It was 2:30 and the restaurant had closed for its break between lunch and dinner. Jones was still in his hotel room and gave a ring to the The Lake House. He only had one hour and thirty minutes to make his plan work.


    The person who answered the phone introduced herself as the front help desk receptionist.


    "Hello ma''am, my name is Mr. Dobson and I work for Drake''s, the restaurant in Yeoville."


    "Hello, how may I be of assistance to you today?"


    ''This call is in regards to one of your employees, a Ms. Claudia Wells. I was informed of her passing, but she owes a significant amount of money at our restaurant. We attempted to find a relative of hers to receive payment, but have been so far unable. We know that she worked at The Lake House and wanted to know if you all had any information on this matter."


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I am not certain. I will ask my manager and give you a call back."


    "Wonderful, my number is 111-222–-3333. Please give me a call back at your convenience."


    The call ended and Jones resumed laying down on his bed. Besides questioning who could bare to sleep on a bed like this permanently, the only think he could do was pray that The Lake House would get back to him. The waiting was always the worst moment of a sales pitch. There was no guarantee the receptionist would even communicate the message to anyone.


    Ten minutes passed and the phone rang. Bingo, he was fifty percent of the way there. "Hello, I am looking for a Mr. Dobson," a man spoke this time. The hestiancy in his voice revealed a certain flimsiness. It was impossible for Jones to know the cause.


    "This is he," replied Jones.


    "My employee told me of the situation. My name is Luca Hartmann. I am the general manager here at The Lake House. We should meet and resolve this issue in the right way. I can be at your restaurant in 30 minutes. Does that work for you?


    "Yes it does. See you then." Jones confirmed the appointment. It took all of his energy to not reveal his excitement in having duped the manager to meet. Still he could not be certain that the manager was the friend.