Nicolas stopped at the petrol filling station and refilled his car with petrol. After that, he drove them to the hotel. As the car went in, Judy's eyes widened as she gazed at the building.
"Wow!" Judy said, fascinated by the structural design of the hotel.
The hotel was at the centre of the compound, decorated with shrubs around it. The edges of the shrubs were properly trimmed. The building wasn't too tall but can be seen from afar. The walls were made up of glass panels. The panels weren't visible from the outside which left the guests curious about the interior of the hotel. The wall sign had the hotel's name and its initials on it. The 3D letters on the sign were visible during the dark because of the lighting in it.
Nicolas drove to the designated car park and parked it. He unstrapped himself and Alejandra did the same.
"This is amazing!" Judy admired the building as she got out of the car with their bags.
It was the fanciest hotel she had ever seen.
"Are you sure we are in the right hotel or are we lost?" Judy asked excitedly.
"No, it's not! It's the retirement home you'll be staying at when you get old." Nicolas replied sarcastically and locked the car,
"That is, if you can afford a place like this."
Judy was pissed off by his last comment and glared at him. They were walking towards the building and were close to the entrance.
"Look, Mr..." Judy paused, not knowing his name.
They were closed to the door and it slid open for them.
"What's his name, again?" Judy asked Alejandra as they arrived at the lobby.
"Mr Nicolas!" Alejandra whispered.
Judy nodded and continued with what she wanted to say,
"Look, Mr Nicolas! I acknowledge the fact you're helping us and what you are doing for us today. I'm truly grateful and all but I won't allow you to insult me. Just because I don't come from a high class family, doesn't mean I won't be rich. I'm a hard-working person and will definitely get to the level I want."
"I'm only tolerating you because of my sister. If not, I'll show you who Judy Ortega is and what she is made of." Just said confidently.
"Seems like attitude runs in their family. Hm! Not bad!" Nicolas said inwardly.
They walked to the receptionist's desk and Judy kept admiring the place. She wanted to take a picture of the beautiful lobby but refrained from doing so. She didn't want the staff to know she wasn't from the high class and acted like one. In front of them.
The interior of the hotel was beautiful. The lightning was excellent. The opposite side of the walls in the lobby were finished with fine stones of different colours and sizes while the one behind the receptionist desk was painted. The floor was titled. There was a large grey sofa leaning against one of the stoned walls. It was made of leather. The receptionist was air-conditioned. The temperature in the lobby was 23°C and could be seen on the thermostat on one of the stoned walls.
"Good evening! Welcome to Dili's Hotel!" The lady behind the desk greeted them with a smile.
The lady was dressed in a yellow short- sleeved polo shirt and had a flower brooch on her breast pocket. She had a beauty spot above her lips. She revealed her gap tooth when she smiled.
"I made reservations earlier. Check under the name Nicolas Gonzalez." Nicolas said plainly and took off his jacket.
The receptionist nodded and checked the computer. She scrolled down and saw his name.
"Uh, yes! Your suite is ready, sir!" The lady said and handed him the key.
The key was a card which had the suite's room number on it.
"Thank you!" Nicolas said flatly and collected it.
He pulled Alejandra to the side, away from her sister. Judy was still admiring the place and had no knowledge the two had distanced themselves from her.
"I'll have to stop here. I've to go home. I'll be here tomorrow morning." He said plainly.
"Tomorrow morning? I won't be here. I'll be at the hospital by then." Alejandra said.
"I'll pick up from there." Nicolas said flatly,
"I'm only doing this because of our agreement and not because I want to. Our relationship is based on a contract and will never go beyond that. Hope that sounds clear?"
"I understand! I appreciate all that you've done for my family. Thank you!" Alejandra said sincerely.
Nicolas looked at her and didn't say a word. She remembered that he had warned her not to thank him. She bit lips.
"C'mon Alejandra," Judy called as she rolled her suitcase to the lift,
"Let's go!"
Alejandra looked at her and replied in a nod. She looked at Nicolas, who was still in front of her.
"Um, Goodbye Mr Nicolas!" She said and followed her sister.
One of the staff accompanied them and pressed the button on the wall. He pressed another button from inside and the door slowly closed. Alejandra could still see Nicolas at the spot she had left until the door closed completely. They stopped at the tenth floor of the building.
