Chapter 1:

The New Job

I stood in the gleaming employee locker room of The Eclipse Hotel, my cheap black uniform already sticking to my skin from nerves. Twenty-one years old, drowning in tuition debt, and this housekeeping job was my last hope to avoid dropping out this semester. “You can do this, Hazel,” I whispered to myself, adjusting my name tag.

My supervisor, a sharp woman named Ms. Vesper, handed me a master key card and a detailed floor chart. “Welcome to the team, Hazel. You are on the elite floors today fourteenth and fifteenth. These guests pay thousands a night, so everything must be perfect. No mistakes. Especially...