The Love Hotel

He turned to face Rochelle. She was wearing a t shirt and was looking rather beautiful. Her beauty made him uncomfortable. He wanted to talk to her about other things, things that were not quite as boring as the reason that she was staying at his hotel for such a cheap rate. He suddenly did not care about it, but he forced himself to. He reminded himself that no one would respect him if he allowed people to stay at his hotel practically free of cost.

“Please,” said Bradley, “tell me what is going on. Why are you staying here? Please bear in mind that I earn money from this hotel, and your discounted rate is currently affecting my ability to earn as much money as possible. I would have had you forcibly removed from this room before coming here but I am not that kind of person. I figured that if you are staying here, it probably means that there is a reason for it. I must say that I am quite interested in this reason. Do tell.”

Rochelle cleared her throat and said, “Well, I’m kind of in a jam if you know what I mean. I kind of… I mean…”

She seemed really uncomfortable. Bradley sighed and realized that he was not going to get the answers that he needed by behaving in this manner. He was going to have to behave in a much more civilized manner, and this annoyed him because he did not want to have to do that. He did not want to have to act like he cared because he had so much to deal with already. Pretending that you cared was exhausting. He wanted everything to be spick and span in his businesses so that he would not have to worry about it but such a luxury was clearly not his to have. No, he was going to have to know that everything that was going on was happening according to his plan, because otherwise he would start losing control of his business and this was a thought that completely and utterly terrified him. It terrified him because it would mean that he had no control in either of the areas of his life. It would mean that he would not be able to handle anything at all, and that would greatly reduce his sense of self worth. He did not think that he would be able to handle this at this point in his life. He did not think that he would be able to handle this at all.

He was quite concerned right now. So he made tea. He decided that this was going to be a good way to calm both of them down. It would allow them to be a lot more relaxed and would thus enable both of them to figure out in a more professional manner what could be done.

He started brewing the tea and Rochelle asked, “What are you doing?”

“I am making tea,” said Bradley. “You are obviously stressed out. Obviously that is not going to make it any easier for you to tell me what I am asking you to tell me and that is going to mean that you are going to end up telling me something else or something inaccurate. I am also stressed out, and if I am stressed out that would mean I would not be able to conduct this interview in an efficient manner. I would not be able to do what I am supposed to do, which is to make sure all of my business ventures are working as well as they are supposed to.”

“Why are you worried?” asked Rochelle. Bradley was surprised by this question. He looked at her, his eyebrows raised. Why was she asking him this? Why did she care? It was highly unusual. No one every asked Bradley why he was worried. They all just assumed it was his work that was stressing him out, his work that was making him feel like he couldn’t handle everything that was going on.

It was more often than not his personal life that him stressed out in front of every single person around him. It was more often the things that were happening in his home that made him feel like he was losing control rather than the things that happened in the boardroom or in any other aspect of his life. He never told anyone because they would not care. Yet Rochelle… she asked. What did this mean? Should he tell her? Should he tell her how he really felt? Should he tell her what was happening?

No, of course not, he could not do that. Everything that happened in his home was completely and utterly private. No one had the right to know what was going on in his home because that was something that involved people he loved with all of his heart and he was not going to allow their privacy to not matter like this, he was not going to allow the things that made them feel ashamed to get out in the public like this. He was going to keep it to himself. He was just amazed that Rochelle had not assumed that he was stressed out because of work.

“I am stressed out because of work,” said Bradley. “That is all.”

“If you are stressed out about work, shouldn’t you be able to handle that?” asked Rochelle. “I mean… you’re a businessman. Are you sure it’s not something in your personal life that is bothering you?”

Bradley was once again taken aback. How did she know this much? She was an incredibly perceptive girl.

“No,” said Bradley, even though he really and truly wanted to say yes right now and tell her that he felt like he was losing control in his own home, that he felt like everything was spiraling out of control. This was a blessing that was denied to him, however, and he was not about to forget that so easily. He was not going to forget the very thing that had made him stay this way for so long.

The tea was done. Bradley poured it and sat down in front of Rochelle, pulling up a chair. He offered her a cup and sipped his own. “Whenever you are ready,” said Bradley, greatly relaxed by the cup of sweet tea that he was drinking, “just tell me why you are here and why you are staying at this hotel at such cheap rates. I will not ask you to speak until you yourself start to speak. I will not force you. Take your time and tell me exactly what is going on. I am a very understanding person, I will not question what you are saying for I have a feeling that you are a very honest person. I won’t try to make you twist your words. Just tell me what is going on, Rochelle, tell me why you need to stay here. I’m sure that the reason will be all that I need to hear.”

Rochelle sat quietly for a moment. She did not look all that uncomfortable now. Bradley was glad. He had a tendency to make people uncomfortable he had found. It was due to his incredibly impatient nature, he was sure, yet he had managed to make Rochelle feel comfortable just now. This meant that there was hope. This meant that he was not completely a lost cause. This meant that he would not have to focus on anything else but listening to her story right now. That was the only thing that mattered. That was the only thing that he was going to have to pay attention to.

“I was living with my boyfriend up until a couple of weeks ago,” said Rochelle. “Then one night I came home and I found him cheating on me. With another man no less. I was distraught. I came to the hotel because I considered Alice my friend. She agreed to help me. She let me stay in this room for as long as I need to get on my own two feet. I was not all that financially stable before, you see. I am not the kind of person that had been independent all their life. I am the kind of person that is able to rely on people for everything, that’s how I’ve been taught to be all my life. Hence, I was very grateful to stay here for several reasons.