CHAPTER 6
I fall right back into my afternoon schedule after lunch. I like my job, but one aspect I really love is planning monthly meetups. I come up with an idea for community engagement and then email the tenants and put up flyers around the complex so they can sign up. All events take place in the clubhouse – a large room adjacent to the lobby where I work. This month, I decided on a paint and sip. I did one of these when I first started working here and it was such a big hit, I knew I would plan another one.
Dear Atlantic Tenants:
Good afternoon. I hope this email finds you doing well. Please be advised that our next community event will be a paint and sip coming up in two weeks. To RSVP, please respond to this email if you would like to attend. There will be plenty of food and drinks, so come hungry and ready to socialize and paint. The spots will fill up fast. All painting supplies will be provided. Hope to see you there.
6 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Atlantic Clubhouse
Zimyra St. Claire
Properties Manager
Atlantic Properties
I send the email and then start on the flyers when I hear the door chime. I glance up to see Mr. Alton step inside. He says, “Hey there, young lady.”
“Hey, Mr. Alton. Are you just getting off work?”
“Yes. I just walked over here to drop off the rent.”
“Still don’t like paying on the portal, huh?” I ask. He’s old school like that. In fact, there are a handful of tenants who pay by money order. Before I started working here, I wasn’t aware money orders were still a thing.
“No. I like to put it right in your hand so I know you have it.”
“I heard that.”
“Oh, and thanks for getting that clog in my drain out. It’s as good as new.”
“You’re welcome,” I say, feeling like a hypocrite, knowing I had nothing to do with that. “Hey, before you leave, you know I’m having another paint and sip. You loved the last one. Make sure you sign up if you want to participate.”
“Oh, I’m signing up as soon as I walk back over there to my apartment. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay. Have a good one, Mr. Alton.”
“You as well.”
I glance at the clock. I’ve been on pins and needles, anticipating Axel returning with his compadre in tow. The office closes in thirty minutes and there’s no sign of him.
Thank goodness.
I was already on edge when I left the restaurant, pretending not to notice the rays from his eyes sinking into my skin as I made my exit. Capri had the nerve to laugh herself silly when we finally made it outside.
I get up to start shutting the place down. There isn’t much to do but vacuum the entrance and turn off the lights. I run to the bathroom real quick because I know I’m going to be stuck in the afternoon rush hour, making my commute home twice as long as it typically is.
After washing my hands, I return to the front to find Axel sitting in my chair.
“Are you freaking—”
I instantly regret yelling. I don’t want to give this man any indication that he’s gotten under my skin, but he has. I take a breath to reset and say, “You’re not allowed behind my desk.”
“Oh. My bad.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Why do you look surprised?” he asks. “I told you I was coming back.”
“For what?”
He takes more folded papers out of his pocket and hands them to me. “That’s Mauricio’s application. When do you think we can officially start?”
How about never?
That thought crosses my mind, but the way Mr. Alton was excited about his unclogged sink does as well. Hiring Axel and Mauricio will take the stress off of having to start the process from scratch. Putting ads on job boards is stressful. Interviews are stressful. I have enough to do in the course of a day. If I’m working smarter and not harder, hiring these two buffoons is my best option no matter how much I don’t like them. Who says you have to like the people you work with?
I ask, “Did you follow me to lunch today?”
“No. I didn’t know you were there until I walked in. Should I have left, your majesty?”
“Ugh…don’t do that.”
He smirks. “Don’t do what?”
“The sarcasm. It’s unbecoming.”
“Only because you don’t like me, but it is what it is.”
“Look, Axel—”
“Oh!” he butts in. “It’s okay for you to call me Axel, but I have to be professional .”
“Okay…Mr. Jennings—I don’t want any issues out of you or Mauricio. Both of you can start tomorrow, but if y’all don’t pass the background check, you’re both out on your tails. I will call the police if I have to. Got it?”
“There you go again threatening somebody with the cops.”
“Got it?” I ask, ignoring his rant.
“Yes, ma’am!” he says and salutes me, then an evil-looking smile forms on his radiant face as he lowers his hand.
Ugh .
“Can you leave now?” I asked, but it came out more like a demand.
“I’ll walk you out.”
My face contorts. “You’ll walk who out?”
“You.”
“I don’t need you or anybody else to walk me out.”
“Okay, Ms. Independent.”
“Leave before I change my mind about giving you a job.”
He doesn’t move. He just stands there staring at me. The silence is so loud, I can hear the tick, tick, tick of the large round clock on the wall.
“What happened to the cordial, sweet woman I met last Monday.”
“You screwed her over and now she no longer exists…for you, that is.”
“Okay, well if we’re going to be working together, Ms. St. Claire, I think we need to start with a clean slate. I apologize for wasting your time. Going forward, I will be more considerate of your time.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“Can we shake on it?”
Yeah…anything to get you out of my office.
I reach to accept his hand. He squeezes mine with his large, strong one. His handshake is firm and impressive, but I had no reason to think it would not have been. Everything else about him is impressive. Well, physically. I’m not sure what’s going on in that head of his.
I pull my hand back when I realize he has no intention of releasing it.
He says, “See you tomorrow.”
“Yep. Nine o’clock.”
“I thought the office opened at eight.”
“It does, but maintenance starts at nine. So, just stop by the office and I’ll give you the maintenance list for the day. It’s pretty substantial being that we’ve been without maintenance for a full week.”
“Nothing me and Mauricio can’t handle.”
“We’ll see.”
He finally leaves. I grab my purse, lock up and then drive home, checking the rearview, making sure I’m not being followed by a black Genesis SUV.