Fall With Me: A Contemporary Icarus Retelling (Gods of Hazelwood: Icarus Book 2) by Lucy Smoke

Author:Lucy Smoke [Smoke, Lucy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-27T16:00:00+00:00

19

AURORA

There’s an age-old adage that money talks, but wealth whispers. Despite my love for roughed-up Converse and ripped skinny jeans, I know this to be true. I’m unfortunately not so blissfully ignorant of my standing in society and how it’s helped me. Hel is the reason for that. Before her mother married Selene’s uncle, she and her family were fixed in the middle class, living off of the sole income of her mother’s job as a flight attendant. Even now that Hel’s mom no longer works full time—I can’t help but respect her standing and how she raised her daughter.

Hel has a different type of intelligence than those of the upper echelon. She sees things in a new and diverse way. With all that she’s taught me, now I can’t help but see the differences in the way people live and how those with money and those without treat others.

New money is often loud. Obnoxious, some might say. Temperamental. Old money—like the kind that built Hotel Marquis—is quiet and understated. It doesn’t draw attention but instead is softly luxurious.

Hotel Marquis is exactly the type of place old Hollywood royalty would stay. It’s classic and secure, with the well-groomed and well-dressed attendants in the lobby acting as watchful guard dogs as they scan the lobby from their stations behind polished countertops. I have an idea that they could probably sniff a paparazzi from a mile away—they’re that good.

“What floor are they on?” I ask as Hel and I stride through the lobby towards the elevators.

Even though we’re both dressed like normal college students, I was careful to instruct Hel on how to look for today. Our jeans might be ripped in certain places, but it’s all decidedly purposeful. The way we walk. The way we scan the room, keeping our eyes raised but never lingering too long on any one person. It’s to not draw attention. I wouldn’t put it past Selene’s mother to have asked the hotel to keep any unwanted or unscheduled visitors from coming in.

“The nineteenth floor,” Hel replies, her voice lower than normal due to how the marble and stone walls of the lobby make everything around us echo. “President’s suite.”

I nod and direct the two of us toward the furthest elevators. I’ve stayed in enough luxury hotels in my life to know that there’s always one set of elevators that go past a certain point. The lower floors are for those lucky enough to stay on someone else’s dime, and the higher ones are for long-time clients and guests of the Hotel’s services.

“What if you need a card to enter?” Hel asks, her nervousness shining through.

“It’s fine.” I’ve stayed in a different Hotel Marquis before and have a sneaking suspicion that they all use the same security process as the others.

I press the button and stand back as we wait for the elevator. When it arrives, I usher her inside first and then glance down the rows of buttons and, of course, the card scanner that’s built into the wall.

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