Chapter 7
"We haven't received the other part of the payment as promised, and we can't keep postponing this matter any longer," Jodie Sinclair hears on the phone. "If you don't resolve the debt this morning, you'll need to pick up your mother from our facility this afternoon."
Jodie has had the phone pressed to her ear for several minutes. She stops listening to the nursing home director when he repeats twice that it's impossible to keep a patient who doesn't pay her fees. The housekeeper, overwhelmed and furious, went to the bar where she used to work, but the owner refused to see her. He owes her for the last two weeks she spent serving drinks there, and without that money, it's impossible to pay what she owes.
"You won't put my mother out on the street," Jodie snaps with determination, tired of everyone dismissing her. "I'll call you as soon as I can."
After hanging up without giving her interlocutor a chance to speak again, Jodie stores the device in her locker and heads straight to talk to her supervisor. As much as she despises that woman, she knows she needs to ask permission for anything she plans to do at the hotel. When she leaves the locker room, she heads to the small office next to the cleaning supplies closet, where Marjorie Garcia spends several hours a day making schedules, reviewing work sheets, and plotting—according to Jodie—how to make her workers hate her more. She doesn't make it into the office because the supervisor is at the door talking to a coworker.
"Shouldn't you be on the third floor already?" Marjorie asks as soon as she spots Jodie.
"Yes, I wanted to talk to you," the housekeeper replies.
Marjorie raises an eyebrow and releases air like a buffalo. She gives Jodie a head gesture to tell her what she wants.
"I need to request an advance, I have a prob—"
"Absolutely not," Marjorie interrupts her, shaking her head. "Your behavior and productivity lately leave much to be desired. Advances and other privileges are earned. Now, get to work unless you want me to write you up for starting late."
Marjorie turns and enters her office. Jodie feels an irrepressible urge to grab her by the neck and give her a good punch. It's not a good day for the housekeeper; she'd rather be at home resting instead of begging to get some money to face the debt she has at the nursing home. Driven by desperation, she goes straight to Lamir Kumar's office to talk to him, who's actually the person who can handle these types of requests.
"Miss Sinclair, what do you need?" Lamir asks when, after being announced that Jodie needs to speak with him, the housekeeper enters his office.
"An advance," she responds directly.
The man nods, slowly, and interlaces his hands on his desk.
"This first has to go through human resources, who then usually checks with Olivia, Mrs. Taylor's secretary," explains Lamir, who knows the procedure by heart. "I have no problem with it, but that's how it's handled."
"Whatever is necessary, but I need it as soon as possible, please," Jodie asks, politely.
Lamir picks up the phone and makes two calls. He has seen the desperation on the housekeeper's face and, after he himself had judged her for a theft she didn't commit, he wants to make the process easier for her. He notifies Olivia directly so the approval will be faster and, when he's about to tell Jodie that she'll surely have that advance during the morning, the director's office door suddenly opens and a very angry Marjorie Garcia enters. Her eyes shoot fire and Lamir Kumar, who always seems to be afraid of her, draws a look of horror on his face.
"Seems like you have trouble following orders," Marjorie says, approaching Jodie, "I told you you couldn't ask for an advance. Are you deaf?"
Jodie takes a few steps and ends up very close to her supervisor. She has to look up because Marjorie is taller, but she doesn't intimidate her, she never has, it's just that the housekeeper has always preferred to maintain good behavior and not do anything that puts her job at risk.
"I've never disrespected you," Jodie says through gritted teeth. "I ask that you don't disrespect me."
Marjorie clicks her tongue, moves away from Jodie, and approaches Lamir.
"We need to terminate her contract. She's disobeyed an order, she's gone over my authority, and she's not fulfilling her work hours," Marjorie says with contempt. "Because of her rebellion, we're running behind and the rooms won't be ready as scheduled."
Silence falls in the office and only Jodie's broken breathing can be heard who, upon hearing her supervisor, feels fear climbing up her back and threatening to suffocate her until she passes out.
"She's Mrs. Taylor's employee," Lamir Kumar answers. "I remind you that she now works directly in the penthouse."
Marjorie releases air like a buffalo again. She knows she needs to be careful with these types of impulses, especially if they directly affect her boss.
"I'll be watching you," responds Marjorie, who has turned to address Jodie.
The phone rings and the director welcomes the truce. Katherine Taylor's secretary asks him to tell Jodie Sinclair to come up to the penthouse immediately.
"Go see Olivia," Lamir tells Jodie after hanging up the phone. "She wants to talk to you."
Jodie nods and leaves the office to find the elevator. Her body trembles, her mind is a hotbed of thoughts, and her ears buzz. She curses the moment her late brother left her such a burden. If he had done things right, her father would be alive, her mother out of the nursing home, and she would be running the family business. While the elevator goes up, Jodie loses herself in memories and how happy she was being a girl with the privilege of working in what she liked, going out for drinks with her friends, and enjoying the body of some woman in bed when she had the chance.
