"I'm not going back there," Chase kept repeating to himself as the hot water from the shower hit his skin, loosening his tensed muscles, driving out the cold and probably wash off his shame.He had come to the conclusion that although the pay was in no way small, it wasn't worth the insult and the constant trampling upon his ego.He finished taking his bath and looked at his ruined shirt, saying a silent goodbye to it because he knew no amount of washing would take off the mud and coffee stain that now turned the white shirt to a dirty brown color.After dressing down for the night in pajamas pants that had slacked from excessive wearing and washing, he pulled a long-sleeved top over his head and walked to the living area which also doubled as his room.He walked to the fridge and after scanning the near-empty space, he came to the conclusion that he was going to sleep hungry because the only thing that stood in the fridge was a can of sardine that expired four months back."I'll cont
The office was eerily quiet as he entered. Even the preppy receptionist had not arrived. Another woman was there in her stead who didn't pay Chase any mind. Chase let out a breath of relief because the lesser people he had to deal with, the better his day would go.He went took the elevator straight to the 50th floor where the offices were located and walked straight to the conference room. He started wiping down on the large table that took up half of the room and the chairs around it. Soon, voices could be heard."Hey Trent, my office,' Paul called and as Chase turned to correct the name, he was already gone. He felt like the man purposely called him other names to piss him off.Other names are better than illiterate, don't you think?" his conscience mocked him and he rolled his eyes and went to Paul's office.He knocked once and was ready to apologize for not having his coffee at hand, reason being that the café nearest to the office didn't operate till 7am but his apology was imme
".......right here is where you get the bleach and any detergent you need. Oh, there are gloves too," she cracked him a smile and he resisted the urge to poke his fingers into her deep dimples. He really didn't understand how she could look so happy in the environment that had been nothing but toxic since he came. If only she couldn't squeeze out some of her happiness and sprinkle it on him….."Huh?" His thoughts were cut short when she looked at him expectantly through the thick blanket of her lashes. She was about six inches shorter than him and as he stared at her, the only word that came to his mind was "cute."She waved her fingers at his face and he realized she had asked him a question and he was pointedly staring at her. He looked away and masked his embarrassment with a cough as his cheeks began to heat up. "Yeah, sure," he didn't even know what he was asked but he had to supply something."Don't be too tense. They don't bite. Some of the at least," she quickly added and bit
"Cleaning service, how may we help you?" Evelyn said as cheerfully as she could as dark beady eyes stared back at both of them while Chase held tightly the cart that had their cleaning supplies in them."I need the toilet plunged," the man said. He had only a towel wrapped around his waist and his hairy chest and stomach were on full display.Evelyn nodded once and pulled out the gloves, handing one to Chase and wearing another one herself. She pulled out the toilet plunger and they walked in. All the while, the man's eyes never left Evelyn. His name was Curtis and we worked for one of the big companies around. Evenly had cleaned his room earlier that morning and he couldn't stop admiring the beauty, which was why he made the call to see her again, when nothing was wrong with the toilet. He was displeased to see her come with someone else.Meanwhile, Evenly plunged the toilet and when it saw it flushed normally and nothing was wrong with it, she shrugged and told Chase they should le
The rest of the day had gone by in a blur. They cleaned a few more rooms and talked more. Soon, it was time to make the evening rounds and go home."Theo, you'll take the top floor, I'll take the 90th and Evelyn, you'll handle this one," Alice shared and walked out immediately to begin her round.Chase felt his jaw tick and the thought of Evelyn going back to that man's room made his skin crawl. "Let's switch", he offered.She immediately caught on and shook her head politely. "It's fine. I'll be in and out before anything happens and besides, there are only three suites in the top floor and since you're just starting, it won't be too hard for you," she said.Chase still wasn't convinced but before he could argue further, she pulled her cart and was out of the room. Sighing heavily, he pulled the last cart and walked towards the elevator. He pressed the red button which was for the 100th floor and went up. Luckily for him, he was the only one in the elevator cab. He let out a sigh of
"Theo," Laura yelled from where she sat in the lobby, waving him over."How did she know I was working here?" He asked himself but still walked over to her."How did you know I worked here?" He voiced his thoughts when he reached her."Didn't you want me to know? I met your landlady while leaving your house and she told me you got a job here. Why didn't you tell me?" All the wheels in her head were turning as she took in the majestic lobby. This place was for the high and mighty and if she could come here often with the excuse of seeing Chase, she could hook a wealthy man. She thought to herself.Chase cleared his throat. "Well, I forgot and I'm done for the day, so let's go," he held her elbow to lead her out but she yanked her hand back."You're working here now so you must make a lot of money. How about we go to the bar and have a drink?" She pouted, trying to draw him in with her innocent look. The cheapest drinks in Gab and Gabe's bar were priced at $700 and her throat itched for
"So what do you want?" Chase asked into the receiver.It had been two weeks since the incident outside the hotel with Patrick and they had gone back to being a normal couple. As normal as they could be at least. Laura's birthday was in a couple of days and she had been hammering on wanting a new laptop for a gift for the longest time but as the date grew nearer, it seemed to Chase that she was no longer as enthusiastic as she was."Nothing. I'll be busy that day so I don't mind you not getting me anything," she replied, which Chase found weird."Are you sure?" He asked."One hundred percent. Gotta go, bye," she rushed out and ended the call. Chase pulled the phone from his ears and stared at the blank screen. Laura was always chatty but recently, she had become more reserved and always in a hurry to end his calls. One time, she even used the excuse of wanting to drink water to end his call. It all seemed weird to him and he had asked her a number of times if she was okay and she woul
"Evelyn," Chase called to get her attention but she wouldn't look up. After calling her a couple more times with no response, he pulled her up by the shoulder so he could see her face. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen like she had cried all night and didn't get any sleep.Chase was taken aback by her look because she was always cheerful like everything was okay in the world. Although he knew she would have issues for her to be working there and taking all insults but he just thought it was the general problem. Money. But what he didn't know about was her dysfunctional family.Evelyn's mother had cancer and the doctors advised that she gets chemotherapy done in less than a month or she would die. There was no way under the sun that she could get $500,000 in a month. Even if she was given two years, it seemed impossible and her only brother who could have helped her was in prison for a crime he"What's wrong?" Chase crouched down on one knee to be on eye level with her."Nothing," sh