As Peter had a childhood with spoiled past, he waited for his driver, Arnold to open his door, for a while. As he was born into a wealthy family, and raised with privileges, his spoiled acts were continuing.
“How long do I have to wait before the door opens?” He said, before Arnold opened his door.
As he entered to his father’s hotel, Jenny, the young woman who was working at the hotel aprroached to her, and asked that if he would like to have a drink.
“Do you not know who I am?” Peter said. “I only drink the special blend made for me!”
Jenny didn’t knew Peter, since she was working at the hotel for a week. She apologized and went to the kitchen for Peter’s special drink.
“Is father in his office?” Peter said to Marcus.
“Ah, yes, sir,” Marcus said, “He’s waiting for you.”
“Why do you have such a displeased face, Marcus?” Peter asked, which made Marcus nervous.
“How can you work at a hotel when you can’t even manage to smile?”
Marcus said, “I apologize, sir. It’s been a long day, but that’s no excuse. You must’ve misread my expression.”
Peter said, “Oh, Marcus, I hope I’ll soon take over as the owner of this hotel. Then, I’ll set things straight, believe me.”
Then he entered to his father’s office.
He sat across from his father, and his father called his assistant and asked for two cups of coffee, “Hope it’s better than the last one I had here,” Peter said.
“It’s OK, Thomas. We all have our off days. Just make it the way you do,” Mr. Greenwood said to waiter.
“You need to respect everyone around you, son,” he continued to his son Peter.
“Everyone plays a role in this establishment.”
As they were drinking their coffees, Peter asked, “Dad, why don’t you consider retirement?”
“You’ve worked hard all our life. Let me prove to you that I can run this place.”
His father asked, “But why do you need the hotel, son?”
“You’ve got $5 million in your accounts, set aside for your future.”
Then Peter stated that he wanted to earn his place as he wanted to work in his place. He stated that he is not just the son of a rich man, and he was a successful businessman. As his father was sure that Peter wouldn’t be able to run the Hotel, so he wanted to test his son.
There were five businessmen were going to come to their hotel, from five different countries, and Peter’s job was to make their stay smooth.
“Marcus will be there to help you,” his father said, “I’ll leave the hotel in 10 minutes. Today, you’re the boss.”
“But yes,” the father continued, “Never forget our values, Peter. We treat every guest equally and how we want to be treated. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
After an hour later from the leaving of his father, Peter was sitting on his father’s chair. He was talking with his friend on the phone, as he was bragging about being the owner of the hotel for the day.
At that moment, a singing voice distracted him, from his window. The sound was loud, and was distracting for Peter. He went outside and shooted to the homeless man who was singing, “Hey, you!”
“What do you think you’re doing, huh? Singing in front of my hotel?”
The man responded, “This pavement is a public place, sir,”
“And the last I checked, there’s no harm in singing.”
Peter yelled again, “You’re standing next to MY hotel’s entrance!”
“Soon enough, influential businessmen will be walking through those doors, and they don’t need to be greeted by you. You’re pathetic, dirty, ragged…Just get lost!”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not leaving, young man. No one chooses misfortune or hardship. And I didn’t choose to lose everything overnight. Nobody has the right to belittle me like that! Your hotel may be behind closed doors, but out here? This is everyone’s space.” The homelessman said.
Peter shouted “You dare talk back to me?”
Marcus came and give $500 to the homeless man as he said, “Sir. I hope this helps you,”
“Maybe you can find a nice place to stay for a while and get some good food? Let’s not create a scene here, please?”
Homeless man took the money and said, “Not many people would do something like this! Thank you!”
“You didn’t have to lose half a grand to get rid of a bum!” Peter said to Marcus.
Marcus said, “Sure, sir,” and continued, “But the way I see it, I ensured he left with gratitude, not resentment. You never know how these situations can escalate.”
Then his phone ranged, and he said to Peter, “I advise we head inside, sir,”
“Our first guest arrives soon.”
As he forget the incident with the homeless man, he welcomed every guest arrived, the five businessman.
