Is this destiny?

~ San Antonio ~

Monday, March 30

8:48 AM

Five hotels which were owned by the Morgan family are officially moved under Penny's name, and now they all belong to Penelope Sanders.

If anyone looks at the trail of documents, there is a proof that Benjamin Casano purchased those hotels in a private auction for an undisclosed amount as a present for his fiancée, Penelope Sanders.

Out of the five hotels, two are in San Antonio, and others three are in Dallas, Houston and Austin respectively.

Each of the five hotels is massive, in a good location and top few floors offer specialized suites with great views. In all five hotels designs are similar, creating the atmosphere of luxury and indulgence which caters to upper class customers with 24 hour room service, gyms, spas, indoor swimming pools, no less than three restaurants per hotel and numerous lounging areas.

Penny is in a luxury van, on her way to the hotel Opulence, the largest hotel out of five, located in San Antonio. Penny is going to meet with the general manager and to establish herself as the new owner.

She is accompanied by Benjamin and Bridgette who will provide her support. Bridgette is with JoAnna and Jeff long enough so that she can provide Penny with business advices as well if necessary. The plan is that over next three days they visit all five hotels, meet with managers and other staff, introduce themselves, and for Penny to dip her fingers as a business owner.

Ben told Penny that he will be supportive, but he will leave the ownership to her.

"I have no idea how to run a business and how hotels operate, but I will do my best to learn so that soon you can rely on me.", Ben assured her.

Back to present…

In the luxury van are also Sarah and Aiden with Ron, Zula, Oni, Jesse, Allen and Julius.

Sarah and Aiden are going as White corp./Orion Enterprise representatives to oversee setup of the latest security systems in each of the hotels which is going to be installed by the Orion Enterprise technicians.

Allen and Julius volunteered (of course they did) to accompany Sarah and Aiden and to help out. Many others wanted to come as well, but Sarah and Aiden selected only these two boys as a reward for their outstanding academic progress.

Sarah and Aiden found that these types of rewards are the only thing that motivates kids to study harder, so they decided that every time they go out on a mission few kids get to tag, depending on the level of danger involved.

Penny agreed that they can select few suites and they will always be available for Sarah and Aiden and their associates (aka the army of Chaos) in exchange for the security systems that Orion Enterprise is offering. Of course, Sarah and Aiden will get Eve to handle monitoring from the background because they don't want to risk their army members being exposed.

Having access to suites in these five hotels will be perfect for the expansion of influence that Sarah and Aiden are planning. They decided to focus on strengthening their presence in California and slowly to expand, without attacking other targets. Once they cover the area with their resources, they will tighten the net and eliminate enemies.

Sarah is still thinking about the mansion where Marcus held his party and dreams of remodeling it, but it is uncertain when that will happen.

Jesse and Oni are going as Penny's security detail, and Ron and Zula will be their backup when they are not helping Sarah and Aiden.

Sarah wanted to bring Haru and Nala (instead of Ron and Zula) because they are older and look more like 'real' bodyguards (and not teenagers), but she observed that those two are enjoying something like a honeymoon phase since they moved into their one bedroom suite and allowed them stay at home. Sarah is happy to see that Haru's scores on latest science test were higher than usually. It is a proof that he is motivated to show how cohabiting with Nala will not make him neglect his other duties.

The luxury van stopped in front of a hotel with a big sign "Opulence". Jesse and Oni stepped out first and stood by the door (like proper bodyguards) while others alighted out of the vehicle.

They were greeted by a lady in early fifties, and two more people.

"You must be Miss Sanders…", the older lady spoke to Penny. "I am Mrs. Swalwell, general manager of the Opulence. Welcome." She proceeded to introduce people by her side: "This is Mr. Panetta, director of finances, and Mrs. Eshoo the event manager…"

The older lady was professional and polite. Her hospitality showed that she has experience in hotel industry. Warm, but not too warm. It was just right. There was one younger lady, maybe in her early thirties, who followed silently from the back. Mrs. Swalwell didn't introduce her.

Mrs. Swalwell led the way to one of the offices in the back which had sign "Owner" on the door and there was an empty space for the name.

"I apologize Miss Sanders…", Mrs. Swalwell said with her professional smile on. "The name on the door will be there by lunch time."

Penny didn't care much about that. She introduced people by who came with her as the ones who are involved in installation of the latest security system and mentioned that all of them should have access to all areas of the hotel.

"Of course…", Mrs. Swalwell reached into the folder she was holding and got a handful of keypasses. "With these, you will have access to any area of the hotel. Please, respect the privacy of the guests…"

Sarah, Aiden left with Allen, Julius, Ron and Zula. They have their own mission.

Penny was in the office with Ben, Bridgette, Jesse and Oni.

Penny observed Mrs. Swalwell, Mr. Panetta, Mrs. Eshoo and the younger lady who was standing silently in the back.

"That is?", Penny gestured toward the young lady.

"Marcy, my assistant.", Mrs Swalwell answered. "She just started working for me recently."

"I expect to see files of all employees on my desk.", Penny said.

Mrs. Swalwell nodded. "Of course. I will get them right away." She was about to leave, but paused when Penny continued:

"And I want to meet with everyone from management, one-on-one starting half an hour from now in this office. Until then, I will tour the hotel with my fiancé and security. Please, don't alert the employees because we want to see them how they usually perform their duties."

Penny is happy to call Ben as her fiancé, even though they are only pretending.

"Yes, Miss Sanders…"

Penny observed Mrs. Swalwell walk out and Marcy was one step behind her.

Mr. Panetta and Mrs. Eshoo left after them as well.

Of course, Penny knows who Marcy is. She already got information on all the people who work in the hotel, and she focused especially on the ones who she might meet.

What caused Penny to be alert is that Mrs. Swalwell didn't introduce her assistant who was right there, and she said that Marcy started working for her recently while employee files show that Marcy is her assistant for more than six months!

Penny understands that this is more than just coming as a new owner. For the last week she is meeting with Jeff, JoAnna, Bridgette and Steve and coming up with a plan. Sophia also joined for two meetings to provide her inputs.

Penny's first task is to weed out people who are still loyal to her parents (previous owners) and who might be holding a grudge against her. Also, there is a possibility that some of them are loyal to Marcus.

Jeff explained that in any management change, some people will not be happy about it, and when the change happens abruptly like this, the displeasure is doubled. 

"Some people might try to sabotage you, just to prove that you as the new owner are not good enough...", Jeff said and gave few examples he faced and how he handled them. JoAnna loves to listen to stories of her husband firing impudent employees.

Penny knows that the biggest suspects are people in management, because they are the ones who interacted directly with Mr. and Mrs. Morgan. Lower level employees usually don't care who the owner is, as long as their paychecks are on time, and their work conditions don't worsen, they will be happy.

But no matter what their position in the Opulence is, as long as they focus on their jobs and don't work against the interest of the hotel and Penny, they are fine.

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