CHAPTER 2: THE MORNING AFTER

Jess woke up the next day with a smile on her face. She had a feeling that today would be a good day. She got into the shower and freshened up then got dressed. As she headed downstairs, she wondered why the sun was shining so brightly so early in the morning. As she opened the fridge to get some things to prepare breakfast, she caught a glimpse of the wall clock. It was quarter past seven am. She exclaimed with horror when she realized just how late she was. Her first shift should have begun at 7am and yet here she was at home. She would have to drive to work if she was to save at least some of this shift. She took out some of her savings from her room and painfully put the money in her purse. This would seriously dent her budget for this month and she would have to find a way to make up for this. She quickly wrote her dad a text message and then grabbed her car keys and left. The hotel she worked for was only ten minutes away. Jess usually managed a bus ride when she had plenty of time to spare. Today, she drove as fast as she could and was soon driving into the hotel premise. She parked her car and quickly ran towards the service entrance. Within five minutes, she had put on her cleaner’s uniform and she was moving around with her cleaning supplies. As she went to punch in her time card, she found her supervisor standing by the registration desk.

“I guess miss graduate is too good to report to work on time,” Eddie the supervisor said. He was a middle-aged man with a big stomach. He had worked at the hotel for years as the head of cleaning and temporary staff. He had taken on more responsibilities recently when the hotel had gone through some downsizing. He was now also in charge of procurement and management of supplies.

“I’m sorry Eddie. I had a late night. It won’t happen again.” Jess said apologetically.

“I will let you off with a warning if you can clean all your rooms before the shift is over. The stamp is not working so it is your lucky day,” Eddie said while filling in her work card manually.

“Thank you so much Eddie,” Jess said as she walked towards the rooms. She began her cleaning shift with enthusiasm and she was relieved that she had saved her shift. The hotel she worked at was a three-star facility that was hidden in the middle of a suburb. It was popular with business travellers who liked the serenity it provided. The hotel often got repeat visitors who referred their friends and family here. It was easy to clean the rooms of such clients because they did not have much time to make a mess. Her job required her to change the bedsheets, linen and place fresh toiletries in the bathroom. She would also mop the floors and wash the bathrooms, and open the windows and clean the balconies. Jess quickly cleaned her regular nine suites and she entered the tenth suite ready to finish her shift without fuss. The minute she walked into the room she gasped in shock.

 The room looked like a scene out of a movie. Everything was a mess and there was broken glass everywhere. The bed linen was covered in what seemed to be a mixture of alcohol and vomit and the floor had remnants of a half-eaten meal. Jess walked into the room cautiously and she checked the bathroom for further damage. Surprisingly, the bathroom was intact and it seemed that the occupants of the room had showered and left the bathroom undisturbed. Jess wondered if this mess was worth reporting to the supervisor. The hotel had a policy that required the staff to report any anomalies that appeared to have been caused by criminal activities. Jess decided not to take a risk and report this anyway. She called her supervisor on the hotel extension, and he was there in a few minutes. “What seems to be the problem?” he asked, looking around. “The mess,” Jess replied. Eddie looked around quickly then asked. “Is there blood anywhere?”

“No,” Jess replied.

“Did you see stacks of cash or drugs anywhere?”

“No.”

“Then this was probably a wild night of alcohol indulgence. Nothing to report here. Your shift is almost over so you better get moving fast.” Eddie said walking out. Jess took a deep breath and began cleaning the filthy room. She wondered what kind of a person was in this room because of the diversity of waste products. There were half smoked cigarettes, a half-eaten pizza, a buffet tray with some untouched condiments, a cake that had been smashed and many empty cans of beer. The broken glass was from a bottle of wine that seemed to have been dropped. Jess finally took out the last bag of trash after mopping and vacuuming the room. She only had to dress the bed with clean linen and her shift would be over. She took out the used bed sheets from the bed and marvelled at how clean they were. It seemed that the occupants had had no interest in the bed or in sleep. As she was carrying the linen to the trolley outside the room, something dropped on her foot. She picked up a large wallet and she was about to open it when someone snatched it from her hands.

“I've been looking for this everywhere,” a tall dark gentleman said. He looked strangely familiar to Tess though she couldn’t really remember where she knew him from. 

“Hallo,” Jess said, wondering what to say to this person.

“Did you find any more booze? I could use a shot.” the guy said, wandering into the room.

“No. I did not find anything else. Who are you?” Tess asked, following him into the room.

