7. Cj #3
“Authentically fake,” she corrected with a grin.
“And weirdly high-end if you look close enough. Every room has a full kitchen, and the refrigerators look vintage, but they’re brand new.
Same with the stoves. All stainless-steel appliances hidden behind old-school styling.
The countertops are quartz made to look like laminate instead of the other way around.
” She shrugged like none of it was a big deal.
“We may not look fancy, but we take care of our guests.”
“That’s good to know. I was prepared for flickering lights and a refrigerator that hums all night.”
“Oh, you’ll get the hum.” Eleanor nodded seriously. “But it’s the air-conditioning, not the fridge. Gets cold enough in those rooms to hang meat if that’s your thing.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” CJ said with a smile.
She turned back to her monitor. “Okay, I’ve got you in—” She broke off, and a frown creased her forehead as she clicked through screens on her computer. “Huh.”
“What?”
She frowned slightly at her monitor. “I accidentally assigned you to the wrong room.” The statement was delivered with the kind of distracted tone someone might use to discuss forgetting to water a plant.
“Okay,” he said slowly.
“It’s not a big deal,” she added quickly. “You’ll be perfectly happy there. It’s just that the room is supposed to be blocked off.”
“Maintenance issue?”
“No.” She shook her head and clicked the mouse buttons a few more times.
“Recurring guest. We’ve got a guy who stays here every year for spring training.
He comes for the same approximate dates and likes to stay in the same room, and he’s been here every year since we opened.
I like to keep the room reserved for him, but when we updated our booking system last month, some of the room assignments got wiped out. I thought I’d fixed them all.”
“And I got his room.” It wasn’t hard for CJ to connect the dots.
“You got his room,” she confirmed.
CJ leaned against the counter. “Does he know?”
She laughed. “No, he hasn’t even checked in yet.”
“Then you caught it in time.”
“That I did.” She nodded. “I just need to swap your rooms. It’ll only take a minute.”
“No problem. I’ve got nowhere else to be.” CJ leaned an elbow on the counter.
“Thanks.” She turned back to her computer and started typing. “So, you’re with the team too, right?”
“Yeah, I got traded during the off-season,” CJ answered.
“I thought so. You have the look.”
“The look?”
“Tall, athletic, trying very hard not to draw attention to yourself.” She pointed at the credit card machine in front of him. “Swipe or tap your card, please.”
CJ held his card to the reader until it beeped.
“All right, you’re all set. You’re in room ten, which overlooks the pool and is close to the laundry room.
You’ve got a full kitchen and all the appliances were recently serviced, but let me know if you have any problems. Housekeeping will come in three times a week unless you tell me otherwise.
” Eleanor slid a keycard across the counter, and CJ tucked it into his back pocket.
“You know, the other guy in this mix-up is also on the team, but he’s so quiet I doubt you’ll see him outside of practice and games.
I’ve seen him go out at night once or twice, but he mostly sticks to himself.
” She smiled and shook her head. “And he’s always up super early to voluntarily run some ungodly number of miles. ” Eleanor shuddered at the thought.
“Good to know.” CJ was pretty sure he’d kept his voice even, and he was proud of himself for not giving in to the urge to ask her who the teammate was. He didn’t have to. “I’m sure I’ll see him around.”
Eleanor shook her head. “You will if he wants you to. Some folks are just like that, you know? They just want something easy for a little while.”
“Yeah,” CJ said softly. “I can understand that.”
“You seem like someone who could use a place that feels easy.” Eleanor’s tone had softened, and she leaned forward on her elbows, studying him carefully.
CJ paused. “Yeah,” he said after a moment. “That’d be nice.”
“Well, you picked the right spot. The rooms are quiet, the coffee is strong in the morning, and nobody here asks questions they don’t need answered.” She straightened and nodded. “Pretty sure that’s why your teammate keeps coming back.”
He didn’t push for more. Curiosity had teeth, and he’d learned a long time ago not to give it room to bite.
Still, as he turned to go, he knew it all fit too well.
CJ had wanted the quiet and chosen the farthest spot from the ballpark.
It should have occurred to him that this was exactly the kind of quiet, careful corner the Evan he used to know would choose.
When he stepped back outside, he paused and turned his face toward the sun, letting the warmth sink into his skin.
Out here, the world felt slower, calmer, and he let the quiet settle in his bones.
Behind him, Eleanor answered the phone and then broke into laughter, and the sound somehow made the place feel less like a temporary stopover and more like somewhere that he might actually get some rest. It wasn’t what he’d expected when he booked a room, but maybe that was the point.