He stepped closer to me, my stomach rolling into itself, my pulse flipping. Putting my hurt hand up, I waved apologetically. “I’m sorry,” I repeated, stepping back again. He moved towards me once more and whatever part of me that wasn’t frightened was now completely gone.
“Do you want to walk in on me? Do you want to see what I’m doing in there? Do you want to go in that room and spread those sweet thighs for me? Take me inside and accept every inch of me because I’m your boss,” he reached out, wrapping his sausage fingers around the bottom of my face, squeezing. My stomach churned hotly, acid crawling up my throat, sweat suddenly under my arms and on the small of my back.
“What do you say? Do you want to go in there with me?” His tone was too easy, as if this wasn’t the first time he’d done this. I pulled my face away and turned, fast, taking the stairs by two as I ran down. I left the caddy behind and I didn’t turn around when he called after me to come back, then threw threats of losing my job at my back. I kept going until Melody came into sight, mopping the kitchen floor, carefree.
“We are going, now,” I hissed, tears filling my eyes. “Come on, seriously, we’re going. I don’t care if I lose this job. We have to go, now,” I whispered hastily, the weight of Mr. Nolan causing the stairs to creak as he padded down them towards us. Glancing over my shoulder, I made eye contact with him again.
“You think I want anything to do with some trash that cleans the house? Get the fuck outta here. I don’t want you here anyway. And your agency will be hearing about this. Consider your jobs gone, both of you,” he growled, his belly bouncing as he made his way off the last step.
Melody’s eyes flashed shock at him, then back to me, where I nodded before linking my arm through hers, both of us tearing through the kitchen to the back of the house, out the door.
“What the fuck happened?” she hissed, digging frantically through her purse, trying to grab her keys.
“Hurry,” I panted, my hand eagerly tugging at the still-locked passenger door.
“Okay, okay,” she clicked unlock frantically and we jumped in and before I could buckle up, we were halfway down his driveway, approaching the exit gate. It pulled open as we neared and as soon as the car was through, I turned and looked out the back window. No sign of Mr. Nolan.
Immediately, I started sobbing.
“I thought he was going to, I don’t know, hurt me or, or I don’t know,” I sobbed into my non-bandaged hand. Melody drove slowly down the private road, glancing at me frequently, resting her hand sympathetically on my leg as I cried. She didn’t speak but she knew what I don’t know meant.
“I was vacuuming and just, you know, in the zone,” I left out the part where I was fantasizing about Brooks’ lips sliding down the curve of my neck, making me tingle everywhere. She nodded. “And I was going to the master, to clean. The door was shut but I was just, you know, not thinking about it. I put my hand on the doorknob and as I did, he came out. He thought I was going to go in, I guess, and maybe I was. I mean, I would’ve realized once I opened the door, I think, what I was doing,” I couldn’t stop the sobs, they came heavily and freely now, and I wiped my nose with the back of my wrist.
“What did he do?” her voice was firm but low, helping me to steady my emotions.
“He, um, he said…” I took a breath, trying to remember exactly what he said. “He said, do you want to go in there with me, spread those sweet thighs and take me, and he grabbed me here,” I said, touching my face where his fat fingers had been. “He only grabbed my face,” I clarified, before Melody’s mind wandered.
“I don’t want to lose this job, I don’t want you to lose this job, either. I’m sorry. I should’ve stayed,” I was thinking out loud, unsure if leaving was the right thing, trying to regain composure. He probably wouldn’t have done anything anyway, right? “He was drunk,” I added.
“Britta, he can’t touch you. There’s no only. He can’t touch you anywhere, period. He can’t threaten you. He can’t force you into doing things just because you’re a fucking maid. Like, seriously. Of course, leaving was the right thing.” Her hand squeezed my knee to reassure me, and she began talking about heading to the agency, that she’d talk to the woman in charge and explain what happened. She thought that she’d be able to get a handful of our current clients to vouch for us, the work we do, and our professionalism. We wouldn’t lose our jobs, she promised. I nodded as I listened, in a daze. If I was just a trashy maid to Mr. Nolan, a girl he could just have his way with, is that how Brooks saw me too? Suddenly what had transpired this morning looked a lot different in the tarnished, rusty light I sat in now. I wrapped my arms around myself and leaned against the window, letting my eyes close.
“It will be okay,” Melody reassured me.
I nodded, remaining silent for the rest of the drive.
10
Brooks
My meetings felt extra unbearable today, as all I could think about was how wet and tight Britta felt around my fingers earlier that morning, eager on the kitchen counter. I also thought of her, and how she came to my house to pay me. She knows I’m wealthy, but
