Chapter 11
Chapter eleven
Kynsleigh
That day, when I got home, I planned on reaching out to Merge, no matter the consequences.
Even if he wanted nothing to do with me, Mysun deserved more than what we were living through.
My precious baby shouldn’t have to navigate a childhood filled with struggles while his father continued to bask in comfort and privilege.
At just three months old, he was already reliant on generic formula, stretched diapers, and whatever I could piece together from sale racks and survival mode.
I pulled into the parking lot of the sprawling hotel.
With a deep breath, I grabbed my work bag from the passenger seat and dragged my weary body through the employee entrance.
The familiar scent of polished marble and faint hints of fresh coffee greeted me as I stepped into the lobby, but it wasn’t long before I sensed the tension in the air.
A group of distressed guests stood huddled in a corner, whispering hurriedly amongst themselves, their faces drawn with concern.
At the front desk, one of my coworkers looked on the verge of tears, her hands fidgeting anxiously with her name tag.
I noticed that the eyes of several other employees were flickering nervously toward the executive hallway, where big decisions and even bigger personalities usually loomed.
I slowed my steps just in time for my favorite coworker, Reyna, to grab my arm.
“Girrrrrrrrrl! The big dawg is here!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide with equal parts excitement and fear.
“The big dawg?” I repeated, raising my brows.
“Merge Belvior, girl! His family owns this entire hotel chain. He usually keeps a low profile, but whenever he shows up, somebody is about to get fired, embarrassed, or escorted out carrying their belongings in a trash bag.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice.
“I heard he’s the reason the rooftop bar even exists. ”
“Oh.”
Yup. I worked at one of my baby daddy’s hotels.
Unbeknownst to Reyna, that wasn’t news to me. Granted, I’d never seen him at the hotel before, but I damn sure hadn’t expected that day to be the first time.
“He came in hot!” Reyna continued enthusiastically. “He’s in the conference room lighting Daniel’s ass up! I don’t know what’s going on, but bay-bee…”
Reyna didn’t even have to finish the sentence. That man’s presence had the whole damn building rattled.
Daniel, one of the managers, was a figure who no one liked—among both staff and guests—though everyone tolerated him simply because they had to.
Without hesitation, I ducked behind the decorative half-wall near the elevator, pulling Reyna with me as if we were spies on a covert mission.
“You’re hiding?” she teased, her smirk playful.
“Just—uh—I don’t want him to think I purposely forgot to clock out last Thursday."
It was a lie, of course, but she bought it.
The conference room’s door was cracked just wide enough for Merge’s booming voice to roll out like thunder.
“Let me get this straight,” he snapped, his tone sharp and unforgiving. “You gave away the penthouse suite to a goddamn YouTuber… after I personally put it on reserve for a silent investor flying in from Dubai?”
Daniel stammered, “Sir, I didn’t realize! He said—”
“You didn’t realize?” Merge repeated, scoffing, cutting him off.
“What you didn’t realize was that you cost us a seven-figure investment!
We were supposed to seal the deal over drinks in that suite tonight, and now the man’s flying back across the fuckin’ ocean because he thinks we’re a joke and a hotel that can’t honor its own reservations! ”
There was a loud bang. Either that was Merge’s hand slamming the table or Daniel’s spine was giving out under pressure.
“Also,” Merge continued, “you were personally told that room 2403 had a plumbing issue, but you still let a VIP check into it during a sold-out convention.”
“Sir, it was the last suite available. There weren’t any other options in the system.”
“Exactly,” Merge snapped. “Which is why that muthafucka should’ve never made it into the system. You mark it unavailable until maintenance clears it. You don’t hand somebody a key and hope the toilet decides to respect company policy.”
Reyna whispered, “Damn.”
“I heard the bathroom flooded while his little fling was in the shower,” I murmured, recalling the gossip that had spread through the staff earlier.
“You checked a Forbes contributor into a suite with a damaged waste line,” he said, his voice dropping into something cold and dangerous. “That man paid five-star prices and woke up to his bathroom looking like the sewer system filed for visitation.”
