Chapter One
Lulu had a seven-day, six-night all-expenses-paid working vacation to Onsen, one of the most luxurious and expensive spa resorts in the whole of the United States. Onsen was also the top competitor of Voda, the spa resort an hour down the road where Lulu worked.
Vacations weren’t made for people like her. Her idea of a fun vacation was staying at home with no one bothering her. She’d spent the first three days at Onsen running around doing everything so she could assess it all. The only thing she’d felt like doing twice was the massage. But she couldn’t get massages every day. Well, she could, but without stress to tighten up her muscles the effects wouldn’t be the same.
Today she decided to soak in the hot springs. That was what the hotel was most famous for, after all. The walk took Lulu past a group of laughing women. One wore a tiara and a sash with Bride-to-be in big gold lettering. A bachelorette party. Nice. Lulu had seen something similar at Voda many times.
No differences. It must be luck of the draw. At least Voda was second to Onsen. Her boss didn’t see that as a good thing, but Lulu did. A few of the other spa resorts were struggling worse than Voda was. Customers would never know it to look at the places, but the overworked employees who hadn’t had raises in two years knew better.
“Are you lost, miss?”
Lulu snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the smiling woman before her and then at her surroundings. “Oops. I must have walked past the entrance to the hot spring.”
“Yes, some of these corridors do look alike.” The woman gestured back the way Lulu had come. “The entrance is at the end of this hall and to the left.”
“Thank you. Sorry.” Lulu smiled apologetically and then retraced her steps. She wasn’t the type to get lost or even turned around. She hadn’t realized she’d gone off course. She glanced over her shoulder before she turned the corner and found the woman still standing in the hall, watching her.
That was weird and a little creepy, but Lulu shrugged it off. Maybe she had wandered into an employees-only area. But she hadn’t seen any signs. A hotel map on the wall caught her attention. She put her finger on the You Are Here dot and then traced the path she’d taken.
The hallway wasn’t marked, as in wasn’t there at all. According to the map, there was no other hallway except the one that led to the hot springs and beyond that was the outside of the hotel. Why would the hotel leave off the hallway, even on a visitor map? That was a safety hazard. Someone could get lost. She could understand the hotel not wanting visitors in certain areas, but they usually marked those spots as employees only so guests knew to stay away from them.
Lulu walked to the end of the hall and inched around the corner to see if the woman who had directed her was still there. She wasn’t. Lulu still didn’t see anything that marked this hall as employees only or any reason for it not to be on the map.
“That is a beautiful painting, isn’t it?”
The man’s voice so close to her shoulder made Lulu gasp. She looked at the smiling, robe-clad guest who had spoken.
He said, “It’s by a famous Japanese artist from the eighteen hundreds. I heard the hotel almost had to fight the Japanese government to get it out of the country. It’s a national treasure, after all.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
“I’m a college professor of Japanese history and culture. This hotel is a treasure trove of both. I wish I could bring my students here as part of my curriculum but there’s no way they could afford it.”
“I bet.” Lulu chuckled a little because it was expected, but she had no idea what the man was talking about. What painting? She was looking down a long hallway that led to an unknown location. There were no paintings in sight. “Perhaps you could ask the hotel to sponsor a day trip to the spa for you and your students as a cultural exchange.
Lulu had a seven-day, six-night all-expenses-paid working vacation to Onsen, one of the most luxurious and expensive spa resorts in the whole of the United States. Onsen was also the top competitor of Voda, the spa resort an hour down the road where Lulu worked.
Vacations weren’t made for people like her. Her idea of a fun vacation was staying at home with no one bothering her. She’d spent the first three days at Onsen running around doing everything so she could assess it all. The only thing she’d felt like doing twice was the massage. But she couldn’t get massages every day. Well, she could, but without stress to tighten up her muscles the effects wouldn’t be the same.
Today she decided to soak in the hot springs. That was what the hotel was most famous for, after all. The walk took Lulu past a group of laughing women. One wore a tiara and a sash with Bride-to-be in big gold lettering. A bachelorette party. Nice. Lulu had seen something similar at Voda many times.
No differences. It must be luck of the draw. At least Voda was second to Onsen. Her boss didn’t see that as a good thing, but Lulu did. A few of the other spa resorts were struggling worse than Voda was. Customers would never know it to look at the places, but the overworked employees who hadn’t had raises in two years knew better.
“Are you lost, miss?”
Lulu snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the smiling woman before her and then at her surroundings. “Oops. I must have walked past the entrance to the hot spring.”
“Yes, some of these corridors do look alike.” The woman gestured back the way Lulu had come. “The entrance is at the end of this hall and to the left.”
“Thank you. Sorry.” Lulu smiled apologetically and then retraced her steps. She wasn’t the type to get lost or even turned around. She hadn’t realized she’d gone off course. She glanced over her shoulder before she turned the corner and found the woman still standing in the hall, watching her.
That was weird and a little creepy, but Lulu shrugged it off. Maybe she had wandered into an employees-only area. But she hadn’t seen any signs. A hotel map on the wall caught her attention. She put her finger on the You Are Here dot and then traced the path she’d taken.
The hallway wasn’t marked, as in wasn’t there at all. According to the map, there was no other hallway except the one that led to the hot springs and beyond that was the outside of the hotel. Why would the hotel leave off the hallway, even on a visitor map? That was a safety hazard. Someone could get lost. She could understand the hotel not wanting visitors in certain areas, but they usually marked those spots as employees only so guests knew to stay away from them.
Lulu walked to the end of the hall and inched around the corner to see if the woman who had directed her was still there. She wasn’t. Lulu still didn’t see anything that marked this hall as employees only or any reason for it not to be on the map.
“That is a beautiful painting, isn’t it?”
The man’s voice so close to her shoulder made Lulu gasp. She looked at the smiling, robe-clad guest who had spoken.
He said, “It’s by a famous Japanese artist from the eighteen hundreds. I heard the hotel almost had to fight the Japanese government to get it out of the country. It’s a national treasure, after all.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
“I’m a college professor of Japanese history and culture. This hotel is a treasure trove of both. I wish I could bring my students here as part of my curriculum but there’s no way they could afford it.”
“I bet.” Lulu chuckled a little because it was expected, but she had no idea what the man was talking about. What painting? She was looking down a long hallway that led to an unknown location. There were no paintings in sight. “Perhaps you could ask the hotel to sponsor a day trip to the spa for you and your students as a cultural exchange.
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