Page 67 of Long Live the King
“Idon’t really understand how this could happen. I made these reservations two weeks ago, and I have a confirmation number. I mean, what else am I supposed to do? How could you possibly lose my reservation?”
“Sir, I’m very sorry for the mistake. Just give me a second, and I’m sure I’ll track it down. It may have been deleted by accident.”
“Well, you better find it, because this guy is here now. He has his family with him, he just landed less than half an hour ago, and I need to get them checked in so they can get some rest. I don’t mean to be an asshole, but this is ridiculous.”
“I understand, sir. Just give me a second. We’ll get it worked out.”
The manager clicks keys on the keyboard, but she knows she won’t find anything. For one reason or another, the guy’s reservation got cancelled or deleted. She wasn’t the clerk who put it in, but she’s the manager tonight, and now she has to be the one to handle this asshole’s issue.
The family standing behind him, however, looks terrified. A young black man with a Spanish wife and two adorable kids, are standing behind the older white guy with looks of horror on their faces. The family has just arrived at their new base here in Anchorage Alaska, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and they need a place to stay until they find a place of their own. Anchorage has always shown appreciation to the military, so even if the family’s reservation has been lost somehow, she’ll make sure they accommodate them.
“Alright, sir, here’s what we need to do,” the young Asian woman says to the angry customer. “I’m going to book the family in another room, but I need to get approval from my boss first. So, just give me a second, okay? I’ll be right back.”
“Fine,” the balding man says as the manager walks away towards the offices in the back of the Lakefront Anchorage Hotel.
She weaves her way through the maze of hallways in the expansive hotel until she reaches her boss’s office. She’s the manager, but he’s the very hands-on owner who’ll deal with this kind of issue. She knocks on the closed, mahogany door and waits for him to respond.
“Come in,” he says, his accent heavy in his voice.
She opens the door and pokes her head inside, concentrating on breathing properly when she sees the handsome Italian sitting behind his desk.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. Sullivan, but there’s an issue up front, and the customer is a little upset. It seems his reservation was lost and he’s kind of throwing a fit. I need your approval to compensate the family a night, if that’s alright.”
The owner of the hotel weighs her words a moment, then runs a hand over his bearded face as he gets up and walks to her.
“No worries, Amy,” he says with supreme confidence. “I’ll take care of it.”
When he gets to the front counter, he sees the man standing there with a scowl he’s obviously forcing, trying his best to be intimidating. Maybe it’s the family he’s escorting that he’s trying to impress, but they obviously aren’t a fan of his over-the-top style of dealing with problems. He’s a military guy trying to show how badass he is to another military guy. He can stand to be taken down a peg or two.
“What seems to be the problem, sir?” Mr. Sullivan asks the customer.
The guy turns around and sees that he isn’t dealing with the tiny Asian woman anymore, and his demeanor softens a bit.
“Yeah, umm, you guys lost my reservation, and now I’ve got a family here without a place to stay. Something needs to be done about that,Daniel,” the man barks, trying his best to hold onto his aggressive first impression by reading the owner’s nametag.
Daniel Sullivan has a thought. He’d like nothing more than to drive his fist into this asshole’s face and break his nose. Better yet, he wouldn’t mind kicking his teeth in until he chokes on a few of them before shoving a gun under his chin, making the little idiot piss himself. He’d love to embarrass him so much he never even thinks of acting this way again, not for the rest of his miserable fucking life. But he doesn’t do that. He can’t.
Those days are long gone.
Instead, Daniel quickly presses the keys on the keyboard and books a room for the family for two weeks, with the first three nights free. They’re a military family, and it’s not their fault their sponsor is an asshole.
“Alright sir,” Daniel says with a forced smile. “I’ve booked them for two weeks, and for the inconvenience, I’ve booked the first three nights on the house. How’s that sound?”
The asshole nods his head. “Sounds like you guys are finally getting your head out of your asses. We appreciate the hook up, Daniel.”
The owner of the Lakefront Anchorage shakes off the use of the name and prints out the receipt just before he makes keys for the family. While the black man signs the receipt, Daniel eyes the man who brought them. Sometimes it’s still difficult to hold it all in.
“There you go,” Daniel says to all of them, then he extends his hand for the angry customer to shake. “Sorry about the inconvenience, sir. Thank you for your patience.”
The angry customer happily reaches across the counter and takes Daniel’s hand, but his happiness is immediately replaced with agony as Daniel starts to squeeze, crushing the guy’s digits with ease. He thinks to say something, but the pain is too intense and he feels his knees starting to buckle.
“We’re really sorry about that,” Daniel says, glaring at the man. “Next time, I’m sure things will go a lot smoother. Won’t they?”
“Yes they will,” the man says, begging Daniel to let him go with his eyes. “Sorry, sir. Please . . .” before he can get the last words out, Daniel lets go and walks away, back to his office.
With the door to his office closed behind him, Daniel picks up his cell phone and dials his fiancé’s number. They’ve both been at work all day and haven’t gotten to speak since they left the house this morning. She’s in her third trimester, and he can’t shake the urge he feels to check on her and their unborn son every chance he gets. When she answers the phone, a smile teases his lips.
“Hi, Mr. Sullivan,” she says, her voice like a soothing lullaby. “How’s your day been?”
