Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I push faster, my vision blurry, my body soaked in the feel of her. It’s the closest I’ve ever been to heaven.
“Bennett.”
I feel her begin to tighten around me, and I know I’m not going to survive it. It’s too much. She’s too much. Too good. Too…
My orgasm barrels up my spine like it’s chasing hers. And I explode into her.
FOUR
Efa
As I make my way down to the basement, the people coming up the stairs don’t even meet my eye, let alone look up to greet me. I can feel the stress in the air. I can’t help but wonder if it’s always like this. Maybe the lack of sleep last night is making me paranoid and I’m just imagining things.
I was supposed to meet Gretel in her office on the ground floor, but when I got there, someone directed me to the basement.
I glance around and through an internal window, where there’s a meeting taking place. Going by the uniforms, it looks like the housekeeping staff is gathered.
Someone pops their head out the door. “Are you Eddie?”
Hearing my name, the name everyone has called me without exception for a very long time, makes an image of Bennett flash in my brain. Specifically, how his lips curled around the name I was born with.
I shake myself out of the half-second trance and nod. “Yes. I’m looking for Gretel.”
“I’m Gretel. Come in. I’m going to put you in housekeeping for the first couple of days. There’s been a bit of a bug going around, so we’re short-staffed. Join us.”
Gretel is British and instantly I feel a little more at home. She holds the door open and I stand against the wall, listening to the person at the head of the room.
“It’s going to be a tough day. But we’re fucking New Yorkers. We eat tough for breakfast.”
Frankly, I could do without a tough day. Last night was the kind I need two days to recover from. Approximately. I don’t know exactly because I’ve never experienced anything like it. Bennett was attractive, attentive, and had a dick that should be certified dangerous, but it wasn’t just that. He seemed to know my body. Maybe he just got it because he was older. Maybe Americans are just better at sex. Or maybe Bennett is a witch.
I’m ticking the box that says “all of the above,” because I still feel him in every muscle in my body, in the oval bruises on my hips where he tried to hold me still as I writhed beneath him. I still feel him in the chafed skin of my thighs from his stubble as he worked his tongue so expertly. Again and again.
Last night was a revelation and I need processing time. Hell, I need recovery time.
Someone groans, pulling me back to the moment. The woman at the front talking points her finger at the groaner. “Don’t you dare go down. I need you.”
It feels like I’m in a football locker room, not next to three industrial washing machines in the basement of a New York hotel.
“We’ll do this. And then we’ll do it again tomorrow.”
Gretel steps forward. “Thank you in advance for all your hard work. I’m going to do my best to get agency staff and draft in other members of the hotel.” She puts her hand on my shoulder. “Eddie’s the first newbie of the day. More to follow.”
There’s a whooping from someone in the audience, and I can’t tell if it’s for me or the idea that more hands on deck have been promised.
The meeting breaks up and people start to move around.
“It’s going to be a bit of a baptism of fire,” Gretel says, turning to me. “Best way to learn in my experience. Plus we don’t have a choice. There’s been a vomiting bug passing through the housekeeping staff, which means we’re understaffed by thirty percent. There’s a lot to do, but you won’t be on your own. You’re going to be working with Marcella. She’s our longest-serving housekeeper and works exclusively on the suites. If you can work on suites, you can work anywhere. It’s a good training ground. You up for it?” She doesn’t wait for a response, just waves over her shoulder and shouts, “Marcella, this is Eddie. Come say hi.”
I’m not going to mention that up until the age of sixteen, we had housekeepers that did all our cleaning. I’m just going to get stuck in.
“I’m up for it,” I say decisively, even though I get the impression neither Marcella nor Gretel have time to give a shit. Which is fair enough. Everyone is clearly in panic mode.
“That’s the spirit,” Gretel says. “You’ll be here for the week. At least. Marcella will deal with your hours and uniform. Any questions, you know where I am.”
I nod, silently terrified about what I’ve let myself in for. A summer job sounded like a great idea. A summer job in New York sounded even better. Now that I’m in the basement of this hotel, I’m starting to get homesick.