Her Game Plan

CHAPTER FIVE

The Fortune House Hotel was always busy. Beverly had decided, she wasn't quite ready to stay at her house again after the two break- ins. She was a little nervous and decided to check in to a hotel until she felt comfortable in her home again. As she waited patiently at the front desk for her room key, she pulled her phone out of her purse and noticed she had several missed calls. One of which was Vanessa wanting to get together for drinks, the other was a prospective new client, and she also had a text message from Roland. She fiddled with her suitcase and her phone as the front desk clerk handed her the room key. "Okay, Miss, your room is ready, your room number is 2301, enjoy your stay at the Fortune House Hotel", he said; courteously. She took the keys, thanked him and proceeded to the elevator as she honed in on the last call she got from Roland and she pressed the little green phone and dialed his number back. The phone rang twice and Roland picked up. "Hey Beverly, I'm glad you got back to me tonight, I have some information that might be helpful in tracking your boy down",. "Wow, that was fast Roland, so I guess your reputation does speak for itself, so what did you find out about Teddy?" she asked anxiously. "Well first of all, I didn't get any hits on his credit card in fact there hasn't been any activity on the American Express he was using since January, however I did trace some activity to a Discover card that was used at a hotel in Atlanta just as recent as May, but then there is no activity again since that time", he said;informatively. Beverly was silent for a moment. "You know, the fact that Teddy isn't using his credit card really isn't out of the ordinary Roland, he was always flossing with cash, and I'm the one that convinced him to get a credit card, so he could avoid carrying money around all the time", she stated. "Well maybe he is using cash Beverly, but the pattern of usage on his card does raise some questions, and surely the fact that he hasn't been in touch for quite some time, wouldn't you agree?" "Yes I do agree, so where do we go from here?", she questioned. "Well, I'm gonna do some more digging, and if I don't get a hit, I'm going to have to book a flight to Atlanta", he said; cautiously,. "I'm gonna need a little more information from you too Beverly, like who he associates himself with, where he hangs out, if he's on social media, and so forth". "Well he never had a Facebook or Twitter or any of those thing, Teddy isn't into that stuff, he likes his privacy", she said; matter of factly. "That isn't always a good thing considering everything we do or connect with has something to do with computers, cyber space does help track people and information we are looking for, in a nut shell the fact that he likes his privacy tells me, he may not want to be found, I know that is not what you want to hear, but we have to consider the fact he may not want anyone to know where he is". Beverly sighed..."I hope that is the case, because no matter how much he may not want to be found, it's just not like him, we've been close for a long time and I am worried about him Roland", she said; passionately. "I understand your concern and I am going to do all I can do, to find out where he is, you have my word on that Bev, I won't leave a stone un-turned", he said;strongly. "Well that gives me some relief Roland, just knowing that someone is looking for him, his mother is losing it too, and frankly that is what worries me the most, he always calls his mom, and she hasn't heard from him either, something is wrong, I can feel it". "Well, if there is I'm going to find out, I will get to the bottom of why your boy is MIA". "I really appreciate this Roland, I owe you big time for this". "You don't owe me a thing, I'll keep you posted on whatever I find, and remember, sometimes no news is good news", he said; casually. "Thanks Roland, I will wait for your call". Beverly ended the call and headed toward the elevator of the hotel. She was feeling tired from all the craziness at work and all the crap going on with Teddy and she wanted to get to her room and settle in. She had to return a few calls, with Brian being at the top of the list.

