The Upward Ripple

Nate raised an eyebrow over the other.

“Disagreement? Is that really what you would call it?”

The man dressed in the red and black uniform took a long, deep breath.

“Well, it was a disagreement. That’s for sure. A disagreement that the management deeply regrets.”

Nate stepped aside allowing him to wheel the trolley into the suite. He walked to the bedroom and got a twenty-dollar bill from his wallet before walking back to where the man was.

“What happened here last night, the management trying to turn me away,” he started as he looked at him. “Does that happen often? The racial profiling?”

The man looked visibly uncomfortable and Nate knew almost immediately what his answer was going to be. He took a closer look at his name tag. Patrick Bell.

“Look Patrick, you can be honest with me. This conversation is not going to go past this door,” he assured.

Patrick took a long, deep breath again and then closed the door behind him.

“It does… I mean, I have been here a long time. Long before everything changed with the new manager…”

“New manager?” Nate cut him short. “Is there any way that you would perhaps know what happened to the other manager?”

Patrick nodded.

“Actually, I do. He had a lot in common with you. Views, race… Mrs. Duncan came here one day, and it just happened to be the same day the old manager had made plans with Make A Wish Foundation for a local boy, Leroy. He had stage four lymphoma and he just wanted to meet Steph Curry, but Steph Curry pulled some strings and had the entire team come over along with some friends from other teams, actors…. It was one of the biggest things we had ever seen out here in Colorado. The players and actors spent time with kids in the hospital, took those who could to the park… it was truly amazing but when Mrs. Duncan came, all she saw was a lobby full of…” Patrick’s voice trailed off.

“Full of what?” Nate was not about to let him stop there.

“All she saw was too many people of color and she ran back out, called the police…”

“Are you being serious right now?” Nate wondered out loud and Patrick shook his head.

‘I wish I was… it was embarrassing for her. I don’t even know how that incident didn’t end up in the news… I mean, the cops of course didn’t do anything. A good number of them knew that there were going to be some high-profile personalities at The Plaza so, word spread quickly and soon, they were all taking selfies with all the other guests. But the manager didn’t survive his tenure after that. He got blamed for the embarrassing ordeal Mrs. Duncan had to endure…”

Nate exhaled loudly and pushed the bill in his pocket.

“Thank you, Patrick. That will be all.”

 “I do hope that this is not going to go any further… I mean, I do this job to support my son and my school….” Patrick begged.

Nate put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“I promise you, this conversation never happened.”

“Allow me to tell you what the chef had sent up for you,” Patrick said with a smile and Nate nodded. “Well, there is a coffee pot, some orange juice and if you prefer some tea. There are also some scrambled egg whites, a side of mushrooms, beans and crispy bacon. The bagels are freshly baked and the butter locally churned.”

Nate looked at the food and then up at Patrick.

“Thank you, so much. It looks like I have a lot to do.”

Patrick nodded and walked out of the suite. A smile played on Nate’s lips. It had been a long time since getting food delivered to him. He had quite forgotten what it meant being served. He sat down and reached for the coffee pot. A deep inhale told him that it was a perfectly roasted blend. He could tell that much from simply smelling it. He took a sip of his coffee and sighed thinking about the changes he was going to have to make in the Duncan businesses beginning with The Duncan Plaza.