by Amanda Gray
Sandra made her way through the house towards the backyard, the sliding glass door for the patio was open, and so she went out onto the deck.
“Hi sweetie, how was your last exam?” Her mom was sun tanning beside the pool and her dad was reading a book on the deck, having a beer.
“It went really good.” Sandra hesitated before continuing on, “I need to talk to you two.”
“Sure Sandra, what is it?” Her dad said, putting his book down on the table.
“Well, I’ve decided that I’m going to go visit Stacy in LA this summer.” Sandra twisted her hands in a fretful way.
“Alone? How are you going to get there?” Her dad was concerned already, just like she’d thought he would be.
“That’s an awfully long way to travel by yourself, and where are you going to get the airfare?” Her mom had gotten up from her lounge chair now and walked over to the deck, to stand beside her father.
“I saved up some money from my part time job and I’m actually going to drive, my car is all packed.” Sandra looked at the two of them and decided that no matter what they said next, it was happening, she was leaving.
“Well, you’ve done really well in school and, if your father agrees, I don’t see why you can’t go to visit Stacy in LA.” Her mom put her hands gently on her father’s shoulders, the way she always did when she was trying to get him to do something that she wanted.
“Really?” Sandra was shocked at her mom’s response. “So dad?”
“As long as you’re safe and you leave us Stacy’s address, I don’t see why not.” Her dad put his hand over top of her mother’s hand where it rested on his shoulder. “You’re twenty-one years old after all, if you want to go away for a bit, as long as you’re safe and you keep in touch with us, we can’t really say no.”
“Awesome! I’m going to head out now then, it’s a long drive. I’ll leave Stacy’s address on a note on the fridge.” Sandra went over and gave each of her parents a big hug and kiss, deciding not to tell them that she was actually going out there for a long time and was planning on looking for work. She could call them in a few weeks and explain it to them over the phone, which would be a lot easier than getting into an argument now.
“You’re leaving now?” Her mom said, quite taken aback.
“Yea, well, Stacy just wrapped up filming a show and she has some free time to show me around LA and I’m all done exams, so I figured no time like the present!” Sandra gave her mom a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry mom, I’ll be fine.”
“Well, OK then. Call us when you get there.” Her mom squeezed her hand and gave her a smile, “Have fun sweetheart.”
“Have fun and be safe.” Her dad said before picking up his book again.
“I will!” Sandra headed back inside and quickly scribbled down Stacy’s address before heading out to her car, she couldn’t wait to be on the road.
CHAPTER 3
Sandra made the first few hours of the drive before she even knew what was happening. She was so excited to be on her way to LA that she even ran a few red lights on her way out of town. It was going to be a long drive to LA, longer than any other road trip she’d ever been on, and she was traveling alone this time, so she was a bit worried about being bored during the trip. She had brought a few audio books and her favorite songs were loaded on her iPod so that she could plug it in and play it. Sandra’s car was a cute little blue Volkswagen beetle. She had bought it her last year of high school with the money she had saved up from her part time jobs, with a little help from her parents too. She loved this car, it was very versatile and it had an awesome sunroof that opened so far that she almost felt like it was a convertible.
After about 15 hours of driving, with many little stops along the way to sightsee and rest breaks, and even a big lunch at a nice cafe, Sandra started looking around for a hotel to sleep at for the night. She was in Texas, near Houston and saw a lot of signs for hotels. There was one called the Marriott and it had a lot of advertising along the highway, so since it was basically directing her how to get to it, Sandra made the turn onto the exit and headed towards the Marriott.
When she pulled up, a Valet asked if she would be staying the night, and he parked her car for her, giving her a little ticket to pick it up the next morning. Sandra headed into the hotel lobby and saw a big promotional poster set up in the lobby that read,
“Meet the man who wrote “Get Rich, Get into Oil. Richard Teller! Reading an excerpt from his bestselling book today in Conference room A.”
Sandra had never heard of that book, but the name of the author sounded familiar. There was no picture of him to jog her memory, so she kept walking up to the desk to check in and gave up on trying to remember where she had heard that name before.
“Good evening Miss. Welcome to the Marriott, are you checking in?” A polite man in a uniform said to her as she approached the desk.
“Yes, I don’t have a reservation, but I was hoping to have a room for just one night. I’m driving through town and my eyes are getting very tired!” Sandra laughed and smiled.
“Let me see if we have anything available, we’re hosting a big event and a lot of our rooms have been filled up.” The man scrolled through things on his computer screen for a minute or so. “Oh look! You’re in luck. I have one last room available, it’s got a king size bed and it’s a very comfortable suite.”
“King size bed? It’s just me!” Sandra thought that sounded expensive.
“I know, but unfortunately that is all we have available right now because of the event tomorrow.” The man looked sadly at her for a second and then smiled, “You know what? How about I give you 10% discount off the room, just because?”
