Las Vegas’ Kerth Ceremonies, part 7
Susan ate a large breakfast and drank a lot of coffee. She signed her name and suite name to the check and showed the cashier her room key. She then left the large buffet. Her next stop was the front desk. They must have been telling her the truth about being at capacity, because there was no line trying to check in to the resort. One customer was speaking to the clerk and was given a brochure, but that was all the traffic in the lobby. When it was Susan’s turn, she advanced to the counter and noticed that the name tag said “Emily” not “Shana.” So she relayed the message that was given her and the clerk picked up the phone and had Shana paged to the front. A beautiful brunette lady came out a side door and came over to Susan. She explained that a single had opened up and they would be moving her from the Paris-House Suite to a room on the fourth floor. Susan hesitated for a minute before she explained that she had a hair appointment in just a few minutes and did not have time to move her belongings. Shana smiled and said they would be glad to handle the move for her while she was having her hair done. She cut Susan a key card for Room 471 and watched as Susan made her way toward the Beauty Shop. She was about to walk away from the counter when Susan reversed her course and came back to tell Shana that she was expecting her lost overnight bag to be delivered soon, and could they please make sure it made the transfer? A note was written for the porters that there had been a change of room.
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Casey was escorting Frasier Crane and J.R. Ewing, along with two of the hostesses from the penthouse, across the lobby to the steak house for their lunch break. Frasier seemed to be talking non-stop to his companion, while J.R. was grunting and his short companion was busy trying to keep up the conversation and having to walk double-steps just to keep up with him. As they went across the expanse of the lobby to get to the steak house on the back corridor, Casey looked over and saw a woman who was smiling at him. He was good with names and she looked familiar, but he could not place who she was. He slowed down as Frasier, J.R., and the two women kept going. Casey walked the steps between them and went over to the smiling woman who definitely thought she knew him.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Manning. I’m Susan Mayer from last night. You were so kind to me, and I want to make sure you understand just how grateful I am for your kindness. I do not remember ever being that tired in my entire life. I don’t think I would have lasted much longer if you had not allowed me to crash here last night.”
Casey stared. She was gorgeous. What a difference one night made in the appearance of someone.
“Well, good afternoon to you too, Ms. Mayer. I’m sorry, I just didn’t recognize you. Are you rested enough for tonight’s festivities? “ Casey just stood there with a wide grin on his face.
“I may take a nap this afternoon, but I definitely feel better. Yesterday was one of the roughest days I’ve ever encountered.” Susan was returning his smile.
“If you win tonight, would you let me have a dance to celebrate? I can be paged over the house phone, and I’d love to have a dance with you.”
“It’s a date, Mr. Manning. Can I get you to call me Susan? The Mayer part was my ex-husband’s name. If I win tonight, I’d love to dance with you. And if I don’t win, you could come down to give me a pity dance.” Susan stood there and just grinned at him.
Casey almost swallowed his tongue. She was not only beautiful, she was smart too. He cleared the cobwebs in his brain and told her he’d call her Susan only if she’d call him Casey. They stood in the lobby for a few minutes just chatting. Finally, Casey turned and indicated that he had to catch up with his group. Reluctantly they said good-bye to each other and said that they would meet again that evening for the dance.
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In the security office, the meeting in the front lobby did not miss the watchful eyes of the security team. It was obvious to all who saw them that their boss was very attracted to Miss Lane.
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Lois was getting her hair fixed, so a bored Clark decided to go to the jewelry store to check on their rings. The jeweler showed Clark how he had realigned the prongs of the engagement ring and was putting a little more gold on the weakest prong. Clark was happy with the progress of the work, but it had only taken up a very little bit of the time Clark had left before Lois rejoined him. He started to look around the store to get Lois a reward for the year they’d had leading up to their record number of nominations. As he circled the lighted counters his eye was repeatedly drawn back to a pair of earrings. They were yellow gold with a marquise shaped sapphire surrounded by oval shaped opals. It looked like Lois. But Clark was not sure if it would go with the new dress Lois had purchased for this occasion. He couldn’t remember ever seeing it. Clark asked the clerk to hold the earrings for a few minutes while he went up to the room to see if they would match his wife’s dress. He told the clerk he would be back, regardless, because he wanted to purchase something for his amazing wife.
When he got back to their room, he opened the garment bag and took out a turquoise dress with some crystals across the bodice. He knew she would look spectacular with that color and her dark hair. He
couldn’t wait to see her in this dress, and to get her back out of it.
Clark rushed back down to the jewelry store and purchased the pair of earrings. They cost a little more than he would like, but she was worth every cent. He pocketed his purchase and was very proud of himself.
When Clark got to the bank of elevators, there was a girl standing there that looked a lot like Lois. There was definitely something different about her, but if he had been distracted he was sure he would have thought she was Lois. Much to his amazement, she turned around and spotted him and a big grin broke out over her face. She asked, “Casey?”
“No, my name is Clark. You sure do look a lot like my wife. She’s Lois Lane from the Daily Planet. You ever hear of her?”
“Oh, you must be Clark Kent then. I have read both your articles before. My name is Susan Mayer, and I’m here for the same reason you and your wife are. I’m nominated for an award for the syndicated illustrations in an editorial setting. But I’d know your names anyway. Just how many Kerths are you nominated for this year?”
Clark looked a little bit self-conscious as he answered. “Lois is nominated for two individual awards, I’m nominated for one award, and together we have two nominations. So I guess that means we have five nominations.”
