What now? She didn’t have time for this. Roger wanted her at some cocktail hour to schmooze with various New York honchos. She was tired of it. I thought I came here to attend workshops to better my craft… and to accept that shiny award, of course. Instead, Roger had her doing a fucking press tour in the hopes of garnering millions of dollars for her blond head. I hate you, Roger. He would make her rich in the long run, but right now she hated him.
So what the hell was this?
Lana stole to the back corner of the elevator while tourists and other conference goers crammed together in front of her. She had enough room to open the envelope and take a peek at its contents.
A necklace spilled into her hand. Lana almost dropped it between herself and three other people, each smelling of body odor at the end of a hot June day. That was close. What was it?
A rabbit? What in the fuck?
Paper slid out behind the necklace. She instantly recognized the block print penmanship of Ken Andrews – her heart skipped a beat, and she swore she smelled his subtle cologne.
“Ms. Bunny - Ditch your plans for the evening and head next door to the other hotel. Eight o’clock. Present the necklace to the front desk. They’ll know what it means.”
Lana looked around the elevator. Only one nosy old woman looked back at her. “Slut,” she swore the woman mouthed.
“I want to talk to you. About business, this time. Not between us. Just about you. Something you should know before you decide who to work for next. -KSA”
The elevator stopped on her floor before anyone else’s. Lana stepped out in a daze. What would she tell Roger?
***
Turned out Lana was too ill to go to the cocktail hour that night. She accidentally ate something she was allergic to at lunch, and now it was wreaking havoc on her stomach. Or so she told Roger over the phone. He was upset, of course. He told her to hang a pine tree air freshener from her ass and get it down to the cocktail hour. She told him some harrowing details about what she had done to her hotel bathroom – that shut him up.
There was only one other hotel next to the one hosting the conference. A smaller, more historical one that foreign dignitaries and senior citizens on vacation were likely to use. Certainly not big enough to host a conference larger than a dozen people. Still, it was a quaint place, an updated gothic splendor that made Lana feel right at home the moment she stepped into the well-lit lobby at ten to eight.
She had changed clothes after taking a fast shower. Gone was the mosaic dress that made her stand out in a crowd. Now she wore a deep crimson spaghetti-strap cocktail dress made business chic with her black Chanel blazer. Lana stopped in front of a glamorous mirror by the front desk to make sure her ponytail was clean. One curly lock licked her face. Satisfied, she approached the front desk and opened her clutch. Lana produced the brass bunny necklace to the night auditor on desk duty.
“Ah, you must be Ms. Losers.” The young man’s customer service smile was well practiced. “Follow me, please.”
Lana had no idea what to expect. Ken had said this was about business, but that could’ve been a lie to get her alone again. That man must still want me. She sniffed, smug in the knowledge that no man could only have one taste of her. To be fair, she was pining for a small sample of him again. She had simply assumed she wouldn’t get it.
They did not enter an elevator or go upstairs, however. The night auditor led Lana down a back hallway toward the small and intimate conference rooms. A reserved sign decorated the one at the far end of the hall. One knock of the night auditor’s knuckles opened the door.
Ken was already there, sitting at a four-person table overlooking the indoor pool. Lana recognized the two-way mirror almost instantly. Even if a guest decided to take a quick swim before the pool closed, she and Ken would still have privacy.
He got up and shook her hand with pure business decorum. “Lana. Thank you for joining me at the last minute. Have to say I wasn’t sure you would come.”
The night auditor pulled out her chair for her. Both she and Ken sat back down, her host of the evening asking the auditor to have a server bring them a wine and cheese plate. After being thanked, the auditor left them alone in the small conference room.