Chapter 2 - A Reservation Suddenly Lost
Claire escorted Adrian to the front desk.
“What name is the reservation under?” she asked.
“Adrian Cole.”
Cole had been his mother’s family name. Vale International’s legal team had booked the room through an ordinary travel account so that no special instructions would appear.
Claire typed the name.
Her expression changed.
“I see the reservation, but there’s a note saying it was canceled.”
“Canceled by whom?”
“I’m not sure.”
Adrian opened his bag and showed her the confirmation.
The reservation was for an accessible suite on the nineteenth floor.
Claire compared the number with the hotel record.
“This is unusual. Please give me a moment.”
She called the reservations office while Adrian observed the lobby.
A bellman carried luggage for a wealthy couple without being asked. Another employee offered champagne to guests arriving for the charity banquet.
No one offered Adrian water.
No one asked whether he needed assistance.
After several minutes, Claire covered the telephone receiver.
“The reservations office says your room was reassigned this morning.”
“Why?”
“They were told a VIP guest requested the suite.”
“Was another accessible room reserved for me?”
Claire hesitated.
“No.”
A supervisor named Mr. Doyle approached.
He glanced at Adrian, then at the increasingly long line behind him.
“What’s taking so long?”
Claire explained the situation.
Doyle’s patience disappeared almost immediately.
“Give him a standard room.”
“He requested an accessible suite.”
“We’re sold out.”
Adrian looked at Doyle. “The confirmation guarantees the room.”
Doyle forced a thin smile.
“Hotel availability can change.”
“And accessibility?”
“We’ll send someone to help you when necessary.”
“That is not the same as an accessible room.”
Doyle looked around to see whether wealthy guests were watching.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Sir, we are doing our best. Perhaps another hotel would be more suitable.”
Adrian understood the message.
You are inconvenient.
Please disappear.
Before he could respond, Claire spoke.
“There may be an accessible room on the tenth floor. It was removed from inventory because of a damaged lamp, but the maintenance report says the room itself is safe.”
Doyle glared at her.
“Who asked you to check?”
“No one. I remembered seeing the report.”
“You are not authorized to assign unavailable rooms.”
“But his confirmed room was given away.”
Doyle’s jaw tightened.
Adrian could see that Claire was frightened, but she did not retreat.
Doyle turned back to Adrian.
“Wait here.”
He and Claire moved several steps away.
Their voices remained low, but Adrian heard enough.
“You are embarrassing the hotel,” Doyle whispered.
“I’m trying to help a guest.”
“That man is not important enough for you to challenge management.”
Claire stared at him.
“He shouldn’t need to be important.”
For a second, Doyle appeared stunned.
Then he told her to return to the desk and walked toward Marcus Hale’s office.
Adrian lowered his gaze to hide a small smile.
He had already discovered something valuable.
The Grand Meridian did not have a staff problem.
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It had a leadership problem.
And somewhere inside that leadership problem, a young receptionist was still willing to do what was right.
