She took in a breath and spread her arms out wide. Suddenly she pictured herself as the cake topper on a perfectly frosted cake, like one of those princess doll cakes little girls love so much. She raised her phone, extending her arm and looking up and smiling. Click.

Crawling off the bed, she kicked off her shoes near the luggage rack. Speaking of which, why wasn’t her suitcase here yet? What if that man didn’t even work for the hotel and he’d just stolen her clothes? If she didn’t have her hairbrush and curling iron, she’d be looking a mess when she saw the television people in the morning. She should have handled her bag herself. She was quite capable. That was what she got for acting like a prima donna. Served her right if it was stolen.

She wandered into the bathroom, where a plush robe and slippers had been laid out on the counter. She hugged the plush fabric to her cheek. She unwrapped a soap from the basket of fancy potions and inhaled the orange-gingery scent. She washed her hands and then ran a warm washcloth over her face, then dabbed her face dry.

A rapid knock came at the door.

“My bag!” She raced to the door, almost tripping over her shoes along the way. She pulled the door open, disappointed to see a tall redheaded woman standing with a fruit basket there instead.

“Welcome to New York! I’m Brenda, and I’ll be your assistant while you’re here. This is for you.”

“Thank you. That was so thoughtful. Come on in.” She hoped she sounded appreciative, but now she really was starting to get worried about her bag. “So, what exactly do I need an assistant for?” She’d seen in some of the competitions that there were helpers in the kitchen. “Do you bake?”

“Oh, no. I guess some people refer to think of what I do as a handler, but I like assistant better. I make sure you get everywhere on time and don’t break any rules. That kind of stuff. If you have any questions, I can get the answers for you.”

“Well, I’m a little worried about my suitcase. I’ve been here for a while, and it still hasn’t come up.”

“I can check on that. Sometimes they get busy this time of day with all the check-ins. I guess you noticed that you don’t have a phone.”

“No. I hadn’t…” She scanned the room. “Noticed.”

“There are no phone calls permitted unless supervised by me. And…” She motioned her fingers toward Kelly’s phone. “I’ll need that.”

“I read that in the contract.” She was glad she’d taken pictures before Brenda showed up. She handed over her phone. “Wait. Can we get a selfie together first?”