Always on the Run

19. The most awkward meeting ever

Can you believe it? Another update in less than a week! I hope you enjoy this chapter. :) am updating on my phone. If there are any formatting issues I'll fix them later.
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"You actually live at the hotel?" I ask in surprise when the taxi stops out the front of a five star, beachfront hotel.

When Toby gets out of the car, I follow after him. The driver removes my bag and Toby gives him a tip. The guys eyes light up and I can only imagine the tip was quite hefty. Once he's driven away, Toby and I stand staring at the monster hotel in front of me.

It's massive. From where I'm standing I can't even see either side of it. The front though is magnificent. There's a drop off point in the shape of a U which taxis drive through and drop passengers off. Anyone who is driving stops there and a valet comes and takes the car, parking it someplace else. There are two marble pillars at the main entrance making way for a huge doorway. The doors open inwards and there are two men standing on either side, smiling professionally and greeting guests as they walk in.

As I look in through the doors I see an elegantly designed entryway. The floors are polished and the wooden structures are varnished. On the left is a reception desk that runs from one end to the other, probably three or four metres long. It's made of oak with a marble top and there are at least six people behind it and guests are still lined up waiting to be checked in.

On my right is a seating area. There is a bar at the far end and tables, chairs and lounges for people to sit and relax while they're waiting. And this is only part of the hotel...the main entrance. Just when I think it can't get any better, I look up and see the most amazing chandelier I have ever seen. Situated in the centre of the domed ceiling, all its gold and crystal elegance brings tears to my eyes.

"Oh. My. God." I whisper to myself, totally awestruck with the chandelier.

"You like it?" Toby says from beside me.

I back at him and shake my head. "It's...it's...breathtaking!"

He chuckles and grabs my arm, walking inside with me stumbling behind him. "You're such a female, you know that?"

"Wow you're so observant oh dear brother of mine."

"That I am. And this is why I didn't answer your question before. We all live in the hotel so technically they live with my parents, yes. In fact I live here with Anais too so we're all one big happy family. We all work here. Dad is the manager and I work next to him as the assistant manager. Mum works on reception desk with Mirabelle and Anais. Nadeem is the jack of all trades and fixes all the problems in the motel."

My head is starting to spin with all this information. "Um...where do you live?"

Toby stops and looks at me quizzically. "No offence, sis but are you a little dense?"

I gasp and lunge forward to punch his arm. He grimaces from the impact and grabs his arm, rubbing it slightly. "Ow, that hurt."

"I am not dense, thank you very much. It's a perfectly normal question, isn't it? I mean I know you live here but surely you don't actually live in the hotel rooms? I mean if you do that means you'd be..." I trail off and think it through, "four rooms short," I continue once I've worked it out. "Won't that impact on business? There must be some sort of area for staff to live, right? Like a staff quarter or something."

Toby shakes his head and laughs then wraps his arm across my shoulders. "I suppose it's a logical question and the answer is yes we do have our own rooms here. As you will soon see, this place is very large and there are multiple levels. In total we have over five hundred rooms so yes we can spare four rooms...well five now that you're here. Our rooms aren't cheap, Rese making a profit has never really been a problem for us."