chapter 13 stranger at the hotel
Sofia's POV.
When I stepped out of the hotel, I looked into the streets and it was crowded, I mean this was morning and every part of the streets was already choked up with people. I tried stopping a few taxis that were passing by, but it seems like none of them even noticed me. My long brown hair keeps on tangling in my face as a result of the wind that was blowing. I pushed further into the streets, luckily the next taxi I waxed at, stood right in front of me, but I stood there in a daze, wondering what to tell them. Where would I say I was going to? And what if he noticed I was new in the town and decided to take me somewhere else?. But then I realized he was not even here for me. He was dropping someone. I felt relief when the receptionist stepped out of the taxi. This is the moment I took to examine her figure. She has this perfect body shape. Her appearance was something else. She looks stunning. Her beautiful black long wavy hair matched the colors of her eyeballs. Her boobs stood firm in her chest. Looking at her, I remember Rochelle, she almost has the same body figure as the receptionist. What a loss of a beautiful soul. She held her blue handbag in her right hand that matched her blue cone heel shoes, and her coat draped over her shoulders on the left side. I gulped when she took steps toward me with a smile on her face. Well, I always think every girl is better than me. I have this low self-esteem. Especially when I think about how my pride was taken away from me at a very young age and one my abuser told me I was a damaged property and I had no use. The thought of that made me shed a tear. I quickly wiped it before the receptionist could come any closer. "Hey miss, good morning. Looks like you are going out, so where to?".
Well, how was I going to explain that, I wanted to go find a job in a city I know nothing about.
"Uhmm, I just wanted some fresh air out here". I stammered, using my left hand to scratch the back of my head.
"Looks like someone is trying to tell a lie".
Exactly, she figured it out. I wasn't that good at lying. "Let's go inside, and you can tell me what you want". She bypassed me and I walked behind her quietly without any questions.
When we made it to her desk, she offered me a seat next to her, before putting on her clothes.
"So tell me, what is going on with you? Where did you think you were going? This is a dangerous town and people don't move around randomly, especially people like you who are new here. It's dangerous".
There is nothing dangerous to me anymore. I have lived in more danger than this and still living in danger, and danger that would never come to an end.
"I wanted to get some air and that's it, nothing more". I told her trying to make the lie look more true.
"Alright, if that's the case then it's fine, I wouldn't argue with you. But you should tell a more convincing lie next time". She insisted with her eyes glued to the computer, probably going through yesterday's work.
"What is it like working with these men looking at you as though they could eat you raw?".
I always want to satisfy my curiosity. Looking at men throwing seductive glances at us, made me irritated. If I were working here, I would kill a good number of them.
"Honey, you will always see such people in your daily life, not necessarily in hotels even as you step outside". That was the only time she looked at me throughout our entire conversation since she came in. She seems to be someone who is kind of focused.
"Ok, I was only wondering ". Before she could say further, a man walked to the front desk with a small backpack draped on his back. He had glasses on and a hat on his head, with a little scarf tied to his neck. With cowboy boots. I wonder what he was doing in the hotel.
"Welcome sir, Do you need a room?". The receptionist whom I have not even bothered to ask her name asks the funny-looking man standing in front of us.
"Yes I do" was all he said, with his eyes wandering all over the hall. I doubt that he was looking at it. Just as creepy as the man from yesterday.
"Uhmmm, we have just one room left and it costs 10000 dollars ". Wow, 10000 dollars, that's a whole lot of money. I mean the hotel had more than 30 floors and every room was occupied. Come on, the owner of this hotel must be the wealthiest man alive. Oh, that reminded me. GODA, if the ice blue eye man owns this hotel, then, I don't know what to say. Even though I'm not sure yet, I think there must be a connection between the two. After this creepy man leaves I'm going to ask the receptionist what it all means, she must have an Idea.
"Are you taking the room, sir?". She asked the man whose attention was now fixed on me. What is wrong with all these men?.
"Yes," He answered. He must be filthy rich. He just answered with no objections. Wow, that was exactly how my family was, not until everything turned up into the nightmare I'm now living.
"25th floor, room 26, you can take the elevator". She said handing over the keys to him. 25th floor and room 26, which was not far from mine. God, please keep me safe from all these creepy guys. He didn't even say a word after. He collected the keys and left silently. I looked at the receptionist, who looked back at me and didn't say anything. She is probably used to it. "Sorry that, I didn't even ask your name". She smiled and looked back at me. "It's not your fault. My name is Cheryl".
"Cheryl, such a beautiful name".
"Thank you. Yours is not bad either".
Of course, I know it's not bad, but a terrible curse that I have to live with all the days of my life. That sadness erupts again within me.
"I noticed you hardly smiled and even now that you mentioned your name, you turned all moody. Is there something bordering on you that you would like to share with me? You can see me as a friend ".
See you as a friend? my heart skipped, she said that. The last time I saw someone as a friend, they were ruthlessly killed. I don't want to make friends anymore and I know that just by talking with her now, there is just trouble waiting somewhere.
"It's nothing, I'm just used to being moody. It's just a thing of mine". I waved it off. Thank goodness she didn't push further.
"Uhmm, I wanted to ask, if you could please help with a map around the city you know, that would help me with my daily activities ". She finally took the empty seat that was next to me and looked straight at me, as though I was blabbing.
"If you need a job, I could help you get one here in the hotel. Just tell me what kind of work you would like to do. And I will help you get it". How is she going to help me get it? By sleeping with men or maybe the boss of this hotel. No way on earth was that happening. "How do you intend to help me?" I said with a tight voice, not trying to make what I was thinking obvious.
"Just tell me and you will see".
She walked past me, to greet the blond lady who just walked in.
A few minutes later, she came back. " She is one of us here, she works as a cleaner". Oh, but I didn't ask, that was absolutely none of my business. But I gave it a second thought. I could clean as well. Since I do not have any qualifications that would warrant high-class work. "I would clean ''. She looked at me as though she wasn't expecting that. "Trust me, I can clean so well ". She just nodded and focused on her computer.
"I will head back to my room now. It's almost noon". I said, standing from the chair I was sitting on. "You should wait so that we can go have lunch together ". She bit on the pen in her hands. "Ok" I pouted with twisted brows.
"If I may ask, what does GODA mean?" I finally asked the question my body has been itching to. "Even the bedspread in my room has the words GODA on it, so I was just wondering ". I asked looking at her carefully so as not to miss any information.