Chapter 3 - The Interruption
"What is going on here, Patrick?"
Lupita walked out from the hallway leading to the executive lounges. She was a woman in her late fifties, wearing a maroon vest over a crisp white shirt, a silver ring resting against her dark skin, and gray-streaked hair styled in neat braids. She carried a clipboard, but the moment her sharp brown eyes landed on Clara and the child, her posture shifted instantly.
Patrick scoffed, lowering his hand from the alarm button. "Just handling a walk-in, Lupita. Someone trying to cause trouble at check-in. I'm having security clear the lobby before the Vance Enterprises executive board arrives."
Lupita didn't look at Patrick. She walked straight past the high marble desk and stood near Clara. She saw the exhaustion etched into the younger woman's face, the tears caught on her lower lashes, and the quiet, fierce way her arms wrapped around the sleeping girl. Lupita’s eyes lingered for a fraction of a second on the massive rose bouquet—specifically on the gold-embossed satin ribbon binding the stems together.
"You haven't even opened her file, have you?" Lupita asked, her voice dropping into a quiet, dangerous register as she faced Patrick.
"I don't need to open a file to know who can afford a five-star hotel," Patrick replied sneeringly. "Look at her, Lupita. She looks like she hasn't slept in three days."
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"Check the secondary corporate tab," Lupita commanded, her voice ringing clear and firm through the lobby. "Executive bookings don't always show instantly on the front page."
👉 Patrick rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh, completely unaware that his refusal to press a single key was about to dismantle his entire life.
