Ramona straightened her shoulders.
“I’m Ramona,” she said quickly.
“The primary guest for this reservation.
We appear to have had a little misunderstanding.”
The manager’s smile remained professional.
“I understand there is a question regarding Mrs.
Mendoza’s accommodation.”
Ramona waved one hand dismissively.
“There simply wasn’t a suitable room available for her.”
The manager looked at me, then back at Ramona.
“That is unusual.”
Ramona stiffened.
“Why?”
“Because we still have availability in the same category as several rooms in your group.”
Mónica’s mouth opened slightly.
Roberto stopped pretending not to listen.
Tomás turned toward his mother.
“Mom?”
Ramona’s cheeks colored.
“Well, perhaps now.
But when I made the arrangements—”
The manager interrupted gently.
“I can have our reservations team verify the original booking notes.”
“No need,” Ramona said immediately.
That was the moment everything shifted.
Until then, Tomás had been confused.
Now he became suspicious.
“Why not?” he asked.
His mother looked at him as though he had broken an agreement simply by questioning her.
“Because this is ridiculous.
I planned a beautiful vacation for my family, and Olivia is turning a minor inconvenience into a public spectacle.”
I said nothing.
The manager did not move.
Tomás looked at me.
“Did you know you weren’t booked?”
“I knew my name wasn’t on the reservation.”
“When?”
“Several weeks ago.”
His face changed.
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I asked your mother repeatedly about my room.
You heard me.”
He opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
He had heard me.
And every time, he had told me to be grateful.
Ramona seized the opening.
“There.
You see? She knew.
She deliberately came here planning this confrontation.”
“No,” I said.
“I came hoping you would prove my suspicion wrong.”
Ramona laughed sharply.
“You always think everyone is against you.”
“Then let them check the booking notes.”
Silence.
