Page 2 of Cherished By the Sinners
And there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
The elevator arrived at her assigned floor, dinged, and the doors opened.Before she could start pushing her cart out, a human tornado whirled into the space.
“Darlene, good,” the tiny woman who was her boss said.“I need you to go up to the larger suites today.”
Louise Marabell, the head of Housekeeping, determined where each of her staff worked in the hotel.But the larger suites on the upper floors of the hotel were reserved for staff with more seniority than she had.
The tips were amazing.
She was the newest member of the Housekeeping staff.She should be the last person on the list.
“Why doesn’t anyone want to work those rooms?”Darlene asked, in a hesitant tone.
Louise stared at her, then sighed and pushed the button for one of the higher floors.“The guests in those rooms are a little...odd.”
“Odd, how?”
“They follow the cleaning personnel around the suite.”She waved Darlene’s next question away.“No, they don’t touch anyone, they just follow them around.And one of the Japanese guests tries to make conversation, but it’s not...normal conversation.It’s a little weird.Could you give it a try?If it bothers you, you don’t have to stay.”
Darlene had met and dealt with the worst humanity had to offer.
She could handle weird.
“No problem,” she said with a shrug.“I actually prefer to know where a guest is if they’re in the room.”Getting blindsided by some asshole too many times did that to a person.
“Thank you,” Louise said with a huge smile.“Please see me before the end of your shift, I’d like to know how things go for you.”
“Sure,” Darlene replied with a small smile.
The elevator dinged and the door slid open.
“Call my cell if you needanything,” Louise said as Darlene pushed her cart out of the elevator car.
Darlene nodded and smiled, but no matter how strange the people were, she wouldn’t call.She needed this job.Only a few weeks ago, she’d been halfway to dead and living on borrowed time.
Then a miracle happened.Her friend Samantha had shown up on the street with her boss—who was also her boyfriend—and they’d thrown her a lifeline.A respectable job in one of the fanciest hotels in New York.They had employee housing and freaking medical benefits.Every other employee she’d met said the same things to her.
The Brezniks were the best people to work for in the whole city.
The Brezniks took care of their employees in ways no other employer did.
The Brezniks didn’t allow the abuse of their employees.
All she had to do was tell the cops about the man who had tried to kill her.A man who had cut a fucking map into her back with a knife.
In the hall in front of her, the nearest door opened and two people stepped out.This was the first room she was assigned to clean, so it was nice that she didn’t have to knock and interrupt their morning.
She’d seen both of them before in the lobby, and again in one of the hotel’s large conference rooms.They were part of a group of Japanese tourists.Important people given the personal attention Anna Breznik had given them.
Darlene stopped her cart and bowed to them.“Good morning.”She didn’t come out of the bow until after they’d returned her good morning with one of their own.
She’d lived in Japan for two years when her dad had been stationed there.Join the Navy, see the worlddidn’t just apply to the sailor, but the sailor’s family as well.Her Japanese was rusty though.
“I must clean your rooms,” she said, speaking more slowly than she normally would.“May I go inside?”
When her first pimp realized she spoke a little bit of several languages, she’d ended up with a lot of out-of-town Johns.Who knew being a sex worker would provide lessons on how to get along with people whose first language wasn’t English?
The man and woman stepped back.
