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As the sun came up on a new day, in a new city, I held my broken friend until her tears were gone, knowing they would come again much too soon.
Finally, we arrived at our hotel outside of the city. “Hi, checking in for Farinelli,” I said to the front desk clerk.
The young lady behind the desk couldn’t have been over nineteen. She took a fortifying sip of her coffee before replying, “Check-in isn’t until three.”
“I’m checking in for yesterday. And it’s after three.”
She ran her fingers over some keys on her keyboard. “When you didn’t check in yesterday, we gave your suite to someone else.”
“When I booked the suite, I specifically said that this would be the situation. We’ve been up all night, and someone here promised me a bed. I don’t care what room it is in for today, just put us in a room.” I couldn’t help the grating irritation seeping into my tone.
The clerk shook her head, and Cee stopped her. “Listen, kid. You do not know the hell I’ve been through. I need a room. You have rooms, right?”
“That’s the thing. We don’t until three,” the clerk replied.
“Find me a manager,” Cee seethed. “Now!”
While the clerk called her manager to the front desk, I tried to calm Cee. “It’s fine. We’ll get a room somewhere else for the day and figure it out tomorrow.”
“It is not fine. I’m tired. You’re tired. I’m willing to bet that you paid for the room we aren’t being given, so they will find us a place to shower and nap while they fix the issue.” Somehow, she said all of this clearly, despite her clenched teeth.
The manager came to the front desk and before I could explain the situation, Cee jumped in. “Good morning, ma’am. There seems to be an issue with our rooms. We had a suite booked, and it seems to have been given to someone else.”
“Good morning. Yes, Jasmine explained the issue. I’m so sorry for this mix-up. Unfortunately, we thought you had decided not to stay with us. Yours was the last empty room, so we gave it to some guests last night. They were only here for the night, so we’ll have your room ready this afternoon, but I’m afraid I have nothing until then.”
“Find something,” she growled.
“As I said, miss—”
She cut her off. “I don’t care if you have to call other hotels in the area, figure it out. Get me a bed in the next thirty minutes.”
I’ve never seen someone pick up a phone so quickly. To be fair, the look on Cee’s face was downright terrifying.
We went to the cafe inside the hotel and grabbed some water while we waited. In less than five minutes, the manager came over to update us. “I could arrange a room for you next door. I will have someone assist you with any bags. Your suite will be ready as soon as possible, but until then, please feel free to go straight to the check-in desk there and they will bring you to a room, Miss Roberts.”
I was confused. The booking was in my name, and she never gave hers. Plus, she had changed her last name to Fuller years ago. “Thank you.”
Cee got up and immediately started for the door. She all but stomped her way to the hotel next to the one we were supposed to be staying in and went to the front desk, where a manager was already holding out keys and a bag. “Miss Roberts. I hope this room is okay. We will work everything out.”
“Thank you, Marcus,” Cee said, using the name that was pinned to his chest.
With no other fanfare, we got into the elevator and went straight to our room. Since the room we booked had two beds, I was expecting two beds, but once again we were being thrust into a romance novel trope: one single king.
I let out a nervous laugh. “Do I offer to take the floor like they do in the books, or can we just go to sleep?”
“We’ve spent plenty of nights together in a smaller bed than that. Let’s just go to sleep,” she grumbled.
“How did he know who you are?”
“My picture was on the fucking news behind us. It was from Thanksgiving and I’m with Mason and his family. Being the mother of the Vice President’s grandson has perks. As soon as the clip played, they realized who they we’re dealing with, and all of a sudden our cause was deemed worthy of their attention. I’ll reimburse you for the room. I know we’re here for me.” She tossed her bag on the floor and threw herself face-first across the bed diagonally.
“I think I’m good for it,” I said, giving her legs a push to the side so I could join her on the bed. “But we can argue about it later, I need at least four hours of sleep or I’ll turn into a pumpkin.”
Forty-Nine
I woke up in the dim, shadowy room to the smell of coffee. I felt around for Cee, but not finding her, I assumed she was the source of the delicious aroma.
“Cee,” I called out.
