by Dale Mayer
“Agreed,” he murmured. He held out a hand, and, without thinking, she linked her fingers with his and walked at his side.
“You’re a nice man.”
“That’s funny. Just a little while ago,” he said, with a sideways grin, “you were snapping at me, like a turtle.”
She snorted. “Well, that turtle comment better not have anything to do with my figure,” she said, “or I’ll really get you for it.”
“Absolutely not,” he said, with a straight face. “It was entirely duty or, ah, … shall we say attitude?”
She rolled her eyes. “Something about you tends to bring out something I’m not really used to seeing in me.”
“What, spice?”
“I wonder if that’s what it is,” she said. “I just haven’t had anyone around me who changed my outlook on life, but you are managing to do that.”
“Well, maybe that’s a good thing.”
“Maybe, but I didn’t say that change was easy.”
“It’s not easy. It’s not comfortable, and it’s not terribly nice, but, on the other side of change, it always looks much better.” She smiled. The two of them headed to the elevator, and, when they got inside, he punched the button for the lobby.
“I think we can go straight up to my room from here,” she said.
“You don’t want to check for any messages?”
“Do people still do that?” she asked in wonder.
“I don’t know,” he said. “You tell me.”
She shrugged. “I’ve never done it before, and we all have cell phones now.”
“Maybe so.”
As they got to the lobby, he looked at her, and she shrugged and said, “Fine. Is this your instinct kicking in or something?”
“Nope, but I wouldn’t mind checking out the lay of the place, so I can see just what we’re up against.”
Not really sure she liked his logic or his reasoning, she led the way into the lobby. “See? It’s just one of those lovely big hotel lobbies. They’re the same all over the world. They’ve got lots of little bits of seating scattered among discreet little palms or other fake trees that you sit beside and look out, as you wait for things to happen.”
“I always wondered what people were waiting for.”
“Usually shuttle rides,” she said, “or taxis or other people to arrive. Personally I never found it a comfortable place to stay. I don’t think they’re really geared for that. At least not for me.”
“I don’t think I ever have either,” he said thoughtfully, “and I’ve traveled a lot.”
She turned around and pointed at the elevators and asked, “Can we go up to my room now?”
He nodded. “Would you mind taking the stairs?”
She shrugged and headed toward the stairs, with him in tow. When he opened the door, and they were inside the stairwell, she looked around and said, “It’s a bit more isolated here, isn’t it?”
“A little more but not too bad.” They slowly climbed up the stairs. “What floor?”
“Five.”
He nodded and kept on going.
“I clearly didn’t think this through,” she said, lagging a little bit. “Man, you have me so flustered.”
“Ha. Hardly,” he said. “It’s got nothing to do with me. It’s all about this scenario that you’ve still not quite got your head around.”
“I guess,” she muttered, as she kept climbing. “But a lot of stairs are here.”
“We can take the elevator for the last few if you want.”
“Then what will you do for exercise?”
“I’ll make a trip down the stairs later.”
“Oh no, you don’t,” she said. “I’m not a quitter.” He just smiled. She groaned and said, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
His grin widened, and he said, “Come on. I’ll race you to the top.”
She looked at him in shock. “That’ll never happen.” But he was already running up the stairs. She followed, letting him go on ahead, but still cutting the time by half. By the time she got to the top of the stairs, she was pleasantly surprised that she was not out of breath. He looked at her approvingly.
“Now do that every day,” he said, “and we’ll really get you into shape.”
“No thanks,” she said. “There’s in shape, like me,” she said, “which is normal and average, and then there’s in shape, like Ice, a lean, mean cutting machine.”
“Very true,” he said, with a nod. “And you don’t need to be quite that fit.”
“No, but it’s not necessarily something I shouldn’t be either.”
“It’s Ice’s lifestyle, her body type, and it’s how she is happy to be physically. She likes to be at the optimum level of her own fitness.”
“Athletic fitness is not something that I’m really so crazy about,” she said. “Now natural foods, supplements, and all that good stuff, yes. General fitness, yes. But I don’t want to go nuts with it, and I certainly don’t want it to dominate my life.”
“Good enough,” he said. “You don’t have to.”
“Yet I always feel like I’m trying to justify myself,” she said. “Especially in my industry because everybody’s crazy about fitness.”
“Well, you can be crazy but not stupid crazy about it.”
She burst out laughing. “Thanks. I think you’re trying to make me feel better. I’m just not sure.” He opened up the door, and they walked down the hallway to her room. She fished out her card and gained access. As soon as they stepped inside, she froze. “My God,” she whispered.
His arm went around her, and he pulled her back against his chest, holding her tight, while they both stood stock-still and studied her hotel room. “I never thought to check it earlier,” he murmured.
“Neither did I,” she said in a broken whisper.
The room had been trashed—the bed upended and cut open, all her clothing strewn around the room. Most of it looked to have been slashed as well. He pulled out his phone and quickly called management. She barely even heard the conversation. As she went to move forward, he just held her tucked up against him, so she couldn’t even wander through and take a look at the damage.