“Wow. The possibility of winning five awards? That must be some kind of a record,” said Susan as the elevator slowed at the fourth floor.
Susan got out and called back over her shoulder, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Kent. See you tonight at the Kerths.” She then looked at the numbering arrows and took a left down the hall.
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When Susan got to Room 471 she knew immediately that she was going to be disappointed after the beautiful suite she had slept in last night. She opened the door and the first thing that met her eye was her overnight bag sitting against the wall just inside the door. That made her very happy. Her suitcases were spread over the queen-sized bed and left open for her. Whom ever did the move was very thorough. They had nicely packed her bags and neatly hung her dress in the closet. She took the time to unpack her bags. She looked at her jewelry case and discovered that all the necklaces were tangled. She took the time to get kinks out and reloaded them into the jewelry box correctly. She chose a yellow gold chain with a crystal dangle that would match her dress. She was in a much better mood than yesterday.
Just as she had predicted, a nap was in her future. She’d had a grueling day yesterday, and even though she had slept soundly, she was tired. So to try to preserve her new hairdo with all her hair curled up on top of her head, she wrapped it in a towel before trying to take a nap.
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Casey stood in front of the door to the Paris-House Suite. He hesitated before knocking because he knew he had no reason to check on her, but he seemed powerless to stay away. He knocked on the door before he could chicken out. He almost wished she wouldn’t answer the door, because he was losing his nerve as he stood there. He was shocked when Sam answered the door. “What are you doing in this suite, Sam?” he asked.
“I learned that someone with a single reservation was given this suite, and when a single opened up, I had her moved into it and I now reside here until I can get back into my penthouse.”
“I’m the one who gave her this suite for her two day visit. She had another night in this place before she needed to move.” Casey frowned at his ex-wife.
“So, you now hand out expensive suites to women to get favors, hmmmm?” Sam was spitting the words out at Casey. “And then you follow up on your generosity by knocking on their doors? That is sleazy, even for you.”
“Don’t judge everyone by yourself, Sam. I happen to think Ms. Mayer is a lady,” he said folding his arms defensively. His ex had a habit of getting under his skin. “I was simply here to wish her good luck with the Kerths, and to discover how she is enjoying her stay here. So, where did you have her relocated?”
“She’s in room 471, just beyond the remodel. She will be very comfortable there. There is absolutely no reason for you to worry.” Sam glared at Casey.
“And there was absolutely no reason for you to move her out of this room.” Casey turned almost a military turn, and started to march back to the elevators. He stopped a few feet from the door and turned around.
“Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize you do not understand the meaning of this business. We are here to accommodate the guests who come to visit us. We attempt to make them so comfortable that they have a wonderful time and remember us next time they want to go to a casino. How is that different from the way we treated Ms. Mayer? After all, no one forced you to give up my penthouse for the poker game. When you did, you did it for the enjoyment of the customers. All the customers.”
“What do you mean, your penthouse?“ Sam spit back. “I’m the one who lives there, not you.”
“It’s the owner’s penthouse. I’m the owner, so that makes it my penthouse. Just because you are allowed to live there and I didn’t ask you move out when I came to town, does not make you the owner or it your penthouse.” Casey turned again and left the area quickly.
Casey was beyond upset. He went to the fourth floor and walked the length of the corridor to where the construction barricades marked the beginning of the remodeling project. He took a few deep breaths to get over being upset at Sam. When Casey knocked at the door, he hoped that he would not scare Susan by showing up at her room.
The lock was thrown and the door opened. Standing in front of him was a very sleepy looking Susan with a towel covering her head. Casey was taken back by her appearance. He had interrupted her nap. But she grinned at him and invited him into her room. He stepped in and looked around at the worn appearance of the furnishings.
“Sorry, Susan. I didn’t mean to interrupt your nap. I was just upset when I found out that you had been moved. I gave you the suite for a two day stay. I had no intention of moving you even if a single became available. Let me make this up to you. I’ll get my staff on the phone and we’ll see how we can fix this.”
Casey took his cell phone out of his pocket. He called the office and asked for a list of the suites available. He frowned slightly at the answer and asked what else was available. Susan thought that the only thing left must be the penthouse suite because Casey certainly did not look happy.
As soon as he hung up his phone and turned back around, Susan said, “This room is fine. I only need the place for one more night. I’m sure I can get dressed here just the same as in a suite. Don’t worry about it.” Susan suddenly realized that she still had a towel over her hair and she went to the mirror to take it off. She smoothed her curls back down and turned back to Casey with a smile on her face.
“All the smaller suites are spoken for and it seems that Murphy Brown and her crew have taken the penthouse suite. They are here to interview the insurance sales force that made the Million Dollar Round Table and record the Kerth Awards tonight. Since FYI is a crew of four, I don’t think I can ask them to go into a single room. But, I still feel bad that you lost out on your suite and I have nowhere else to offer.” Casey was trying to think on his feet, when the answer dawned on him. “If you will trust me, I think I might have an solution. I really am not someone who tries to pick up women. Ask my staff. But it occurred to me that I have an unused room with a bath in my suite. I am working tonight, so it will be almost unoccupied. The most I’d be there is to change clothes. I want to assure you that I’m really very harmless, and my only motive is to rectify this injustice that happened about your suite.”
Susan swallowed hard. Was she being played for a fool? Or was this good-looking man who was the owner of the whole casino trying to be nice to her? Because she couldn’t think of any reason not to at least have a look, she asked Casey if he would conduct a tour of his suite. That put a huge grin on his face as he said, “Follow me!”
