2.

Ripley’s pov

Dropping the girls off at daycare went surprisingly better than suspected. Maybe it was all the toys, or maybe they weren’t fully awake yet.

I know, I am not. This job starts early, and I could barely sleep last night.

Although this job was good news—a chance at a new start for me and the girls—I was still really nervous. All night, I prepared for every possibility in my head. It was something that I had always done, but it became worse once I had kids.

Every scenario and every thing that could possibly go wrong had entered my mind. I had countless conversations with people that didn’t even exist. Conversations about my girls, my late husband, and my life in general. Things that would probably not even come up. Yet, I had practiced every response to every stupid question I could think of.

I yawned behind my hand as I walked towards Allison. I had already gotten dressed in the uniform she had laid out for me.

It wasn’t a classic black-and-white uniform like in the movie. But an outfit that looked more like hospital scrubs or a pajama. Black pants and a gray short-sleeved top, with black buttons and a black collar.

She chuckled, “you’ll get used to it. So, I’ll give a brief summary of the job description before I’ll show you around. The other girls are on their way, but I thought it would be better if both of us started early. So I had time to explain things.”

“So usually it’s not quiet as early?” I asked playfully.

“Fifteen minutes, give or take.” Allison replied with a sweet smile. She walked toward a closet and opened it. “Here are all the carts kept. You take one and fill it with whatever you think you’ll need. Cleaning supplies, clean towels, and trash bags. It’s already filled, but it’s always good to check your supplies just in case.”

I nodded my head in understanding as she explained the rest. “We have a lot of guests here that are on business. We tidy up their rooms and change the sheets and towels during breakfast time. Most people here have an early breakfast. Breakfast starts at six and ends at ten. Then, for those guests that check out, we usually handle those rooms during lunch. And then, we’re done for the day.”

I got the cart, and Allison showed me everything inside. "Unfortunately, you don’t get a lot of time for each room. So focus on the things that matter. A clean toilet, a well-made bed, clean surfaces, clean mirrors, and make sure the trash is taken out. And do not move or touch the guests stuff, because they’re really sensitive about that. Understandably so.”

“Okay, understood.” I replied, making a mental note of everything Allison said.

“I assign each floor to a set of cleaning girls, and you often stick with that floor for as long as you work here. For some reason, my girls have started seeing some floors better than others, especially the top floors. The higher you are, the more expensive the rooms are. There’s a bit of a status surrounding the floor you work on. I've tried to nip it in the bud, but let me know when anyone mocks the floor you are on. You’ll start on the second floor. There are a few conference rooms here, too. You replace the trash bags, vacuum, and clean all the surfaces.”

I didn’t care at all which floor I needed to work on. But I did find it silly that people who worked here would have a pecking order based on the rooms they cleaned. It’s not like we were staying in these rooms ourselves.

And even then, money doesn’t make a man. Character does.

Although I wouldn’t mind having some more money at the moment.

“So, are you ready to get to work?” Allison asked, and I put my enthusiastic face on.

“Yes!”

Allison helped me clean the first two rooms and then let me try to clean the rest myself while staying close until she was called away.

I was almost done when I noticed the supply of towels was running low. The cleaning staff had their own elevators down to the basement, where the supplies were being kept, so I headed that way.

“Mr. Hemming. Are you sure you don’t need us to tidy up your room?” A woman in the same outfit as me asked the rude man I had met yesterday. Her blond hair was up in a tight ponytail, and she had on a full face of make-up. The shirt suited her better than mine, though. She had opened up some buttons, and her breasts had been pushed up as high as they could go.

Good for her. I wasn’t blessed with big boobs, unfortunately. The only time I had big boobs was when I was pregnant and breastfeeding. And while they looked beautiful, they were also heavy and got in the way. So maybe I was the lucky one with my cup B.

And make-up wasn’t even on my mind this early in the morning. I was lucky I was here on time with both my girls dressed. I had barely managed to brush my teeth and wash my face.

Shit. I had stopped too long to look at them because both the woman and Mr. Hemming were now glaring at me. I bowed my head and kept walking.

“She’s new. Ignore her.” The woman said. “But I helped tidy your room really well last time, didn’t I?”

Why did it sound like the woman had done something more than tidy up?

I pressed the button on the personal elevator, only to realize that I had forgotten the code.

Shit. Now I had to ask the woman. Turning around, I tried my best to smile. “Excuse me.”

“What?” the woman said, looking at me like I was filth beneath her shoe.

“I forgot the code.” I clarified.

She rolled her eyes and told me the code for the elevator.