Maybe that was how it was supposed to be; she didn’t know. But she felt like she’d been violated all over again, her stomach clenching tight, the cinnamon bun rolling through her system. Everything was hurting; everything was on lockdown, and she felt her breathing heighten as she struggled to comprehend someone who could muster so much violence against her. And yet it apparently wasn’t even directed at her; it was about Levi.
Noah put away his phone, turned her around, and pulled her tight against his chest. She burrowed in closer, trembling. “Management is coming,” he said. “We won’t move.”
She nodded. “I can’t stay here though,” she cried out.
“And you won’t,” he said calmly. “We’ll get a suite, where the two of us can be in the same place.”
Relief flooded through her. “That would be so much better,” she said. She dropped her forehead onto his chest. “I don’t understand so much hate.”
“In this case, it’s probably grief and anger more than hate because, in reality, he probably has more of a hate for himself because he couldn’t stop his own child from dying.”
“So we’re assuming it’s the same person?”
“Well, I’d like to presume it’s the same person,” he said, “because, if it isn’t, it means we have somebody else after you.”
She winced at that. “No, I don’t need that either.”
“No, we don’t,” he said. “I’ll phone Levi and give him an update.”
“Great,” she said. “Can you just call him now?”
“Yeah, I can, but I’m waiting for the manager to come.” A knock came almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He shifted her back to the door, opened it, and stepped to the side, so the manager could come in.
He was horrified at the state of the room. He automatically tur
ned to her.
“I don’t know what happened. I haven’t been here all morning, not since I was attacked in your garage,” she said, with enough bitterness for the manager to look at her and then over at Noah.
“We didn’t hear about that,” he said.
“Yes, you did,” Noah said. “Levi called.”
At that name, he nodded. “Ah, that incident, yes.” He shook his head. “Let’s get out of here,” he said. “We’ll fix this.”
“We’ll need a room right now,” he said. “Under the circumstances, I’d like to stay and keep watch, so preferably a two-bedroom suite, where she can rest and recuperate from this shock, before she has to give a presentation later today.”
The manager nodded. “I can take care of that,” he said and led them upstairs two floors to a large suite. Then he left, promising to come back with complimentary coffee and documentation on her new arrangements, so she could sign in here, without going to the front desk.
She looked at Noah and asked, “Did we just get bumped up so we don’t create a scene?”
“Well, we’ll create a scene regardless,” he said calmly. “But they’re hoping it won’t be too big.”
Slowly sagging into a large comfortable couch in the center of the suite, she said, “This room comes with furniture, huh?”
He laughed. “Yep, should be at least enough to make a difference in how comfortable you are and where you get choices to sit.”
She shrugged. “I don’t generally cause much fuss when I’m traveling,” she said. “I just need a room. I don’t need anything fancy.”
“This isn’t terribly fancy, even then,” he said comfortably. “Besides, you couldn’t stay where you were, so this makes sense.”
“I guess,” she muttered. “I’d still like it if it would all just go away.” It wasn’t long before the manager returned, pushing a trolley of coffee and desserts. She turned to Noah. “I need more substantial food than sugar.”
“We’ll bring in a meal,” he promised her.
The paperwork, notification, and new key cards were handed off. And the manager, with profuse apologies, disappeared.
Di looked over at Noah. “I get that it’s not his fault,” she said, “but, at the same time, it’s kind of sad.”
“Sad in what way?” he asked.
“Just that it would even happen.”
He looked around at the suite and said, “Pick a room and sit down and relax. I’ll get some food coming.” He stepped out in the hallway, leaving her to her own devices. She looked at the two bedrooms, two sections of bedrooms anyway, both kind of hooked around partial walls. She chose the one closest to her and sank down onto the bed and, with that, realized how exhausted and traumatized she was.
*
Noah stood outside in the hallway and called Levi about their change in location.
“How’s she holding up?”
“A little more shocked, this new layer of trauma adding to the other one,” he said, “which is pretty normal. I think she needs real food for one thing. The manager just brought up coffee and treats.”
“Well, get something into her, maybe get her a nap.”
“I may have to take her shopping,” he said. “I’m not sure if she’s thought that through yet, but I don’t know if any of her clothes downstairs are salvageable. I need to check.”
“Do that as soon as you get her settled.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” He hung up and walked back into the suite, finding her flat on her back in bed, staring up at the ceiling. “How are you holding up?”
“Barely,” she said, rolling her head to the side. “I need to see if I have any clothing left.”
“I could take a look for you.” She frowned, looking just too exhausted to even move. “You don’t have to come,” he said, “but I figured, if I could get down there while the manager was there, I could see what we can do about your clothing. The police still need to go over the room but I might be able to grab your belongings.”
She nodded and rolled her head back over and said, “I’ll just stay here and relax.”
