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I guess I would be too if I was in her shoes; I’d just be grateful to be alive even if I didn’t have a place to rest my head at night.
Sighing heavily, I scoot over on the bench to give her a place to sit. “I’m soready for another nine hours spent on my feet,” I say with mock enthusiasm.
Nina chuckles and pats my shoulder lovingly. “Everything will be alright, cariño. Life can’t keep us down forever.”
I nod, feeling a little less irritated now. I love Nina’s endearment for me. She said she called her daughtercariñoall the time before she passed away five years ago. When I’d asked her why she called me that now, she said it was because I reminded her so much of her little girl.
I shiver and zip my coat up the rest of the way. The crisp autumn air stings my face. I’ve always loved this time of the year, when the leaves change and the air turns cold, but not so cold that I have to break out my winter coats just yet.
“Did you get that job you interviewed for?” I ask her, changing the subject.
The corners of her brown eyes crinkle as she smiles. “I did! The manager said he needed someone with my personality to help with sales.”
I lean over and wrap my arms around her. “That’s great, Nina! I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you,cariño.”
When I pull away, she looks off into the distance. I can tell where her thoughts have gone.
“Maria would be proud of you, too,” I say quietly, watching as the cars drive by us.
She swallows down the emotions she tries so hard to hide.
“Nina, you can cry if you need to,” I tell her gently.
She shakes her head, causing strands of her brown and gray hair to fall from her bun. “I have to be strong. Maria would want that.”
“The strongest people in the world cry, too.”
At that, she breaks down in tears. I rub her back soothingly, telling her everything will be alright.
Pretty soon, the bus comes, and we go our separate ways. She decides to sit at the bus stop for a little while longer to collect her thoughts. I give her the space and privacy to do that, and with one last wave, I get on the bus.
Chapter 2
Brie
Work,thankfully, goes by in a blur, despite having to train thenew hire. The new girl, Mallory, walked in this morning looking for a job, and my manager hired her on the spot. She’s a quick learner, so I only need to show her what to do once before she’s working on her own. Since we’re still severely understaffed, though, we each have two floors to do instead of one–which means we’ll be here way past five.
The hotel I work at has rooms on the first twenty floors that guests can check into, and the next nine hold condominiums that anyone can rent or buy. The very top floor, the thirtieth, has the penthouse.
Not just any penthouse.Thepenthouse.
For the low, low price of $51,000 a month, you too can own the most luxurious, most expensive apartment in the city.
You know… if you make seven or eight figures a year.
I’ve been working here as a housekeeper for two years, and I haven’t once had to step foot into that penthouse.
Until today. Because the usual girls who clean it never came back to work last week. What’s normally a two-person job has now fallen on me.
Thanks a lot, Stephanie and Nicole, I think bitterly.
I knock on the door and call, “Housekeeping!” When no one answers after ten seconds, I use my fob to open the ornately carved double doors.
My mouth drops open when I enter the foyer.
“Wow,” I breathe, dragging the vacuum behind me.
