Still Need That Favor
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!
Summary: Cynthia is in charge of the Lux Atlantic while Lisa Reisert is away. During her tenure, certain events happen which lead to several phone calls. And a very confused Cynthia.
Cynthia was having a downright troublesome day without the Lux Atlantic manager, Lisa Reisert. She was still learning how to work the new computer system that had been installed the previous week.
A few minor crises occurred early on in the evening. First off, she had accidentally deleted the reservations of an irate couple named Taylor. She earned an earful from Mary-Anne Taylor on that one, along with her first phone call of the night to Lisa. The hard-working manager was on her way home from her grandmother's funeral in Texas. Despite the circumstances, Lisa did not seem to mind the phone call.
Of course, Lisa knew how to fix Cynthia's main mix-up of the night. Lisa always knew what to do, no matter what the situation was. Cynthia admired her for it, not that she would ever tell her boss.
Luckily, she had still been on the phone with Lisa when the redhead received the folder concerning the arrival of the Deputy Director of Homeland Security, Charles Keefe. Cynthia had begun to panic, but Lisa had remained calm and talked her through what she needed to do to prepare for his arrival.
Boy was she luckily that Lisa was such as nice, understanding woman.
The rest of the evening was some-what calm. There were the usual minor room mix-ups, missing luggage, and slow room service. No plumbing problems or anything similar that could have proved disastrous. At least until a frightened-sounding Lisa called her from the red eye flight that she was currently on. She was asking for a favor, but the connection died mid-sentence.
Cynthia sighed. That was unlike Lisa. She was always the calm one, always in control. It was not like her to be upset, even if there was, according to Lisa, 'a lot of turbulence on the flight'. In the few months that she had worked at the hotel, she had never seen or heard Lisa upset or shaken by anything, no matter what she came up against.
She could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. She continued on with her job though, manning the desk.
Later, when she had briefly left the desk to refill her coffee cup—to keep herself from sleeping on the desk—the phone rang. She skittered across the floor, grabbing her coffee cup on the way, and quickly answered the phone.
And so begin the crisis of the evening, and Cynthia's largest crisis to date.
"Lux Atlantic Resort, this is Cynthia," she answered the phone cheerfully, despite the lateness of the hour. "Hello?"
"Cynthia, it's Lisa," came her uneasy voice. Something was still very wrong.
"Hey, you. So I guess you still need that favor?" Cynthia said, reaching for a pad of paper and a pen.
"Yeah. I was checking with Dan Young from Maintenance and we can't put Keefe in that room."
"But he always stays there, doesn't he?" questioned Cynthia. This was strange, especially coming from Lisa.
Lisa's voice was breaking. "I know. But they were fixing a water valve in the master bath and they didn't fix the right one, so if anyone uses the plumbing…"
Cynthia nodded, starting to understand. "The shit'll hit the fan."
"Exactly," verified Lisa, sounding somewhat relieved.
Why would she sound relieved? It was only a room change due to a plumbing problem. The hotel dealt with room switches day-in and day-out. So why was Lisa so nervous?
"So where do we move him to?" Cynthia's pen was poised above the paper, ready to write.
There was a long pause. Cynthia worried that the phone had cut off again. "Lisa? You still there?" she asked.
"4080," was Lisa's reply. It seemed, forced.
Cynthia scribbled the information down and repeated, "4080. Okay. And you're sure that his security people will be okay…?"
"You're right. They're not going to be happy, so just… Just tell them that I authorized it."
"OK. Oh, my God. The cigars, the Cristal. There's hardly time, Leese. I'd better go," Cynthia said, remembering her to-do list. She quickly hung up.
Something strange was going on. Why had Cynthia not been informed earlier that there was a plumbing problem in room 3825? Why did Lisa have to call her from a plane to tell her that vital tidbit of information? Why hadn't Dan Young or someone else from Maintenance told her? But there was still so much to do to prepare for Keefe's arrival and the room change was suddenly the least of her worries.
She was rather pleased with herself when she successfully completed the room change and the placement of the gifts. Precisely at 5:30am, Charles Keefe, his family, and his security team arrived out front and entered the hotel. Cynthia confidently strode out to meet the head of security.
She followed procedure and presented him with a Lux Atlantic folder and carefully explained the room change. He did not seem pleased and informed Keefe, suggesting that they switch hotels.
Cynthia felt the familiar feeling of panic rise in the pit of her stomach. Lisa would be upset with Cynthia lost a high-profile customer such as Keefe, even if Lisa was the one who ordered the room change for their benefit.
Thankfully, Lydia Keefe convinced Charles to stay. Cynthia felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she carried on with settling the Keefe family in.
Shortly after they were settled, Cynthia received another phone call from a panicked Lisa, demanding to speak with Keefe. She was carrying on and on about a threat. What had gotten into the easy-going manager?
The urgency in Lisa's voice prompted her to act upon her boss's instructions. She was scared out of her mind. What the hell was going on? Why did Lisa know all this? Was Lisa a part of the scheme to assassinate Keefe? Was this the reason behind the strange phone calls and Lisa's nervousness on the phone?
"Shit...shit shit!" cried Cynthia.
Cynthia had no time to ponder such useless questions.
"Get people out!" she called, after pulling the fire alarm and skittering towards the elevator, her employee card out.
This was Cynthia's test. How well could she perform under the pressure? Could she manage to get Keefe and his family out before it was too late? What was going to happen if she did not make it on time? How did Lisa figure into all of this?
"Mr. Keefe! Mr. Keefe!" she cried, banging on the door to room 4080.
Keefe's head of security answered the door. She quickly explained Lisa's phone call and entered the suite as he called out, "Code Red!"
Cynthia followed the head of security into the room, joined the family and then raced out of the room, heading for the elevator. She was scared for her life as well as the Keefe family's lives. She still had not a clue what was about to happen.
"Everybody down!" warned on the security men, shielding Cynthia and the Keefes.
An explosion ripped through the floor. Cynthia wanted to breakdown then but she knew that she had to stay strong. The Keefes were ushered from the elevator and down the stairwell as she stared at the destruction wrought upon the entire floor. It was completely and utterly destroyed.
How was she going to explain this?
Talk about a favor gone bad…
Author's Notes:
This is my first attempt at writing Cynthia and it's very possible that this one-shot is a load of crap. Feel free to tell me if it is. Enjoy (I hope!).