Hello. Jacque here. This is the first chapter of my first story. Hope you enjoy.
The Man in the Hotel
Chapter 1
My mother always told me that my eyes looked like they belonged to the 40's. It is in the way the blueness sparks the Old Hollywood soul. They look like an actress' glimmering eyes when the huge cameras flashed on the red carpet of the movie premiere.
And no, I don't believe her.
"You have gorgeous eyes, Ana. The client won't stop talking about it," Elizabeth, the marketing manager of The Daily Scroll informed me.
"That's pretty weird," I told her. Clients don't usually comment about physical features.
I am a lifestyle journalist of the state's daily paper. Living in New Jersey, I am very lucky to have this job. Unlike other journalists, I cover events like concerts, fashion shows, business openings, and celebrity tours. I'm the only one in the company. I am affiliated with the marketing team because they are the ones who get advertisers for the newspaper. When a client places an ad with us, I automatically write for their events.
Am I happy financially? No.
But am I happy with the experience? Yes. Absolutely.
Elizabeth continues, "Paul is pretty weird. I think he has a huge crush on you. He won't stop texting me about your blue eyes. Cupid hit him hard."
"Ew," I said without thinking. Paul is not ugly, but he has a wife. I am automatically disgusted with men who flirt with women other than their wives.
My boss agrees with me, "Right, it's totally disgusting. Anyway, let's forget about Paul. You have another assignment for next week. You are going to cover a party hosted by Elise Dawes."
Yes, I cover private parties of the elite.
"Elise Dawes is a client, okay? She is the head of Festive T-Shirts and Souvenirs. She has been an advertiser for eight long years. She is going to host a dinner party next week and I want you to go to her home tonight so you could get the details. I don't want you gathering data while partying."
"Noted, Elizabeth," I smiled. I can't help but feel excited about coming to this party.
"I will inform Elise that you are coming there tonight."
I took note of the address she gave me and I am beyond ready for this coverage.
-000-000-000-
I drive my old Mini Cooper to drive to Elise's home. While driving, my phone rings and it's a text message from Mom. It said, "Ana, I just discovered that your late great grandfather likes to play the piano."
My mother is not thrilled about my job. She said that writers don't get paid much. Yes, it's true. But I'd like to argue that not all writers get the opportunity to be published. Besides, I've always been the kind of girl who likes all things leisure. My job is like roaming around everywhere and I get paid for it. Okay, I get low pay for it.
You can say that me and my mother don't have the perfect relationship. We don't get massage or pedicures together. We don't watch a TV show together. We're the exact opposites.
My mom, Sarah loves genealogy. She loves to research about our ancestors. That's why I don't like talking to her. She talks about this late grand aunt who survived the Titanic, a cousin of a grandfather who used to work in a circus, or a great grandmother who did a rally to fight for the right of crocheting.
I get bored to death when my Mom talks about them. I mean, why do I care? I am not interested with people I don't know.
Another thing my mother and I disagree on is my choice of men. At the age of 23, I have had boyfriends but they don't last for a year. The problem is not with me. It's with them. They fall in love with someone else or they will move to another continent. It's quite bizarre and painful but I have no choice but to deal with them.
Jose Rodriguez was another story. We broke up two weeks ago. My mom doesn't know yet. "He's gay," Mom warned me when she met him. That ended up in a fight. I even called her a "Disney Villain" for trying to stop my romance with my "One True Love".
I remember saying, "Stop being a Disney villain!"
Mom replied, "A what?"
It wasn't a great argument.
As it turned out, my "One True Love" wanted a Prince too. He left me for him and it sucked. I sang Celine Dion songs the whole night when it happened. I also used 10 boxes of tissue. No exaggeration.
We dated for 11 months and 29 days. A few more hours to go and I would've told my Mom, "See? My relationships can last a year."
Still, the last laugh was on her.
-000-000-000-
For some reason, I was having troubles driving to Elise's address. It shouldn't be this difficult, right? For goodness' sake, she owns the company that manufactures tourist shirts all over USA. Her home shouldn't be hard to find.
I found myself circling the area. I am getting lost. I had been driving for four hours but I was headed nowhere. It was seriously getting on my nerves. My poor Mini Cooper was exhausted. I didn't believe in urban legends but if you were to ask me, the roads are changing and that's why I was getting lost.
My hands held on to the steering wheel as I looked outside to see where I am. There's nothing but an empty road surrounded by tall trees. The sun already disappeared and it's really dark. If it weren't for my headlights, I wouldn't see anything at all.
Having no choice, I decided to just follow where the road takes me. Maybe Elise was so rich that she needed to seclude herself from society. We're so far from the city now and I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
But then my car stopped moving. I pulled the lever and pushed the engine again and again. Still, nothing. Whatever I was doing, it's not right. My car let me down in the middle of nowhere.
"Are you kidding me?" I screamed on top of my lungs. I couldn't accept the fact that the engine stopped. No, this couldn't be happening. I rested my forehead on the stirring wheel and when I looked to my right, I was beyond confused.
What in the world?
I got out of my car and stood in front of what I saw. I couldn't help but be amazed. My car broke down, yeah, but in front of a freaking hotel! That's how lucky I was!
The hotel was huge. It reminded me of the White House. It had big long vertical windows. I couldn't point out its exact color because it's night time. It's beautifully surrounded by yellow lampposts. In the middle of its façade was a huge clock. It said seven o'clock. Wow! Seven? I've been driving for five hours?
It didn't make sense.
Underneath the moonlight, the hotel was intimidating. It seemed elegant and classy and the terrace was huge. The garden was lovely, yellow, blue, and red roses perfectly complimented by the trees around. There was a veranda in the middle and there's a funny looking guy puffing a smoke. Whoa! That's a thick cigarette.
The hotel looked extravagant. I expected it to be pricey but would I sleep inside my car when it broke down in front of a hotel? No.
I walked towards inside and I could read the name now. It's placed on top of the door, no light to make it clear in the dark. With my proximity, I could read it: Merkley's.
Breathing out, I declared, "Merkley's, here I come."
