"Have a good time with Ethan last night?" Cynthia asked with a grin as Lisa came to join her at their desk. "I don't think I've seen you come in without a smile since you met him."
That statement made Lisa's smile even broader. "I don't think I ever felt this happy." She'd been seeing Ethan Ramsey for two months. He was the total opposite of any man she'd ever known. He treated her gently and respectfully, never pushed her into anything she didn't want to do. He had a surprise waiting for her every time he took her on a date. He'd swept Lisa off her feet, and she was loving every minute of it.
"He took me to this restaurant last night where they have tables set up on the roof. Beautiful gardens surrounded the tables so it felt like we were the only people up there. The night sky line was amazing."
"Where in the world does he find these places?" asked Cynthia. "Are you sure he doesn't have a twin brother?"
Lisa laughed. "No, he says he's an only child."
Cynthia pouted, but tried again. "How about a cousin?"
"Cynthia!" Lisa through her friend an exasperated look, but her smile betrayed her.
Guests began to filter in, and the two women got to work checking them in. Lisa was about to go on her lunch break when a man around her age came strolling up to the desk carrying a glass vase holding a dozen blood red roses. He roughly set the glass vase down, and took the clipboard from under his arm. "Does a Miss Lisa Reisert work here?"
"That's me," Lisa answered.
The man looked at her for a moment, obviously checking her out, then handed her the clipboard. "Sign here." He pointed to an empty slot that was sixth on the list. Lisa signed and handed it back to him.
"Thank you!" she called out as he walked away.
"Now flowers?" said Cynthia, wide eyed. "That man is too good to be true!"
Lisa slid the vase around, locating the small rectangle card taped to the side. She opened the white card, expecting a loving note from Ethan. But, in bold red ink was written a single word - Beware. Lisa blinked and stared at the card, perplexed. Cynthia noticed her expression, and peeked over her shoulder to see what was wrong. "Beware?" she read. "What do you think that means? Does it have a name on it?"
Lisa flipped the card over, but it was blank on the back. "No name." Was it from-? No, it couldn't be. He was in prison over a hundred miles from Miami. She shrugged, making an excuse for it. "Maybe the delivery man gave me the wrong vase."
"I hope so," added Cynthia, looking at the roses disappointedly. "That's just...creepy."
That evening Lisa balanced the glass vase in one arm and clutched her car keys between her fingers in her free hand. She learned a long time ago that keys could be used as a weapon, and she never went into a parking lot without them in her hand. She quickly unlocked her car door, slipping inside carefully to not damage any of the roses. When the door was locked, she pulled out her cel phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Ethan," she greeted, starting the car and glancing behind her shoulder.
"Hey Leese!" he greeted, matching her airy tone. "How was your day, beautiful?"
"Only one irate guest, so it was calm for the most part." She pulled out onto the road. "Something strange happened though. I received a dozen red roses, and a card that had 'beware' written on it. Do you know anything about it?"
A long silence on the other end of the line made Lisa think she'd lost connection with Ethan. "I didn't send them to you," he finally said, his voice heavy and low.
"Well, I'm sure the deliver man made a mistake," Lisa said.
"Yeah, probably. Do you want to meet for coffee at that cafe I took you to last week?"
"That'd be lovely. Right now?"
"Yeah, I'll see you there."
With that, Ethan hung up. Lisa looked at her cel phone as if it had assaulted her. It was unusual for Ethan not to say 'bye', but she forgot about that at the sight of his smiling face waiting for her at the front door of the cafe.
An hour later, Lisa found herself being led into Ethan's condo. It was the first time he had invited her to his home. Lisa wasn't prone to going home with a man, but she found she couldn't say 'no' to Ethan's insistence.
"Make yourself comfort," he said, slipping off his suit jacket and laying it on the back of the leather couch. "I'll be back in a moment."
Ethan went to the kitchen, leaving Lisa to explore. The condo was fairly large. The decor was exactly what Lisa had pictured it to be - contemporary with light and dark colors mixed. She slowly walked toward the kitchen, taking in the eccentric paintings on the wall. She passed by his bedroom, intending not peek inside the open door not wanting to invade his privacy, but a flickering light caught her eye. She glanced into the room, and saw a couple candles lit on a dresser. The candles were open and burning brightly, reflecting light onto the pictures hanging on the wall.
The pictures weren't frame. They seemed to be taped to the wall in a conglomeration. The person in the picture closest to one of the candles looked very familiar. Lisa stepped into the room, forgetting about invading Ethan's privacy. If he was as understanding as he seemed, he wouldn't mind.
Lisa gasped. The person in the picture was definitely familiar, because it was her. It was of her working behind the desk at the Lux. She stepped closer to the dresser, and looked up at all the other pictures on the wall. There were many of her, mostly taken from far off with a telephotic lens. There was one newspaper article with the headline, "Hotel Manager Saves Head of Homeland Security". If the conglomeration on the wall wasn't enough, the pairs of panties and lock of hair set off red alarms in Lisa's head. She had thought her panties were going missing at the laundry mat. She couldn't tell what color the lock of hair was, but she could guess that it was hers.
Hot tears pricked at the corners of Lisa's eyes. This couldn't be Ethan's condo. He wasn't this type of person. He was loving and kind and thoughtful, not some psycho stalker. He was not Jackson Rippner! The more she tried to convince herself, the worse her alarm went off. She had to leave. Right now.
"Lisa?"