ALICE ch 385

“Who’s Marie Antoinette?” Glynda asks quietly, then takes a vengeful bite of cheesecake. She and Annette stand on one side of a divider while a hushed conversation in Thai takes place on the other side. Glynda is pretty sure that she heard someone do a line of coke, but she’s not interested. She and Annette have a view of the raised area where Irina mingles with the really important people. The French woman beside her is particularly regal. Maybe she’s actual royalty.

“That’s Esme Moreau,” Annette replies, also keeping her voice low. “I don’t know what she’s into, but she’s the only person I’ve ever seen Irina treat as an equal.”

And this is the only time that Glynda’s ever seen Annette behave this way.

FF1

The lobby is chaos. With the party upstairs and the even bigger party on the front steps, people are running around like crazy.

Tucked safely behind a pillar, Aki, Ingrid, and Julieta peer at the front desk.

A man and a woman are working, although plenty of other employees are around. A tidy young woman in round glasses smiles and bows to a guest, then gestures and leads him away.

That leaves only the young man. He’s handsome enough, if a little scrawny. He casts a longing glance at the glass front of the hotel; there is a clear view of the stage from behind. The costumed girls and the idol are in plain view. It’s difficult not to feel sorry for the man.

“Ingrid,” Aki says, and Ingrid nods.

She shrugs out of her cardigan and hands it to Julieta, then takes a deep breath and walks out in her T-shirt with no bra. There’s enough going on that this does not bring the room to a total halt as it would under normal circumstances, but Ingrid easily freezes the young man in place.

Aki could set herself on fire in front of him, and he wouldn’t notice. She heads to the desk, looking absolutely official and as though she belongs in her sober pantsuit. She bends over the computer while Julieta leans casually and keeps a lookout. She clicks rapidly, intent on the screen until she notices that Julieta’s being unnecessarily sultry with the way that she leans on the counter. Her little skirt and blouse outfit evokes schoolgirl vibes, which Aki considers gauche for a woman in her thirties. She’s also behaving like a child, but Aki doesn’t expect that to change.

Still working with the computer, Aki slips a hand into her pocket and presses the button on the tiny remote.

Julieta stiffens. Aki expressionlessly dials it up, and Julieta squirms, then stolidly folds her arms and puts her back to the counter.

Aki relents. “I have the registry, and every time the rooms open is time-coded. If Lotte is here, I can find her.”

Julieta nods confirmation.

Aki glances at Ingrid to see how she’s doing. It looks like the blushing clerk has forgotten all about the idols and booth babes outside.