"I noticed you seemed... hesitant about your current accommodations," The lady began, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial velvet that bypassed Howard entirely to stroke Siobhan's ego.
"And as it happens, our management has just authorized a special upgrade for our most distinguished guests."
Siobhan's eyes lit up with a sudden, sharp hunger. "Really?"
"Yes. It's—"
"What do you mean by 'upgrade'?" Howard interrupted, his voice cutting through the sweet-talk with the blunt edge of a man who dealt in ledgers and bottom lines. "I've been coming here for a year. Why haven't I heard about this before?"
He stood there, arms crossed, his suspicion flaring. He smelled a sales trap, and Howard Sterling prided himself on being the one who set traps, not the one who fell into them.
'This miser,' The lady cursed silently, her gaze flickering over his overcautious, middle-management posture. But her face remained a mask of professional warmth.
