I strode past the lobby area and stopped short when I saw Ryan washing windows I’d already cleaned and Mike gathering the trash I hadn’t gotten to yet. Duke was nowhere to be found, but I had a sinking suspicion I knew exactly where he was. I wanted to curl up in a ball on the couch in the lobby and pretend this wasn’t happening. I didn’t want their help. I wanted them to go home at a reasonable hour so I could clean in peace. Mike and Ryan had wives and kids at home. They shouldn’t be here. Watching people do MY job was too much. And now, it wasn’t just Duke, it was his friends too. My BOSSES.
Marching over to an unsuspecting Ryan, I schooled myself to keep things light so the mortification I felt didn’t come out in ungrateful whining.
“Hey!” I grabbed the squeegee from his grip. “You guys don’t need to do that! Go home. Right now!”
Ryan held up his hands. “Whoa. Duke said you’d be testy. He wasn’t kidding.”
“Listen, guys.” I waited until Mike turned from gathering trash and grinned at me. “I don’t need any help. I promise. It’s so nice of you guys, but seriously, go home. Your families are probably wondering where you are.”
“Our Zoom meeting was expected to run late,” Ryan said, checking his watch. “My kids are already in bed, and my wife is probably watching aBachelorre-run right now.”
“What’d you think of last week’s episode?” Mike asked, carrying an extra-large black garbage sack over his right shoulder like a below-average version of Santa Claus.
Ryan busted out a laugh. “On the beach?”
“Yeah.”
While they were talking, I walked over to Mike and attempted to nonchalantly grab his garbage sack.
He smiled kindly, holding it out of my reach. “Actually, I’m on my way out, I’ll just drop it in the dumpster by the cars. Is that okay?”
My heart sank. I looked at both men, my hands in a prayer pose. “Alright, thank you. Really. This was very kind of you both. But this is a one-time thing. Next time, if you’re still here when I’m cleaning, just smile and wave. That’s all I want, I promise.”
Ryan dropped the window cleaner back into my cart. “We know. But we had some extra time. And Duke in NO WAY whatsoever put us up to this.”
“No way whatsoever,” Mike agreed, nodding definitively.
A smile crossed my face at that, my heart soothed the tiniest fraction at their sweet nature. “Glad to hear it.”
“We’ll go back to our normal sloppy selves tomorrow.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Alright,” Mike said, readjusting the garbage sack as he and Ryan returned their equipment to my cart and gave me a quick high-five. “Windows are done, garbage cans are done. No idea what Duke is doing, but he took off that way.” He motioned toward the hallway before they moved toward the exit. I waited until the door closed before making my move.
“Duke!” I yelled, storming down the hallway, my cleaning cart struggling to keep up. “We need to talk.”
I found him just stepping out of the men’s bathroom, holding the toilet brush and cleaner.
“A talk? That sounds fun.”
“It’s not a fun talk. It’s a boundary talk.” I immediately began taking everything out of his hands and placing them back onto my cart.
He reached for the mop handle, but I slapped his hand away.
“I thought we had rules, but apparently, after hours, this place is mad chaos,” I said.
“Mad chaos?” he repeated, smiling at me.
“I didn’t want to have to do this, but you’ve left me no choice.” I motioned around the office. “After six pm, this place is mine. Your shift is over. It’s my office now.”
He cocked his head to one side. “Are you doing this so you can flirt with me? Now that we’re technically out of the office?” He looked like he was about to keep going, but I leveled him with my stare.
“Rule number one,” I interrupted, jabbing my finger into his chest. “You have to stop helping me. It’s embarrassing. I hate that Ryan and Mike—my BOSSES—were doing my work tonight.”
He held up his hands. “In my defense, they weren’t supposed to be here. They joined my meeting at the last minute.”
“And they just happened to both want to clean some windows when they were done?”
