Bavaria, a southeastern German state on the borders of Liechtenstein and the Czech Republic, was known for its medieval castles with breathtaking views, and beautiful hotels.  One such hotel, the Hotel Weisen, in the capital city of Munich, was awaiting the arrival of a dignitary.  And not just any dignitary, but a Greek billionaire.  The Vice President of Guest Services walked out of the lobby and stood under the portico.  He felt the chill as soon as he stepped out.

“It’s cold already,” he said to his General Manager, who was already outside and waiting.

“This is nothing.  They expect a freeze tonight.”

“Terrific.”  The VP blew into his hand.  “Just terrific.”

The hotel was American-owned and operated, with all of the top tier staff English speakers.  And although Alex Drakos bore American citizenship himself, he was known around Europe, and to most Europeans, for his Greek ancestry.  And for the Drakos family’s checkered past.

“How far is he now?” the VP asked.

“Five minutes.  Maybe less.  He just got out of some tough negotiations across town, but he will be staying with us for the remainder of his time in Germany.”

“I was hoping for a stress-free week,” said the VP.

“As was I,” replied the GM.

“No dignitaries.  No restless billionaires.  The week has only just begun, and we’ve already got ourselves an A-lister.”

“The GM looked at the VP.  “Why is he here anyway?”

“You know why.  He wants to expand his empire.  Why else?”

“But why us, I mean?  We are a big hotel.  A luxury hotel.  But we are not, by any means, the best hotel even here in Munich.”

“You know people like him,” said the VP.  “He wants to buy us low, make us the best hotel around, and then sell us high.  That is his stock and trade, as they say.  He owns nothing for very long.  Not property.  Not women.  Not his own children.  That is how he operates.”

The GM shook his head.  “A man who would put his own daughter in prison for stealing from him, no matter what the amount, and would lead his son to suicide, is not the kind of man I can admire.”

“Here here,” said the VP.  “And that family of his in Greece?  Those gangsters?  What is the board thinking even entertaining such nonsense!  But what are we to do?  We are mere minions compared to him.  All we can do is smile a big smile and put on a good show.  And hope, when the ink dries and he is our new owner, that he will allow us to keep our jobs.  But never mind.  He’s here!”

Three SUVs drove under the portico and stopped at the entrance doors.  The GM was about to open the backdoor of the middle one, to greet their V.I.P. arrival, but the bodyguard stepped out of the front passenger seat and quickly held up his hand.  “Back away from the vehicle, please,” he ordered.

The GM quickly did as he was told.  And then looked at the VP.  The VP shook his head.  “Get used to it,” he said.

And they waited.  For nearly five minutes they waited.  They could tell, scantily from the SUV’s tinted windows, that the subject in the backseat was on the telephone.  Which made it an understandable wait.  But they still felt smaller for it.  One of them, the GM, wanted to pull out a cigarette in his own act of defiance.

But before he could be so bold, the bodyguard opened the vehicle’s backdoor, and Alexander Drakos stepped out buttoning his suit coat.

This was their first in-person meeting of the man known the world over as the playboy billionaire, and like most who meet him for the first time, they were both surprised by his muscular frame, and by his warm demeanor.  And that suit he was buttoning was so well-appointed and fit so divinely that the VP, who viewed himself as somewhat of a fashionista himself, was impressed.  “Mr. Drakos,” he said cheerfully as he stepped toward Alex with extended hand.  “Welcome to the Weisen!”

Alex smiled and shook his hand.  “Thank you.”

“I am Carl Micron, the Vice President for European Operations, and this is Tad Scott, our General Manager.”

Tad and Alex shook hands also.

“Once you’re settled in, and as soon as you’re ready, sir, Tad and I will give you the grand tour.”

“Who runs your housekeeping department?” Alex asked.

The VP didn’t understand.  “Housekeeping, sir?”

“Yes.  Who’s in charge?”

“Well . . . the supervisor, sir.  A lady by the name of . . .”  He looked at his GM.

“Miss Elmsly,” the GM said.

“Miss Elmsly,” said the VP.

“Will she be here in the morning?” Alex asked.

“I would imagine she will, yes, sir.”

“She will be the one to give me the tour.  8am sharp, before I leave for meetings.  Tell her to meet me in the lobby.”

The VP was thrown.  “The lobby, tomorrow morning at 8, yes, sir,” he said.

And Alex, with an army of assistants, including his executive assistant Priska Rahm, hurried across the sidewalk and entered the sleek hotel.

The VP and GM looked at each other, baffled as to why he would want a housekeeping supervisor, of all people, to show him around.  But then they realized that their A-list guest had gotten away from them.  They hurried across the sidewalk and into the hotel also, to catch up.

