Page 1 of Room 1212

Prologue

The Staff

Patrickwasnotyourtypical alpha. He was short and lean and a little flamboyant, and he was often mistaken for an omega at first glance, not that he minded. And he also loooooved romance novels, especially the swoony kind with the detailed sex scenes.

Another thing he wasnotwas a well-behaved Scarlet Hotel employee…

At this very moment, Patrick wassupposedto be downstairs in the laundry. He worked in housekeeping, and he needed to reload his cart with fresh sheets, towels, and mini shampoo bottles before heading to the third floor to clean out the recently vacated rooms. Instead, though, he was creeping down the hallway toward the kitchen with a book shoved down the back of his pants. The logical side of his brain told him it would be less suspicious if he just walked normally; he could surely come up with a good excuse for being here if he got caught. But he couldn’t seem to help himself! Skulking around like this made him feel a bit like James Bond or… more like Austin Powers, maybe.

Taking one last peek over his shoulder to make sure he hadn’t been spotted, he slipped through the swinging door into the kitchen. It was always quiet at this time of day. Breakfast was over, and it was close to the hotel’s checkout time, so most of the guests were upstairs packing their bags instead of lingering in the restaurant. And since it was a weekday, there weren’t a lot of outside diners either. Everyone was at work.

There was no sign of Raoul, their anal-retentive three-star chef, nor their sous chef, Cherie, who quite frankly terrified Patrick to his very core. The only staff currently in the kitchen were Coral, the dishwasher, and Diya, a part-time cook. She was just plating up a tray of food when Patrick ever so casually sauntered over, hands tucked in his pockets so she couldn’t see how they shook. “Hey, Diya,” he said softly, almost a whisper.

She startled when he appeared at her side. “Gods, I didn’t hear you come in. What are you doing in here?”

He ignored her question, instead asking one of his own. “Is that for room 1212?”

She glanced at him, then frowned, her thick brows dipping. “Um… yeah,” she said, checking the ticket to confirm where it was headed. “Why?”

“I’m here to take it upstairs.” He threw on a smile for good measure, but it only seemed to make her more wary.

She narrowed her dark eyes. “Why on earth would you be bringing food upstairs? That’s not your job. This is for room service.”

“Just lending a hand. Uh, I think Joseph was busy with… something.”Shit, why didn’t I come up with all these answers beforehand?Patrick scolded himself.

Just then, because karma was a bitch, the kitchen door swung open and Joseph walked in. “What am I busy with?” he asked, a smirk teasing at his lips. Patrick wondered if Joseph had been listening at the doorway to simply walk in at such a coincidental time, the smug bastard.

Patrick growled. They were spoiling all his fun. “Look, I’m not good at this, so let me be straight with you.”

“Oh, boy,” Joseph shot back, “this should be good.” Diya laughed, a rich throaty sound. Coral lumbered over to listen in too.

Patrick huffed once. “Please, can you guys do me a teensy-weensy favor?” he asked, holding his fingers close together to indicate how miniscule this favor was. “I need to take this food up to room 1212.”

Three sets of eyes stared back at him, and when he didn’t say anything else, Joseph’s eyebrows rose. “What, that’s it?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Patrick shrugged. He couldn’t tell him the reason or Joseph would want to do it for himself.

He snorted. “If that’s all you’re gonna give me, then the answer is no.” Then he made to grab the tray.

“What do you mean no?” Patrick whined in return. “I’d be doing your job for you! I’ll even pay you 20 bucks!” He reached into his pocket for his wallet and fished out a bill.

Joseph crossed his arms over his chest and leaned a hip on the counter. “You seem awfully desperate to take this food up. Who’s in room 1212? Is it a model or something? Movie star?”

“Ooh!” Diya cut in, pointing a finger at Joseph. “I heard Max Shepherd was in town!” She looked absolutely giddy. “I love his movies! Is it Max Shepherd?”

“No, it’s not Max Shepherd, but I have to agree with you, his movies are awesome. Did you seeWhen Stars Fall? He was soooooo dreamy,” Patrick gushed. “That scene where he—”

“Hey!” Joseph interrupted. “Quit trying to distract us.”

“I’m not, I swear!” Patrick said, drawing an X with a finger over his heart.

“Mm-hm, a likely story.” Joseph’s wide lips stretched into a sly grin. “You might as well just spill it. You know Emily’s working the front desk today, and she will have no problem telling me who’s booked into the room.”

Patrick cursed under his breath because he knew the other man was right. Emily loved gossip almost as much as Patrick did, and this was the juiciest bit of information he’d had all year.

When he didn’t spill the news fast enough, Joseph made to head up front. “Okay, okay!” Patrick hissed, stopping him. “This stays just between us, okay?” He peeked left and right, as though someone might’ve snuck in without them noticing, then he leaned in and gestured for them to do the same. When their heads were huddled together, only then did Patrick whisper, “It’s… Jordan Kepler.”

He’d expected some kind of big reaction, but Joseph just stared at him blankly without any recognition. Diya’s expression sagged in disappointment. “Meh,” she said before returning to her cutting board where she’d been slicing mushrooms earlier.

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