“Just because why?” Sandra smiled back at him.
“Just because you are pretty cute and you look very tired and I want to help you out here.” The man laughed.
“Oh, alright then, it’s better than going around trying to find another hotel to stay at, I am already exhausted.” Sandra set her purse down on the counter and pulled out her wallet.
“Wonderful! Well, you will get an incredible sleep in that King size bed, it’s extremely comfortable! That will be $229.00 including taxes, after the 10% discount, and I will need to see your driver license please.”
“Wow, $229.00 for one night!”
“Again, I apologize, but it’s the only room we have available right now, and regularly that room goes for $289.00.” The man smiled sadly at her.
CHAPTER 4
“It will have to do.” She opened her wallet and pulled out her Visa and her driver’s license, handing them over to the desk clerk. “Here you are, you can charge it to my Visa please.”
“Certainly, thank you Miss… Barns.” The clerk started typing things into his computer and ran her Visa card through the machine.
Sandra was looking around the hotel lobby and admiring the artwork that was on display, waiting for the man to charge her credit card for this overpriced room she was about to stay in for the night, and fantasising about the bed and curling up in a little ball and going to sleep for hours.
“Here you are Miss Barns,” he said as he handed her back her Visa and Driver’s License, “would you please sign here?” He indicated where she should sign to accept the charges to her Visa. “Wonderful, and here is your room key, you are in the West Tower, just turn right when you exit the lobby behind you and head into the first elevator past the lounge, and you are on the 9th floor, room 908.”
“Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure, and in case you would like a nightcap, our lounge is open until 2:00am.”
“Thank you.” Sandra smiled at him and collected her key and her purse and bag, and headed over towards the elevator that he had mentioned.
There was nice, relaxing jazz tunes coming out of the lounge as she went past and she thought that maybe she would come back down and have a nightcap, which would really put her into a deep sleep. She would just head upstairs, drop of her stuff
and freshen up, change out of this clothes she’d been stuck in the car for 15 hours wearing and then go down and unwind a bit.
Sandra rode the elevator up to the 9th floor and headed down the hallway in the direction of her room, following the little signs posted on walls. She reached room 908 and slipped her key into the door handle, hearing the little ‘beep’ that told her the door was unlocked and then went into the room. It was an absolutely beautiful room. There was a lot of space and she notice that there was even a kitchen tucked in the corner of the room, with a full sized fridge and an oven, the works. Turning the corner, she saw a living room instead of the bed she had been expecting to see and she realized that this was a suite, not just a hotel room. Wow, this is luxurious, she thought to herself, traveling in style!
She walked into the living room and saw a door to the left, opening it wider she walked into a room with a King size bed and two pretty little nightstands on either side. The bed looked incredibly comfortable, so Sandra put her bags down on it and kicked off her shoes, flopping herself face-first onto the fluffy soft white sheets. Sandra had never been at such a fancy hotel, in fact, she’d never stayed at a hotel alone in her young life. Everything about this trip was exciting to her. Thinking that she should definitely go down and check out the lounge and have a nightcap, as the desk clerk had recommended, Sandra pulled herself off the incredibly comfortable bed and opened her bag.
Riffling through it, she found a simple blouse and jeans to wear. Sandra went into the bathroom and enjoyed a nice hot shower, keeping her hair up in a shower cap so she wouldn’t have to worry about going through all the hassle of blow drying it. Sandra got dressed and put a bit of mascara on and a bit of lipstick, just for fun. She grabbed her purse and headed out of her hotel room, grabbing her room key off the counter on the way out. She got in the elevator and she was tucking her room key into her purse as the elevator door opened, thinking she was at the lobby, Sandra walked out without looking up, bumping hard into someone.
“Oh god! Sorry!” Sandra exclaimed, startled as she looked up to see who she had walked into.
“That’s quite alright my dear.” The man who she had walked into was incredibly handsome. He flashed an incredible smile of perfect white teeth and his green eyes lit up with the smile, making them twinkle in an intoxicating way. He was wearing a dark grey suit and a blue tie, he had the look of someone very important, someone with money. He had dark brown hair and a clean shaven face, with a lovely olive skin complexion. “It’s my fault, I didn’t expect a beautiful woman to come spilling out of the elevator. Next time I will have to pay more attention when elevator doors open so as not to startle you.”
“Oh… umm... Thank you.” Sandra blushed a shade of scarlet as she looked around the floor, not recognizing the floor as the lobby. “Where are we? I was trying to get to the lounge for a nightcap, I’ve had a very long drive.”
“This is the penthouse.” The elevator doors started closing behind her and the man held his arm out to stop the doors from shutting. “The lounge is down on the first floor, but if you’d like, I have a full service bar here. If you’d like company with your nightcap.”
Sandra looked at this mysterious man and wondered what she had to lose accepting his offer. She was already here, and she’d never been in a penthouse before. He was also very attractive, and she could use a bit of conversation to help wind her mind down. “Umm, OK. Sure, why not?”
