Chapter 5 - The Mexican Standoff
The humidity in the open-air lobby of the One&Only Palmilla was thick enough to choke on.
Richard stood at the marble reception desk, his collar soaked with sweat, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscles in his temples throbbed. Behind him, Vanessa sat on a stone bench beside their mountain of Louis Vuitton luggage, weeping uncontrollably into a linen handkerchief.
"I am terribly sorry, Señor Miller," the concierge said for the third time, his tone polite, unyielding, and distinctly chilled. "The corporate card ending in 4108 has been declined with an instruction to retain the card if presented physically. The secondary Visa was rejected by the issuing bank due to an administrative freeze."
"There is an administrative error on my home accounts!" Richard hissed, leaning over the counter so the other arriving guests wouldn't hear. "I am an equity partner at Sterling-Vance! I will wire the entire four-night deposit from my private account first thing in the morning. Just authorize the suite!"
"Our policy requires a confirmed deposit upon check-in, Señor," the manager replied, sliding the two plastic cards back across the stone counter. "Without an operational card for incidentals and room fees, we cannot issue the keys. Furthermore, your domestic office contacted our management team twenty minutes ago to officially cancel the corporate billing agreement."
Vanessa jumped up from the bench, her face streaked with mascara. "Richard, do something! Call someone! My father has friends in banking—call him!"
"Shut up, Vanessa!" Richard snapped, rounding on her with a viciousness that made the younger woman recoil. "Your father doesn't have thirty thousand dollars in cash sitting around, and neither do I right now! You think this is a joke? Every account I own has been locked!"
"You said you had everything under control!" she screamed, oblivious to the wealthy couples turning to watch the spectacle. "You told me she was a dumb, exhausted nurse who didn't know how to read a bank statement! You promised me I’d be named junior partner on the regional transport deal! Now my face is on every business blog in Minneapolis! My career is over!"
"Your career?!" Richard stepped toward her, his face purple. "You wouldn't have a career if I hadn't dragged your mediocre ass out of the document review pool! You wanted the five-star lifestyle? You wanted the champagne? Well, welcome to it!"
"Don't you dare speak to me like that, you pathetic old bastard!" Vanessa shrieked, hurling her designer tote bag directly at his chest. "I’m not spending another second with you!"
She spun around, grabbed her personal carry-on, and marched toward the resort exit, frantically dialing her phone to beg her parents for an emergency flight credit.
Richard stood alone amidst the luggage, the soft sound of ocean waves mocking him from the darkness beyond the terrace.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. It had four percent battery remaining.
A notification from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Star Tribune app flashed across the cracked glass:
*BREAKING: Award-Winning Trauma Nurse Exposes Corporate Partner’s Infidelity During Live Broadcast; Sterling-Vance Launches Ethics Investigation.*
Beneath the headline was a screenshot of Clara. Beautiful, resolute, towering over the podium like an avenging angel in emerald silk.
Richard’s hands shook so hard he dropped his phone onto the stone floor. The screen spider-webbed, the display flickering twice before dying completely into blackness.
He had no cash. He had no room. He had no company.
May you like
He spent the remainder of the night sitting on a wooden bench outside the airport terminal, surrounded by stray dogs and humid sea mist, waiting for the budget standby ticket he had managed to secure using his remaining domestic frequent flyer miles.
***
