“It can be a bit confusing at first.” Penelope smiled in understanding.

Andie jumped in, saving her. “She’s Meg. And I’m Carrie.”

“Got it.” Penelope pulled three name tags from a file box in front of her. “Before I can give you these, I need to ask you to please hand over your cell phones.”

“You want me to do what now?” Andie wondered.

“All players must turn in their mobile devices before they will be allowed to participate in the game. Don’t worry…” Penelope calmly reassured them. “The hotel will keep them safe and secure in a lockbox.”

Julia couldn’t resist checking her messages one last time before giving her phone up. She wasn’t expecting any updates from TrendList, but if her boss happened to reach out, she wanted to make sure she responded.

“Anything important?” Andie asked.

“Nope.” She shook her head. “It’s just weird to think I’ll be without my phone for the entire week.”

“Amazing how attached we become to these things, huh?” Kat turned to Penelope. “Hey, um, what if we promise to leave our ‘mobile devices’ in our hotel room?”

“How good are you at resisting temptation?” Penelope asked, gray eyes twinkling.

“Not great,” Kat admitted, reluctantly handing over her phone.

“Thank you.” Penelope smiled kindly. “If it helps, you’re allowed to check your devices at any time. Players who wish to use their phone may request to access it from the lockbox, but they will be asked to remain in a secure location and to return the phone to the box when finished.”

“Whoa,” Julia exhaled in surprise.

“I know it seems a little extreme,” Penelope continued.

“A little?” Kat muttered.

“Personally, I love the idea of spending time meeting people without the distraction of phones,” Andie said as she turned hers in.

“Exactly.” Penelope leaned forward, as if sharing a secret. “There is some rhyme to our reason here. One of the main benefits of this experience is the chance to take a break from regular daily life. Without the constant distraction of their phones, players will be more present, live in the moment. Have real interactions with each other.”

“And hey,” Andie said, “as an added bonus, no phones means no dick pics for a week!”

“Imagine that.” Julia grinned.

“I’ll add that to the list of perks.” Penelope laughed. “And remember, should you need your phone for any reason, all you have to do is visit the concierge desk and they will set you up.” Penelope handed each of them their name tag. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” Again, Julia had the impression they’d met before, but she brushed it aside and took the name tag the girl handed her. She waited for Andie and Kat to get theirs, too, and once they all had them pinned on, they headed into the reception together.