Page 12 of Bossy Grump's Secret

"No," He turns around and walks away, repeating "no."

"Listen, honey, we had better get to work. The sooner we finish, the sooner we’re done. I could really use some rest right now." The woman I'm paired with - Jane - tugs me by the arm, and I have no choice but to follow her. I look frantically around the room for Lily. I spot her walking off with Matilde.

Her eyes are still on me as she moves, and the poor girl almost trips.

I break free from Jane's hold and approach Lil, taking her hands. "You'll be okay. Don't worry, I'll talk to Dylan about it."

"Pfft. You don't worry yourself too much," she says, trying to sound indifferent. "I'll be fine. I know Matilde…we had a good flow when we did laundry together on the second day, remember?" Even though her face reeks of confident poise, she is shaking. I can feel her hands becoming moist as a slight trepidation ripples under her skin.

I let her go with effort, feeling my blood pressure rise just by not having her by my side. I'm sure that her anxiety is at its peak. I'll try to swing by during breaks and keep pushing until Dylan changes his mind.

Today, Dylan put Jane and me in the hotel's public areas, so the work area is dauntingly wide. It involves constantly sweeping and dusting to rid it of visible stains without causing too much of a disturbance to the surrounding guests.

This means we are practically on our feet for the entire shift, moving and dusting any surface left idle for too long. The positive side of the work is that I can move freely, plus the scenery is beautiful. Since this shift has at least ten staff members, nobody would notice or care if I was gone for a bit.

... except Dylan. But I'm going to risk it, anyway. I need to see Lily…make sure she is okay.

The story behind our bonding is unique. Lily suffered from physical and mental abuse when she was a child. Her mother has been suffering from depression since her father left and took out all his negative emotions on her.

She stayed quiet about her experience with her mother's abuse, believing it was not the woman's fault.. Lily suffered this plight even into college. It was a unique case, and her petite size both damned and saved her. Even though she was over eighteen, the abuse never stopped, since her mother was much bigger. A child services official stumbled upon her crying on the pavement outside her house, unaware that she was in college, and intervened although she was an adult.

In school, she avoided talking to anyone and flinched when attempting to interact with people.. I saw this firsthand multiple times; being a victim of bullying myself and overcoming it, I sat beside her at the cafeteria table. Seeing that I was genuine and never wanted to take advantage of her, she never left my side from that day forward.

I didn't want her to leave, either. I practically gave her a voice and a face in the school, helping her realize that she, too, was beautiful. And she is, actually. I would say more facially appealing than I am. Her big eyes, cute nose and pink, full lips blanketed by pale, smooth skin were attractive despite many scars if you looked close enough.

The first time I saw her without a shirt, I almost cried at the number of scars such a delicate body concealed. I wanted to protect this being, and Dylan would take her away.

No way.

I observe her from afar as I approach the laundry area. She doesn't look uncomfortable, and I hope she hasn't been here all this while. As soon as she sees me, she relaxes her shoulders and walks towards me.

"How are you holding up?" I ask softly, to which she just shrugs.

"Is Matilde giving you any trouble?" I ask again.

"No," she laughs. "Even if she was, I wouldn't tell you. Everyone needs to leave here with complete organs."

That makes me laugh out loud. Behind this broken soul was the sweetest, most humorous being I had ever encountered.

"Dylan show up here yet?"

"Twice. He's not so bad, Ava. He just seems to prioritize work over everything else."

"To me, he's not," I scoff.

What did he do to you?" She frantically searches my body and leans up to check my face.

"Nothing yet. Emphasis on the 'yet'," I told her. She gives me a look.

"I think he's the one I should be concerned about physically," she says, chuckling. She was probably right.

"Hey, um, don't worry about me, okay? We still stay in the same rooms, and you must get back to work. Shoo!" she says and pushes me off.

I had probably overstayed my visit, anyway. I leave her in the laundry room and return upstairs to the blinding light of luxury and wealth. Still, as for the luxury, I was not enjoying it.

Dylan

I have offended Ava. and I don't care...as long as it's in the company's interest and not damaging the staff. When I notice she’s gone, it's obvious she went to see Lily, but I let it slide. It's a worthy compromise, and I give her a warning stare when she comes out. She shouldn't abuse the privilege. When the shift is over, though, I go to her to make peace.

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