Chapter 4. The Guest

Lacey & Ruby Grimmes

“Thanks for choosing Williams Hotel…” Lacey put on a huge smile as she handed a key to a guest. “Enjoy your stay.”

She gestured to one of the young adults she employed as a porter. “Help her take her luggage to her room.”

As the porter lifted the guest’s luggage, the guest waited for him to lead the way. She was a female guest dressed in a black leather jacket and blue jeans. Her white hair cascaded over her shoulder. The white hair did not mean she was old, but one could easily tell she had dyed her hair white.

For a moment, she walked back to Lacey and leaned on her desk. She broke into a smile, displaying her shiny white teeth.

“Anything I can help you with?” Lacey asked with concern.

The guest grinned. “I heard there will be a birthday party tonight?”

“Oh, yes… do you want to attend?” Lacey smiled. She never thought a stranger would ask about her birthday party. Nevertheless, since she was a guest, she could come if she wanted to.

“I love parties, and I can’t miss out.”

“Good for you.” Lacey grinned. “I will see you then.”

“Okey-dokey.”

Lacey watched as the female guest climbed the large straight staircase opposite where she had mounted her desk. Everything had changed, especially the hotel that used to be a mansion. At least, she had named the hotel after their family name: ‘Williams.’ The place she used as a reception used to be the foyer of their mansion, an area at the front of their mansion entered after passing through the front door.

The foyer of their mansion connected their entrance with the rest of the mansion’s main rooms. But now, it was being used as a reception where guests were received.

A few paces away from Lacey’s ergonomic desk chair with smooth-rolling wheels stood a grand piano that belonged to Lacey’s late father. She hired a pianist to entertain the guests with it.

Lacey had turned their mansion into a hotel, aiming to provide guests with a charming resort stay with luxury apartments that came with lavish amenities like a gym, pool, walking paths, extensive gardens, tennis courts, a safe play area for kids, sitting plazas, a mini library, an additional garage, and a fancy restaurant.

Williams Hotel maintained its major architectural styles when it used to be a mansion - styles like the sense of grandeur with tall ceilings, large windows, and beautiful facades.

As Lacey sat on her ergonomic desk chair with smooth-rolling wheels, jotting down the number of rooms taken, Monica cleared her throat, interrupting her.

“Monica?”

Lacey was surprised to see her. She wasn’t expecting her. Monica was supposed to be with her younger siblings before they did something stupid. Lacey had never trusted them to be alone without a chaperone.

Lacey stood up. “Why are you here?” she asked, focusing her gaze on Monica.

“In case you start looking for the Glock 17 gifted to you by Detective Jones, just know it’s under my possession now.”

Lacey stared with mixed feelings. She could tell something had led to this, but she couldn’t conclude just like that. “Why?” she asked with curiosity in her eyes.

“It’s not safe to keep guns where kids could reach them. That’s what I came to tell you, that is all.” Monica turned and started walking away.

Lacey walked out from her desk and chased after her. “Monica, wait.”

“I got to keep eyes on the kids,” Monica said without even looking back.

Lacey ran and stood in front of her. She turned around, making sure no one was watching, and then glanced at Monica with both her eyebrows raised to her hairline.

“What have my younger siblings done with the gun?”

She didn’t have to hear it was all about Jack and Clara before she could know it was about them. Lacey already knew the type of twin cubs she had as younger siblings. She had been handling their mischief for way too long, but messing around with a gun is a different thing and calls for concern.

Monica broke into a smile and slightly lowered her head. When she raised her head, her gaze seared Lacey.

“You don’t have to worry about anything. Just go back to your duty.”

Even though her curiosity wasn’t satisfied, Lacey was still grateful that Monica always had her back. She brought her lips closer to Monica’s forehead and kissed her.

“Thank you,” she whispered. Things wouldn’t have been any better if Monica wasn’t around to guide her. She would never stop looking up to her. When Detective Jones offered to teach Lacey how to use the Glock 17, she debated that she didn’t need a gun.

“I’m good with my claws,” she told him. “No pretty lady like you wants to stain her varnished fingernails,” Detective Jones spoke up in his defense. “I’m a monster,” she argued.

“Nah, you’re not,” Detective Jones said as he kissed her palm. Using a gun wasn’t her thing. Nevertheless, Detective Jones insisted. He didn’t want her to be caught off guard or face the same fate as her parents and elder brother. Since he couldn’t be around her always, all he could do was offer her a tool that could do the job when he was not around.

Lacey walked back to the ergonomic desk chair with smooth-rolling wheels to continue what she wanted to do before Monica walked in--but then again, she was interrupted by the female guest with dyed white hair she ushered in a while ago.

“Hello... it’s me again,” she said with a huge smile on her face. Lacey slowly lowered her pen and made a sharp sibilant sound only she could hear. She put on a fake smile and narrowed her gaze on the female guest.

“How can I help you?”

“I was hoping we could be friends. You know, I’m new in town and...” The female guest paused for a while with her head slightly lowered. She puffed out air from her mouth and continued, “I can tell you are a good person, and I need people like you.”

Lacey stared without uttering a word. She didn’t know what to say to the young lady. She sized her up in her mind and guessed she must be 24 or 25 years old. But one thing she couldn’t get straight was why a female stranger could be asking to be her friend. Lacey was not a lesbian, and often that’s how lesbians make their move on female folks in Brooklyn. Many lesbians had approached her in the past with the same move the female guest was putting on.

The female guest interrupted Lacey’s thoughts and whispered, “I’m not a lesbian, and I know that’s what you’re thinking,” as if she read Lacey’s mind.

“Then who are you?” Lacey stared with a concerned look. She had fallen victim in her department back on campus when she was nearly gang-raped by lesbians in their finals. She didn’t want to experience such. This time around, she was not just careful but ready to kick anyone’s ass for trying to make a forced move on her.

The female guest broke into a fancy smile.

“You can call me Ruby.” She extended her hand to Lacey for a shake.