Panic was now spreading through the ballroom like wildfire. Guests were whispering, standing up from their tables, and pulling out their phones.
Chloe stood in the center of the dance floor, her white lace gown looking garish under the dim emergency lighting. Her mother was hyperventilating beside her, while Brandon paced back and forth, frantically dialing his mother’s phone only to be routed directly to voicemail.
The double doors of the ballroom swung open.
A tall, grey-haired man in a dark grey suit walked smoothly into the room. He carried a heavy silver metal clipboard under his arm, accompanied by two hotel security officers.
It was Arthur Pendelton, the General Manager of the St. Regis Hotel.
Arthur walked straight past the panicked guests, stopping directly in front of Chloe and Brandon.
"Mr. and Mrs. Vance," Arthur said, his voice cold, formal, and devoid of any hospitality warmth.
"Arthur!" Brandon gasped, stepping forward. "Thank God! What is happening with the power and the music?! My mother made some crazy phone call, but—"
"Your mother, Mrs. Evelyn Vance," Arthur interrupted smoothly, "is the primary guarantor on the master corporate account for