Chapter 2 - Penthouse Level—Exclusive
“Who entered this room today?”
Victor's voice was calm.
Jack answered.
“Housekeeping.”
Victor looked at Olivia.
She folded her arms.
“If you're asking whether I bugged your room between replacing towels and unclogging toilets, my answer is no.”
Jack almost smiled.
Victor didn't.
“Who else?”
“Room service,” Jack said. “Maintenance. One security officer.”
Victor turned to Olivia.
“Names.”
“You think I memorize every employee?”
“You notice things.”
“I also notice when people try to make their problems mine.”
Victor stood.
“Olivia.”
Something in his tone changed.
Less command.
More request.
She sighed.
“Room service was Theo. Maintenance would've been Luis because he handles the top floors.”
“The security officer?”
“I don't know.”
Jack left immediately.
Olivia grabbed her cart.
Victor blocked her path.
“Until we know what is happening, you don't leave the floor alone.”
She stared at him.
“Excuse me?”
“Someone put surveillance inside my room.”
“That sounds inconvenient.”
“It could also make you a witness.”
“To what?”
Victor was silent.
Olivia pointed toward the elevator.
“Exactly. I'm going downstairs.”
“No.”
“You're not my boss.”
Victor glanced toward the hallway.
“Your actual boss appears afraid to enter this floor.”
“Still not you.”
For several seconds they simply stared at each other.
Then Victor stepped aside.
Olivia pushed her cart toward the elevator.
Jack appeared there.
He shook his head.
“Elevator closed.”
She looked back at Victor.
“You told him to do this?”
Victor shrugged.
“For your safety.”
“Kidnapping with excellent room service is still kidnapping.”
Jack coughed into his fist.
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“Did he just laugh?”
“Yes.”
“I don't pay him to laugh.”
Olivia pointed at Victor.
“See? That's why nobody talks to you.”
Before Victor could respond, another bodyguard entered.
“Security officer is gone.”
Victor's expression changed.
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“Name?”
“Ethan Cole.”
Olivia frowned.
“I know him.”
Victor immediately looked at her.
“How?”
“He works nights sometimes. Quiet guy. Divorced. Daughter in college.”
“You know where he lives?”
“No.”
“Car?”
“Blue sedan.”
Victor waited.
Olivia frowned harder.
“What?”
“You notice things.”
“I work at a hotel. We notice everyone because everyone pretends we don't exist.”
That sentence stopped him.
Victor looked at her differently.
Before he could answer, the penthouse telephone rang.
Nobody moved.
It rang again.
Victor gestured toward Jack.
Jack answered.
“Hello?”
His face hardened.
He handed the receiver to Victor.
“For you.”
Victor listened.
“Speak.”
A few seconds passed.
Then his jaw tightened.
Olivia couldn't hear the caller.
Victor could.
“You made a mistake.”
Another pause.
“No. You made two.”
He ended the call.
Jack stepped forward.
“What?”
Victor stared at the phone.
“They know Olivia translated for me.”
The room became silent.
Olivia's stomach tightened.
“What did they say?”
Victor did not answer.
“Victor.”
“They told me to send the maid downstairs.”
“That doesn't sound threatening.”
“They knew your name.”
That did.
Olivia's expression changed.
Victor continued.
“They said if I want you to finish your shift safely, I should leave Chicago tonight.”
Jack cursed in Russian.
Olivia whispered, “Who are they?”
“I don't know yet.”
She stared at Victor.
“That's not comforting.”
“It wasn't intended to be.”
Victor looked at Jack.
“Lock the floor.”
Olivia stepped closer.
“No.”
Victor looked at her.
“You're not turning this place into a prison because some idiot made a phone call.”
“This is not an idiot.”
“How do you know?”
“Because idiots threaten me.”
His voice dropped.
“Professionals threaten people standing near me.”
For the first time, Olivia saw something behind Victor's controlled expression.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For her.
“Great,” she muttered. “I translated two sentences and somehow joined an international crisis.”
Victor looked toward the dismantled lamps.
“You can blame your grandmother.”
Olivia gave him a flat stare.
Victor almost smiled again.
Almost.
Then Jack returned from the hallway carrying a hotel key card inside a clear plastic bag.
“We found this beside the second device.”
Olivia looked closer.
The employee number was printed on the bottom.
She knew it immediately.
“That isn't Ethan's.”
Victor turned.
“Whose?”
Olivia swallowed.
May you like
“Mr. Gable's.”
---
