Page 9 of Paper Hearts & Plot Twists

Chapter 5

Miles breathed out a sigh of relief as he exited the taxi with the never-ending chatter that had been going since he’d stepped foot inside the vehicle at the airport. The driver had immediately recognized him and proceeded to discuss his Nightshade Academy Series for the next two hours, barely taking a moment to breathe. He’d asked questions about the sequel that Miles was working on, whether Miles could write him in as a cameo, and even about inspiration for minute detail that hadn’t even crossed Miles’s mind. He felt like his brain was going to burst. This sort of behavior wasn’t completely unknown, but usually Miles was braced for it and not dead on his feet after hours of traveling.

His bag clunked against the ground as he rolled it behind him and through the doors to the hotel lobby. Stepping foot into the Gaylord Rockies hotel in Denver, Colorado was always an absolute treat, and Miles was excited for the conference to come. Front and center was a huge banner hanging from the ceiling that said, “Cupid’s Quill Symposium.”

Underneath this banner were four smaller banners with the schedule of events (one for each day), depicting all that would occur during the four-day conference. Miles was cutting it a bit close, arriving the evening before, but it couldn’t be helped. It wasn’t his fault Ben was trying to kill him with a demanding book tour schedule that butted right up with the conference season.

There was very little he’d actually say no to when it came to his agent. They butted heads like cats and dogs, but at the end of the day, Ben knew his stuff and his insights for business were spot on. Ben never steered him wrong, as much as that thought chafed at times.

Miles got into the line of five people waiting for service at the front desk. He didn’t recognize any of them and briefly wondered if they were readers or newer authors to the circuit. Apparently he wasn’t the only one arriving this evening and cutting it close to the start of the conference. Ideally he’d be one of the prepared people who arrived two or three days early and could relax and treat the whole trip like a vacation, but he doubted he’d ever be that put together, or if he was Ben would ruin it with some kind of PR plan.

He glanced around the room, taking in the unique decorations that made this hotel one of his favorites. The Gaylord Rockies Resort was unique in that it doubled as an art sanctuary. The walls were absolutely covered in unique art and paintings. Miles could walk these halls for hours, and always find something new. If this place didn’t give a writer inspiration, he didn’t know what did.

There was also so much entertainment here, which was good because it was far from any other establishments or entertainment joints. Some of Miles’s favorite areas were a huge theater that had actual couches and an indoor hot tub the size of a pool. From previous conferences he knew they also had an indoor heated swimming pool, an outdoor water park with a lazy river, a spa, several bars, a ton of different restaurants, and even three coffee shops.

“Next!”

Miles stepped forward and pulled his suitcase behind him. The counter was tall, reaching his sternum. He rested his elbows on the surface and leaned against it. The woman in front of him was dwarfed by the large counter, one of the more unique he’d seen. On her chest was a nametag that said Kat Warren.

Kat had short hair, shorter than Miles’s own, but it was a muted pink with sparkly tinsel tied in throughout, making it shimmer like a sunrise. In addition to her hair, Kat had unique make-up: eyeshadow in shades of pink, teal, and orange with dramatic cat eyes.

The most normal part about Kat was the clothing she was wearing. All of the desk clerks wore the same black button-up jacket with a nametag on the right breast pocket, black slacks, and black leather shoes. Miles noticed that the nametag showed that Kat was from Finland. He wondered what brought her so far this way.

“Name?” Kat asked, not looking up from her computer yet, but fingers with freshly manicured nails were poised to type upon receiving an answer.

“Miles Bennett,” he responded. He reached into his front pocket and pulled out his wallet, slipping his ID and credit card from their space in the wallet and sliding them across the desk to her.

Kat glanced up and took the documents, typing a few items into the computer in front of her. She pulled out a ream of papers. “You will be in suite 3740, Queen bed deluxe with a mountainside view.” She circled the number on one of the papers as she stated this, and then flipped to the next paper.

“Here’s a map of the facility. Your room is on the third floor. The map shows where everything is, including but not limited to the theater, spa, and pool. If you have any questions we have a help desk.” She pointed off to the side where a sign indicated said desk. “The help desk is available during operating hours from eight in the morning until eight in the evening. Your key will get you into any of these communal places, though, as long as you try to access them in the allowed times, which are listed in the facilities packet.” She set that on top of his growing pile.

Kat slid a keycard across the space to Miles and then continued. “I see you’re a part of the Cupid’s Quill Symposium. The conference host left a paper here with a schedule of events on it. You can get your welcome packet tonight or tomorrow morning in the Crescent conference room.” She flipped to the map and circled the stated room.

“Your reservation goes from now until Sunday. Check out is eleven thirty on Sunday, and checkout instructions are listed in the booklet in your room. Maid services visit rooms each day, but if you’d like privacy and no cleaning please put the sign on the door handle. If you have any questions or needs, you can come here or use the phone to call the respective department.” She circled some phone numbers and underlined the departments those numbers referred to. Miles was shocked to note she barely paid mind to the paper, running off of muscle memory for all of her circling and underlining.

Kat then turned to the final page in the packet. “Breakfast can be ordered by scanning the QR code in your room, which will lead you to our app where you can place your order, or by calling it in the night before. If you wait until morning, there will be about a two-hour delay,” Kat gave him a paper with a QR code on it as well.

“Do you have any questions?” she asked.

“No, I’m good, thank you for the help,” Miles said with what his brother referred to as his “PR” smile because he always used it with the press. He took the packet of papers, and grabbed his ID and credit card from the desk, stuffing them together with the paper packet into the front pocket of his suitcase. Miles yawned and headed toward the elevator. He was going to check into the conference area quickly and then he could catch up on some sleep.

Chapter 6

Stale air swirled through the large plane as it hurled down the runway and slowly lifted from the ground, shaking the whole way. Most passengers paid no mind to the normal routine of flying. Emily wasn’t most people.

“First time flying?”

“What gave me away? The white face, clenched fists, or the whole-body trembles?”

The man gave a deep-throated chuckle. “It’s really not too bad once you’re used to it. Takeoffs and landings are the most noticeable, and we’re already done with the takeoff part.”

“What about turbulence?”

“Our flight’s only a couple hours and there aren’t any forecasted storms, so I can’t imagine it will be bad. You just have to distract yourself.” He gestured to his phone attached to headphones and the magazine in his lap.

“I can do that.” Emily breathed out, pulled her phone out of her pocket, and grabbed her Bluetooth headphones from the side pocket of her purse. She turned to one of the episodes of The Vampire Diaries she’d downloaded and watched for about ten minutes before she decided something needed to change. She couldn’t spend this whole flight with her neck craned down at her phone.

The seat back pocket provided the answer. She shuffled through the contents and pulled out the barf bag. “I’m not sick, I promise,” Emily said when she saw her seatmate sending her dubious side-eyes. “I saw this airplane hack on TikTok and want to try it out.”

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