One of them said, “The food is excellent, and the service is prompt,” and added, “I must say, I’m really impressed.”
The Brazilian businessman said, “I’d like to add that the flavors of the food served here are remarkable!”
“Amazing food!” He added.
The other one added, “Good food, I agree with that,”
And the fourth said, “And the ambiance is very charming,”
As he was relieved, Peter was shocked when the fifth businessman said, “Who is that gentleman? Seems like he might have taken a wrong turn,”
Peter saw the homeless man that Marcus gave $500.
Peter said, “Don’t worry, gentleman,” and continued, “I’ll take care of it. Please enjoy your dinner.”
As Peter furiously tried to depart the man, the homeless man said, “I want to rent the cheapest room here for the night!”
“What? This is not a motel. This is a high-class establishment!” Peter said.
“Every establishment, high-class or not, is bound by the law. You can’t refuse service without a valid reason, especially if I’m willing to pay.”
Marcus came and said, “Mr. Greenwood, he’s right. As long as he can pay and we have available rooms, we cannot refuse him service based on his appearance alone. And if we do, it could lead to a police complaint and potentially a hefty fine.”
“Fine, give him a room. But make sure it’s the furthest one from our guests.” Peter said.
As the businessmen entered the bar after their dinner, Peter was furious again with the sight of the homeless man.
“What do you think you’re doing here?” He said to him as he was angry again.
“Well, all guests of this hotel are entitled to a free cocktail. Isn’t that right?” Homelessmen said.
As Peter was thinking something to say, one of the businessmen waved at him.
“Yes, sir?” Peter asked.
“Peter, there seems to be a small problem. The hand dryer in the restroom isn’t working. Could you look into it?” Businessman said.
Then he went to attend to the problem. As he enterd to the restroom, he saw that the businessman, Mr. Robert’s watch was on the counter.
Then he took the watch to return to Mr. Robert, but then thinked something different. He went to the homelessman’s room, and put the watch under his pillow.
After few moments later, Mr. Roberts informed Peter about his watch, and explained that it was a family heirloom.
“Sir, I apologize for the inconvenience,” Peter said, as he continued, “We take the security of our guests very seriously. I’ve called the police, and they will help us resolve this matter. I—”
Two police officers cut his words, as they entered at that moment.
“Officers,” Peter said, and continued, “Earlier this evening, I noticed a homeless man, who’s staying with us, acting suspiciously. He was hiding something under his jacket as he walked back to his room.”
“Do you have any surveillance footage that might help our investigation?” Officer Johnson said.
“I checked the footage earlier, but there was a glitch. However, I can show you the room where the homeless man is staying. Maybe you can find some evidence there.” Peter said.
Then, Peter took the officers to the homeless man’s room, and there they found the watch.
“Do you have any explanation for this watch being here, sir?” Officer Johnson said.
“I’ve never seen that watch before it was found under my pillow,” homelessman said.
“I understand this looks bad, but I didn’t take it.”
Peter said, “He must have taken it. Who else would? The evidence is right there in his room,”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this at the station. Let’s not make a scene here.” An officer said.
“Well, if I’m really guilty, I’ll be behind bars.” Homelessman said, as he followed the officers.
On the next morning, when his father arrived at the hotel, Peter said, “Morning, Dad! I hope I’ve proven I’m ready to take over the hotel,”
“Yes, you may have impressed the businessmen, but you forgot the core value of our family and this hotel: integrity. By the way, check your account, Peter.” His father said.
As he checked his account, he saw that there was no money in his account, as there was $5 million yesterday. “What’s going on? Why’s there only a dollar left?” Peter asked.
“Remember the homeless man and the watch incident? I was the homeless man. A little makeup, some ragged clothes, and voila! I became someone you barely recognized. I wanted to see how you’d handle a real-world situation, and you failed, Peter,” His father said.
“You need some time away from the hotel. Reflect on your actions and think about what truly matters.”
What do you think? Let us know.