“A hotel guest if you must know,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Well, you stopped being a guest the minute you checked out of the hotel,” she said. “Get up.” she shouted as the man sat on the bed.

“Why are you in such a bad mood?” he asked, standing up.

“Sir, I just cleaned up your mess and I want to finish up and leave,” Tess said. She began spreading the bed while the man stood there watching her.

“Good job,” he said, taking out his wallet and handing her some notes.

“I’m just doing my job,” she said declining.

“No way. Just take it. If you don’t, I’ll tell the manager that you were rude to me.” Jess hesitated for a minute then she took the bills that the guy had offered.

“Thank you,” she said politely. She finished spreading the bed and looked up to find the guy had left. She sighed in relief and left the room to take the cleaning supplies back to the store and clock out. As she pushed the trolley into the lift, she bumped into Lisa. Lisa often worked the morning shift with her and they had become good friends. Lisa congratulated Jess on her graduation as they headed back to the staff lounge and they chatted casually about the different guest rooms they had cleaned. They then clocked out and headed to the parking lot. Jess would need to head across town to the restaurant where she had another part time job waitressing. As she unlocked her car, she heard hooting from behind her.

“Jessica, right?” the man she had met earlier from the hotel room said. He got out of his car and walked to Jess. "I knew I remembered you from somewhere,” he said.

"How do you know my name?" she asked.

"We graduated together yesterday. Don't you remember me from economics class?"

"Not really,” she said opening her car door.

"You were always so serious. I thought you were low key royalty.  I could never have guessed you were a maid." he said chuckling. She gave him a glare and then started to get into the car. "Give me your number and I'll get you a better job in no time," he said.

 "No thank you," she said. She was offended by his remarks and by the way he was looking down on her.

"You know I can still make you lose your job here, don't you?" he asked sternly. She took out her phone reluctantly and he keyed in his contacts. "Thank babe!" he said with a big smile as he gave her back her phone. He then took out a large wad of cash from his pocket and gave it to her.

"What is this for?" she asked in surprise.

"Consider it an advance," he said then got into his car and drove away. Jess entered her car and sat down with pure confusion on her face. The feeling was soon replaced by a mixture of anger and disgust. Who did this guy think he was? He was so proud just because he had money. Jess had a sudden thought to throw away the money but she remembered all the bills she had pending. She put the money in her purse then she turned on the ignition. The car finally started and she drove to her next shift. It was a long drive because her car kept jerking. The car was very old and it was desperately in need of maintenance. Jess's father had kept it operating well when he was working but it stopped being a priority when he got sick. Jess thought that she would fix it with the money she had just received but she changed her mind. She was sure she couldn't trust the giver of the money. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and the evening found Jess exhausted in the parking lot. She was almost dozing off in the car, when a loud knock on the windshield woke her up. She sat up startled only to see the stranger from the hotel.

"This has got to be a nightmare,” she mumbled rolling down her window.

"I heard that," he said chuckling.

"Are you following me?" she asked.

"Not really. I just tracked your phone."

"Is that even legal?" she asked in shock.

"Not for you babe," he said stroking her hair suggestively.

"What do you want?" she asked aggressively. This man was making her uncomfortable and a little scared.

“That's no way to talk to your new boss,” he said seriously.

“Excuse me?” she asked in confusion.

“You applied for an entry level position at NextGen didn’t you?” he asked.

“Yes, but how did you know that?” she was now visibly scared.

“I investigated you,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’m not a stalker or serial killer. It’s just that I don’t believe in coincidences so I got curious when you kept showing up. First you were my college mate then you applied for work at the same place where I work. Then you just happen to clean the hotel room where I was partying with my friends.”

“Believe it or not, it’s all a coincidence.” Jess said smiling weakly. “But if it makes you so uncomfortable, then I don’t have to take up the job offer.”

“What? No. You have to. I’m sure we pay more than waitressing and cleaning combined.” he said.

“How do you even know if I’ve been shortlisted?” she asked doubting this man.

“I’m HR and your direct supervisor,” he said smiling smugly.

“I don’t have time for your jokes. I was trying to rest before my final shift at the hotel and you just wasted that chance,” she said starting the car.

“It’s no joke,” he said. “Meet me at here after your shift. I promise you it will be worth your while.” She looked at the piece of paper handed to her while she considered this man’s request. When she looked up to give him a response, he was gone. She gasped in surprise then shook her head to confirm whether she had just had a hallucination. As she drove to the hotel, she debated within herself wondering what her former school mate would want from her. What would he get in return for getting her a job? Well, there was only one to find out.