Wrong Move: Scamming the Boss

I'm dressed in flip-flops and shorts when making an inspection of the five-star hotel my husband just acquired.

When the front office manager spots me, she immediately calls for security with a disgusted look on her face.

"The hotel's WiFi isn't meant for people like you to use. Hurry up and pay me 200 thousand dollars in Internet costs, then get lost!"

I calmly tell her that I'm the owner of the hotel, but that only makes her sneer.

"The owner of the hotel? Hey, old hag, you're putting on an act in front of the real deal! This hotel was a birthday gift from my husband to me. Aren't you fantasizing a bit too much?"

Oh? Since when did Ian Lambert get another wife behind my back?

"What kind of place do you think this is? How can someone like you just waltz in?"

Bewildered, I looked up at the front office manager approaching me.

I had personally come to inspect the five-star hotel my husband recently acquired. I had just sat down in the lobby to rest since I was tired. Was that not allowed?

Seeing that I didn't respond, the woman gave me an even more disgusted look.

"What are you staring at? The air conditioning and WiFi in the hotel lobby aren't for freeloaders like you! Do you have any idea how much it costs to run the electricity here? Or how much a minute of Internet access costs?"

She looked me up and down, assessing me as though I were a piece of garbage. In the end, she curled her lips into a mocking smile.

"Looking at your shabby appearance… How about we do it this way? I won't make things hard for you. Just hand over 200 grand in Internet costs right now and then get out. I'll pretend I never saw you."

Behind her, two tall, expressionless security guards had already surrounded me.

There was one on the left and one on the right, both effectively blocking my way. Their postures suggested that they thought I'd refuse to leave.

The surrounding guests had also stopped, watching the scene unfold with keen interest. Their whispers soon drifted into my ears.

"My God! In this day and age, someone dares to enter a five-star hotel dressed like that? How shameless can one be?"

"She probably wanted to come in and take a few photos for her social media feed, pretending to be an influencer, but she got caught at the door."

"Ms. Shields is right. People like her should be kicked out early to avoid lowering the hotel's standards."

I casually picked at my nails, tuning out all the noise as I simply looked calmly at the woman I would later know to be Jessica Shields.

"What if I said I'm not here to freeload on the WiFi?" I questioned.

Jessica acted as if she'd heard the biggest joke, and she laughed exaggeratedly. "Not here for the WiFi? "What? Are you here to spend your