Chapter 3

"Mr. Harris... the total is... twenty-eight thousand, five hundred dollars."

Lucy’s voice was as quiet as a mosquito. She didn’t even dare to look at me.

The lobby fell into a suffocating silence.

The dozen employees standing behind me with their luggage exchanged nervous glances. Someone gasped.

Twenty-eight thousand, five hundred dollars.

They hadn’t even slept in the beds. They had merely taken the key cards up to look at the rooms, and now they were being charged nearly thirty thousand dollars.

Dexter rubbed his chin, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

"Hear that, Valerie? Cash, card, or PayPal?"

I looked at his greasy, greedy face.

"Dexter, this is extortion."

"Extortion?" He threw his hands up in mock offense. "I am a legitimate businessman. The contract states clearly: any last-minute cancellation that causes major financial damage to the hotel requires full compensation for the rooms and connected losses. Since I can't sell those fifty rooms tonight, shouldn't you pay for my loss?"

"It’s eight in the evening. During peak tourist season. And you're telling me you can't sell them?"

"If I say they won't sell, they won't sell." He looked completely shameless.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened again, and Justin walked out with the rest of the team.

Seeing the blockade in the lobby, a smirk of pure satisfaction spread across his face.

"Valerie, I told you not to make a scene. Look at this mess now."

He marched over to the dozen employees standing by my side and barked, "What are you all doing? Take your bags back upstairs! Haven't you embarrassed yourselves enough?"

Frightened by his shouting, a few young employees gripped their suitcases tighter, looking at me with pleading eyes.

I stepped in front of them, blocking Justin’s path.

"Justin, this is between me and the hotel. Keep out of it."

"I am the lead coordinator of this retreat! You caused this mess, and you expect me to keep out of it?" Justin spat. "Twenty-eight thousand dollars in cancellation fees! Are you paying that out of your own pocket? Because the company sure as hell isn't going to reimburse your stupidity!"

"I don't need the company to pay," I said, turning my eyes back to Dexter. "But I’m not giving you a single dime of this money."

Dexter’s expression turned utterly vicious.

He gave a sharp nod to the two security guards at the door.

Immediately, they locked the deadbolts and pulled down the metal security grates halfway.

"Valerie, I tried to play nice, but you just had to push it," Dexter spat on the floor. "Go ask around this block. Anyone who tries to stiff me ends up leaving in an ambulance."

He stepped right up to me, lowering his voice.

"Pay the damn money, take your people upstairs, and go to sleep. Otherwise, nobody is leaving this lobby tonight."

I pulled out my phone.

"Then I’m calling the police."

Dexter slammed his hand over my screen, gripping my wrist so tightly that a sharp pain shot up my arm.

"Go ahead! Call them. Even if they show up, it’s just a civil dispute. They’ll tell us to settle it ourselves. But let me remind you..."

He smiled like a snake.

"Don't you have a major product launch rehearsal tomorrow morning?"

My heart sank.

This retreat wasn't just for fun. Tomorrow afternoon, we had a massive launch event for our local distributors.

All the core samples, displays, and promotional materials had been locked in the hotel's second-floor conference room right after we arrived.

Justin, who had been gloating a second ago, also paled when he heard this.

"Dexter, look, the rooms are one thing, but our launch materials are another. Let's keep those separate."

"Not a chance, Justin." Dexter shrugged off my hand. "Your company broke the rules. I’m holding your inventory as collateral."

Justin panicked. He turned and screamed at me.

"Valerie! Look at what you’ve done! If tomorrow’s launch is ruined, you will be ruined! You can't possibly take responsibility for this!"

He rushed over, his voice dropping to a desperate, threatening whisper.

"Just apologize to Dexter. Pay the money. Let’s just get this over with!"

"Apologize?" I looked at Justin.

"Yes, apologize!" Justin gritted his teeth. "Is your stupid pride more important than the entire company's interests?"

I looked around.

Fifty employees were standing in the lobby.

Some were exhausted, some were angry, some were terrified.

They were all waiting for me to bow my head.

Because in the corporate world, kneeling is always the easiest way out.

Dexter pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a slow drag.

He blew the smoke right into my face.

"Decided yet, Valerie? I’m a busy man, and my patience is running thin."

He pointed to the PayPal QR code on the counter.

"Scan it. Then you get your materials, and you can get the hell out."

I stared at the QR code, then looked out at the dark street.

Across the road, the neon signs of the Grand Platinum Hotel flickered elegantly in the night. One street away, yet it looked like an entirely different world.

"Dexter Harris," I said, my voice incredibly calm.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to hold my materials hostage?"

"Yeah, I am. What are you gonna do about it?"

"Fine."

I nodded, lifted my phone, and scanned the code.

"Twenty-eight thousand, five hundred. I'm paying."

Justin let out a massive sigh of relief.

Dexter smirked triumphantly. "See? If you had just behaved from the start, we could have avoided all this."

I entered the amount and authorized the transfer with my FaceID.

*Ding.*

The front desk speaker chimed: *"Payment received: Twenty-eight thousand, five hundred dollars."*

Dexter waved his hand dismissively. "Unlock the doors. Let them go."

The security guards pulled the grates back up.

I stared at Dexter. "The money is paid. Where are my materials?"

"Lucy, take them to the second floor to get their junk," Dexter said, turning around without even giving me another glance.

Justin shouted to the staff, "What are you waiting for! Grab the gear and get back to your rooms!"

"Stop."

I called out, freezing everyone in their tracks.

"Grab the materials. Then, walk out that door, and cross the street."

Justin whipped his head around.

"Valerie, are you insane? You just paid the money, and you're still leaving?"

"That money was the ransom for my company's assets," I said, looking at him calmly. "As for this trash hotel, I won't stay here for another second."

I grabbed my suitcase and walked toward the exit.

"Anyone who wants to come with me, follow me."

A deadly silence fell over the lobby.

After a few agonizing seconds, Chloe bit her lip, grabbed her suitcase, and ran to my side.

Then came a second person, then a third.

In the end, all fifty employees stood behind me. Not a single one stayed behind.

Justin stood alone in the center of the lobby, shaking with rage.

"Valerie, you are so dead!"

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