She rings the doorbell of her boss's penthouse and, confident that it will be Olivia who opens, she startles when it's Katherine who appears at the door.
"Come in," she asks Jodie and steps aside.
Jodie doesn't understand it, but her body boils with a number of negative feelings that she's not being able to control. Maybe it's the mountain of shit that has accompanied her for years, but what has put the cherry on top that day is that, after the confrontation with Marjorie and the conversation with the Mallois hotel director, she has to go up to give explanations to Katherine Taylor herself.
"What, do I have to tell you why I need an advance too?" Jodie roars. "I know my rights, and this is one of them. I know it can be approved or not, but I have every right to ask for it without having to justify myself or explain what the hell I want the money for."
To Katherine, who remains standing in front of Jodie with an impassive expression, inside her heart gives several taps warning her that something in the housekeeper's attitude has delighted her. The owner of the Mallois hotel realizes that Jodie Sinclair truly attracts her. Since she met her, there was something that made her particularly attentive to the housekeeper and she thought—wrongly—that Jodie constantly paraded through her mind only because Katherine had awakened a protective feeling given the woman's unfortunate situation. That face sharpened by seriousness, the gestures she makes with her hands, and that overwhelming attitude, are making Katherine's groin pulse with the force of a hurricane unexpectedly. But she is Katherine Taylor and, of course, she won't let Jodie dominate the situation.
"If you know your rights so well, please enlighten me. Maybe I need an update," asks the businesswoman in a flat voice. "What else are you entitled to?"
Jodie doesn't take long to answer. She has so much rage that she doesn't think about the consequences her outburst might have.
"I know I have the right to be treated with respect and not humiliated by a person who claims to be the head of housekeeping at your hotel. Marjorie is a bitch and I'm sick of her abuse," Jodie spits in front of her boss's gaze. "Now, if you want, fire me for being a snitch, but I'm tired of staying quiet."
Katherine doesn't say anything, not because she doesn't care, but because her employee is so nervous that she doesn't think it's appropriate to ask questions that might worsen her state.
"How much money do you need?" asks the hotel owner, radically changing the subject.
Jodie lifts her head, closes her eyes for a moment seeking calm, and answers Katherine, who nods and walks down the hallway disappearing behind one of the doors. Jodie can hear a couple of beeps that she knows are from a safe and, after a few minutes, her boss stops in front of her.
"Here you have it," Katherine says and hands her a white envelope with the Taylor group logo. "You have as many hours off as you need to solve your problem. When you return, let Lamir know you're back. The money will be deducted from your next four paychecks, so your weekly salary won't be as affected."
Jodie's hand trembles when she receives the money and stores it in her uniform pants. She knows she needs to apologize to her boss for the attitude she's had, but she doesn't think it's the right time. She still has that ball of fire in her chest and prefers to be serene before speaking again. The housekeeper thanks her and leaves to head to the nursing home where her mother is interned.
Ten minutes later, Katherine Taylor walks with Mike to her hotel director's office. Upon entering the office, she finds Lamir with a tired face and Marjorie walking like a tigress while gesturing and letting out some profanity.
"Any problem?" asks Katherine, leaving them both paralyzed.
"No, Mrs. Taylor, none," answers Lamir nervously, as if Katherine were a boss to fear.
"I wanted to talk to you," says Marjorie who, although she tries, her anger shows on her face.
"Go ahead, Marjorie."
"We need to let go of one of the housekeepers. She starts her shift late, uses the phone during work hours when she knows it's forbidden, and disobeys the orders I give," explains Marjorie counting each reason with her fingers. "Jodie Sinclair isn't good for your hotel."
Katherine moves her head as if she's really listening to her.
"Maybe it's just my impression, but it seems you always have complaints about this woman in particular," points out Katherine with feigned ignorance. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that we hired her instead of your niece, would it?"
Marjorie Garcia tenses up. The Mallois is the best hotel in New York to work for and she wanted her niece to join the ranks as a housekeeper. The girl didn't pass the two interviews they gave her, she really didn't want to work and her aspiration wasn't to clean rooms, but to be a boss directly, even without having any type of experience. The position wasn't for her and after interviewing Jodie, they opted for her profile. Marjorie didn't take it very well.
"In any case, Marjorie," Katherine doesn't let her answer, "I remind you that your job is to ensure not only that my hotel's housekeeping service works, but also that the workers are well. I live here because I like to have control of my businesses and know my employees' needs up close. I won't tolerate disrespect or injustices in my hotel."
Katherine's expression is so harsh that Marjorie doesn't want to tempt fate. So she decides to show submission and accept what her boss says.
Katherine Taylor leaves the office with a sensation she's never had in her life. She's always been one of those businesswomen who analyze everything that has to do with their businesses, thinks with her head and never lets herself be carried away by an outburst, but she's been about to fire Marjorie Garcia because, apparently, she has it in for the girl who's starting to own all her thoughts, and that's starting to worry her a lot.