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A few moments after they left, Frankie Senior and Doris returned to the table and continued to speak with Chad while breaking bread. Frankie Junior sat there and watched in amazement as Chad was able to weave a web of lies that basically proved to him beyond a reasonable doubt that he could be a lawyer, and a rather good one at that. Chad revealed more Intel that he got from Stephen the night before one sliver at a time so it wouldn't overwhelm the young kid's parents, but by the time breakfast was over they were all the best friends Chad made them out to be. It wasn't a hard sell, as Chad was very close in age to the boy's parents and it helped them get along a lot more than the attorney had assumed it would.
"So how are you finding the resort?" Chad asked Doris, "Is this not a slice of heaven as it was advertised?"
Upon asking that Doris seemed to become uncharacteristically quiet, something that Chad seemed to notice almost immediately.
"Doris," Frankie Senior said, taking her hand. "Don't let that bother you."
"Let what bother you?" Chad asked, curious about it.
"There was a bug in my bed," Doris answered.
"A bed bug?" Chad assumed.
"No, I don't think so." Doris replied, "Just a bug that happened to be in my bed. It bit my leg!"
Chad looked down at her leg, "I was wondering why you were wearing pants in this kind of heat. I had no idea. Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine," Doris answered, trying to act tough. "It's a little itchy but will be fine as long as I don't scratch it."
"That's awful!" Chad said, trying to look sympathetic. "Did you notify the front desk about this?"
"We tried," Frankie Senior explained, "But they just brushed us off."
"That's outrageous!" Chad said, as he stood up, "Let's go the front desk and speak with them about it."
"Right now?" Doris asked.
"Are you sure?" Frankie Senior also asked, "What good will talking to them do this time around?"
"This time," Chad started, said as he picked up the business card that he had shown to Frankie Junior. "You won't be doing to talking. Come with me."
Doris seemed surprised as she remembered what Chad did for a living and grabbed her purse, eager to follow him out. They all walked up to the front desk and waited in line for a few moments before finally getting to speak with someone.
"Hi there," Chad started, "I'd like to speak with your manager."
"Can I help you with something?" the young woman at the desk offered, hoping that the manager didn't have to be disturbed.
"I'm afraid not," Chad answered, "Don't take this personally, but we need to speak with your manager about something that happened here that is rather upsetting. It would be best if you fetched him immediately."
"And you are?" she asked.
"Chad Barrington," Chad replied as he placed the business card onto the front desk. "And tell him that this client is very unsatisfied."
The young lady took the card and read it, and upon realizing the man's profession she looked back up. "I'll go get him right now."
It took only five minutes for the young lady to return with a man that was wearing a rather nice suit, which gave Chad the impression he was the manager.
"Good morning, Mr. Barrington," the man started, "I'm the manager. What seems to be the problem?"
"The good news is, I'm doing just fine," Chad corrected him as he then gestured to the family beside him, "The issue I'm here to speak to you with concerns my friends, the Andersons."
"I see," the manager said, unaware of the situation, "What happened?"
"Last night while Mrs. Anderson was sleeping," Chad began as his lawyer voice came to him, "She was attacked by a bug in her bed. It left a serious mark upon her leg and caused severe discomfort."
"My goodness!" the manager said as she turned to Doris, "We try our best to keep pests out but no system is perfect. I am terribly sorry."
"Thank you," Doris said, appreciating the apology.
"If you don't mind," the manager started, "Can we see the bite?"
Doris seemed shy, but she lifted the pant leg to show a large red dot about the size of a quarter on leg left calf.
"I was afraid of this," the manager said, "You need to go to our infirmary to get that treated or it will get worse."
"Where is the infirmary?" Frankie Senior asked.
"Down that hall," the manager answered, "I'll have this young lady escort you."
"Go with your mother," Frankie Senior told his son, "I'll be there soon."
As Doris and her son followed the desk clerk to the infirmary for treatment, the two men then looked back at the manager.
"Thank you for bringing this to our attention." The manager said to them, "This could have been a lot worse if it was left untreated."
"You have no idea," Chad said, agreeing with him.
"Excuse me?" the manager asked.
"I called the front desk twice last night." Frankie Senior answered for him. "Your staff just brushed me off and didn't help at all."
"Oh dear," the manager replied, "I'm terribly sorry about that."
"Sorry isn't going to cut it," Chad said, stepping back in, "Doris is afraid to go back to her room, she's been emotionally traumatized."
"I see," the manager said, clearly worried about the impending lawsuit that Chad was about to threaten him with. "What can I do to rectify the situation?"
