Chapter 4
Tabor shook the empty carafe, while holding it upside down over his cup. A few pathetic drops of white cream splattered out into his coffee, barely resulting in any change of color in his cup.
This annoyed him, and he scowled.
His head pounded.
He turned around, eager to find a hotel staff member to vent his annoyance to. To his increased annoyance, when he found the staff he saw that they were taking away the first rate spread of pastries, fruit, and yogurt that had been set out in the dining suite.
He walked over to the buttoned up caterer.
She was picking up a large plate of pastries, and when she saw him, she paused.
“Mr. Knight,” she greeted him.
He was impressed that she knew him by name, but still annoyed about the lack of cream, and that she was dismantling the breakfast.
“It’s only eleven,” he said. “You’re taking away breakfast?”
She looked at the tray in her hand, and then back to him. Slowly, she placed it back down. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I will definitely leave it out for you.”
“How long has it been sitting here?” Tabor asked.
She nodded. “Right,” she said, picking it back up. “I’ll go to the kitchen and get you some fresh options.”
He lifted the empty carafe and shook it. “And this,” he said. “You’re all out.”
“Again, I’m so sorry Mr. Knight.” She started to try to transfer the weight of the pastry tray into one hand, but it wobbled precariously.
“I’ll just leave it here,” he said, placing it on the table so that she didn’t have to take it from him.
She looked grateful as she returned her second hand to the tray.
He felt sorry for being so clearly annoyed, and he tried to soften his tone. “I don’t mean to blame you,” he said. “I’m just really in need of a cup of coffee. Long night at the bar,” He admitted.
This made her smile.
“Thank you,” she said, nodding. “I’ll be right back with fresh pastries and cream. And how about a fresh cup of coffee?”
“That would be great,” he said, setting his mug onto the table next to the empty cream carafe. It was sure to be lukewarm by the time she returned, and he liked his coffee hot.
She turned and walked away, and as usual, he took a moment to check her out. She was a pretty girl, with a nice back side. Nothing like the woman at the bar last night, he thought to himself. Tiana. Man, she was sexy.
His head throbbed, letting him know that if he didn't drink coffee, he at least had to have something with a bit of sugar. He found an iced bin with orange juices in it, and reached for one.
He twisted the top off and then took a long drink.
The throbbing abided, just slightly.
A television in the corner of the breakfast nook was playing the news, and he turned to it. Though his eyes were trained on the screen and the talking heads displayed there, he wasn’t concentrating. Instead of hearing the latest political scandal, his mind wandered over the night before.
He thought about the hot tub. Did I take my pants off? he thought. Is that why I didn’t see them in the room? Oh god, I think I did.
And she undressed too. And one thing lead to another, and then…
An image flashed through his mind of Tiana lying on his bed. He remembered her bare pussy, and the way he’d pulled her underwear off. Some parts of the night before were hazy, but that part was crystal clear. She had a beautiful pussy, he thought to himself.
When the staff member returned with his breakfast, he was deep in a daydream about the woman from the bar.
The act of collecting his breakfast items shook him from his reverie.
He found a chair by a window and settled into it, placing his computer bag by his feet. The strong coffee and sugary pastries brought him farther back to reality, and as he finished his meal, he felt ready to tackle his to do list.
He had an hour before a driver from the hotel staff would arrive in the valet lot to shuttle him to the airport for his two pm flight. In an hour, he could get up to speed on emails and then connect with his chief of staff to check on the team’s progress on BioRobot, one of Infinity Tech’s latest projects.
Even though he’d told the Infinity Team that he’d be AWOL for two days, he couldn’t help but check in on them. Within fifteen minutes, he’d cleaned out his inbox and was placing a video call to his chief of staff.
*****
Tiana tried to look confident as she stepped into the Lightman Hotel’s lobby. She threw back her shoulders and lifted her chin.
For all she knew, Tabor would be standing right there in the lobby as she walked to the front desk. From the corner of her eyes, she scanned the lobby. There were several people here and there, but her handsome former classmate was nowhere to be seen.