"Right this way, madams!" The staff said, leading the way.
They walked past three doors and got to the suite. Alejandra put the key card in the lock slot and the door unlocked. She turned the handle and opened the door. Judy couldn't hold her excitement and gasped.
"Wow! This is amazing!" Judy said excitedly and entered the room.
She was the first to go in. She dropped her bag on the two seater sofa and scanned the room. It was spacious and well organized. It had three pieces of furniture, a medium-screen television and a king-sized bed. Judy walked to the balcony and slid the glass doors open.
"Wow, Ale! I can see the whole city from here." Judy said, standing close to the bars,
"It even has a hot tub."
"If you need anything ma'am, just call. The room service here is top-notch." The staff said.
"Okay! Thank you!" Alejandra replied friendly.
"I'll be on my way now. Please, excuse me!" He said.
Alejandra nodded and he left the room. He closed the door behind him. Alejandra looked at the room and liked it. Judy bounced on the bed on her bum.
"The bed is soft too." Judy said happily,
"So this is what it feels like to be in a five-star hotel. I could get used to this."
She lay down on the bed with her upper part of her body and the lower, touching the floor.
"Don't get comfy yet. You know we're only staying here tonight. Tomorrow, we'll have to look for a new flat." Alejandra said as she sat down on the sofa.
She took off her shoes and let her feet feel the rug.
"What do you mean by 'we'?" Judy asked and sat up.
"We! As in the both of us! We are going house hunting tomorrow." Alejandra said as she rested her back on the sofa.
"Fine. That will be done tomorrow. But for now, I want to enjoy being treated like a princess." Just said and lay back.
There was a knock on the door.
"Room service!" A voice said from the other side.
Alejandra was the closest to the door and stood up from her chair. She answered the door.
"Your dinner, ma'am!" A lady, who was probably in her late forties, said as she rolled the food trolley in.
Alejandra was a bit confused.
"We didn't order anything. Did you, Judy?" Alejandra asked.
"No!" Judy said, still lying on the bed with her eyes closed,
"I haven't got out of this bed since I lay on it."
"The gentleman ordered this for the both of you before he left." The lady informed.
"Enjoy!"
She smiled at them and left the room. Alejandra closed the door and looked at the trolley. She stood beside it and took off the heat-retention lid one by one. She saw a lot of dishes on each plate. The plates used were fine bone China. She put the lids back on the plate. She looked at Judy who seemed comfortable on the bed. She rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"I'm going to have a bath. You better not finish everything before I get back." Alejandra said jokingly.
"Okay! I won't!" Judy said.
Alejandra nodded and went to the bathroom. After a hectic day, a nice cool bath helped her to ease the tension a bit. She was still worried about her mother's condition and tried to relax a little. She knew her mother was in good hands. She dried her hair with one of the towels, stacked on the marble vanity top. She wore one of the hotel's dressing gowns. It was plain white in colour and had DH, the hotel's initials on it.
She left the bathroom. She saw that Judy wasn't lying down on the bed. She heard voices coming from where the furniture was. She walked closer and saw Judy. Judy was seated on the armchair watching TV with the remote in her hand.
"This hotel has good channels." Judy said, unaware of Alejandra's presence.
She noticed a shadow on the floor and realized it wasn't hers. She turned around and saw Alejandra standing beside her.
"How long have you been standing there?" Judy asked and changed the channel.
The previous channel was a news forecast.
"Long enough to know you need a bath." Alejandra replied.
Her phone was lying on the armchair where Judy sat and picked it up. She unlocked it and checked her email.
"I don't need a bath. I can do without one tonight." Judy replied dryly.
"Not really! You smell like sweat and hospital." Alejandra said,
"I can smell you from here."
Judy stood up from the chair and gave Alejandra the remote.
"Hold this for me, would you?" Judy said.
She stretched her arms in the air and yawned.
"Since I'm here, I may as well take advantage of the hotel's fancy soaps and lotions." Judy said.
"Let me guess, you're going to have a bubble bath. Aren't you?" Alejandra asked.
"Nah! Maybe some other time. I'm tired and may drown in the bathtub if I fall asleep." Judy said.
