Chapter 298
The racket from next door was out of control. Even the bottle of water on the
nightstand wouldn’t stop trembling.
Running a hotel in this kind of environment was almost impossible.
Before bed, Latham called his wife. He spoke quietly, his voice muffled as if he was hiding under the covers. “Babe, I miss you p>
Dorothea let out a soft laugh. “Latham, you’re so needy p>
“I am, so what? Am I not allowed to miss you? When are you coming home p>
Dorothea pressed her lips together, thinking. “At least two more days. There’s a mess over here I need to take care of, and if it doesn’t work out, I might have to ask Scott for help p>
“Why not ask me?” Latham complained.
“I might not even need help. I’ll see how things go first p>
“Alright, alright, don’t be jealous. You get jealous over everything, honestly p>
They stayed on the phone a little longer, just chatting about nothing, until Dorothea finally said goodnight.
She’d picked a regular guest room on purpose, wanting to see just how bad the shaking and the noise would get during the night. Even with her noise-canceling headphones on, it took forever to fall asleep.
The next morning, Latham sent her a message that made her grin, and she headed straight to the Department of Buildings with her assistant.
“I have an appointment with Neely. Just say Farr sent you-he’ll know p>
It wasn’t long before Dorothea was shown into the director’s office. Neely looked her over, suspicious. “And you are p>
“Neely, I’m Lane, from The Bitter Sweet. You’re the one who approved Farr’s application for the nightclub next door p>
Neely’s face changed just a bit. “I don’t remember meeting you. Why are you here p>
“We’re not close, that’s true. But you know Farr, don’t you? Otherwise, how could a nightclub open up next to a hotel that’s been running for three years? That’s impressive. Here, let me show you something p>
Dorothea pulled out her phone and played the video she’d recorded last night. It showed the glass of water shaking on the table, the noise from next door rattling everything.
“I heard you signed off on this project. Our headquarters is in Cabinda, so we’re not as connected as the locals here. But, do you know my husband’s older brother? He’s about to transfer to the City Bureau. I don’t want to drag him into this, but if someone keeps making things hard for me, I might not have a choice. You understand, right, Neely p>
Neely’s eyes narrowed. “Are you threatening me p>
Dorothea smiled, just a little. “Of
course not. It’s just that my staff are talking about posting this video online and letting everyone see what’s going on. That wouldn’t be great for anyone’s reputation p>
She never actually said it was a threat, but every word made it clear she wasn’t here
to play games. She didn’t even have to mention Scott by name.
Dorothea didn’t stick around. She said what she needed to say, then left.
Neely got someone on it right away. Soon, he had all the details on the problem between The Gresham and The Bitter Sweet. Seeing Scott’s name in the file made his heart skip a beat.
That troublemaking Farr had really landed him in it this time.
By the afternoon, everything had changed. Yesterday, Farr had been so smug. Today, he was desperate.
“Dorothea, we’ve closed the club for
renovations. We’ll fix the fire safety and the soundproofing, so it wont
eurotel anymore. Is that
okay p>
Dorothea smiled. “Just get it done soon. The holidays are almost here. You’ll be finished before the end of the month, right p>
“Absolutely, no problem at all. We’ll make sure everything’s perfect p>
Farr never expected that taking a bribe to stir up trouble would almost blow up in his face.
With everything sorted out, Dorothea had a quick lunch with some of her managers and got ready to head back.
Meanwhile, Latham had just arrived at work when his phone rang. It was the housekeeper.
“Hi, Linda. Is something wrong p>
“Latham, I was cleaning your master bathroom this morning and found something. Should I send you a picture p>
Latham’s heart skipped. “Yeah, send it to me p>
When the photo popped up on his screen, showing two bold lines, his heart almost stopped.
It was Dorothea’s.
His wife was pregnant.