Free The Almost Truth by Eileen Cook

menu that was finalized last week. I would like to review options for when the guests arrive. I’d like to figure out how we can have people pre–checked in, especially our VIP guests.”
    “We can do that. We also typically arrange to have fresh flowers in those rooms or perhaps a fruit basket with champagne.”
    I shifted my cramped legs as silently as possible.
    “We’ll need the list of guests and what you would like in each gift basket at least a day before everyone arrives.”
    “I’ll have the list for you tomorrow.”
    “Excellent. I’ll arrange to have examples of the various table linen options brought to your room so that you can choose what you would like used for the event.”
    There were some shuffling sounds and then silence. I made myself count to two hundred to give them time to get down the hall, then I crawled out from under the table and stood.
    “Well, I can’t say I expected that,” a voice said behind me.
    I spun around. The voice belonged to Chase Parker. This really wasn’t the way I’d wanted to meet him. But as soon as I saw him, the excuses I was about to make dried up on my tongue. “ You’re Chase Parker?” He was nothing like what I’d expected. I’d assumed he would be a slick businessman in his forties or fifties. One of those guys who wears his thinning hair slicked back and a suit that cost more than most people spend on food in a year. But Chase was young. I guessed he wasn’t much older than me. He was wearing tailored chinos and a loose linen shirt. Not that I was paying much attention to his clothes. I was too distracted by the fact that he was beautiful. Not attractive—Chase was stunning, model-perfect, drop-your-panties kind of good-looking. He looked like an angel from one of the Italian paintings we’d studied in art appreciation. He had honey blond hair, wide blue eyes with eyelashes that went on forever, and his mouth would make Angelina Jolie envious. I wanted to touch his lips, they were so perfect.
    “You have me at a bit of a disadvantage. You seem to know me, but I don’t know you,” he said.
    “Me?”
    Chase laughed. Even his teeth were perfect, blindingly white and ruler straight. Either he had great genes or his parents had spent a fortune on orthodontic care. “Asking who you were wasn’t supposed to be a trick question.”
    “Sadie.” I mentally kicked myself. So much for giving him a fake name. I wasn’t off to a great start with my plan to schmooze him into telling me everything I needed to know about the McKenna family. I held my breath. He was looking directly at my face, but there wasn’t a hint of recognition. Brendan was right: The fact that I’d dyed my hair dark was enough to change my appearance from the MISSING poster, that and the fact that no one really expected to spot Ava. They all must have assumed she’d died. Well, everyone except her parents.
    “So, Sadie, be honest. Are you a runaway who secretly lives in the hotel, sleeping under tables and surviving only on stolen restaurant food?” he asked with a smile.
    “No.” I thought quickly and decided to play along. “Actually, underneath the table there’s a portal to an alternate universe. I don’t want to brag or anything, but I’m sort of a messiah there, charged with finding the magical ring and saving all of mankind,” I said.
    He raised an eyebrow. “That’s a heavy load for someone who is . . . seventeen?”
    “I’m eighteen and I was always an overachiever. Saving humanity is only a hobby,” I went on. “You should see the stuff I’m working on full-time.”
    “I’d like that.” He smiled and my stomach fluttered in appreciation. Then I remembered that I was supposed to be pumping him for information. My mind spun around, looking for the right angle.
    “It’s funny you say that. I’m with a local island group dedicated to involving youth in social service projects. I’m really impressed with the work the McKenna Foundation is doing and