chapter FOUR
Lesson of the Day:
One foot in front of the other.
Mikka
Our company informed me that Jay was staying in the penthouse of the largest hotel in town. I focused on that.
Shock, I learned, does that to a person. When the worst happens, adrenaline shines light on whether you barrel forward or shrink back. Neither reaction is wrong because it is merely the body surviving the trauma.
It wasn’t until I pulled up to the valet that I realized my hands were shaking on the steering wheel. I held up a finger to the valet and took a minute to fix my makeup. Powdering over the tear tracks and swiping on another coat of lip gloss, I stared into my own eyes.
I’d never failed at anything, I tried to remind myself. This was just another bump in the road Dougie and I had to get over. And getting Jay to agree to rehab was just another test even if I wasn’t going to be graded. The score would come from how people looked at me, how quickly Jay agreed to the company’s recommendation, and, most importantly, how well I hid the previous hour of my life.
The adrenaline from my altercation with Dougie pinpointed exactly the type of person I was. I barreled forward, not letting anyone see my weakness.
I got out of my car and threw the keys to the valet. “I shouldn’t be long.”
I didn’t wait for a response as I strode up to the counter. I tapped my finger on it when the bell boy didn’t immediately give me his attention. Celebrities were well-known here, but holding yourself with importance made a lot of difference in this city.
The trick would be getting into his room without the hotel’s aid. Jay topped most celebrity charts with a larger than life persona and a charm that most weren’t immune to. So, even if Jay had paid on the company credit card, the hotel would refuse to let me have a key.
“I’m here to get a key to Jay’s room. My agency’s card was used.” I slid it over. “We need access.”
“I’m happy to call him from the front desk for you, or you can knock on his door. We can’t give you access to the room, Ms…” He waited, one eyebrow cocked and a smarmy smile on his face.
“Ms. Chang. And I’m happy to call my agency to see if we want to demand the right of entry to the room—”
“I’ll call him.” His eyebrow fell down into a frown, like he knew he couldn’t throw around that much weight. The tall, thin man reached over to pick up a black corded phone and dialed. He looked out over the lobby as he waited and I stared straight at him, not bending under the awkwardness of the situation.
He pulled the phone away from his face, “You know, he looked just fine last night.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. No one actually thought that Jay looked just fine because I’d seen the pictures.
But that was this city. They protected their golden boys and girls. Privacy was everything for the famous and when it was a charming celebrity like Jay, everyone looked the other way. Drugs were part of the lifestyle and very much a part that the city was happy to keep buried under its beautiful beach sand.
“Oh, hi, Mr. Stonewood.” The bellboy raised his eyes at me. “I’m calling because there is a Ms. Chang here who would like a room key. I wasn’t sure if…”
He paused and then replied, “It’s eight AM, sir. I told her it was very early. She insisted that I call you.”
Another pause.
“Um, yes, she looks, um, awake.” He nodded, scanning me from head to toe. “And like she’s ready for the day.”
He started making the room key. I let out the breath I was holding. I was Jay’s friend, but I wasn’t sure if he would always allow me to be that close. The top was lonely and even if he didn’t admit it, I saw the distrust he had in his eyes when he looked at most people.
The bellboy handed over the key card. “He said to come up in about twenty minutes.”
Jay would clean up the scene of the crime and make himself presentable in that time.
I snatched the key card and sped over to the elevators, my heels clicking loud against the hotel’s marble floors. I swiped my room key, walked in, and then waited as the cart shot up to the highest level money could buy.
It opened to the mess that money bought too.
Excess amounts of wealth allowed for responsibilities to fly out the window. If you had your own hallway to your own grand room, it was fine to start taking your clothes off in it. A women’s red lace bra was in the middle of the hall. I stepped over it and waved my key in front of the door to his room.
You could pay for someone to clean up the bottles all over the floor and pay them to keep quiet about the lines of cocaine on the tables. A woman ambled in, half naked but not at all surprised at being caught that way by me. “You must be the reason I was told to find my clothes.”