“Good deal,” he murmured. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” And, with that, he headed out. He made his way down to her room to see the manager there, with the cleaners.
The manager looked up and frowned.
Noah shrugged and said, “We need to see if any of her clothing and work materials are salvageable,” he said, pointing to the suitcases and the items strewn around.
The manager immediately nodded. “Let’s hope so,” he said. “I just don’t have a clue what this is all about.”
“No,” Noah said, “you just have to wonder what the purpose of destroying things is.”
“Exactly.”
Noah went through her clothing. Several items were still intact. One of the suitcases was okay; another one had the corners bashed in, and several dressier evening outfits were still hanging in the closet, and her briefcase was on the floor. He looked for shoes and found a couple pairs. He packed up what was usable, then looked at the rest and asked the manager, “What will you do about this?”
“I’m not sure what I can do,” he said. “Our insurance will cover it obviously, but we have to get an idea of value.” He continued, “What we do is a settled amount. I can talk to the boss,” he said, “but I don’t know.”
“Good enough,” Noah said. “Let me take these back to her and see what else she’ll need to round out her clothing. She’s speaking tonight at the conference, which is the priority for the moment.”
“Good,” he said, “I wouldn’t want her entire visit to be a waste.”
“Me either,” he said, shaking his head. “The whole thing has been very traumatizing for her.”
“I’m sure.” And the manager was all solicitous sympathy.
Noah quickly made his way back upstairs and carried her things over to the bed, where she lay with her eyes closed. He hesitated.
“I’m not sleeping,” she said. “I was trying to find a way to get back some of my balance.”
“Did it work?” he asked, in a conversational tone, as he lifted the suitcase.
She looked at the suitcase and smiled. “So not everything was broken?”
“The other suitcase is.”
“Of course it is,” she said. She sat up, took a look at what he had brought up, and said, “Well, I can wear one of these dresses tonight,” she said, frowning at the items. “But I need to go shopping.”
“Where?”
“Someplace to get underwear, for a start,” she said, looking at what little was in the suitcase. “And a couple daytime outfits.”
He pulled out his phone, called Ice, and said, “Where should she go shopping?” At that, he handed the phone over, and the two women chattered back and forth. Eventually the phone was returned to him.
Ice said, “Take her to Hanna Andersson.”
“Good enough,” he said, ending the call. He looked at Di, smiled, and said, “Now?”
“Yes, please.” She hopped up, walked over toward the door, and looked at him, as if asking if he was coming.
He rolled his eyes. “Okay, now it is.”
“Yep.”
“I thought you wanted food.”
“I do, but I think we’ll go out and have it.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’m glad you’re making the decisions now.”
“Well, somebody has to.”
A bit of her old spitfire self was a welcome sight. He grinned and walked her to the elevator, then out and into the vehicle.
As she walked out, she said to him, “I know it’s not their fault, but I really don’t want to stay in this hotel again.”
“Let’s get you through this right now,” he said, “and surely we can find something better afterward.”
“Well, I was supposed to go to Ice’s for the weekend anyway,” she said.
“Yeah, I heard you two talking about that earlier,” he said. “That’s good.”
�
�Is it though? Or am I just bringing trouble to them?”
“Which is where it should be,” he said calmly. “Think about it. It’s their trouble anyway, not yours.”
“Well, I can’t really think of it as their trouble,” she said.
He sighed. “Then don’t think about it at all.” He looked up the Hanna’s store in his GPS, confirming it was a women’s clothing store. “Okay, let’s go,” he said. It took a little bit longer to get to the parking because he had come in off another entrance, but eventually he got parked and hopped out with her.
She looked at him hesitantly.
“Now what?” he asked.
“Well, you don’t really want to come in here,” she said, with a wave of her hand at the store.
“Why not?” he asked curiously.
She stared at him. “Well, it’s women’s clothing, for one.”
Frowning, not really understanding, he asked, “Is that supposed to be something I’ll avoid?”
“Well, most guys do,” she said, looking up at him curiously.
“Well, I’m not most guys, and I’m looking after you, not you in the clothing,” he said, “so lead on.” She hesitated, then turned and walked into the store. And he wondered just what she was thinking. He picked up his phone and sent Ice a text. So when aren’t men welcome in a dress store?
She sent back a smiling emoji. And a note. Depends on the woman.
Well, she doesn’t get a choice.
No, in this instance, she doesn’t.
With that, he walked into the store behind her.
Chapter 5
This perverse sense of humor rising inside Dianne was just up to mischief, so she dragged him through the entire store. And then on to a lingerie store right next door. She did find a couple pieces, not quite enough to make her happy, but enough to get through her conference. By the time she was done, he was looking a little grim around the lips. She teased him, as she walked out of the lingerie shop. “There. That was fun, wasn’t it?” He just rolled his eyes at her. She stopped, looked around at the mall, and said, “Where can we get food?”
“How about the burger joint down the corner there?” And he pointed.
