“Then she’s well aware of what’s going on and needs to take care of it.” Gloria kicked her shoes off and tiptoed across theroom. She eased the bedroom door open and slipped inside, quietly closing it behind her.
“I hope I’m not causing a problem,” Nikki fretted.
“You mustn’t blame yourself.” Millie patted her arm. “Believe me, Liz has a habit of creating issues all on her own.”
Muffled voices echoed. Gloria nudged a bleary-eyed Liz into the living room. “Liz, this is Nikki Tan, who works at Guest Services. I’ll let her explain why she’s here.”
Nikki twined her fingers, uncomfortable at being put on the spot. “I’m sorry to bother you, Mrs. Rasmussen, but it appears the credit card you have on file has been declined.”
Liz’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.”
“We tried updating your account first thing this morning and again right before I got here. We’ll need another card to replace the one we have.”
“Of course.” Now wide awake, Liz scurried to the closet. She removed her designer handbag, pulled out the matching wallet, and began rifling through the contents. “I’m sure I have plenty available on several of these. Do you know the current balance?”
“Not off the top of my head.”
“You can access your account on the television,” Millie said.
Gloria grabbed the remote, switched the television on and scrolled through the screen until she reached the accounts tab. With a few quick clicks, she accessed Liz’s shipboard account and pressed enter.
A screen full of charges appeared, along with the current balance.
“Three thousand one hundred and twenty-five dollars,” Gloria gasped. “What on earth have you been buying?”
Liz thought about it. “A few things at the gift shop.”
“And a whole lot of entertainment,” Millie added. “Most of the charges are for entertainment.”
“Bingo cards.” Gloria placed her hand on Liz’s shoulder. “Please tell me all of these entertainment charges aren’t for bingo cards.”
“Three grand is a drop in the bucket.” Liz plucked a black card from her wallet. “I’ll add my Centurion card.”
“We can take care of it right now,” Nikki said.
“Yes, let’s get Liz’s account settled,” Gloria said. “How is mine? I mean, I’m not on Liz’s account, am I?”
“We can double check when we get downstairs.”
“I need to change first.” Liz tugged at her pajama top.
“We’ll meet you there in less than five,” Gloria promised.
Nikki and Millie exited the suite, remaining silent all the way to the Guest Services desk. While they waited, Millie asked Nikki to access the accounts again, confirming Gloria’s was separate from her sister’s and with a much lower balance.
Nikki switched over to Liz’s account and began scrolling while Millie looked over her shoulder. “This bingo hobby is getting out of hand.”
“She must be buying multiple cards for each game.”
“More like multiple upon multiple.” Millie, who had been keeping an eye out for her cousins, noticed them stepping out of the elevator. She watched as a sullen Liz and a somber Gloria crossed the atrium. “I bet I missed an interesting conversation.”
“Be glad you did.” Gloria placed her hand on her sister’s back, prodding her forward. “Liz is ready to plunk down her other card.”
“Can I get a copy of the charges first?”
“Of course.” Nikki’s fingers flew over the keyboard. The printer behind her whirred and spit out several sheets of paper. She glanced at the top sheet before handing the stack to Liz.
Liz slipped her reading glasses on and studied the charges. “This does seem slightly excessive. What card do you have on file?”
