Chapter 16: The End Game

Sarah and Dennis stayed in town on Tuesday to host Richard in the Town Hall event for staff of the five Argonne hotel’s in Vegas. When speaking to the employees at large, Richard was a dynamic and motivational speaker. By the end of his remarks the crowd was pumped and clapped enthusiastically in a standing ovation.

Other than sharing a stage with Richard at the Town Hall, Sarah did not have any further interactions with her boss. He seemed happy at the end of his presentation, and Eliot gave her a thumbs up as he left the stage, so she felt like things were going in the right direction.

On the flight back to Chicago she told Dennis to forget about work for a few hours. Watch an in-flight movie, or sleep, do anything but work and relax. She rested her head back on the chair and smiled. For her, it was the first time in several months that she felt like a huge boulder had been removed from her shoulders.

Sarah got to her desk Friday morning early. Dennis was already in the office and had a cup of her favorite coffee ready. He handed it to her and followed her into her office. He, too, was feeling the lightened load now that the strike was over and everyone seemed to again be excited to work for Hotels at Argonne.

“The calendar is light today. Need anything?” he asked Sarah.

“No, I don’t think so. Let’s enjoy one more day and then hit the ground hard next week. Plan on taking off after lunch and make it a long weekend.”

Dennis smiled. “That sounds like a plan, but only if you do the same.”

Sarah agreed and took a sip of her coffee. They spoke for a few minutes, then Dennis left to prepare for an upcoming phone call. A few minutes later, her phone rang. It was Pablo Dominguez, the assistant manager of The Five Peaks.

“Ms. Ooverest,” he began. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”

“Did something happen to the hotel?” asked Sarah immediately.

“No, ma’am, but there has been a tragedy. Mrs. Poulter, Tina, Evan’s wife, committed suicide last night.”

Sarah’s breath sucked in involuntarily. She paused then said, “Oh, my. I’m so sorry to hear. How is Evan?” She remembered her recent trip where Evan wore a hideous tie his daughter had given him as a gift. Her heart sank lower. “And, oh no, he had a child! A teenager if I remember correctly. How...”

Pablo interrupted. “As you can imagine, it is not well here right now. Mr. Poulter, is at home with his daughter. I told him to stay home and do whatever he needed to do. I told him I had the hotel covered, and that I would call you with word of the news.”

“Yes, perfect, Pablo. Tell Evan to take all the time he needs. And yes, I’m sure you will have the hotel operations under control.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” said Pablo.

There was a moment of silence on the phone.

“If there is nothing else, ma’am, I need to make phone calls to the staff. I want to get the word out personally to as many as possible and get ahead of the rumor mill.”

“Of course, please, go. And let me know if I can help in any way.”

Pablo disconnected. Sarah slumped back in her chair and looked at her phone. She opened her messaging app and found Evan’s number. She clicked a button to start a text message.

“Just heard from Pablo. So, so, sorry. Don’t worry about work. It’s handled. Let us know if you need ANYTHING. Please, we’re here to help.”

She clicked send and put her phone aside. All she could think about was seeing Sean enter William’s room as she was leaving.

Dennis saw her as he passed her door and stepped inside.

“You OK?”

Sarah looked up. The weight she felt like she lost had crashed back down on her shoulders. She never told Dennis about Sean’s visit after the presidents meeting, but she knew the news of Tina’s death itself would be a heavy blow.

“Evan Poulter’s wife committed suicide last night.”

Dennis slumped at the news. “Oh, no,” was all he could say. Finally, he started to say, “Do you think...”

Sarah cut him off. It seems like even though he did not know Sean was in town, he made a connection. “Right now, that’s all I know. If you get anything from Pablo, the assistant at The Five Peaks, help him out in any way needed.”

Dennis nodded and numbly walked back to his desk. It was only minutes later that William walked into her office, then shut and locked the door behind him.

“By your look, I assume you have heard the news?” he said as he took a chair.

Before she could answer, he continued, “It’s a bad situation, but I think Argonne is now out of the woods with regard to its internal leaks.”

Sarah nodded. “I know, but, well I guess,...”

“We all knew it was a possibility. Darth Vader can only coax so much information without applying ... harsher measures. Tina was tougher than anyone expected.”

“Did he at least get proof? Enough that we can be absolutely sure that we won’t get surprised in a few weeks with another bombshell?”

“Yes, he got her laptop and her phone. An electronics forensic scientist was able to get a very detailed picture of the past two-plus years.”

“An electronics forensic scientist?” asked Sarah.

William smiled. “I had the same question. Basically a Darth Vader with electronics. Give him, or in this case, her, any electronic gizmo and she’ll make it give up all of its secrets, even if they have been deleted.”

“What’s Tina’s story? What treasure trove of information did Tina’s phone and computer reveal?”

William sat back and got comfortable.

“It started almost three years ago. Remember the Argonne Retreat?”

“Sure. All of the executives from each division were invited to a week-long blowout in Cancun. It was all of the presidents, vice presidents, high-performing directors, and from Hotels a few of the hotel managers. We had, what, over two hundred people at that resort?”

“Yes, exactly. Evan had taken over The Five Peaks and it was hugely successful. He was there with his wife, Tina. Evan also brought Lindsey and they were constantly sneaking off for a quickie. Tina knew about her, of course, but was getting frustrated that Evan couldn’t contain himself for more than a few hours before he’d disappear again.”

William went on to explain that Tina parked herself at a bar one night and got pretty blitzed. When Leonard sat next to her they commiserated with one another on how the retreat was like a corporate version of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Instead of a bunch of young good-looking hard bodies parading around the island, it was a bunch of middle-aged executives with big wallets. Either way, there was a non-stop stream of hookups.

“Did Tina and Leonard hook up on that trip?” asked Sarah out of curiosity.

“It doesn’t seem like it. If they did, it was a one-time thing and never again mentioned or alluded to in any text message or email.”

“But they stayed in touch?”

William continued the story by saying that the two exchanged a few text messages or emails for about a month, then two things happened that tilted the scales.

“You may remember, I had a period of time where I had three VPs leave for competitors in less than two months.”