All Booked Novels & Stories

She pointed at her screen with a pencil where a bold ABSENT had been placed beside his name on the waiting list. "I'm sorry but there are no more flights going to Alaska today, sir? You will have to return in a week's time or so. Thank you for choosing Silver Lining."

“I’m sorry, sir. There’s no reservation under that name.” “Really?” Ezra asked, frowning. The clerk nodded, eyes still on the screen. “Maybe try Facer?” Emma suggested quickly. She met Ezra’s gaze and shrugged. The clerk typed again and shook his head. “No record of that either. Are you sure this is the correct hotel?” Ezra’s jaw tightened. “Yes. My secretary booked two rooms on Monday.” “Monday…” the clerk muttered, typing once more before glancing up. “No, sir. Nothing booked for Monday under the names you provided.”

My mind just could not help but scream. “Hmm, Marky… perhaps, you can double-check? Maybe, someone had already checked out earlier, and it just happens that your booking database was not updated? Please,” I contended with light wrinkles on my forehead. “But ma’am, I am so sorry. There was only one room left no matter how many times I refreshed our booking page.” Marky was scratching his head while looking at the computer and scrolling the data unstoppably. Liam and I glanced at each other again before he mischievously winked at me.

"What happened?" Jenna stepped forward, her tablet clutched to her chest. "The seating chart shows two different clients assigned to table seven. I've checked the system three times, and it's definitely a double booking. He says his client was confirmed weeks ago, but the other client's name is in the system too." I looked at the worker. "What's your client's name?" "Henderson. Jon Henderson. He's been confirmed since last month." I turned to Jenna. "Who's the other booking?"

“There were supposed to be two rooms. Two separate reservations.” “I know,” the clerk replied, tapping efficiently at her screen. “It looks like the second room was released this morning—likely a cancellation on our end that wasn’t caught in time. We’re completely full due to the tech summit downtown, but I can put you on a waitlist if anything opens up overnight.” Jamie cleared his throat—small, almost inaudible. “It’s fine,” he said, too quickly, too brightly. “We can manage. It’s just one night.”

Halfway through the flight, Anna, sitting directly behind Austin, nudged him awake. "What is it, Anna?" he growled, annoyed that she'd interrupted his nap. "I called around, but all the hotels in Pelican Surf are fully booked because of some conference or event. I can't remember what the booking clerks said—" "Get to the point!" Austin said, pinching his nose. "I was wondering, would it be possible to stay with you tonight?"

Too right. Now we were here, both jet-lagged and slightly cranky from travel, standing at the elegant reception desk of the most breathtakingly beautiful beachfront resort I'd ever seen in my life. The receptionist—deeply tanned, professionally smiling, speaking flawless English with a melodic accent—tapped efficiently at her computer and suddenly winced. "I'm so terribly sorry, Mr. Alexander. We seem to have had an unfortunate system error with your booking. There's only one suite available tonight. The rest are completely occupied."

“We are happy to host you during your stay here, and we hope that you will like here very much.” “Thank you,” Derick didn’t want to waste time. “Two rooms please.” “What’s your name? Let me check if you have a reservation with us.” “Reservation? We need a reservation!?” They both clearly hadn’t thought this through. It was times like this that Joana wished Dana came along. “Yes,” the receptionist answered. “We have only 14 rooms, and we have a lot of guests daily, so you need to have a booking in advance before you come here. Unfortunately, you can’t book now, as all the rooms have been taken.”

But at the far end, they spotted a vacant table and made their way toward it. They had just sat down when a woman in a crisp uniform approached them. “I’m sorry, but this table is reserved,” she said firmly. “You’ll need to vacate it.” “I booked it two days ago,” Albert said, pointing to the tablet in her hand. “Check the list, you'll see my name.” He proceeded to tell her his full name. She scrolled through it. There was no “Albert.” Her brow furrowed. “I’m not seeing your name, sir. Are you sure you booked?”

“I’m so sorry. The booking system must have—” “Fix it,” I interrupted, trying to keep my voice level. “We need two rooms.” “I understand,” she said, her voice overly apologetic. “Unfortunately, we’re fully booked for the night. There’s nothing else available.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. “So you’re telling me that my assistant and I are supposed to share a room for the night? That’s not exactly professional.” She winced. “I truly apologize. I can provide extra pillows and blankets if needed.”