A little past seven p.m.
Dusk was setting in.
The Mercedes-Benz van returned to the Marriott Hotel.
In the underground parking garage, Brandon Coleman went upstairs first to pack their things.
Stella Sterling was still lost in the sorrow of their impending separation.
Hearing the car door close, she quickly rolled down the window. "Coleman, my trench coat is still upstairs..."
A man's low voice came from behind her ear. "Don't worry about it. Just leave it."
"Huh?" Stella Sterling turned around, confused.
In the dim light, Roman Rhodes pulled a card from the glove compartment and held it out. "When work gets busy and you have to stay late, you can just spend the night here. Stellamarina Estates is far, and it's not safe for a girl to go back alone at night."
It was a VIP key card for the Executive Presidential Suite, room 8088.
Stella Sterling looked at the card, then back at the man, and understood immediately.
