Chapter 5

Clara's POV

I assisted my mom in baking cupcakes for a birthday celebration during the day. She made the decision to launch her own tiny company.

I arrived at the motel around six o'clock at night, which meant I was one hour ahead of schedule. This needed to be documented.

The hotel's atmosphere had entirely changed, and something was off. It's generally peaceful and quiet, so when a few visitors attempted to disturb that peacefulness, the staff experienced an unprecedented level of terror.

I made an unsuccessful attempt to decipher the meaning of the murmurs among the maids in the hallway.

I carried out my daily activities and put on my outfit.

I went to the break room to grab a cup of coffee.

"I heard he's coming here today," said Sandra, one of the housemaids.

Four of her buddies were seated around a table with her.

"I've heard that he's really frightening. When he speaks to any of his staff, he forbids them from meeting his gaze. They must constantly maintain a downward gaze." Erin, Sandra's friend, talked.

I furrowed my face, wanting to know who they were referring to.

"Remember the time he fired someone for the simple reason that the spicy Korean cuisine he ordered had too much spice? Every employee at the eatery lost their job." One of the first-floor restaurant's bartenders, Jerry, started talking.

I was dying to know who it was now. Although we've had challenging visitors before, this one appeared to be making everyone nervous.

"Who is coming here today?" I halted my progress toward their table.

They all turned to face me and stood silently, their faces of disbelief matching mine.

"You haven't already heard?" Sandra inquiring.

"No," I shook my head.

Sandra said, "The big boss Derek Montenegro is coming to the hotel tonight."

"Oh, is that why everyone is so paranoid today?" So I did.

"Shh," said Jerry in a whisper. "Don't speak so loud, rumor has it that he can hear you from as far as five miles away."

They all gave a collective nod.

"I think that's a little over the top," I said.

Sandra said, taking a drink of her coffee, "I heard; he is coming here just so that he can fire some of us for his amusement."

Jerry muttered, "Heaven's help whoever has to serve him tonight."

Fortunately, it wasn't going to happen to me because, based on the timetable, I just had a few vacant rooms that needed to be cleaned. I was supposed to have an easy shift today.

Marcus entered the break room just then.

His normally tidy tie was loose, and instead of having his hair combed back, it was in its natural curls, as he appeared to be in a panic. He was nearly attractive, but then I realized he was Marcus.

Without further ado, they rose from their seats.

Marcus was likely going to put his stress on me, which was bad for all of us.

I had not yet prepared my coffee, so I was a little reluctant. All right, in this instance, the coffee wasn't worth it.

I turned around and went directly to the door.

"Clara," said Marcus, stopping me cold.

I couldn't have run in time. How come I?

"I need you to clean up the boss's penthouse." He said.

Confused, I turned to face him.

He couldn't have meant that boss; there had to be some sort of misunderstanding. Technically, all of the visitors were our bosses because we worked for them.

"Derek Montenegro," he said, verifying my worst ban.

My eyes grew wide with insight. I was to serve Derek Montenegro, the notorious one. The one that everyone was afraid of.

Marcus dabbed at his perspiration.

I could feel his nervousness creeping up on me.

"I don't think I can, I have a couple of rooms to clean up," I said.

I've never even seen the interior of his apartment, so why did it have to be me? Normally, only the maids with the highest clearance served our most esteemed visitors. At times, I get the impression that it's a covert morgue; nobody's ever permitted inside.

"Those plans are cancelable. Regretfully, your foolish friend chose to skip work today. Upon learning that he would be arriving today, they all became ill at once. Regretfully, it implies that a portion of you will have to put in even more labor." He responded.

Tuesdays were Ivy's off day; I wonder whether she was aware of this and chose not to alert me.

I exhaled. I was doomed; there was no turning back now.

"I need you to listen to me carefully." He stopped. "I need you to tidy up the penthouse and go before Derek returns; I don't want him to see you there. Derek doesn't like having visitors in his area. Do you comprehend?" Marcus said.

With a nod.

"Your job there is only to clean and nothing else," he said.

What else did he think I would do, I wonder.

"I will make sure that you are fired and that you never work here again if you do anything improper or disobey any of my directions. Do you comprehend?" He made a threat.

I gave another nod.

"Now get to work," he commanded. He slapped me out of my thoughts with a clap of hands.

He gave me the penthouse access card.

We weren't permitted inside his apartment until we were cleaning; it had its own private elevator. I pushed the elevator button to reach the top floor of the structure.

He owned almost 10 mansions in New York alone, so I'm curious why he was traveling here. I've heard that he hasn't visited in the last three years. Everyone was shocked by this.

This was advantageous for me in another aspect as well since I wouldn't have to deal with him and would just be cleaning the apartment before leaving before he came.

After a protracted wait, the elevator doors eventually opened.

As soon as I entered the penthouse, I gasped.

The location was exquisite, including several crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Glass encircled the penthouse, providing a view of the surrounding structures. Additionally, there were glass sections in the ceiling. The artwork in this room must have cost millions of dollars, and the contemporary furniture looked great in this setting.

I looked about the area for a little. It's unfortunate that a property like this hasn't had any occupants for at least the past two years; I wonder what it would be like to live here.

Most of us could only come near a spot like this while cleaning things up since life wasn't fair.

It was time to tidy up and go back to my depressing reality.

The building was so clean that I had no idea what I was doing there. But I would be destroyed if they happened to notice even a single dust particle.

Cleaning the bedroom, as usual, I started. This property was much too vast, yet it looked better than I could have ever imagined. I wiped the perspiration from my brow. things took ten or more workers to clear things up.