"Clearly the Andersons need a new room," Chad replied, "To get her away from the scene of the incident."
"Of course," the manager agreed as he went onto the computer at the desk and started to look for something. "I have another room down the hall..."
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"Seriously," Chad said, interrupting. "You think moving her down the hall where the bug could just crawl over to will rectify anything?"
"I suppose not," The manger replied.
"It wouldn't." Frankie Senior confirmed.
"I would suggest an upgrade," Chad recommended, "Something so grand, that it will make this unfortunate incident fade from her memory."
"Good idea, Mr. Barrington." The manager said, realizing that the lawyer might be chomping at the bit to file an expensive case against the resort. "I have a fabulous suite two floors up with a magnificent view of the ocean. The upgrade would be complimentary, of course."
"Of course," Chad concurred, "And that is much better."
"That's perfect!" Frankie Senior added.
"Here are your new keys," the manager said as he passed them to Chad. "Would you like us to move your things to the new room?"
"That won't be necessary," Chad said, "but I appreciate the offer. I'll return the Anderson's keys from their first room after their things have been taken out."
"Of course," the manger said, smiling. "Thank you for helping us resolve the situation, Mr. Barrington."
"Thank you," Chad said, "And I recommend doing something about the bug issue on that floor as soon as possible."
"Yes, Mr. Barrington." The manager said, "Have a good day."
Frankie Senior was bight eyed and shocked as they both walked away from the front desk victorious. Chad handed the new keys to him.
"Your new room awaits, Mr. Anderson." Chad said, handing over the new keys to his upgraded room. "This should make Doris feel better."
"Thanks Chad!" Frankie Senior said as he took the keys. "This is amazing!"
"You need the right tone," Chad explained, "I've been doing this kind of bullying in the courtroom all the time, and it takes years to perfect. Once that manager cowered just a bit I owned him, and wasn't walking away with anything less than what I wanted and what you deserved."
"Damn," Frankie Senior said, "You must be one hell of an attorney."
"I do alright," Chad lied, "I win more than I lose."
"I think you win a lot more," Frankie Senior corrected, but Chad didn't want him to know too much for the time being.
"You go check up on Doris," Chad said, patting him on the back. "I'll check up with you guys later. I'm going to head back to my room."
"No problem," Frankie said, giving Chad a one armed hug. "Thanks again!"
"I'm in room 310 if you need anything else." Chad informed him, and then he waved to Frankie Senior as he disappeared down the hall looking for the infirmary.
It was only nine in the morning, but Chad already felt like he had been awake for twelve hours. The excitement of the morning really took its toll on him, so combined with the late night research he was doing the night before it was time for a nap. He took the stairs up to his floor and unlocked his door with ease when he reached his room before tossing his keys onto the counter by the closet. He tossed his cell phone onto the night table beside the bed along with his wallet because they make any attempt to sleep uncomfortable unless he was lounging in a hammock. He had been laying down on the king sized bed anymore than twenty minutes when the cell phone started to wail a musical ringtone. He looked up and opened his ears to hear what song the phone was playing and it was the theme to the classic horror movie, the exorcist. What that told Chad was the ex-wife was trying to get a hold of him. Since they didn't have any kids, there was nothing that couldn't wait until he returned home from paradise. Just as that thought went through his head, he leapt right out of bed and grabbed the cell phone and opening the line.
"Hello?" he answered, playing dumb to who it was.
"Chad," the other line replied, "It's Paula."
"Oh, hey there," Chad replied, trying to at cool. "What's up?"
"I was wondering if you had the paperwork my lawyer sent you last week." She replied, "If it's done, I wanted to come by and pick it up on my way to work."
Shit, Chad thought to himself. "Look, I read the papers and I have no issue with them. I just forgot to sign them."
"Can't you sign them now?" She asked, "Before I get there?"
"I can't," Chad honestly replied, "I'm not home right now."
"It's six o'clock in the morning," Paula informed him, "Where are you?"
"I'm a few hours ahead of you," Chad informed her, "In the middle of the Atlantic on a small island."
"Excuse me?" She replied, her tone voiced displeasure and jealousy. "What the hell are you doing out there?"
"Right now?" Chad said, thinking about what he wanted to say next. "I'm sipping a drink with a little umbrella in it by the pool, checking out slender women in bikinis and getting a tan. Stuff most people from our parts do out here."
"You son of a bitch," Paula snapped back at him.
"Everyone's entitled to a vacation, dear." Chad countered, "Even Councillor Douche Bag."
