Page 25 of Zimyra

“Trust me—you’ve given me plenty of reasons to fire you.”

I smirk, then take another sip.

“Stop doing that,” she says.

“Stop doing what?”

“The smirk—that little grin thing you do. Just stop.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She says, “The coffee is for whoever comes in here. I keep it there for the tenants, future tenants, and visitors, so you’re welcome to it. However, if you want some good coffee, my sister-in-law owns Hott Stuff Coffee Bar. It’s the best coffee in Columbia.”

“Okay. I’ll make a mental note of that.”

She looks toward the door and asks, “Where’s your bestie?”

“Who? Oh—Mauricio.” I chuckle. “He told me he was on the way. You have the list ready for today?”

“Of course.”

She picks up a piece of paper off her desk and hands it to me saying, “That’s five jobs for the day.”

I take the list from her and read through it:

Unit 101-A – Ms. Campos reported that she needs her filters changed.

Unit 224-B – Mr. Edmonton says the fan on his hood doesn’t work.

Unit 314-A – Vacant unit. Replace the toilet in hallway bathroom and schedule pick up for old toilet.

Unit 204-B – Mrs. Phillips needs a new doorknob for her balcony door.

Light near pool – Replace the bulb in the light pole near the pool.

She says, “Just to fill you in on this list, we leave new filters for residents every eight weeks. It’s flagged on my calendar. When it comes time for their filters to be changed, you will be responsible for delivering it to their front doors. Ideally, I like to leave them on Saturdays because that’s when everyone is typically home. Ms. Campos in 101-A has asthma and likes her filter to be changed more frequently so she gets a new one every four weeks. Mr. Edmonton in unit 224-B loves to cook and the fan on the hood above his stove stopped working. It’s been like three days, but whatever. It’s broken, and it needs to be fixed. It may not sound like a big deal to you, but it is to him, and pleasing my tenants is top priority here. Unit 314-A is empty. I ordered a replacement toilet. It’s in the maintenance shed. I need you to remove the old one and install the new one. Make sure it’s the bathroom in the hallway—not the ensuite.”

“Okay. Got it,” I say, completely impressed by the way she knows her tenants and the way things are to be done. She didn’t even stop to take a breath when she gave me the rundown of the list. Not only does she know the tenants by name, but she knows their apartment numbers by heart as well. How on earth does she do that? I’m intrigued.

“I trust that you will relay this information properly to Mauricio when he arrives.”

“I will, yes.”

“Good.”

“Hey, I’m curious about something—how many units are vacant?”

Her eyes narrow. “Why does that matter?”

“It’s just a question,” I say.

After she summons a deep breath, she says, “Three units are vacant at the moment—units 314-A, 107-A, and 435-A. Also, 332-B is unoccupied because it’s the tour unit.”

“Got it,” I say. She didn’t need to look up that information on her computer either. She knows all the vacant units as well.

“Can I get back to explaining what’s on the list now?” she asks.

“Oh. My bad. I thought you were done.”

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