“Huh,” I murmur. “Don’t Omegas kind of hate having their sheets changed?”
“Maybe they do when they’re mated. It’s not a big thing before then, and they’d still need to be cleaned regularly either way. We use soaps and detergents that are unscented to make them more comfortable. Most of the Omegas here haven’t perfumed yet, but every now and then you might catch a hint of perfume. It’s kind of a trippy feeling when it hits.”
She opens one of the huge washing machines’ doors.
“Start handing me the sheets from that first basket.”
I notice the basket is numbered as I follow her instructions.
“Is this a suite number?”
She nods. “Since Omegas are really sensitive, we try to make sure they get the same sets of sheets over and over again. If you give them sheets they’ve never had before, trust me, they notice.”
“Really?” I ask as I hand the sheets over.
“It might sound like a joke, but it’s not. You’ll see the first time someone gets stuff mixed up.”
“What do you do when that happens?”
“If we can correct it, we do. If we can’t, we grab a new set of sheets. I’ll show you where we keep those later. We have a whole suite full of consumables, new sheets and towels.”
I pass the last of the sheets from the first basket to Katie and she stuffs them into the machine, closing the door with a resounding click.
“Okay, this is how we do it. Load up the machines and then put in the cleaning solution and then switch them all on. It’s the best way to make sure you don’t forget what you’ve already done.”
She laughs lightly as she motions to the next basket. “Trust me, you overuse the cleaning solution once and you find a way to make sure you never do it again.”
It’s kind of reassuring that there’s a set routine to all of this.
The added pressure of making sure I don’t upset one or more of the Omegas is a little scary, but if it’s as foolproof as Katie seems to think, hopefully I’ll do okay.
Katie opens the door to machine number two.
“What happens when you use too much cleaning solution?” I ask, as I start to pick up the sheets from the second basket.
“Depending how many times you forget you already put some in, you can fill this whole room with water and bubbles,” she mutters, wincing lightly before pulling her lips back into a smile.
“Pierre told me to ask Lana for a room change if I wanted a bubble bath that much. The other girls were calling me Bubble Girl for months.”
“It can’t have been too bad if you’re still here,” I reassure, as she starts stuffing the sheets I’m handing her into the second machine.
“Well, the crew I was working with was just finishing their shift, and they stayed an hour with the dayshift crew to help me clean up, so Geraldine wouldn’t need to find out. Geraldine wasn’t exactly the nicest boss I’ve ever had. She was the head of the school a while back, way before Lana.” She laughs. “Man, I thought I was dead-meat when it happened. Geraldine walked around this place like a Drill Sergeant. Everyone knew if she found out, I was canned. They saved my ass. People like that are worth sticking around for, you know? After that though, they stopped letting the night shift people start the laundry. They said it would stop mistakes from being made when Geraldine noticed something was different, but no one ever ratted me out.”
She finishes stuffing the sheets into the machine and closes it.
“We have a good team, and it’s mostly the same as it was back then, with a few less people. You’re the first new person in a long while, but I can tell you’re going to fit in.”
“Thanks, I hope I do,” I admit.
Everyone’s been so nice to me. It really feels like this is where I’m supposed to be.
If it wasn’t for Falcon and his claims that I’m his true mate, I’d be content.
Instead, I have a knot in my stomach.
I like it here, but if I say yes to him and his pack, I’ll be leaving.
I tell myself it’s a decision for another day while Katie talks me through more about the job and I follow her instructions. I want to get this right. That’s all I need to think about for now.
