He had worked for Ethan long enough to know that calm meant serious.
“Done,” Aaron said. “Do you want local police?”
“Not yet.”
“You received a threat?”
Ethan looked across the lobby.
Lupita was helping an elderly guest find the elevators.
A temporary front desk agent was checking in a young couple wearing jeans and winter coats. She smiled at them like they belonged there, because they did.
“Yes,” Ethan said. “But I want to know who paid for the courage behind it.”
By seven that evening, the first answer arrived.
It came from a vendor invoice.
A consulting company called North Harbor Solutions had billed the Grand Regent for “guest experience modernization.”
Two hundred and eighty thousand dollars in six months.
No one at corporate had approved it.
The signature on the contract was Robert Sterling’s.
The deliverables were vague.
Training documents.
Reputation analysis.
Crisis readiness.
Naomi spread the papers across a conference table in a private meeting room behind the ballroom.
