Page 118 of For the Boys
Berkley shook her head, and the woman pulled a map of the property from a drawer under her desk. She pointed at a red square far away from where they were standing. “You’re in the Chrysler Tower, which is on the far end of the property. The quickest way to get there will be to head that way”—she pointed to an archway at the far end of the room and dragged her finger along a green pathway depicted on the map—“and make your way toward the Village Street Eateries. You’ll pass the Century Tower elevators as well as the hallway to reach the New Yorker tower ones. There, the path branches into three. The middle path will take you to the Chrysler Tower elevator bank.” She indicated each landmark as her finger traveled past it. “Good luck.”
Berkley turned away from the desk, stunned. Lexie grabbed her arm and dragged her along. “Who knew finding our room in this place would be just like walking through New York City.”
Berkley nodded. “I didn’t realize how massive this place was! On the plus side,” she said, studying the map, “it looks like the tower we’re staying in is right by the exit to the arena.”
“Well, I highly doubt we’ll have trouble finding the arena in any case,” Kimber said. “Just follow the masses.” She spread her arms out, gesturing at the crowds around them.
There were people wearing jerseys everywhere, most of whom carried cameras and autograph books. Berkley and her friends made their way along the hotel’s walkways, which were paved to mimic the cobblestone streets of New York, passing all sorts of cute shops and restaurants on the way. The girls squeezed through to the elevator bank and rode up to their floor in silence, squished in the back behind twenty or so other people.
Berkley called Brent when they stepped off the elevator, hanging back in the hallway while her friends moved into the room.
“Did you make it okay?” he asked when he picked up, forgoing the typical greeting.
“Yes, we literally just got to our room.”
“Good, I’m glad. We just got to the rink for meetings and to go over the plan for the weekend, but I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Okay. Bye!” She hung up and pushed the door open to the suite.
“How’s Brent?” Amelia asked.
“Clingy as ever,” Berkley said with a roll of her eyes.
“Oh, knock it off,” Kimber said. “He’s not clingy; he just cares about you.”
“A little too much from the looks of this place,” Berkley said, dropping her purse just inside the door to inspect the room.
The suite opened to a sitting area containing two chairs sat next to a glass table topped with a vase of fresh flowers. Past that was a small kitchenette with a coffee pot, sink, mini fridge, and microwave. From there, the suite broke into two rooms, each with a king-sized bed and attached bathroom. There was a sitting room in the middle where a large couch sat facing a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall.
The TV was bracketed by two windows that looked out at the Vegas skyline.
“Yeah, this place is insane,” Amelia said, walking out of one of the rooms. “I would have you ask how much he spent on it, but I’m really not trying to start a fight between you two if this is going to become a regular thing.”
“What?” Berkley asked.
“Him buying us vacations.”
Lexie picked up a throw pillow from the couch and smacked Amelia in the head with it. “Rude, Ames. You know Berkley’s not dating Brent for his money, and when she finally works up the nerve to tell him how uncomfortable this whole trip made her, he surely won’t do it again.”
Amelia had the sense to look sheepish. “Sorry, Berk.”
“It’s okay,” Berkley told her. “I just don’t want him making a habit of this.”
“We get it,” Kimber said, clasping her hand on Berkley’s shoulder in a reassuring gesture. “Now what do you say we go get some food?”
Berkley nodded, mind still stuck on Amelia’s comments as she made her way into the room she would be sharing with Lexie.
“You okay?” Lexie asked her.
“Yeah, I guess.” Berkley threw herself dramatically onto the bed. “It’s just…well, you know how I feel about money and my own financial independence.”
“I do,” Lexie said, sitting down next to her.
“And this isn’t even just about me! Now he’s dragged you all into it too. It’s one thing for him to buy me ridiculously lavish gifts and treat me to fancy dinners and pay for literally everything everywhere we go,” she said. “Which I fight him on at every turn, not that it helps. But I cannot even imagine how much this weekend is costing him for the four of us.”
“So why didn’t you refuse to come and tell him all of that?”
“Kimber is leaving us, Lex,” Berkley said quietly. “And she was so excited about this trip, and I couldn’t take it away from her or take it away from us. I couldn’t give up our last chance to have a weekend together before she leaves.”