My phone rang in my pocket; I should probably turn it off now before it caused me any more problems.

I noticed an unusual caller ID on my phone.

"Hello?" I picked up the phone.

I put down the mop and concentrated on the call.

"Clara," Something murmured.

"Waylen," was my response.

His voice was one I could recognize any day.

"Please don't hang up on me, I just need to talk to you." He was happy.

"There is nothing we can say to one another. Simply put, we ought to move on and get on with our lives." I responded.

He stopped.

He did have some positive traits besides lying, and I'm confident that someone else would be content with him.

"Were you unfaithful to me? Is it the reason you're making such an effort to avoid me?" He said.

I was stunned by his statements at first, and then I was simply enraged.

Our relationship didn't work out for a variety of reasons, both of which we shared, but it was much too low of him to attempt to pin everything on me.

"Move past yourself. You were aware that our relationship wasn't functioning." I lost it.

There was a loud noise in the background, like a drawer being kicked.

"My friends warned me that this would happen, and I should have paid attention to them. All I know is that you cheated on me." He pushed.

"Our relationship ended because you wouldn't stop lying," I said.

Here, it's you who is lying. I now know why you were constantly busy and why you would always nod off when we were together. You were only using me as a scapegoat for another man. Did you decide to leave because you were sick of me?" He said.

We only got to spend time together on my days off since I had to work. What were your expectations from me? I screamed.

I had to force myself not to scream once again. I was definitely on the verge of losing it.

"You know what, I'm coming to you right now," he said.

He was insane; he couldn't possibly go into this hotel. He would be lucky to make it to the receptionist because of the strict security in the area.

I said, "Goodbye, have a nice life."

I ended the call. His number was then erased and banned once more.

It took me a minute to get over my rage and settle down.

Startled at the time, I glanced at the clock. This guy was so unbelievable to me; I had wasted so much time chatting with him. If I failed to finish before the deadline, it would be his fault.

It was time to get back to work; I had to tidy up this area before Derek came.

I finished the remaining tasks after picking up the mop.

After an hour, I had finished setting everything up.

Taking one last look around the apartment, I grinned. I was probably going to be here for the final time.

I could hear conversations outside.

Was Derek Montenegro here, could that be?

Recalling Marcus's warmth, I was terrified—Derek shouldn't see me here. This job paid far more than the ordinary hotel, so I couldn't lose it.

I would have finished much sooner if Waylen hadn't phoned. This was all his fault.

I strained to think of what to do next, and my brain froze.

I said to myself, "Hide."

I bolted from the living room, hiding behind the wall dividing it from the hallway.

There was so much space here that I doubt he could have found me.

The sound of footsteps became louder as the door opened.

"This is what happens, sir when you try to drink more than your cousin and grandpa together. They are both functionally intoxicated." Someone spoke.

I glanced to see what was going on.

Derek Montenegro was here, as certain as the day.

He was with another man who carried him to the couch by supporting his weight. He seemed inebriated.

Derek said, "It was only a few drinks, Luke, I'm fine."

"I'm sure the bar owners got enough money off of you to open a new company, but you seem pretty inebriated right now. You have to be sober because you have a meeting early tomorrow." It was the other man who spoke. He must have been Luke.

Derek rested his eyes on the couch and leaned closer.

"Alright," said Derek.

"I'll see you tomorrow," was Luke's response.

Derek remained mute and uncommunicative.

And with that, Luke left the penthouse. All that's left in the penthouse is stillness.

It should be easy to get out of here with him, this inebriated.

I tried to tiptoe toward the living room, but Derek opened his eyes at that same moment.

He got up carefully, balancing on the couch.

I came to a halt and went back behind the wall where I had been standing.

He was hardly able to stay upright as I saw him take a step forward. He was coming here, wait.

I had to come up with a strategy. Down the hallway was just one room. I wouldn't want to proceed in any other route since I would always end up getting caught.

I quickly sprinted to his bedroom on tiptoe.

He was going in this way, so it seemed like something was trying to hurt me today.

I looked about, trying to figure out where I could hide.

What were the possibilities that he would wind up in the bathroom?

I dashed to the restroom, carefully opening the door so as not to create a noise.

Observing my surroundings in the restroom, I became aware of how confined I was; there weren't many places to hide. Stepping into the shower, I stood in the corner, thinking maybe he wouldn't see me if he walked in. The scenario was not improved by the see-through panes around the shower.

He was so inebriated that I was convinced he would collapse into the bed at any second. I could get away with it without being discovered.

I heard some sounds coming from the bedroom; it was most likely him getting ready for bed.

After thirty minutes, I would have to see whether he was still asleep.

The noises ceased for a little. And then there was the sound of a door closing—this one, the bathroom door.

Hold on, perhaps it was a different door that shut. All I was doing was being worried and exaggerating.

A shirt was tossed to the ground after that.

It was obvious that I was shocked, so I covered my lips. This is the same bathroom where he was.

If there was no miracle, I was going to be discovered.

Then more clothing struck the floor.

Was he changing clothes?

Derek grabbed for the shower handle, and I saw his hand.

At that moment, a torrent of freezing cold water gushed over me.

I sealed my lips more tightly to stop myself from yelling at the shock of the icy water.

I prayed for a miracle while putting my hands together. My entire life, I've been good to a lot of people, so that had to count for something, right? I owed the cosmos this one; a miracle of some sort was required to get me out of this.

I heard his zipper unzip at that moment.

The next event I saw was Derek walking in front of me while completely nude.

"AAAA!" I cried out.