“She’s probably just jealous,” she told Mr. Hemming. “Poor girl has to work the second floor while I am lucky enough to serve you.”

Yes, definitely something more than cleaning was going on here. I scoffed, loud enough for them to hear. “Thank you for your help.” I said, using my sweetest voice. “Bitch,” I said softly to myself.

Seriously, how desperate could you be to throw yourself at a guest of the hotel you worked at? The funny part was that Mr. Hemming just stood there with the same expression on his face I had seen him with both times I met him. A scowl. I would call it stoic, but it looked more like he was permanently angry or disgusted. His strong eyebrows furrowed, and a frown fell on his face. His beard only made him look more stern.

Could he smile, or was his face stuck like that? I wondered to myself.

After finishing the last two rooms, I went to the conference rooms on the floor. There were two, and while Allison was still busy, I figured they wouldn’t be hard to clean. Vacuum, clean surfaces, and take out the trash. I could do that. Show some initiative.

Through the glass windows of the room, I could see it was empty, so I pushed my cart inside and started to clean. I put in my wireless headphones so I could listen to music. Music makes cleaning so much more fun. The sound was on low, so I could still hear it if someone spoke to me.

I vacuumed quickly, then started cleaning the large desk and placing everything back where it belonged.

Swaying my hips back and forth to the music as I walked to the trashcan to take the bag out.

“I need the room.” A loud and low voice said, startling me.

I dropped the bag of trash, the contents spilling on the floor. Shit!

“I will get that and be out of your way.” I said, quickly grabbing everything that had fallen on the floor. Thankfully, it was mostly paper napkins, old teabags, and cookie wrappers.

“Now!” the man almost growled. I looked up to see the familiar scowl.

I bent down to grab the last napkin and felt two hands on my hips, pulling me up from the floor like I was a child that weighed nothing. “Are you deaf?” He asked me, sounding annoyed.

He held me in the air before putting me down near the door, his hands still on my hips.

I looked over my shoulder and glared at the man, “no. I heard you, and I am done. Unhand me, please.”

“You should really learn to listen to what you’re told.” Mr. Hemming said, taking his warm and strong hands off my hips. Too bad he was such an ass. I hadn’t been touched by a man in a long time, and I hated that my body had a reaction to him.

“I’m working.” I said, raising my eyebrow as I looked Mr. Hemming straight in the eyes.

“Well, I am trying to work too. But somehow, you are in my way. For the third time in two days. I’ll tell you what I told your colleague Heather: I am here for business, not pleasure.”

O my god! This man actually thought this was my pathetic attempt to get his attention. Did I look that desperate that I would throw myself at the first rich man that I ran into? God, what an arrogant ass.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I apologize, Mr. Hemming. For bumping into you yesterday and now, cleaning this room while you need it. But like you, I am strictly here to earn some money. I will get out of your way, and I would appreciate it if you would refrain from touching me.”

Mr. Hemming smirked, and it was the closest he got to a smile. He actually looked good when he smiled. “Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t need to force myself on some desperate cleaning girl.”

I scoffed and couldn’t help myself. I had tried to be polite, but this man wouldn’t stop. “wow. Did you get that inflated ego when you bought the expensive suit?”

Mr. Hemming raised his eyebrow before his scowl returned. “Leave.”

“Gladly.” I said, picking up the trashcan and grabbing my cart.

The moment I stepped out of the conference room, I realized what I had done. If Mr. Hemming said anything to Allison, I would be fired on the spot. I had been so dumb! I should have just swallowed my pride and not talked back.

Who cares if this man thought I was throwing myself at him? He was nobody to me. Some rich guy that I didn’t even know.

I should have let it go!

Fuck! I couldn’t risk this. This was my chance to fix things.

There were only thirty minutes left, and I spent those thirty minutes picturing every way Allison would fire me. When I walked back down to end my shift, Allison was there to meet me, but instead of looking angry, she had a smile on her face.

“You did a great job today. Mr. Hemming even thanked me personally for the great job you did in the conference room. What a great initiative you showed today. I think you’ll fit in perfectly here.”

There were a few more girls around me and a few head turns when she mentioned Mr. Hemming. Especially the head of the blond girl with the big boobs, Heather, as Mr. Hemming had called her.

She glared at me and whispered something to one of the other girls, which earned her some laughs. I wasn't sure if I would fit in, but I was just happy my behavior didn't cause me to lose the job.

I smiled at Allison, “thank you so much. I’m really grateful to be here.”

Especially after almost ruining things because of some rich guy, I added inside my head.

But why did Mr. Hemming tell Allison I did a good job instead of the opposite and make sure I was fired?