He Who Had Always Looked from Afar

It was him again. The same man she had been seeing the past couple of days.

He never entered The Belle though. He was just standing at the same place each time he visited. At the window that allowed her to look at the garden outside. Directly in the path of her line vision.

So each time she looked out, their eyes would meet. She was too far away to be sure that he was looking at her. But there was a tingling feeling inside that made her aware that she was a woman.

Julie should be frustrated. After all, he was blocking the best view of the outside garden. But man, oh man, this man was an eye candy that she wouldn't mind looking at the whole day.

He looked tall, about 6'1 with wavy dark brown hair that looked so soft from her point of view. He was not buff, but it was hard to tell, he was always wearing his signature black trench coat.

Plus the fact that she wears glasses.

Julie sigh. There was a customer in front of her who had been yammering about his reservation when he was never in her system.

And what was she doing?

Looking at the man who had been in her thoughts for the past few days.

"Can you understand what I am telling you?" the persistent man had raised his voice. He was getting on her nerves.

Two of the front desk staff that were working on either side of her, paused and looked at the man. It was a blessing that he was the only customer right now. Otherwise, the other paying guest might meddle.

Yes, unlike some hotels whose customers mind their own business, the ones staying in Belle were the opposite.

They intervene.

"Sir," Julie began, "I have checked the system a hundred times. We have no 'Miles Dela Vega' in the system," she calmly explained.

"that is bullshit!" he yelled. "I paid 200 USD to get a reservation here. Now you are telling me I have wasted my money?!"

"Sir, can I get to see the official receipt that was given to you online when you paid the 'reservation' you are talking about?" Julie asked.

The Bell has an elaborate system when it comes to online booking. Each reservation is color coded. For some, it was a series of numbers and letters, but for them, she devised a foolproof way to avoid scammers.

Like the one in front of her.

Each number is combined with an algorithm that changes every day. Hence no color scheme is the same. When the bar code was scanned it would show a color specific to the room that they will be using for their stay.

Also, The Belle never accepts online payment. So how do they pay? Bank. Each person who reserves a room at The Belle needs to go to the bank and pay the fees the old-fashioned way.

Ah, no, scamming them would be impossible too. Because once you are paid, an authentication code will be sent on your mobile, and email. They are not the same number series. But to be able to get the right 'reservation' number, both must be shown.

Which this stupid man did not have.

"Sir, I need two codes. What you are showing me is a receipt from an online payment that we never allow." Julie said.

She could see that this man would not back down. He will insist that he have a reservation, to the point that he would be calling the press to ensure that The Bell will be tarnished.

"Are you implying that I fabricated this?!" he yelled. It was an octave higher than his first yell. "Do you even know who I am!? I have a million followers on Instagrain and Chipper."

Ah, so the man was a social media influencer.

Julie regarded the man closely. He had a generic face. Brown eyes, bushy eyebrows. Lean jaw. He was okay. His body was also meh. The typical body build for a man hoping to gain points for being an influencer with a hot bod.

When Julie looked at the man again, there was a grin plastered on his face. "Like what you see, babe?"

She raised her right eyebrows and said, "Please, I have seen better." Without batting an eyelash she continued, "I do not care if you are the son of the president of a damn country. You are not in the system. If you think that you can con your way in here you are sorely mistaken."

Julie must have hit a nerve.

The man's face turned red in anger and he furiously said, "You stupid fat bitch." He then raised his fist intending to punch her.

She met his eyes and was about to withdraw the Glock 43 Caliber from her drawer when a deep brogue sounded behind the irritating man.

"Hit her, lad, 'nd I will ensure you spend more than a week in jail."

Julie looked up and gasped. A pair of warm grey-green eyes were looking at her.

It was him.

The man who was always outside.

Her heart skipped a beat when his eyes scanned her, accessing if she was okay.

His mesmerizing eyes lingered on her lips before he looked back at the ahole in front.

The warmth in his eyes vanished replaced by a cold hard stare at would make anyone quake in fear. Julie should be worried, but a part of her consciousness told her she and her two companions were safe.

She looked at Renz, the woman had turned pale when she saw what the scammer was about to do. While Jana took a step back and was currently talking to the police.

Her anger doubled. Violence was not allowed at The Belle. She cannot tolerate such behavior. How dare this man...

A loud yelp broke her line of inner monologue.

All of them could only gawk as their savior tossed the man outside like a sack of potatoes.

Julie ran to the front door, still holding her gun. When the man stood up intending to attack her eye candy, she released the safety of her weapon and pointed it directly at his forehead.

"Try it," she said in a soft voice, but when the troublemaker looked up, he changed his mind.

Other than the gun pointed at his head, her eyes also held no trace of emotions. Also...the man who tossed him had a sinister look about him.

Without a word, he backed away. Scamming this hotel was not worth his life. Not with an innkeeper that can kill in cold blood.