This Hotel was really nice. She entered her room and couldn't help but admire the decor. It wasn't home, but until she felt safe again this would have to do. It was still in Brickell and she was close to her office. She didn't know how long she would be at the Fortune House, but she knew it would be a minute before she returned to the place she called home. She put her suitcase on the huge kind size bed, and opened so she could unpack the things she brought with her. She organized her dresses and suits, and lined all of her shoes up on the floor of the closet. Her phone vibrated and almost fell off of the night stand near the bed and she caught it just in time, and of course it was Vanessa. She picked up the phone quickly. "Hey girl, I was meaning to call you back, but today was a crazy day, what's up?", she asked; casually. "You already know why I'm calling Bev, I want to go out and eat some really great food, and have a few stiff drinks, and I could use another something stiff too, if you know what I mean", she said; crassly as she chuckled at her own humor. "You are a piece of work Vee", Beverly responded, laughing on the other end. "How about we meet up Friday at Miami Spice, I love that place". "Oh you know I'm up in there Bev, I would love to, shall we say 8:00 pm sharp?" she asked; casually. "That will work for me, so I will call you on Friday,.. Oh I almost forgot to tell you, I had another break in at my place, so I am staying at the Fortune House for a while, until I find out what's going on". "What? Another break in? what the fuck is wrong with people, that's a damn hot mess, can't even stay in your own spot, cuz people are broke and stupid", she said; loudly. "I know, but the weird thing is, whoever broke into my house didn't take a thing, they just ransacked the place, and they obviously know how to bypass my alarm system, which is really bugging me". "Sounds like you need a new guard dog girl with muscles and a huge bite", Vanessa laughed at herself again. "I know, I'm looking into that now, I've called a few other alarm companies, but I'm going to keep looking until I find one that satisfies me". "Well Bev, I hope you get that taken care of sooner than later, so I will see you Friday? Miami Spice 8pm? right?" Vanessa asked; seeking reassurance. "I'll be there girl with my red bottoms on" Beverly replied; happily. "okay girl see you then bye". Beverly disconnected the call and scrolled through her phone to find Brian's contact information and she dialed. The phone rang twice, and the sexy sound of his voice was like music to her ears. "Hey sleeping beauty", he said; sexily. "Hey handsome", she responded. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to get back to you, but my day today was crazy to say the least". "It's fine, I totally understand, your clients are important", he responded. "I owe you anyway for falling asleep on you the other night", she said softly. "You don't owe me a thing, I told you I enjoyed watching, So are you up for drinks tonight", he asked;cautiously. "Sure, I have no plans, where were you thinking?" she asked. "Well there is this little place that I think you might like down on South Miami Avenue called Havana, do you like Cuban food?" "Actually I do", Beverly responded. "Okay, so how does 8:00 sharp sound?"he asked. "That sounds perfect", she responded. "I'm going to need your address?", he said; firmly. "I didn't have a chance to tell you I am staying at the Fortune House Hotel downtown Brickell". "Oh, are you there for business?, if you don't mind me asking", he said; coolly. "No it's not business, I had two break ins at my house recently and right now I just don't feel safe, I am scouting out new Alarm companies now". "Did you fill out a police report?, was anything taken?, did they dust for prints?" he flooded her with a ton of questions all in one sentence. "I'm sorry for the twenty questions, it's in my nature to want to protect", he said cautiously. "I understand, and it's okay, nothing was taken, but the place was ransacked and yes they did dust for prints, not to mention this is the second time in less than two weeks", Beverly responded. "Wow, no wonder you don't feel comfortable staying there, why didn't you call me?" he asked. I didn't want to bother you, the police were there, I filled out a report and they said they would get back to me with any results from the prints they lifted". "So they did lift some prints then?, well that's good, now they just have to wait for a hit in the system if there is one", he said; clearly. "How do you know so much about police procedures Mr. Fitness?" she asked casually, as she let out a soft laugh. "Oh let's just say I have been in quite a few situations that have given me a certain amount of knowledge when it comes to police business" he said. Deep down inside Brian didn't want to open this particular can of worms, he had been working with the FBI for quite some time now, but never liked to divulge that information too soon in a relationship. He had made that mistake in the past and learned his lesson from it. Most of the woman he dated, didn't like the fact that he worked long hours and was very private about his career choice, but he felt it was too soon to share that tidbit, and he got the feeling that she followed the same set of rules. He didn't like starting off a relationship leaving things out, but it had to be this way for now, at least until he got to know her better all over again. Too many years had gone by and he wanted to make sure he could trust her. After all they were getting reacquainted again and he would cross that path when the time was right. "I will be in the lobby at 8:00 C'clock sharp, Brian", she said; casually. "Okay beautiful I will see you then.