After moving into the new house, I applied for countless positions, spending my days at the dining table circling job listings in the newspaper, something I had not done in years. The process felt surreal and humbling, as if life had pushed me backward instead of forward. Interview after interview, rejection after rejection, slowly wore me down. The messages blurred together until I could barely distinguish one from another, each one chipping away at my confidence and feeding the self-doubt I was trying so hard to suppress.
After three interviews, I finally secured a front desk agent position, and I was grateful for it. The routine that followed—dropping Lucas at school, working, coming home, making dinner, and falling into bed—might have felt monotonous at times, but it brought a sense of stability into his life, and that was all that mattered.
My children.
Lucas and my unborn daughter.
And for reasons I could not explain, the brief moment when my eyes had locked with the stranger at the restaurant unnerved me, as though the weight in his gaze had recognized the same hidden fractures I tried so hard to keep buried.
4
JIYA
“Roger,” I said to the front desk manager. “This operating system is too old for the needs of the front desk agents and housekeepers. This is the third time a guest has walked in while the housekeeper was still cleaning the room.” I could not hold myself back any longer. Frustration had been building inside me for weeks, pressing harder and harder against my restraint until it finally spilled out. “Investing in the Cloudbeds system will help tremendously since it tells us when the guest has checked out, when the housekeeper has finished cleaning the room, and when the new guest can enter the room.”
“I didn’t ask for your suggestion, Jiya,” Roger said irritably. “The General Manager is not interested in your suggestions either.”
“But—”
“No buts, just do what you’re supposed to,” he said, “or we’ll find someone who can.”
His eyes squinted at me in warning, and the contempt in his expression made my stomach tighten. I forced myself to stay silent. Arguing further would only make things worse. It wouldgive him more reason to paint me as difficult, more reason to push me out. So I swallowed everything I wanted to say and stood there with my jaw locked so tightly it hurt. I walked out of his office without another word.
No one wants to listen to reason or advice to make life easier.The thought burned in my mind as I clenched my jaw. I cursed under my breath, frustration simmering inside me.
The General Manager, a woman in her late sixties, had dismissively waved my idea off when I suggested a loyalty card during the weekly meeting. She had not even wanted to listen to me or any of the other staff, which had frustrated me even more. I still remembered standing there in the meeting room, trying to explain how a loyalty program could bring returning guests and boost revenue, only to see her waving her hand as if she were swatting away an annoying fly.
How could a person like that stay in that role and get away with her actions? Didn’t the owner care at all?
Time and time again, I gave my input on how to improve operations, but I was shut down by the department heads and the General Manager. Out of spite, they made me do jobs outside my remit. I could see it clearly for what it was, even if they pretended otherwise. There was no mistaking the pattern anymore. Every time I spoke up, I paid for it later.
Desperate to hold on to this job since my medical benefits would kick in soon, I tried to control my tongue. Every time I heard the frustrations of the employees around me, it took everything in me not to speak up. It went against every instinct I had built over the years in hospitality. I was used to noticing inefficiencies. I was used to solving problems. I was used to leading. As difficult as it was, I forced myself to ignore their hindrances and continue my tasks. I kept reminding myself that this job was temporary. I only needed stability until the baby arrived.
Exhausted every evening when I got home, I tried to give my best to Lucas and keep things together. The morning sickness had stopped after the third month, but I still felt weak and drained of energy most days. Some evenings, I barely had enough strength to make dinner before collapsing into bed. There were nights when I stood at the stove stirring a pot with one hand while the other pressed against the ache in my lower back, wondering how much longer I could keep pushing through sheer will alone.
I eagerly waited for the weekends and made sure I disconnected myself from work during that time. Those two days were the only time my mind could breathe. They were the only stretch of hours when I could pretend I was building a life instead of barely holding one together.
Mid-October, my day was cut short at work.
“But Roger, I was not the one who authorized this transaction. It was?—”
“I don’t care. The customer has been charged for this transaction. He is now threatening to file a lawsuit against us because of you,” he roared.
“But it wasn’t me. Just look at?—”
“I don’t want to hear it. You’re fired. Pack up your belongings and leave!”
The words echoed in my ears like a gunshot. I stood there frozen as though my mind needed extra time to process what had just happened. Then the shock gave way to heat—anger, humiliation, disbelief—all of it crashing through me at once.
Grinding my teeth, I marched out of the office. My hands trembled with anger as the truth replayed in my mind. It was his authorization on the paper, but he would rather blame the new girl than risk getting kicked out of his job.Coward.
I grabbed my jacket and bag from the locker room, my movements stiff and mechanical. My chest felt tight, and Istruggled to keep my emotions under control. After handing over my ID and access card, I exited the hotel.
The cool air outside hit my face, but it did nothing to calm the storm brewing inside me. I drove around aimlessly, replaying the scene in my head again and again.
How could he throw me out? How could he look me in the face and do that when he knew full well the authorization had been his?
My body tensed as the pressure built in my chest. Back at the Lexington, when I was the GM, I would never have fired any employee until there was a proper investigation. That was basic leadership. That was fairness. That was common sense. What kind of a GM would not intervene?
