Page 61 of Too Much In Common
“I said no.” She kept her voice firm and pushed the button for the lobby. The elevator responded by going up. Tian stepped off at her floor but stood by the door staring him down. He didn’t exit. As soon as the door closed, Tian closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them and, seeing she was alone, gave a fist pump before walking to her room. As soon as she was inside, she bolted the door.
Having him take revenge was not on her list of activities. Wow, what Abbie taught her worked. How to let Chris know without worrying him.
Tian: I got to use one of the moves Abbie taught me in real life. I’m perfectly safe. Thanks for the lessons and the practice.
She probably should tell someone about the incident, but who? The English speakers at the front desk were as proficient as she was in Portuguese. She opted for Simone and made the video call.
“Wow, Brazil must be boring if you are calling me.”
“Not exactly. Is there a number we’re supposed to call if there is an incident?”
“What do you mean?”
“A man entered the elevator after me. He did something to make it stop. He came toward me, calling me Chica, and reached for me. I put the self-defense lesson to good use, restarted the elevator, and got out. He didn’t follow me.”
Simone shuddered. “Where are the rest of the crew?”
“I don’t know. Only the pilots are at this hotel, and I’m avoiding one of them.”
“Oh, anyone for your ‘don’t fly’ list?”
“No, I think we have an understanding.”
“Here’s the number.” Simone added the number to a chat box. “Just tell them what you told me. They’ll let you know if you need to do anything else. See you tomorrow.”
“Day after. It is another all-night flight.” Tian ended the call.
The person who answered the hotline was nice, although they asked a multitude of questions. No, she didn’t remember his shoes. In the end, she was told to stay close to others—advice she could have given herself. Since there wasn’t anyone for her to pal around with, she stayed in her hotel room for the rest of the night.
Which, of course, only gave her too much time to think. Chris was foremost in her mind.
* * *
Chris read the text again. It bothered him that he wasn’t in a position to call. It could have been worse. Tian could have texted the words “don’t worry” which always had the exact opposite effect. However, since she texted that the classes had been successful, he needed to trust that she’d gotten away from the danger.
Chris: I have a hundred questions. I trust you are safe.
Tian: Yes, I am. A bit freaked out is all. I don’t have anyone to hang out with since the crew is in another hotel. If I am to ever do long haul flights on a regular basis I am going to ask to be in their hotel.
Chris: Why aren’t you in the same hotel?
Tian: No idea. It must have to do with what our unions negotiated. Or our late checkout tomorrow.
Dana came out of the hotel suite. “Family is settled in. The kids want to go swimming, of course. Did you check out the pool?”
“Pretty standard for a hotel.”
“The parents aren’t going down. So I’ll need a second since I’m in the water. Ben says you win. I’ll take hall duty while you change into something less formal than a suit.”
Chris: I’ll text more later.
The three kids must have stored up energy on the flight. They made instant friends with the other hotel visitors in the pool and played a rousing round of Marco Polo. A mother kept glancing his way. She wasn’t checking him out the same way her teen age daughter had. The jeans and polo he changed into drew attention in the swimming area.
Finally, the woman wrapped a hotel robe around her and came over to where he sat. “I think you should leave,” she said.
“Sorry, I can’t.” Chris scanned the room over the woman’s shoulder.
“What type of a pervert are you watching kids swim? I saw you look at my daughter. She’s underage, you know.”