 

Downstairs were fast-moving tourists, faster-moving traffic, and congestion that was a little off-putting for Alex, but was exactly the kind of energy that a thriving business needed.  It was a good hotel in a good location.  But could this hotel become great?  That was what he had to decide, if the negotiations succeeded, during this trip.

He stood at the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out over the busy, beautiful city.  As he held his phone and waited for the connection, he never dreamed he’d become this invested in hotels.  But there it was.  The hotel here in Bavaria.  Another one in California that he and Reno Gabrini were considering partnering in.  And, of course, his own crown jewel: his hotel and casino in Apple Valley, Florida.  Already under construction.  He was amped.

And then Kari appeared on his iPhone home screen, and his happiness grew by leaps and bounds.  “Hey,” he said.

She was sitting up on her bed, with her back to her headboard, in hair rollers and no makeup whatsoever, wearing what appeared to be one of his white dress shirts.  And it warmed Alex’s heart.  Every woman he’d ever Face Time with, no matter what the hour, was always decked down in jewels, had the hair fixed to perfection, and wore tons of makeup.  Most would strip naked or be more than happy to give him a good peepshow.  But not Kari.  She wasn’t putting on any shows.  That was what he loved about her.  She was always, and he meant always, the same.  It was that reliability that Alex needed most.

“Hey, Alex,” she responded.

“How are you, Miss Grant?” he asked her with a big smile on his face.

Kari smiled too.  “I’m good.  Was nodding asleep at my computer, but I’ve got this inventory list to finish.”

“Business is booming then?”

“Business is never booming,” Kari said.  “At least not my business,” she added, and Alex laughed.  “But it’s no longer on the critical list,” she continued, “so I’m grateful for that.  What about you?  How’s it going in Munich?”

“A little rocky at the moment.  Negotiations are back on, which is good, but no final agreement is in sight.  I just arrived at the hotel.”

“And you called me first?  Even before your shower?”

“That’s right.”

Kari smiled.  “Ah.  I feel special!”

It was no smiling matter to Alex, although he was not the kind of man who could be boldly affectionate.  “You are,” he said, staring at her beautifully plain face. Truthfully, he thought, she’d never know just how special she was to him.  “And I’ve decided to take your advice.”

“My advice?  What advice?”

“To let the housekeeper be my guide.”

“Oh, always, Alex,” Kari said.  “She’ll show you just how good, or bad, that hotel is run.  She won’t tell you anything negative for fear of losing her job, but I guarantee you she’ll show you.  Those uppity mucks in any other management department will only show you the good stuff.”

“I’ll let you know how it turns out.”

“Great,” Kari said, pleased that she could help him.

“How’s Jordan?” Alex asked.

“Asleep.  I’ll be waking him up for school soon, which he’s going to hate.  I’m a super-early riser, but he’s not.”

Alex wasn’t a super-early riser either.  “I can empathize with Jordan,” he said with a smile.  “Besides, it may be one p.m. in Munich where I am, but it’s only what, six am in Florida where you are?”

Right.  So, yeah, he’s still sleep.  But otherwise, he’s just fine.  Thanks for asking.”

“My pleasure,” Alex said.

But speaking of pleasure, the more he looked at Kari, the more he couldn’t stop wanting her.  She gave him everything, including sex, in the kind of intense doses no other woman could ever match.  And he missed it.  “What are you wearing?” he asked her.

Kari grinned that infectious grin he loved.  “One of your shirts you left at my house,” she said.

As if to see what she was truly made of, he decided to push the envelope.  “Unbutton it,” he said to her in such a sensual way that it caused Kari’s vagina to pulsate.  She still could feel his mouth all over her breasts the way it was before he left.

But that didn’t mean she wasn’t surprised by his blatant request.  She was.  Alex should know her better by now!

“You heard me,” he said to her.

“Alex!” she said to him.

But Alex was dead serious.  “Unbutton it,” he said again.

Kari stared at him.  She realized he wasn’t kidding, and it concerned her.  Women were always saying that if your man wasn’t getting it from you, he was getting it from somebody else.  And given Alex’s reputation for womanizing, and his constant traveling, that somebody else was always in the back of her mind.

But even at the risk of him seeking out another woman for affection during his trip overseas, Kari wasn’t going to do something stupid.  If she had to compromise her values to keep him, maybe she didn’t need him?  “I’m not about to show off my goods on this Face Time web service so my naked ass can go into some cloud, or whatever storage place they put it, for strangers to one day view.  No way, no how.”

Alex smiled and shook his head.  That response was so like Karena, he thought, that it warmed his heart.  It didn’t stop his dick from throbbing, but at least she made him smile.

“You’ll have to wait until you’re back in Apple Valley,” Kari continued, “and I’m underneath you, to get a load of this body.”

“And if I can’t wait?” he asked.