She could see a little table of pastries set at the entryway of room beyond it, which was just out of sight. Mmm, I wonder if they have a buffet set up in there, she thought, feeling an inner tug towards the pastries and the dining area beyond. I could just snag one of those pastries — or a couple — and sit down with another cup of coffee. Just get ready for this next hotel search.
Don’t be ridiculous, another inner voice countered. With your luck, Tabor will come down out of his hotel room just then, while you’re sitting there in last night’s clothes, stuffing your face with chocolate croissants. I need to just look for the damn ring so that I can go home already.
The ring.
Her right hand circled the bare ring-finger on her left hand, and she shuddered at the thought of the loss. It’s worth at least five grand, she thought. I could fix my car and have some left over.
Damn it!
How did I lose it?
She tried to bring details of the night before into her mind, so that she could try to recall if the ring was on her finger or not, at different points of the night. But her memories were hazy, unfocused, and only made her blush.
When she reached the front desk, she felt flush. She fanned her face with her hand to try to cool her cheeks as she waited for the attendant to hang up the phone.
This time, as she explained that she’d lost a diamond ring and needed help to look for it, she was met with steely reserve rather than compliance. At first, the hotel attendant was cool yet civil, but when she explained that she didn’t actually have a room there, and mentioned that she could never even dream of affording one, his demeanor changed.
Why in the world did I say that? she wondered, mentally kicking herself. Just stick to the facts.
“I was a guest,” she said, trying to gain back some ground.
“Oh, I see,” the attendant said, his voice dripping with judgment.
Don’t judge me, Tiana thought, raising her eyebrow and daring him to push her. I’m not in the mood for this, she thought.
“I was a guest of the billionaire Tabor Knight,” she said. “And we happened to visit the hot tub, and I think that must be where I lost it. I’d like to go check for myself, and I will also need to speak to your cleaning staff.”
The mention of Tabor Knight finally knocked the attendant off of his high horse.
“One minute, ma’am,” he said, lifting the phone quickly, with a sense of urgency.
That’s more like it, Tiana thought. Just the whisper of Tabor’s name had this staff running. I’ll have to remember that, she thought to herself.
She waited as the attendant spoke softly into the phone.
Finally, after a long chat, he hung up. “My manager will be right out,” he said. “In the meantime, we’d like you to fill out this missing valuable items form. It should only take a minute.”
He hit a few buttons on his computer, and then a piece of paper shot out from a printer nearby.
When he held out the form, she just stared at it. I don’t want to fill out a freaking form, she thought to herself angrily. I want to find my damn ring!
He pushed the paper out more, and she finally grabbed it, giving him a good healthy glare as she did so. Another stupid form, she thought. Why don’t they just give me a key, and I’ll go look around the hot tub myself?
Maybe when I was taking off my shirt, it snagged or something… and…
The thought of taking off her clothing in such a public place made her feel ashamed.
Fine, she thought. I’m not going to make a big scene. I’ll just fill out the form and wait for his manager, she thought.
A half an hour later, Tiana found herself knee-deep in what felt to be a pointless discussion with a hotel manager, in which he informed her time and again of the guest privacy policies and the legalities involved with missing items.
She felt that he was regurgitating words that had been stuffed into his mouth by a lawyer. When he told her for the fourth time that it was against Lightman Hotel’s policy to give her access to the room, she gave up.
Maybe I’ll have more luck with the housekeeper, she thought to herself as she was handed off to a head of housekeeping. She repeated her story, sticking to her locations without going into details.
The head of housekeeping was an older woman, with grey hair a matter-of-fact demeanor.
“Okay,” the woman said. “No one on my staff reported any rings, and I’m sure they would have if one had turned up.”
Yeah right, thought Tiana.
The woman continued, oblivious to Tiana’s doubt. “I’ll bring you to the pool courtyard,” she said. “We’ll look around there.”
“And then we’ll check Tabor Knight’s room? Has he checked out?” Tiana asked anxiously.
