Page 91 of The King of Halloween
“I know. Word’s gotten out. Maybe it’s the upcoming ball, or that movie night impressed people.”
Raj rather doubted that. Half the place had been under sheets. Even now, it was touch and go if the new floor was glued into place. If not, a lot of ghouls and goblins were going to be twisting their ankles on the dance floor. Then again, maybe people just needed a place and were looking for anywhere new. That seemed possible.
“I haven’t even told you the best part. We’re booked solid through March.”
Raj’s jaw hit the unfinished floor. “What? How? You told me we had one, maybe two guests for all of January, and December was a ghost town.”
“I don’t know. The phone’s been ringing off the hook. People were hoping to snag a spot on Christmas Eve. They want to be haunted by three ghosts. But that filled up in five minutes, so I convinced them to try some earlier dates. Those Christmas spirits never take a break.”
“Let me see,” Raj said and held out his hand for Logan’s phone.
None of this made a lick of sense. He hadn’t put out any new ads. Their website barely got more than a random click from Macedonia. How were people finding them?
Just as Logan was about to show him, his phone rang. “Hang on.” He slipped into his sweet customer service voice. “Hello, this is Heartbreak Hotel. Oh, you want our Eternal Lover’s package? I’m afraid that Valentine’s Day weekend is gone, but I do believe there will be a spirit of spring in April. Yes, yes, that should work. I just need your credit card number to save the room.”
They were on the brink of disaster. The money was all going out, nothing coming in. No one cared about this place, and suddenly—with the flick of a wrist—they were solid for five months leading into six. The pieces weren’t puzzling right.
A single name throbbed at the back of Raj’s skull. He waited for Logan to finish this booking in order to look at the schedule, but another call came in. Holding his finger to Raj, Logan took it with promises of a shark-attack themed wedding and the entire hotel reserved for an entire weekend.
Adam.
He was doing this. Somehow. After Raj asked him to stay out of it, he went and stuck his nose into his business. He used his connections, strong-armed people into staying here. How? Did he offer them a discount? A visit from the Halloween King at their kid’s birthday party?
Adam…
“Do you have the event list?” Raj asked.
Logan held up another finger to try to quiet him, but Raj was moving from simmer to boil.I told him. He knows why I don’t want any help. Why I have to do this on my own.
“Here.” Logan pulled out a copy of the sheet they’d taped up on the front desk about the events happening around the hotel on Halloween.
“No, for Anoka. Their parties, and corn mazes, and… What’s happening today?”
“It’s the parade,” the woman said.
“Another one?” Raj asked. “Wait, what about our float?”
“It’s already there,” Logan said, filling up another space in their schedule. “The haunt kids are running it. They seemed to know what they were doing.”
“But that equipment can be very delicate. If the projectors are off balance, they might blind someone…for a few seconds. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did. You told me to go ahead and send someone else because you were too busy.”
I did?
Raj had no memory of this, only a familiar throb growing at the base of his spine. Maybe he should take a nap to rest and recuperate.
Logan’s phone went off. He answered it, then promptly put someone on hold for another booking.
No. Raj needed to confront Adam. To get him to stop helping like this. Then, once everything was back to normal, he could take a nap. For a month.
“I’m heading into town,” Raj declared. He tied his scarf before realizing he didn’t have it on. “Where is the parade route?”
“Same as the first one, though longer. Good luck getting through,” Marianne said with a wave.
“Hey man, while you’re in town, could you pick up more toilet paper? We’re gonna need to stuff the storage closet to get through November.”
Growling at his sudden good fortune, Raj stomped out of the ballroom.
