\u201cnot your setting.\u201d<\/p>\n
I let that phrase sit in my mind for a second before I answered. \u201cYes,\u201d I said calmly. \u201cThere is.\u201d<\/p>\n
James didn\u2019t ask anything else.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t need to. \u201cI\u2019ll take care of it immediately,\u201d he said. \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ended the call, finished my coffee, and sat there for a few more minutes watching the lake like nothing had happened.<\/p>\n
Because in a way\u2026 nothing had. My family had just shown me exactly who they still thought I was. And for once, I didn\u2019t feel the need to correct them right away.<\/p>\n
I drove back to the resort slowly. Same entrance. Same hydrangeas.<\/p>\n
Same polished cars. Only this time, I didn\u2019t hesitate when I stepped out of mine. Inside, the lobby was quieter than before.<\/p>\n
But not calm. Tense. My father was at the front desk, voice low but sharp, one hand flat against the marble.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m telling you, she won\u2019t be staying here,\u201d he insisted. The clerk looked uncomfortable. \u201cI understand, sir, but the reservation\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCancel it,\u201d my father snapped.<\/p>\n
My brother stood beside him, arms crossed, watching like this was all just a minor inconvenience being handled. My mother hovered a step behind, pretending this wasn\u2019t happening. I walked forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t cancel that reservation,\u201d I said. My father turned. That same look.<\/p>\n
The one that said I was out of my depth. \u201cThat\u2019s already being handled,\u201d he replied. \u201cNo,\u201d I said calmly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before he could respond, the elevator doors opened behind the desk. A man in a dark suit stepped out, followed by two members of staff. He walked directly to the front desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Patterson?\u201d he asked. My father straightened slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m James Hendricks,\u201d he said. \u201cDirector of Operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room shifted. Subtle.<\/p>\n
But real. \u201cI understand there\u2019s a concern regarding a reservation,\u201d James continued. My father nodded, confident again.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. My daughter booked a room she doesn\u2019t need. We\u2019d like it removed.\u201d<\/p>\n
James didn\u2019t look at him.<\/p>\n
Not yet. He turned instead\u2026 to me. \u201cMiss Patterson,\u201d he said with a small, respectful nod.<\/p>\n
That was the moment everything changed. My father noticed it immediately. \u201cSo,\u201d James continued, voice even, \u201cthe reservation has been flagged for owner review.\u201d<\/p>\n
My brother frowned.<\/p>\n
The story doesn\u2019t end here \u2014 it continues on the next page.
\nTap READ MORE to discover the rest \ud83d\udd0e\ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cnot your setting.\u201d I let that phrase sit in my mind for a second before I answered. \u201cYes,\u201d I said calmly. \u201cThere is.\u201d James didn\u2019t ask anything… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedailyglow.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedailyglow.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedailyglow.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedailyglow.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedailyglow.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43246"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thedailyglow.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43248,"href":"https:\/\/thedailyglow.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43246\/revisions\/43248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedailyglow.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedailyglow.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedailyglow.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedailyglow.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}