Chapter 278
Chapter 278:
She was immovable on the point. The clothes sitting on her skin felt weighted with an invisible debt she needed to clear.
A barely perceptible tension tightened the muscles around Crawford’s eyes, but it never reached his expression. “Of course,” he said, gesturing toward the hallway with practiced ease. “I’ll walk down with you p>
He needed to be standing directly beside her when the curtain fell.
They walked out of the suite and stepped into the private elevator. The heavy silver doors slid shut and the cabin began its rapid descent toward the lobby. June stared straight ahead, her mind already moving through Providence port blueprints. Crawford stood slightly behind her, his phone out, thumb moving at lightning speed across the screen.
𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻
He typed an encrypted, untraceable message to the hotel general manager.
Two words: Final Act.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket just as the elevator chimed softly. The doors parted, opening onto the vast, glittering expanse of the lobby below.
June walked directly across the polished marble floor toward the front desk. The hotel manager saw her coming, straightened immediately, and stepped out from behind the counter to meet her halfway.
“Ms. Erickson,” he said, his voice warm with practiced courtesy. “I trust the emergency garments were to your satisfaction p>
June unzipped her leather bag. “They were perfect.” She pulled out her black titanium credit card and held it out. “I’d like to leave a substantial gratuity for the staff members who managed to source them at such an impossible hour p>
The manager didn’t reach for the card. He offered a polished, apologetic smile and raised his hands gently.
“That is incredibly generous of you, Ms. Erickson, but entirely unnecessary,” he said smoothly. He glanced briefly at Crawford, who stood two feet behind June with his hands in his pockets. “As I mentioned, this is a complimentary service for our highest-tier guests. Additionally, all incidental charges for your stay have already been settled in full through Mr. Love’s corporate account at the time of booking p>
The lie was a masterpiece. It folded the impossible cost of the designer clothing into a vague, pre-paid corporate expense and made it sound like standard procedure.
June went still. She lowered her credit card slowly and turned to look at Crawford.
Crawford offered a careless, elegant shrug.
“Standard operating procedure for Love Group partners,” he said, his voice flat and entirely unbothered. “Don’t worry about it, June. It’s a business expense p>
He stripped the gesture of every trace of intimacy, reducing it to a cold line item on a corporate ledger. June’s logical mind accepted the explanation — in his world of endless capital, it made perfect sense.
“Thank you,” she said, sliding the card back into her bag. But a heavy, uncomfortable sense of indebtedness settled deep in her stomach and stayed there.
Just as she turned toward the exit, her phone vibrated sharply in her pocket. She pulled it out.
Brogan Clements.
She crossed to a quiet corner of the lobby and pressed the phone to her ear.
“Brogan p>