The Hotel Clerk
Sizemedium
I am newly retired at 65 and decided to take a trip to Texas to visit some of my relatives there. On the way down, I stopped after the first day of travel in Dumas, Texas, at one of my preferred hotels. A young man wearing very casual clothes checked me in. The desk clerks in most of the hotels wear suits and look more professional.
That evening the thermostat would not turn on the air conditioning and the room was getting warm. I called down to the front desk as asked for a different room. I was told that the hotel was totally full but that they would send up a maintenance man to fix it. In about 10 minutes an older gentleman came to my door and said he was the maintenance man. He came in and fiddled with the thermostat but the air conditioning didn't work. He replaced the batteries in the thermostat but still no air conditioning and the room was getting warmer. After I made several angry phone calls to the desk, I gave up. I tinkered with the AC unit until I at least got the fan to run on high. It was noisy but the air movement helped. I slept naked on top of the bed all night.
The next morning as I headed down stairs for the free breakfast, I saw a very attractive mature lady behind the check-in desk. I would guess her age to be about 50. Contrary to the man last night, this lady was dressed very professionally. Her hair was dark and slightly graying but her most noticeable feature was her large bust. The buttons on her blouse were stretched tight and looked like they would burst at any moment. I would guess that she would be a DD cup. They were so prominent that I had to keep from staring at them.
After breakfast, I saw that she was talking to a young woman who was also behind the check-in desk. I walked over to her just as the teenage lady went into the office behind the desk and asked her, "Would you be the manager?"
"No, I am the morning desk person and the assistant manager," she replied.
I noticed that her name badge said "Leslie".
"The way you are dressed I would have guessed that you ran the place. I thought that the young lady you were talking with might be the desk clerk. The man last night on the desk was.... rather rough and not well dressed," I said.
"The young lady is our accounting clerk. As the assistant manager, the staff all report to me. I will have a talk with the young man this afternoon. I appreciate your feedback," she said.
"May I see you left hand please," I said.
She had a questioning look on her face but held her hand up to me. I took it in my hand and looked at it.
"I see by the ring that you are married. The really attractive ladies are always taken," I said letting go of her hand.
"Does that line work for you? And for your information, I am a widow," she said laughing.
"I know it is corny but it keeps me from asking a married lady out for a date," I said.
"So were you asking me out?" she asked.
"I am traveling through but I admit I would love to spend some time with you," I said.
"You are just full of pickup lines. Certainly you have a Mrs.?" she asked.
"Yes, there is a Mrs. but we are separated and waiting for the divorce to become final," I replied.
"So you think you can sweep the hotel clerk off her feet in every town you stop in?" she asked.
"No. Many have male clerks and I am NOT into men. Most of the women clerks I have seen do not turn on my 'interesting' switch. You are the exception," I said.
Her face reddened and she replied, "Thank you. Was there something that you wanted to see me about?"
"Yes. The air conditioning unit in my room did not work at all last night. I asked for a different room but was told that the hotel was fully booked. I had to sleep in a very hot room last night," I said.
Yes, we were fully booked last night. If you give me your room number, I will get an HVAC company to come fix the unit," she said.
"I was wondering if you would come see the unit for yourself. I will show you the problems so that you could show the contractor exactly what is wrong," I said.
"How about I give you paper and pen and have you write down what is wrong. I will hand it to the contractor," she said.
"Perhaps I will take the paper and pen and write a scathing letter to the president of the chain. I had to sleep with no clothes on all night in a very warm room. I assure you that I did not get my money's worth last night," I said.
Leslie thought for a moment and then went back into the office. I heard her tell the young lady to run the desk while she checked out a room. When she returned, she had her pass card in her hand and walked to the elevator with me following.
As we stood by the elevator doors, she asked, "What is your room number please?"
"I am in 314," I replied.
Nothing more was said until the elevator doors opened. She pushed the 3 and we rode to the third floor. This elevator is very slow. It takes it a long time to open the doors and a long time to get to a floor. Last night when I checked in I thought I could walk faster to the third floor than riding the elevator.
I tried to break the silence by asking, "How long have you been a widow?"
"Two years," she replied.
"That must have been a bad year. Two years ago my wife started sleeping with another man," I said.
We didn't talk anymore. The doors opened and Leslie headed for room 314. At the door she used her key card and entered the room. I was right behind her.
She saw the bed and asked, "You didn't sleep in the bed?"