“Maintenance said the issue had been temporarily resolved,” Daniel said.
“Temporarily?” Merge repeated. “This is a hotel, not a borrowed car with the check-engine light covered by duct tape. We don’t temporarily fix shit and hand the problem to somebody wearing a six-thousand-dollar suit!
His guest slipped in that mess, injured her back, and now both of them are threatening to sue for negligence, emotional distress, medical expenses, and whatever else their lawyers can spell correctly.
My legal team has been awake for two days because you didn’t want to cancel one reservation!
That’s not customer service; that’s stupidity wearing a name tag! ”
“I offered them complimentary nights… and dining credits,” Daniel muttered.
“So, let me understand this.” Merge’s voice slowed with disbelief.
“Your solution to nearly drowning a billionaire’s side piece in toilet water was to invite them back for another stay and offer free salmon?
You think a man worth forty million dollars gives a damn about a two-hundred-dollar dining credit after his woman had to leave here smelling like a public restroom? ”
Reyna pressed her lips together, fighting a laugh.
“We’re a five-star hotel,” Merge growled. “Not a highway rest stop with room service. Our guests should not have to choose between using the bathroom and preserving their dignity.”
“I was only trying to avoid turning him away,” Daniel said quietly.
“And now, instead of losing one reservation, we might lose millions, our reputation, and whatever remained of your common sense. Congratulations. You saved the booking and endangered the entire damn business.”
Merge wasn’t done. He had more to say.
“You’ve also been flirting with two front desk reps and a guest. And before you try to come with some bullshit ass lie, it’s all on camera.”
Daniel let out a nervous chuckle, the sound barely masking his anxiety. “Mr. Belvior, come on. I’m just being friendly. You know how I am.”
“This isn’t some singles mixer; this is my family’s hotel.” Merge’s tone shifted from reprimanding to dangerously low and controlled, a clear warning. “You need to rein in your so-called ‘friendliness’ before it becomes a liability that we simply can't afford.”
Reyna’s jaw dropped. “Oops!”
I pulled her closer.
Daniel sputtered something inaudible, the words lost in the growing intensity of the moment.
“If I see another dumb ass decision with your name attached to it, you’re going to disappear faster than a fake check in a bank’s system.
Do you understand me?” Merge’s voice rose again, thick with menace.
“And tell the staff, whoever keeps parking in my reserved spot is real bold. They either got a death wish or a bad memory. Either way, next time I see that busted-ass Nissan in my spot, I’m letting the air out all four tires myself. ”
Merge sounded as though he hadn’t slept in three days and ran on black coffee, trauma, and pure fury.
“If I discover that anything else has been kept from me... God help you. You’ll find yourself picking up shifts at the nearest gas station.”
With that, the door slammed shut with such force that the floor trembled beneath the impact.
I flattened behind Reyna, heart thudding, praying he didn’t see me peeking.
“Whew, chile,” Reyna exhaled, fanning her face as if to cool the heat of the moment. “That man has rage money. He doesn’t even argue like regular people.”
“Merge and mercy wouldn’t even begin with the same letter,” I muttered under my breath, keeping my head down as he strode past us dressed in his tailored black trench coat, his beard groomed, and his locs tied neatly back.
My throat felt parched.
There’s no way I could approach him today... not after that explosion of anger.
“I thought you said you weren’t hiding?” Reyna displayed a teasing smirk, her eyebrows arched mischievously as the coast appeared to be clear.
I licked my lips nervously. “I lied,” I replied, battling the knot of anxiety in my stomach.
I had planned to reach out to Merge later that day, but perhaps that wasn’t the best day to remind him of his son’s existence. I needed to wait and let him cool down… let me cool down. Because if he said anything that savage to me, I might’ve folded on the spot.
As we walked off to begin our shift, Reyna glanced at me sideways, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
“You got a reason to be scared of that man?”
I forced a laugh, trying to dismiss her concern. “Girl, no. Just trying to avoid drama.”
She chuckled. “That’s rich, considering where we work.”
I didn’t answer, because the truth was, I had a reason.
A three-month-old baby boy... with his nose.