The woman shook her head. “Our guest privacy code strictly forbids that. If you want to get into touch with Mr. Knight yourself, you are welcome to do so.”
“But he’s checked out already?” Tiana repeated, trying to read the woman. “I mean, the room’s empty? Could you just pop in and--”
“Like I said, you can call him,” the woman said.
“I don’t have his number! I barely know him. I met him last night. Is he in the room, or not?”
“I can’t disclose that information,” the housekeeper insisted.
“Oh for god’s sake!” Tiana said, throwing her hands up.
“Excuse me!” the elderly woman said. “Please don’t use the Lord’s name in vain.”
“Sorry,” mumbled Tiana.
“I cannot tell you if the room is empty or occupied,” the housekeeper repeated, folding her arms across her chest and looking at Tiana sourly. “You are not a guest at this hotel — and even if you were, we don’t give out that kind of information, especially about our VIP clients.”
“Oh, come on!” Tiana begged. “Just peek into the room! Look under the bed for a diamond ring! Ask the cleaning staff to check. It’s probably tangled in the sheets, or on the floor right by the damn bed!”
The woman’s sour scowl now became a look of disdain.
Tiana realized how it must seem. She’d lost an engagement ring in the room of a man who was clearly not her fiancé.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” the woman whispered under her breath, unable to censor her disgust.
“It’s not like that!” Tiana said. “I’m not getting married!”
“Definitely not, now that you’ve done whatever you’ve done,” the woman said. “But I don’t want to know another word about it. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the pool courtyard now.”
The woman whipped around and strode off, surprisingly quickly, for her apparent age.
Tiana struggled to keep up with her. When they reached the pool area, the woman made show of looking on the ground around the chaise lounges, while Tiana knelt down by the hot tub and attempted to look down to the bottom surface.
The water reflected the sun, which was almost directly above them, but when she bent down low near the water she could see clearly to the bottom.
There was no ring.
“Fuck,” she muttered.
She turned to the housekeeper.
The woman was once again standing with her arms crossed, having just as miserable of a time as Tiana was. The housekeeper shook her head.
“Nothing?” Tiana asked.
“No,” the housekeeper said, not even adding a ‘sorry’ on at the end.
Tiana stood up, and her whole body felt tired. Her headache was returning. Her shoulders slumped, and her lip trembled. She felt as though she might cry.
“Please,” she said, bringing her palms together in front of her. “I’m begging you. Woman to woman. Please just peek into that room.”
The elderly woman stared at her, and for a moment, Tiana thought she might say yes. But the moment passed, and the housekeeper shook her head. “My hands are tied,” she said. “Policy, you know.”
Tiana had a feeling that it was the woman’s moral code, rather than policy, that was making her so unhelpful. This made her feel even worse.
“I’ll escort you back to the lobby now,” the woman said, walking to the courtyard door. She opened it, and then held it open, waiting for Tiana to pass through.
She doesn’t even trust me to leave, Tiana thought. She’s acting like I’m some kind of criminal.
Tiana stalked to the open doorway and passed through it without saying a word. She didn’t look back at the elderly housekeeper as she continued down the carpeted hallway, towards the lobby.
Screw you, she thought. I didn’t do anything wrong last night. I had sex. So what? Is there a law against getting laid once in a while?
No.
And the least that uptight lady could do is have a look around. But no. Of course not. That would be too decent. Too human. Too nice. This hotel sucks.
They’re treating me like shit. Like I’m dirty. I will not stand for this.
The more she fumed inwardly, the angrier she became. As she stalked through the lobby, headed for the door, she veered right, towards the front desk.
The snobby, judgmental attendant who had first given her attitude was at his post.
“You know what?” Tiana said, pointing her finger at the man. Her voice came out louder than she’d expected, but she liked how it felt. Yelling allowed her to vent some of her pent up frustration.
“I don’t like your attitude. Yours or your manager’s. Or your head of housekeeping! Y’all are looking down on me, and you have no right to. I want to speak to someone higher up.”