"Just tell me it's not the island we always talked about going to," Paula asked, her tone begging him not to admit it.
"It's not," Chad answered, "I didn't have the balls to go that far."
"Thank you," Paula said, even though she no longer had the authority to tell him where he could and couldn't travel. They had always planned to visit Tahiti for a second honeymoon, but then never made it to ten years to go through with it. Chad had considered going there just to stick it to her, but he didn't want to come off as bitter. Despite his temptation to be a total asshat, he didn't want to be that hurtful.
"I'll give the papers to you when I get back," Chad said, trying to be polite. "I apologize for any inconvenience this might cause."
"It's alright," She replied, "Enjoy your vacation."
The line went dead after she made that last comment, which Chad was sure she made through grit teeth. Chad looked back at the phone and decided not to take any more calls. He turned off the sound, so it wouldn't ring at him anymore before placing the cell back onto the night table beside the bed. He then kicked off his sandals and then flopped back onto the king-sized bed and curled up into one of the other pillows and quickly fell asleep. It was a pleasant sleep, the kind that made you feel like you were lying down on a cloud instead of a bed. If Chad was dreaming about anything, he couldn't remember what it was because of a stinging pain that shot through his leg, interrupting his deep slumber. He didn't know he was being bitten, because it felt like someone was sticking a needle into his foot. When he sat up and looked down at the foot that was aching in pain, he saw something that scared the complete shit out of him. Doris never really described what the bug that bit her looked like. The manager said the bite looked familiar but never went out of his way to say what it was either, so when Chad looked down at the bug that was on his foot he screamed to the top of his lungs so loud that the people in the rooms beside him thought it was a woman screeching instead of a man. Chad was never the kind to freak out, but the spider that was on his foot was about the width of a golf ball. It also happened to be the very same spider that had just driven two fangs into the top of his right foot.
"Son of a fucking bitch!!!" Chad screamed as he spasmed his entire body at the same time. One of those twitches managed to kick the spider off the bed and in the direction of the window that was opposite of the door, that Chad leapt out of bed in the direction of. He grabbed the key to his room on the way out and slammed the door behind him with extreme prejudice.
"Mother fucker!!!" Chad wailed, his curse echoing through the hallway.
There were other people in the hallway, so Chad stopped yelling and took a few deep breaths before walking to the elevator and heading down to the lobby. Despite the fact that he was well aware of where the infirmary was, Chad chose to limp over to the front desk to see the warm smile of the same girl who was there the last time he came to the desk with the Andersons. When she noticed who was coming over, her smile turned into a look of dread. Her instincts were spot on.
"Manager," Chad said in a deep voice, almost growling. "Right now."
The girl took a deep breath. "Are you sure there isn't something I can..."
"RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!" Chad bellowed to the top of his lungs.
Upon hearing a voice bellow out through the lobby, the manager came running out to see what was going on. When he realized who was standing at the front desk, the manager tried to put on a smile as he walked up.
"Mr. Barrington," he started, "Is there something wrong?"
"Your bug," Chad said, pausing for a moment, "Or should I say your spider... has struck again."
"Oh dear," the manager replied, "Are the Anderson's alright?"
"Look... at my... foot," Chad ordered, pointing down.
The manager leaned over the front desk and down at Chad's right foot. Chad had exited his room so fast that he had left his sandals behind, so he was walking around in his bare feet. The bite that was on his foot was worse that Doris' but that likely was because the spider that had bitten him was much bigger. Doris had never even seen the bug or spider that had bitten her, so there was no way to know if it was the same kind of pest. Chad's foot was even bleeding, as the manager then noticed there were trace amounts of blood on his lobby floor. He looked back to Mr. Barrington with a look of genuine sorrow on his face.
"I am terribly sorry," he began, "We can send someone up to your room to take care of the situation."
"I'm going to the infirmary," Chad told him, "When I limp back here, you better have the keys to my new room with my things already sent up there. If I'm not happy with it, I will sue. If I hear of just one more person getting bitten by that fucking spider during my stay, I'll turn it into a class action and bankrupt this place. We clear?"
"Crystal, Sir." The manager replied, "I'll take care of it personally. Please get that taken care of before it gets worse."
"I will," Chad said as he then limped off, b-lining his way to the infirmary.
"Are all lawyers like that?" the clerk asked her boss once he was out of earshot.
"No," he replied, "Mr. Barrington is from New York."
"Oh," the clerk said, "That explains a lot."
"Indeed." The manager concurred.