Chapter 4 - The Ripple Effect
"Come in," Ethan said, his voice thick with unexpressed emotion.
Lupita stepped inside, carefully placing the tray on the table. She took the battered roses from Ethan’s hand with utmost reverence, as if they were made of spun gold. She began cutting the stems at an angle, just as a professional florist would, before arranging them beautifully in the crystal vase.
"They're beautiful," Lupita murmured. "They have character. The petals are a little bruised, but the roots are strong. They’ll last."
Ethan watched her, leaning against the kitchen counter. "How did you know they were important?"
Lupita offered a sad, knowing smile. "My mother passed away when I was young, Mr. Vance. My father used to bring home wild sunflowers every year on her birthday. They were always a bit wilted from his long bus ride home from the fields, but to me, they were the most beautiful things in the world. I recognized that look in your eyes. It’s the look of a man carrying a memory."
Ethan let out a breath he felt like he’d been holding for three years. "Tomorrow makes three years since I lost Sarah. Lily chooses the vase every year. It’s... it’s all we have left of our routine."
"You are a good father, Mr. Vance. Your wife would be very proud of how you protect your daughter," Lupita said gently. She finished arranging the flowers and stepped back. "I will leave you now. Your room is fully registered, and no one will disturb you."
As Lupita walked toward the door, Ethan called out. "Lupita?"
She turned. "Yes, sir?"
"Thank you. For reminding me why I started this company. I wanted to build places where people felt at home. Somewhere along the line, corporate greed took over. Tomorrow, we start changing that, nationwide."
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The next morning, the drama at the Grand Regent exploded into the public eye. Someone in the lobby had filmed the entire encounter between Ethan, Patricia, and Karla, and by 8:00 AM, the video had gone viral on Facebook and TikTok. The internet was in an uproar, praising the "Secret Boss" who stood up for his daughter and firing the elitist staff.
But with fame came complications. By noon, the hotel lobby was swarming with reporters, and a massive corporate faction within Vance Hospitality—led by a disgruntled board member named Harold Finch—was trying to use the incident to claim Ethan was emotionally unstable and unfit to run the company after his wife's death.
