Assuming that it wasn’t a glitch, what the hell was the ATM withdrawal notification about? Actually, it didn’t matter. I needed to find Brandon. I pressed the button to put the car in park when I pulled up to the valet podium. Grabbing the two cell phones, I jumped out of the car and hurried around the front as the valet jogged over.
“Welcome to the Ritz Carl—”
“The fob is in the cupholder,” I interrupted him.
My eyes began to scan the lobby the moment I walked through the automatic sliding doors. The valet guy from outside appeared next to me and held out a small piece of beige cardstock.
“The claim ticket for your car, sir.”
“Thank you.”
I found the concierge desk and asked if they had an ATM machine.
“We do, sir. It’s directly across from the check-in area,” the woman politely answered and gestured toward the machine.
“Thank you. Is that the only ATM machine here?”
“It is, yes.”
“Wonderful. Thank you.”
“Anytime. Please let us know if you need anything,” she offered.
I knew they wouldn’t be able to give me any guest info; at least, not if I came right out and asked for it. That success would be a matter of how I worded it.
“Actually, there is something you might be able to help me with.” I looked at my watch and then at the concierge. “I’m supposed to meet a friend here this morning, and I was wondering if it would be possible for you to ring his room and let him know that I’m in the lobby.”
“I’d be more than happy to ring his room. What name is the reservation under?”
“I believe it would be Brandon Cooper.”
Just saying his name did something to my stomach. I needed him in front of me. While the woman tried ringing his room, I leaned on the counter with my side and turned my body so that I could scan the lobby. Even if she was unsuccessful reaching him, at least I knew that he was staying here. Now it was only a matter of spotting him.
“I’m sorry, sir, but no one is answering,” she explained.
“It’s no trouble at all. I’ll walk around the lobby for a bit. Thank you,” I said before flashing a smile.
I decided to walk around and look at the restaurants. It appeared that most of them had seating that was visible from the lobby. Brandon operated on a very strict schedule, even though he would never admit to it. He typically was up and had eaten by 7:30. If I was lucky, I’d spot my pup.
After making a few rounds by the restaurants, I spotted a dark red t-shirt and stopped in my tracks.Brandon.
He was walking from the buffet area to a table beside a window. A series of waist-high flower planters separated the restaurant from the lobby. I followed the planters until I reached the wall of windows. From this spot, I watched Brandon eat breakfast. For the most part he kept his head down while he ate, but every now and then he’d raise his head and look out the large window.
His hair was styled differently than he usually liked it, but I figured that was because he most likely didn’t have anything for it, much less a comb. I was sure he was dying to get out of the day-old worn clothes. But aside from the disheveled appearance of his hair and clothes, my pup looked dead tired with heavy bags under his eyes.
At least he had eaten a good breakfast. It stressed me out last night as I worried about him not having dinner. After having been nearly starved with those fucking assholes, I always made sure that Brandon knew he had easy access to food. He knew that he was welcome to get himself food whenever he was hungry, but I also left a bowl of fresh fruit and granola bars on the kitchen island.
I stood a little straighter when I saw Brandon on the move toward the entrance of the restaurant. I kept my distance and stood behind a circular glass table with a large vase on it. He was waiting for people to get out of the elevator so he could get in. I walked toward the elevator against the flow of foot traffic. I entered the elevator with him as he was pressing the button for his floor: thirty-second.
Brandon kept his head lowered, and as soon as the elevator began to climb, I saw his eyes glance at my shoes. Slowly, he dragged those piercing blue eyes of his up my body until he reached my eyes. He ran a hand through his hair and then folded his arms over his chest.
“Do you know what it’s like to worry about someone all through the night? Worrying about where they’re at, if they’re warm, or if they’re hungry.”
I took two steps and stood in front of him. Brandon could be stubborn, and I saw a mixture of fire and remorse in his eyes. His body language told me that he was going to be stubborn.
“I’m sorry I left like I did,” he said.
Brandon pulled his eyes from mine to the display over the doors that showed the floors as we passed them by. The elevator slowed at the thirtieth floor, crept past the thirty-first floor, and stopped on the thirty-second floor. As soon as there was enough room between the doors as they opened slowly, Brandon turned sideways and darted out into the hallway.