The attendant looked taken aback. After a stunned silence, he spoke timidly. “Higher up… than my manager?” he asked, confused.
“That’s right!” Tiana said, pointing her index finger and jamming it down so that her manicured nail tapped against the desk’s marble countertop. “Right now,” she said. “I lost something of value, and y’all are giving me the runaround instead of actually treating me fairly and trying to assist me! I want to talk to the owner of this place.”
“The owner?” the attendant said, with a slight tremble in his voice.
“You heard me!” Tiana said. “The owner. I’m not leaving, until--”
There was the sound of someone clearing his voice behind her.
Tiana turned.
A man stood before her, with wavy blonde hair and tan skin. He wore an expensive looking suit. He was quite handsome.
“Did I hear you asking for the owner of this hotel?” he said. He stuck out his palm. “I’m Wyatt Lightman.”
Wyatt Lightman. Lightman Hotels. Shit! This is the owner! Tiana thought.
“I’ll handle this from here,” Wyatt said to the attendant, who looked as white as a ghost.
Tiana now had her turn to feel stunned. Though she’d been getting wrapped up in her rant, her demand to see the hotel’s owner was a bluff. She didn’t actually expect to see the owner of the hotel chain that she knew had establishments around the globe.
“Well,” she said, at a complete loss.
He was still extending his hand, and she shook it.
“And you are?” he asked.
“Tiana,” she said. “Tiana Brown.”
“What can I help you with today, Mrs. Brown?” he asked kindly.
His eyes were bright blue, and he flashed her a smile. His kindness made her calm down slightly, though he knew that as a businessman he was probably skilled at manipulating people’s behaviors. He was talking again, smoothly.
“Why don’t
you come over here and have a cup of coffee while we chat?” he
offered.
Tiana found herself speechless as she followed the
smooth southerner across the lobby. She waited, dumbfounded as he
poured out two cups of coffee.
“Do you like cream and sugar?” he asked.
Tiana nodded, and Wyatt doctored up her coffee and then handed her the cup. It felt warm in her hands. “Now, tell me what’s going on,” he said. “Would you like to sit?”
He gestured with his arm towards the arrangement of chairs and tables in the dining area.
“Yes, that would be good,” Tiana said.
He started towards a table, and she followed him, looking around the room as she did so. A few of the tables were occupied, but most were empty.
Tiana lifted the mug to her lips and took a sip as she scanned the tables, still following Wyatt.
As her eyes reached the back of the room, near the window, she choked on the sip she was swallowing.
Tabor.
Tabor Knight.
He looked drop-dead gorgeous. Part of her had wondered if her memory of his good looks had been an effect of the gin and tonic. She’d heard of guys talking about beer-goggles that made women look more attractive, and she wondered if she’d had her own set of gin-goggles on, distorting her perception.
But the opposite was true.
In fact, now that she was seeing Tabor with a clear mind, he looked more handsome than ever.
Coffee lodged in her throat, not quite going down, but not coming up. She sputtered and then managed to swallow.
He was sitting at a table, looking intently at the screen of his rather large laptop. He didn’t see her.
Tiana stopped walking.
Wyatt had reached a table, and was pulling out a chair for her. At the sound of her choking, he looked up.
“Mrs. Brown?” he called out. “Are you alright?”
Several heads turned towards them, looking first to Wyatt, and then to Tiana to see what he was inquiring over.
Tiana watched Tabor look up, his attention diverted from his screen to the scene in the middle of the room.
As he looked at her, she was unable to avert her gaze.
Their eyes locked for an instant, and then Tiana managed to pull her eyes away.
Her heart was hammering in her chest.
She managed to swallow the coffee and nod to Wyatt. She lifted her hand up, giving a little wave of dismissal. “I’m fine,” she said. “Fine, fine, fine.”
I am most definitely not fine, she thought.
I do not want to see him right now. How can I see him, after all that we did last night? This is unbearable.
But this might be the only way that you can get permission to look into his room, she realized.
You have to face him.
It’s not going to be pretty, but you need that ring.