But starting tomorrow, I wouldn't need it anymore.
The cleaning chemicals were especially harsh today. My eyes burned red, again and again.
It was nine in the morning by the time I finished scrubbing every restroom in the building, top to bottom.
That was Mary's requirement.
She'd looked at my smooth, unblemished hands that day and smiled. "Pamela Bishop, dear, every restroom in the building needs to be spotless before the staff arrive. You can manage that, can't you?"
I'd gritted my teeth and agreed. Even though those hands had once been made for painting.
Exhausted down to the bone, I curled up in the utility closet behind the last restroom to rest.
BANG BANG BANG—
The pounding on the door nearly stopped my heart.
I opened it. Vivian Lawson stood outside in a crisp designer suit, William's secretary, looking down at me like I was something stuck to her shoe.
"Mrs. Sanchez! So this is where you've been hiding to slack off." Her tone was perfectly polite. Her eyes were not. They slid over my cleaning uniform like a blade. "The second stall in the women's room is clogged. Would you mind taking care of it?"
My fists clenched at my sides, nails biting into my palms hard enough to draw blood. I didn't feel it.
In the end, I pulled on my mask and gave a numb nod.
When I reached for the long-handled pliers, Vivian raised a hand to stop me.
"Mrs. Sanchez, the company just replaced all the toilets. Each one is a fifteen-thousand-dollar smart toilet. Tools like that could damage them."
I frowned. "Then what do you want me to do?"
"I'm sure you'll figure something out. Just... no tools."
The implication couldn't have been more obvious.
I knew that if I didn't do what she wanted, she'd never let it go.
My paycheck hadn't come through yet. I didn't want trouble.
I dropped to my knees mechanically. My stomach lurched—whether from the smell or the humiliation, I couldn't tell. Acid climbed up my throat.
Tears slipped silently down my cheeks, absorbed by the mask before anyone could see. Under Vivian's amused gaze, I got to work. As I pulled the obstruction from the toilet, I heard the click of a camera shutter behind me.
Several times.
"Mrs. Sanchez, I just posted your hard work to the company group chat! Your fearless dedication to the job is truly an inspiration to us all!" Vivian beamed at me.