He Strikes at the Hotel

Chapter Twelve

I sat in my room in my armchair in silence, thinking about everything that has happened today. After the meeting with Zachery's guards, I went on a mission to take my mind off of it. I was perfectly fine, until Zachery coerced me into having a serious discussion with him in his suite, which led to me telling him a ghost story, going down to the laundry room and finding a trap door in the floor which has been recently used, then, to top it all off, Nerissa wouldn't stop questioning me when I got back to work about the way Zachery glanced at me in the meeting, as if by that single look I had been impregnated by him. The afternoon consisted of 'why did he look at you like that?' and 'what don't I know?' and my personal favourite: 'did you bribe him to do that?' Honestly, what does that woman think of me at times?

Now that I am in my own safe space, I have the silence I've been waiting for all day. I had been longing for this since Zachery and I found the mysterious door, but now that all I have are my own thoughts, it's not what I'd hoped it would be. It turns out that my constant questioning is probably worse than Nerissa's, as with her I could at least shrug it off and change the topic of conversation. With me, I'm stuck with my questions, with my mind unwilling to accept the change of subject. I'm stubborn enough in everyday life, let alone when it is just me arguing with, well, me. The amount of times I have been in that laundry room is beyond numbers, and not once have I noticed a trap door. I suppose that is kind of the point of a trap door, that it is hidden, not to be found... But I am the person who should have found it. I explore every crevice within this hotel, there's not one area that I haven't gotten in to and had a good look around. I'm curious, and I like adventure. That's why my hair pin is my most prized possession, I look at it as if it is a family heirloom. It allows me to open locks on doors, cupboards and every secret compartment I have ever found. Apart from that door, it would seem. Once you live in a hotel, and have a lot of free time, you can really appreciate how intricate the designs of the building actually are. I have found many unused hallways before, rooms that look as if they have been set alight and banished, and I even found a drawer which held the documents regarding the hotel's deeds in them. Admittedly the last of those wasn't secret, it was just in the manager's office, but it was a secret that I got myself in there in the first place.

Where did that door even lead to? Once Zachery and I both had a good look at the door, part of the maintenance crew came down into the basement and we heard them speaking and laughing, so we decided it would be best to leave our mystery to be unravelled at a later date. I took a new bathrobe, and the pillows which Zachery picked out, and we left the laundry room the way we found it, without any further discussion.

I was startled out of my thoughts by a knock at the door. I let out a long sigh and lifted myself out of the chair where I had made my nest for the night, and dragged myself to the door sluggishly. Usually when there was a knock at my door in the evening, it was one of two things. One being that a customer needed an emergency set of clean sheets or more toiletries, which is highly irritating as they get plenty. Or the second, being Nerissa having a momentary breakdown in which she needs me to listen to her thoughts, ask my honest opinion, then answer for me, before thanking me and leaving. Both of these eventualities required a fair amount of effort on my part, and my mind was way too preoccupied right now.

I held my breath and opend the door, holding a forced smile on my face as I saw Nerissa standing there looking completely lost. "Good evening, Nerissa, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" I feigned my usual dry humour. She seemed none the wiser to my deceit, as she began to speak. "Sorry to come by unannonced like this, I just needed your opinion on something which has rendered me completely perplexed. It is a situation which I need your undivided discretion within, and your complete brutal honesty on." She spoke in a way a mother would when getting ready to ask where the missing biscuits had gone. I felt on edge, assuming she caught me sneaking off with the Duke earlier on today, or one of the maintenance men had began gossiping already. "What is it, Nerissa? Whatever it is, you have my undivided attention. Especially as you look as if you've seen a ghost." The irony in my words lingered in my mind. "Well," she hesitated, looking at the floor and twirling her hair around her fingers. "It's Pierre. He has asked me on a date. What do I do?" Nerissa looked up from the floor into my eyes, with the expression of pure confusion, begging to be told what to do in this situation. Nerissa is older than me by a couple years, and is very wise beyond her years, with her giving me advice on every aspect of life. But when it comes to circumstances where it is herself and a gentleman involved, she is clueless, and always comes to me for advice. It is the only time where I feel I can actually make her see things a little clearer, and even calm down her immense worrying. Although I don't like her being bothered by something, I like when I can be the one to right the situation.

I looked Nerissa in the eyes and beamed, I couldn't hold in the Cheshire Cat smile that was formng on my face. "You go on the date! Pierre is a lovely man, he is kind, smart, attractive, hard working, and he has always had a soft spot for you. Put the poor man out of his misery already!" I instructed her, confident about my response. Those two would be adorable together, but I cannot believe Pierre actually plucked up the courage to ask Nerissa out on a date. I've been waiting for this moment ever since he joined last year.

"You're sure? I mean, like, completely sure? It won't be a bad idea? Working together and all..." she trailed off into her own doubt.

"I am one hundred percent sure. You are both mature adults. If it doesn't go well, you will both continue to work the same as you do now. If it goes well however, you both live here and work here, so you basically only need to get married and have children, and you'll be a happy little hotel family. You'll end up being the King and Queen of the castle!" I saw that this put a smile on Nerissa's face, and she began to show some excitement.

"Okay! I'll do it!" She squealed. "I'll go let Pierre know, and I will keep you updated on the plans, and you can help me get ready that day. Thank you Audrey-Rose." She ended this with pulling me in to a tight hug, squeezing a little too tight so that the air was pushed from my lungs, making a low wheeze escape my mouth. She ran off back down the hall towards her room as I retreated back into mine. Even when I am absorbed by thoughts of someone lurking around the hotel through secret trap doors, Nerissa is still able to distract me and make me feel happier. It's like she has a radar for these things.