Bombest could feel his forehead growing damp, but Phule wasn’t finished.
“I want to point out, though, that my mentioning this option wasn’t a threat. Now, I could buy this place, but the paperwork involved would take at least twenty-four hours, which would mean that I’d have to move my people into another hotel until the deal was finalized. The problem there is that I’ve already told them that they’ll be staying here, and if I have to go back on that, if I get embarrassed in front of my new command because of your silly-ass games, then, after you’re fired, I’ll not only see to it that you never work on this planet again by purchasing any company you apply at, I’ll block your leaving even if it means buying up every seat on every outbound ship for the next year. That’s a threat. See the difference?”
“Y-yes, sir. “
Phule’s smile returned to its original, relaxed dimensions.
“So, now that we’ve had our little chat, I’m sure you’ll agree that the wisest course for everyone is for you to release those rooms to us, then see what you can do about bringing the staff up to the proper levels.”
Pompous and stubborn though he might be, Bombest was not stupid. Even a rock had to survive, and it was clear that it would not be in his-that is, the hotel’s-best interest to enter into a personal feud with a megamillionaire. Making a quick management decision, he turned to the hovering desk clerk.
“We’re going to need a hundred registration cards here, and two keys for each room … filling from the top floor down and bypassing the poolside units. Only issue the room keys after each card is filled out so that we have documentation on file as to who is occupying each room.”