcase toward the elevator.
When she opened the door to her room, she let out a sigh of relief. The room was clean, bright, and pretty. She'd be fine here. She shivered again, remembering some of the less than savory small-town hotels she’d stayed in over the tenishyears she'd worked as a negotiator. Always moving from town to town, she’d never had the chance to grow roots anywhere. When she started to feel lonely, she called her sister, putting on a happy face while she talked, and cried in the bathtub for a while afterwards. It was a cycle she was becoming all too familiar with.
Her phone rang just as she'd dropped onto the bed. The readout said, Casper – her boss’s code name. She sighed before answering, "Everleigh Hayes."
"It's Casper. Have you made it to Glen Hollow?"
"Yes. I just walked into my room."
"Good. Your security detail is Henry Delany. He's part of the GHOST team located in Glen Hollow and has solid knowledge of the BRR and the negotiations that have gone on since they've arrived.
“You have a meeting with Sheriff Rex Cranford at nine tomorrow morning. Things are a bit lax there as far as the law goes. Special favors are offered to town board members and others, for various infractions. It's not a tight ship. But all parties involved want this negotiation to happen. They want it finalized and they want to move forward."
"I'll do my best, sir. I have the information packet that was sent to me and will spend the remainder of the evening becoming acquainted with the situation.”
"Perfect. Henry will be there to pick you up at eight thirty tomorrow morning."
"Thank you, sir." She knew she could drive herself wherever she needed to go—the town was small, she could hardly get lost—but she wasn't about to argue with him, she was raised to respect authority. And he was her direct link to future work.
"If you need anything, give me a call."
"Thank you, sir."
"Good night, Ms. Hayes."
The line went dead before she could respond. She shook her head and laid her phone on the bed next to her. First things, first. She needed to find some food. Then, she'd get to work.
Opening and closing the drawers in the desk and dresser in her room, she found a list of local restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, and churches. The first restaurant listed was Homemade in the Hollow. Too tired to be picky, she dialed them up and ordered food to be delivered.
After unpacking her clothes and toiletries, she pulled the packet from her laptop case, opened her computer and set herself up to work.
Spinning in her desk chair, she laid the individual packets of the players involved on her bed, separating them out by faction. In this case, the factions were the BRR and the townspeople.
She was studying Craig Howard's—the president of the BRR—dossier and photos when a knock on her door startled her.
Taking a deep breath, she looked through the peephole, opened her door, and saw the delivery person standing outside. Handing the girl a tip from the money she'd stuffed in her pocket, she took the warm bag of food and inhaled deeply; the aroma filled her room as she carried it inside.
The little table in the corner was still empty of files, so she carried her food to the corner and began unpacking her dinner. Her stomach growled and she took a long drink from the ice-cold sweet tea she'd ordered.Mmm, so good.
She sat in the chair and quickly unwrapped the bacon burger she'd ordered. She knew she'd regret it tomorrow but would push herself to work out a bit harder to make up for it. And after taking one bite, she knew it was completely worth it.
3
Henry strode into the lobby of the Homeland Guest House. He wasn’t new at this, protection, meeting new people, learning to adjust to their mannerisms. But this first day could easily set the tone for the remainder of this assignment.
A grin spread across his face as he took in the older furniture mixed with modern elements. The sofas were older, vintage even, but the counter at the front desk was sleek and modern. The television on the wall above the fireplace was obviously a modern touch, but the fireplace itself was old stone and brick. It brought back memories of home. His mom was a fanatic about antiques and collectables and their farmhouse was a showpiece of both.
"Hi, how can I help you?"