Kari smiled too.  “Sounds like a personal problem to me, buddy,” she said, and Alex laughed.

She decided to change the subject.  “Have you eaten?” she asked.

“Too much,” he said.

“You look a little tired.”

“That I am, too,” he said with a smile that revealed lines on the side of his eyes.

“Go shower,” Kari ordered.  “Get some rest.  Don’t let those Germans or Bavarians or whatever they are overwork you.”

Alex laughed. “I won’t.  And don’t you overdo it, either, while I’m gone.”

“Do I ever?” Kari asked with that amazing grin of hers.

“Yes,” Alex said forcefully.  “Yes!”

Kari laughed too.  They said their goodnights.  And Alex ended the Face Time.

But as soon as he did, he felt lonely again.

He went over to the full-sized bar, poured himself a glass of wine, and looked around the room as he sipped.  He was in the presidential suite, and it was very lacking by his standards.  And if the best they had to offer was lacking, he knew he would have his work cut out for him.

But time would tell, he thought, as he made his way back to the window.  He was just getting tired of this lifestyle.  Hotel after hotel.  Long plane ride after long plane ride.  It was getting to be burdensome.  Especially when he thought about being in Apple Valley with Kari and Jordan.  They were the center of his gravity now.  And he needed that center.

He took another sip, held his glass down by his side, and then, out of nowhere, a bullet ripped through the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window, shattering the window and the glass he held in his hand.

Alex’s first instinct was to duck, which he did, and then, realizing what was happening, he dived for cover as a barrage of bullets followed, ripping through the window and causing it to shatter even more and to drop into falling sections and shards of glass.  He ran, still ducked down, through the living area, through the dining area, and into the bedroom, as the bullets kept flying.

Unfortunately for him, the bedroom had more floor-to-ceiling windows and the bullets followed his every move.  But he used the bed itself as cover as he made his way, still ducked down, up to that bed and threw his luggage onto the floor.  Sitting with his back against the side of the bed, he opened his suitcase swiftly, grabbed his loaded Glock, and, on his knees on the side of the bed, began firing back.

Then his door was kicked in.  His security detail arrived.  And they, too, began firing at the assailant across the street.

The excessive firepower caused the assailant to retreat, and the incoming to finally cease.  Alex got back on his feet, and he began running toward the living area.

“Are you okay, Boss?” Belvins, his security chief while in Munich, asked.

“I’m okay.”

“Where is it coming from?”

“That hotel across the street,” said Alex, and he, along with most of his men, ran out of the suite.

They took the elevator downstairs, and then ran out of the lobby and onto the busy streets of Munich.  By now most of the lobby dwellers had heard the gunshots and were running for cover themselves, while the pedestrians on the street, and motorists driving by, were in full panic mode.  Horns were honking, people were screaming and running, and a man ran out of the hotel across the street carrying a long case.

Alex couldn’t swear that it was the gunman, so he held his men back and waited.  He knew the signal of the man’s guilt would be in where he looked.  Most people were looking up, where the shots had begun, or they were looking straight ahead, trying to get to safer ground.  But when the gunman looked across the street, and not up, but at the entrance, Alex knew they had their man.  And when their man, realizing he’d been spotted, ran toward a parked car, Alex and his men took off after him.

The man tossed the driver out of the car, commandeered it, and then took off.

As the car took off, it became a weapon itself.  It didn’t slow down for pedestrians, but hit them instead, as he attempted to get away.  Because that man was as reckless as he was dangerous, Alex knew he had to act.

He stood in the middle of the street and aimed.  He had to wait until pedestrians cleared a path, while still keeping his eyes on that fleeing automobile, but then he fired.  He fired several shots.  But then he had to stop again, as pedestrians were in the way, and then he fired several more shots, determined to stop that killer.

Eventually, he had clear enough of a shot to hit the driver through the neck.  It wasn’t a kill shot, because Alex didn’t want the motherfucker to die.  He needed answers.  He needed to know why he was targeted!

But the shot in the neck was enough for the driver to lose control of the car.  The car veered out, swerved from one side of the street to the other side, and flipped, causing even more panic in the streets.

Alex and his men began running to the car, hoping to at least find the driver still alive and able to talk.  But just as they were approaching, the car exploded before they could reach it, rocking them off of their feet, and knocking them to the ground.

When Alex looked back up, he knew that driver, just like that car, had been blown to kingdom come.  Alex and his men covered their heads as the shards of metal that had gone up in smoke and fire, fell down.

Alex could hear his men asking him, repeatedly, what had happened and what was going on, but he wasn’t in the mood for answering.  Because he had no clue either.  None whatsoever.  He didn’t see this one coming by a mile!

And that, for a man like Alex Drakos, as he and his men rose to their feet, and as sirens rang out all around them, was the greatest fear of all.