Reckoning in the Sunshine State

Chapter Five

The week goes by in a blur and for the most part I've adjusted to the job of a Front Desk Agent rather smoothly. Angie and I never ended up hanging out the following day after I had to cancel on her but she had requested that we hang out on the next day we were off together.

My mother had messaged me asking me to come over for Thanksgiving but I told her I wasn't sure what my schedule was going to end up like, especially since this was a new job and working holidays was part of the requirement. Right now it was peak season for Halloween Horror Nights but I wasn't that interested in going considering it felt like I was already living in a nightmare with that person, still sending me emails.

"Nicki, do you mind taking these forms to security?" Ellie, one of the five assistant front office managers, AFOM for short, asks me. It was rather slow for a Saturday and most of the check ins were complete already.

"Sure," I say, taking the stacks of paper from her arms.

"You can also take your break while you're down there, the overnight desk agents should be here soon and we still have two other desk agents here." She lets me know and I do a mental cheer. Lunch was actually pretty good here. You didn't have to pay for food at The Cove, which was their cafeteria. They provided a few lunch options and you could have as much food as you wanted. They mostly had "islander" food available but that was fantastic for me.

The layout of the property was a little strange. There was no first floor the guests could access. The pool and boats to Universal was on the second floor and the lobby and parking garage was on the 4th floor. However, if you took the maintenance elevators instead of the guest elevators you could take to the first floor with what felt like an  underground tunnel. This is where HR, Security, The Cove, Wardrobe, and Employee parking garage access was located. 

I walked up to the security's office and was met with a bright smile from one of the officers. He had ash blonde hair and long stubble on his face. He was Caucasian with blue eyes, had peppy energy, and looked like he enjoyed his job.

"Hi, I'm here to drop this off." I say handing him the documents.

"Thanks! I'll pass it off to my manager," he says and I thank him before walking away. I walk to The Cove and there aren't many people there. I grab my food and head to the back corner of the room. They had TV's with different channels playing the news, sports, and Universal/Hotel reminders.

I ate my food quickly and was playing a game on my phone when the chair in front of me gets pulled back and plops down Angie in her regular clothes and a bright smile on her face.

"Hey there!" she says.

"Hi? What are you doing here? Don't you have the night off?" I ask.

"Headed to HHN are you sure you're not interested in going tonight? You can meet my boyfriend, Caleb?" She asks but I notice her smile doesn't reach her eyes. I decided against prying not because I didn't want to know but because it was best I didn't. I was afraid if she confided in me she would expect the same and that wasn't going to happen.

"No, thank you. You two have fun." I say and I pick up my tray and plates in the bins full of water next to the Coke FreeStyle Machine and she follows me upstairs.

She bids farewell to the rest of the front desk agents before heading out. After another two hours or so I'm free to clock out for the end of my shift. I take the maintenance elevator down to the first floor and proceed to stop by security for a security check. This time there is an older, darker man who smiles and lets me on my way after glancing down at my bag.

When I exit there is a chill in the air which hasn't been normal that I've faced in Florida. I walk down the slope to the other side of the gate to get to the elevator to get to my car and once on the second floor of the garage I feel another chill go down my spine. I look around, checking my surroundings and it feels like someone is watching me. I slow my steps and debate whether getting in my car is the best thing for me to do.