CHAPTER 5
“Wonderful.” The man removed his arm from the elevator door, allowing them to close shut behind her. “Right this way Miss.” The man offered her his elbow in a very distinguished manner of a gentleman. Sandra looked at it for a second and then thought it would be rude not to accept it, so she lightly put her hands on his elbow and let him lead her into the penthouse.
They turned out of the hallway and into an expansive room that had a full bar, a beautiful view with big windows, a piano, and a lounge area with big, comfortable looking leather chairs and couches, with marble coffee tables and side tables.
“Oh, wow!” Sandra said as she looked around the room.
“It’s nice but it’s nothing special, what are you drinking?” The man asked as he led her over to the bar, dropping his elbow so she let go of it and he walked around the bar to service the drinks.
“Well, I have never been in a penthouse before, this looks pretty impressive to me!” Sandra laughed and leaned against the bar. “I don’t know, I don’t drink much, what are you having?”
“How about a nice glass of Champagne?” The man smiled at her.
“Sure, that would be lovely!”
The man popped open a bottle of champagne and poured two flutes of the sparkling golden liquid. Sandra watched as the bubbles slowly dissipated from the top of the glass. He walked around the side of the bar and handed one to her.
“So, may I have the pleasure of knowing the name of the beautiful young woman who spilled out of the elevator and right into my penthouse?”
“Sandra, my name is Sandra. And you?”
“Richard Teller. A toast to fate.” Richard raised his flute of champagne up to Sandra’s and they clinked their glasses together.
Sandra took a sip of her champagne and wondered why that name sounded so familiar. Richard started walking over to the lounge chairs and settled himself into one of the supple leather seat, crossing his legs and enjoying a sip from his champagne flute.
“What are you doing here in Texas Sandra?” He smiled at her as she settled herself into a chair opposite him.
“I’m just passing through actually, I’m on my way to LA.” Sandra felt the buttery smoothness of the champagne and realized that she loved champagne, this one tasted absolutely delicious, the soft bubbles melting her taste buds as she enjoyed another sip. She had had sparkling wine before with her friends, but it had never tasted anything like this. It was always bitter, acidic and dry. This must be a very expensive champagne.
“LA? From where did you come from then?” He was watching her intently.
“I just left my parents’ house in Georgia, I’m making the drive to go stay with my friend for a while in LA. She’s an actress.” Sandra felt a little shy with the way he was watching her.
“Any big plans for when you get to LA? Aside from visiting your friend?” Richard took another sip of his champagne, his eyes not leaving Sandra’s.
“Well… actually… I want to be a writer. My friend convinced me to drive out there and I brought my scripts with me, she thinks maybe I have a chance of selling one to a production company of something.” Sandra suddenly felt very shy, she never really talked to people about her dreams or desires, and this man was a complete stranger.
“A writer? Well, you are talking to the right person Sandra! I’m a writer myself in fact.” Richard raised his glass to her. “To you and your future as a writer.”
Sandra raised her glass and smiled the Richard as she blushed.
“Oh wait… Richard Teller? Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Your name, it’s on the display downstairs in the lobby. I can’t believe I didn’t realize…” Sandra was a deep shade of scarlet now, embarrassed that she was in the penthouse of a world famous author and business man and had no idea who he was, the man was worth billions of dollars and here she was, just sitting and having a chat with him in his penthouse.
Unbelievable… she thought in awe of her dumb luck.
CHAPTER 6
“That’s quite alright, it’s actually very refreshing having someone not recognize me. That’s actually part of the reason I invited you up here, I realized you didn’t know who I was when you didn’t try to jump me in the elevator. There are a lot of crazy woman who come to these events thinking that they can persuade me to marry them or something ridiculous. I blame the tabloids, if they would just stop printing that I am the most eligible bachelor, then maybe these crazy women would back off!” Richard laughed and then continued, “The other reason that I invited you up is because I was absolutely struck by your b
eauty.”
Sandra blushed and took a sip of her champagne to clear her throat because she was at a loss for words. Finally when she swallowed the sip, she managed to put some words together, “Thank you Richard, I just feel kind of silly for not knowing who you were…”
“Trust me, it’s more flattering to not be recognized by someone as beautiful and intelligent as you, than to be bombarded by a crowd of money hungry fans.”
“I suppose you’re right, I can’t imagine what that would feel like…” Sandra shook her head, wondering what her day to day life would be like if everyone knew her name and wanted something from her. She didn’t think she could handle the pressure or stress of it all.
“Hopefully one day you have the same kind of crazed fans from your writing!” Richard laughed and shifted his body, uncrossing his legs and re-crossing them in the other direction.
“Oh, I doubt it… I don’t think I’ll actually be able to sell anything…” Sandra looked down at the ground, full of self-doubt now that she knew she was sitting with a famous author.