“May I speak to the manager please?” He didn’t want to request her by name.
“Sir, the manager will only tell you the same thing I have. We have no rooms available,” the young woman said again.
Ethan said in a more demanding tone, “The manager please.”
The woman looked uncomfortable, but picked up the phone and dialed a number. After speaking with Kollette, or so he suspected, she turned back to him. “If you don’t mind having a seat, the manager will be right with you.”
“Thank you.” It wouldn’t be long. Soon she’d know who’d disrupted her day. Hopefully she was willing to talk to him beyond telling him they had no vacancies.
“Hello. You wanted to speak to the manager?”
Ethan turned around to find a man standing there. “I did. And you are?”
“John.”
“Thanks John, but I asked for the manager,” Ethan said firmly.
“I am the manager,” John stated.
“You? Where’s Kollette?” Ethan asked. He was positive this was the hotel she was working at.
“Ms. Sommers is no longer working here. Now you wanted to talk to me about a room. We unfortunately don’t have”
“Yeah I know. No rooms. What do you mean she’s not working here? What happened? Did she get fired?” he asked.
“Sir, I can’t discuss Ms. Sommers with you. But if you have any questions regarding the hotel, I’d be happy to assist.”
This made no sense. It was just a week ago and Kollette was the manager here. Hell, she was working for her father. Was it possible that Ralph Sommers was so pissed at Kollette’s error in West Virginia that he fired his own daughter? That would be really fucked up, but Ethan had seen firsthand how business can come before family.
“Do you know how to reach her?” Ethan asked, but knowing he was wasting his breath.
“Sir again, I can’t”
“How about Mr. Sommers. Do you have his number?” Ethan asked.
“Sir, I cannot give you”
“Fucking useless,” he said and stormed out of the hotel.
He’d come all this way to see her, and no one had a clue where she was. He called the valet over and they brought him his car. It shouldn’t be that hard to find her father, but that didn’t mean he’d divulge any information either. Ethan hated having to do it, but he had to make a call and ask for a favor. One that he needed to be kept quiet.
Turning on his cell, he dialed the number. “Ethan, I thought you were on vacation?”
“Sal, I need a favor. And I need you to keep quiet about it.”
“Business?” Sal asked.
“No.” He didn’t want to give too much information, but Sal was going to need something to go on.
“I can’t make any promises until I know what you need,” Sal said.
Lawson Steel did things by the law. Sal was out to make sure no one messed with them. But this was a grey area he was asking him to cross in to and Ethan wasn’t so sure he’d help.
“I need a number and the whereabouts of a woman.”
“That’s not what I’m here for,” Sal said.
“But it’s what I need. Her name is Kollette Sommers. She’s the daughter of”