Others appeared to have been reimbursed from his construction company.
I stopped there.
His company finances were not mine to investigate, and I did not want to accidentally access anything I was not authorized to see. I simply made a note for Rebecca.
By 10:00 a.m., I had a folder on my laptop containing seventeen months of statements.
At 10:12, Ryan knocked on my hotel room door.
I froze.
The airline did not publish our crew hotel, but crew lodging could sometimes be guessed by frequent travelers. More likely, he had followed a shuttle or asked someone he should not have asked.
"Valerie."
I stayed away from the door.
"I know you're in there."
I called the front desk.
"This is Valerie Carter in 814. My husband is outside my room. I did not give him my room number and I do not want contact. Could you send security, please?"
The clerk responded immediately.
"Yes, ma'am. Stay inside."
Ryan knocked again.
"Can we please act like adults?"
I almost laughed.
Instead, I said through the closed door, "Leave."
"I came all this way to talk to you."
"You came all this way with Ashley."
Silence.
"She left," he said.
That told me more than he intended.
"Then you should have plenty of time to think."
"Val, I made a mistake."
"A four-day international reservation is not a mistake. It's an itinerary."
I heard him exhale sharply.
"You're being cold."
"I'm behind a locked hotel door because you found my room without permission. Cold is not the issue."
Footsteps approached in the hallway.
A man's voice identified hotel security.
Ryan's tone changed instantly.
"This is my wife. We're just having a conversation."
"Sir, the registered guest has requested no contact. You'll need to leave the floor."
"You don't understand."
"I understand the guest's request."
There was a pause.
Then Ryan said, louder, so I could hear him through the door, "Fine. I'll see you at home."
I waited until the hallway was silent before moving.
That sentence should have frightened me.
Instead, it clarified what I needed to do next.