Page 1 of Room 1003

Prologue

The Staff

WhatamIevendoing here?It was a rhetorical question, of course, because where else would Emerson Holland be? The Scarlet Hotel was his family’s legacy, after all, and one day, it would be his to run as he saw fit. For now, though, he was subject to his father’s rule. And in this case, that meant cutting corners, to everyone’s detriment.

The hotel had once been a landmark in the city, known for luxury, lavish accommodations and high-class dining. They had rented the VIP suite to celebrities, business moguls, and even royalty! In recent years, though, their high standard had begun to slip.

This never would’ve happened if I was allowed some control over the budget.

Emerson was itching to punch something, to yell and rant, but he was the leader here, and that meant putting on a cool façade, all while swearing up a storm inside his head. The elevator was broken. No, to say that would imply that it wasn’t working, but it wassomuch worse than that. The damn thing had nearly plummeted ten stories, with two guests inside it. Never mind the PR nightmare that would’ve been, but the guilt hadn’t stopped chewing at Emerson’s insides since it happened. He could taste the stomach acid crawling up the back of his throat.

“Sir?” Roland peeked into Emerson’s office, knocking softly on the jamb. “The electrician’s here.”

“Finally!” he burst out, shoving back from his desk and hurrying to meet him. A fifteen-story hotel without an elevator was bankruptcy waiting to happen. As it was, they would be offering room discounts, and it was a cost they couldn’t afford.

He came to a screeching halt when he laid eyes on the electrician in question, leaning with one elbow against the reception desk. “Gods,” he breathed, but it must’ve been out loud because Roland replied, “Right?”

The man was a bear. He was probably nearing seven feet tall, with gargantuan shoulders and a barrel chest. Chest hair peeked out from the top of his button-up shirt, which he wouldn’t even be able to button to the top, thanks to his thick neck. His forearms, where he’d rolled up his shirt sleeves, were also covered in a layer of dark hair, and he sported a heavy beard, neatly trimmed. Overall, he quite literally resembled a bear.

“Uh… hello, Mister…” Emerson began, holding out a hand to shake.

He smiled, and it made his brown eyes shine, softening his whole face. “Just call me Ben.” His voice, too, was kinder than Emerson had been expecting. He might’ve been prepared for a roar, instead of this gentle, deep purr.

“Well, Ben, thank you so much for coming on such short notice. I’m afraid it’s a bit urgent, as we have a woman in a wheelchair currently stuck on the fourteenth floor. I was really hoping we wouldn’t have to carry her down all those stairs.”

“Of course, it’s not a problem. I hope for everyone’s sake that it’s an easy fix.”

Ben’s presence was starting to gather some attention, as a man his size had a tendency to do, and a small crowd of staff was beginning to collect. Everyone was craning their necks to look up at him, their eyes wide with wonder. Emerson was short-staffed as it was, he couldn’t afford them all standing around, so he decided to move things along. “If you’ll follow me?”

“Sure, lead the way.” Ben picked up his huge metal toolbox as if it weighed no more than an exhaled breath.

One short flight of stairs brought them to the basement, which housed the control room. The door was marked with a red lightning bolt and bold block letters that read:

Authorized Personnel Only Risk of Electrocution

As soon as the door opened, they were met with a hot, burning smell. “Oh gods.” Emerson clapped a hand over his mouth in shock. He should’ve checked for fire, but it hadn’t even crossed his mind. His first step had been to call an electrician, and this man had come highly recommended.

“Don’t worry about the smell,” Ben told him, apparently reading his reaction perfectly well. “If there’d been a fire, the alarm would’ve gone off. This is just your standard stench of shorted wires.”

“Right…” His concern wasn’t entirely assuaged. This was his nightmare, right here. The hotel meant more to him than he would ever admit. It wasn’t just a collection of walls and doors; it was a piece of this city’s history, and ever since he’d started working here as a young man, it was more his home than his own apartment was. He saw his staff as a family, of sorts, like children he needed to protect. All except Roland, of course… There was nothing familial about the way he sawhim.

Speaking of Roland, he appeared at Emerson’s side, peeking over his shoulder through the narrow doorway as Ben crouched down in front of the elevator’s engine, unscrewing the housing to take a look inside. “Huh.”

“What?” Emerson asked, turning his head to the side and breathing in the clerk’s scent.

“Oh, well…” He blushed but didn’t pull away. “I guess I just assumed he’d show some crack when he bent over.”

Emerson went to answer, but before he could, a second voice piped up. “No, you’re thinking plumbers.” It was Emily, the reception supervisor, and she was hedging Emerson in on the other side. There was barely room for the three of them in the narrow space, and they kept bumping together as they jostled for a better view.

Both of them had their eyes secured firmly on Ben’s behind. Emerson frowned. “Shouldn’t you both be working?”

“I’m on break,” Roland said on his right.

“My shift hasn’t started yet,” Emily said on his left.

Then they both went right back to their gawking.

“This in terribly inappropriate,” he scolded, but as Ben shifted his weight and pivoted to open up a control panel, Emerson felt his own gaze drifting. The man truly was a specimen, and those jeans were tight enough to be doing him all kinds of favors, hugging his tree-trunk thighs every time he bent down.

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