"Okay! Hurry up so that we can eat dinner." Alejandra said.
"You go ahead. I already ate while you were in the bathroom." Judy said as she walked to the bathroom.
Alejandra kept her phone and the remote on the armchair. She glanced at the screen in front of her. She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and rolled it towards the bed. She kept it on the bed and unzipped it. She brought out a yellow top and a pair of black shorts. The top had a honeycomb printed on it. She put them on and returned to the trolley. She took a plate and sat down on the armchair. She ate while she watched the film.
Judy was done bathing and put on her pyjamas. She removed the bags on the bed and kept on it. She crawled on the bed and covered herself with the duvet.
<
Mady sat down on a semicircular chair and was cross-legged. She was dressed in a plain satin velvet pyjamas. She was at the balcony and had a cushion on her lap. She was reliving her crash with Nicolas earlier at the conference room.
She could still remember his chestnut brown eyes which were protected by the lens of his glasses. She could smell his cologne; their eyes meeting each other's made her blush and his touch made her melt like ice. As she relived the moment, she moved the cushion close to her chest and hugged it in excitement. She brought it close to her face and kissed it.
"I can't believe he saved me from falling. It wasn't my intention to but he saved me." Mady said and giggled,
"Ooh! I'm so happy!"
"He is really handsome and brave. Even though he is a rough diamond, I still love him. And I hope one day, he will see how much I love him. I hope he can feel it pounding whenever we are close. You belong to me, Nicolas and no one else." Mady said to herself.
Beatrice was walking through the corridor and noticed the door to the balcony was open.
"Huh? That's strange!" Beatrice muttered in confusion.
She was on her way to the kitchen and withdrew from going further. She decided to go and look. When she got closer to the door, she overheard someone talking. She stood close to the door and saw Mady talking to herself.
"Who are you talking to?" Beatrice asked.
"Bee! I didn't know you were there?" Mady said, startled by her voice,
"I thought you were asleep."
"I was about to but I noticed the door was open on my way to the kitchen." Beatrice said.
"Oh! Okay!" Mady said.
"But now that I'm here," Beatrice said and walked in further.
She leant against the rails and faced Mady.
"Can you tell me who you were talking to?" Beatrice asked.
Mady smiled and looked at the sky. She had her gaze on the crescent moon and stars close to it.
"Somehow I think the universe is pairing Nicolas and I. It's filling in the gap in between us. It's bringing us together." Mady said with her eyes still in the sky.
"I thought you said you didn't like him. That your relationship with him is, 'strictly professional'." Beatrice said, using air quotes on strictly professional.
"Did I say all that?" Mady said, acting if the words were foreign.
"Hm!" Beatrice hummed and rolled her eyes.
"Did you know today, he saved me from falling?" Mady revealed happily.
"When? How?" Beatrice asked curiously.
"I went over to talk to him, then we crashed into each other. And..." Mady said, too excited to talk.
"Keep dreaming, Mady. It's only going to happen in your head and not in real life." Beatrice said frankly,
"Your thoughts and your feelings for him might only hurt you. He probably has someone else in his life and you wouldn't know. Look, Mady! As your friend, roommate and colleague, I'll advise you to let go of your feelings you have for Mr Nicolas."
Mady was surprised by her response. She deviated her eyes from the sky to her.
"What do you mean by that? I thought you would be happy for me and encourage me to win him over. But you, you want me to leave him?" Mady asked, a bit pissed off by her advice.
"Mady, you know best not to fall in love with him. He is the boss, your employer and mine as well. I don't want you to get hurt. I'm only looking out for you." Beatrice said.
"Why are you saying all this? Do you have feelings for him? Are you in love with my Nicolas?" Mady asked as she glared at her.
"I didn't say that. Don't get my words twisted." Beatrice said.
Mady stood up from the chair and was still glaring at her.
"You know what," Mady said, this time angry,
"I'm going to my room. I want to go and sleep."
She threw the cushion at Beatrice. Luckily, Beatrice caught it and looked at her and she stormed out of the balcony.
"I'm only doing this for your own good. I don't want to see you get hurt." Beatrice said.
Mady made it to her room and slammed the door hard. The bang of the door echoed in the house. Beatrice sighed and tossed the cushion on the chair.