She positioned so her back leaned against the tree trunk, stretching her feet out so the pizza box could sit in her lap. Her feet tapped to the beat of Mariah Carey’s “Say Something,” as she happily ate.
Even though Octavia’s morning started off to a rocky start, thanks, Jay Firefly. Octavia refused to allow her tyrant of a boss to get in the way of her day off. The day was still early and full of possibilities.
After she ate, Octavia did a little shopping. She picked up fresh fruits: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and mangos. Then she stocked up on veggies: lettuce, kale, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower. And of course, she couldn’t leave without picking up a bag of kettle corn.
With everything in hand, Octavia took the subway back to the penthouse. She wanted to hurry and get the groceries in her fridge before she caught a movie.
“Hello,” Octavia greeted the doorman as he opened it for her.
“Hi, Ms. Cortez,” He greeted her with a wide smile.
Octavia loved this doorman, Xavier, because he treated her like everyone else, not just a maid. Granted, most of the building’s staff were kind, but Xavier took the time to say hello and ask how she was and see how it was going with Jay Firefly. Part of Octavia felt like he was nosy and wanted the tea.
“Looks like you’ve been busy,” he said as Octavia stepped to the side to chat with him quickly.
She shrugged, holding the bags up a little. “It’s been a good day. It’s so beautiful out, I figured it would be stupid not to take advantage.”
“True. Did you take the subway? Heard on the news this morning that a man who tested positive for corona had been riding the subway for weeks.”
Octavia’s stomach clenched a little, hearing this news. The information was off-putting, but a lot of people were on the train every day. The idea of her catching the virus was unlikely.
“I didn’t know that. Gosh, that’s scary. I did notice people cleaning a lot more than normal but didn’t pay it much attention.”
“Hmm. Well, stay careful out there,” he said, opening the door for her to step inside.
“Thanks, Xavier, you too. And congratulations on the new baby.”
“Eight pounds and five ounces. He gets it from his papa.” Xavier’s smile lit up as he waved goodbye.
Octavia returned this joy as she waved, then turned to catch a private elevator up to the penthouse suites.
“Afternoon,” Octavia greeted the man tending the elevator.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Cortez,” he said, returning her smile. “Do you need any help with your bags?”
“No, thanks. I’ve got it.”
They rode up in comfortable silence until the elevator came to a stop on the top floor.
“Have a great day,” Octavia said, waving goodbye as she exited the elevator.
Even though Octavia had bags in her hands, Justin Timberlake singing, “Rock Your Body,” forced the woman to walk with a little bounce in her step. It had been such a great day, that the last thing on Octavia’s mind was Jay Firefly until she quite literally ran into her.
Caught off guard, Octavia barely registered who bumped into her as she hurried to catch herself from falling. Hands around Octavia’s waist steadied her from completely losing her footing.
“Maid,” Jay said, matter-of-factly. Black eyes bore into Octavia as she looked up, ignoring the tingle that ran up her spine from the feel of Jay so close. She took a step back, nearly falling again, but Jay held onto her upper arm, making sure she was okay.
“Sorry,” Octavia said, peering up at Jay.
Expecting to see the rockstar look enraged or annoyed, Octavia was surprised to see that Jay looked a bit concerned. Maybe even embarrassed.
“You know you could have asked my assistance,” Jay said, gazing down at Octavia’s full hands.
“Oh, it’s okay.”
“Do you need my help?”
The question caught Octavia off guard. The last thing she expected was for Jay to offer help and be almost--kind. What was different about this person and the bitch she’d been working for the past few weeks.
“I’m okay, thanks,” Octavia said, trying to take a step around Jay.
“So--uh--about last night and this morning...” Jay said, leaning against the hallway wall, leading to the penthouse. “I don’t recall it. But I believe what you said, and I wanted to tell you that—that—uh--” she scratched behind her ear, appearing uncomfortable, “that was my bad.”
Baffled, Octavia shook her head, trying to make sure this was actually happening. Was Jay apologizing for her behavior? Well, if you could call “my bad” an apology.
Octavia nodded, accepting this and said, “Thank you, Ms. Firefly. Have a good rest of your day.”
Jay’s eyes grew a bit dim, but she seemed to shake it off, smiled, then walked away.
Still in shock, Octavia let herself in the house. If she hurried, she could make the 3:30 P.M. showing after cleaning up the puke from this morning. It would just take a moment. She’d only refused to do it earlier because she wanted to put Jay in her place. Now that the rockstar had apologized, she felt it best to take care of the mess.
Except when she walked through the front door, the puddle of vomit was gone. The spot was pristine as if Jay had never gotten sick and passed out there. Octavia moved through the house a little more, thinking that perhaps she misjudged where it happened. But the rest of the home was in perfect condition. In fact, for the first time since she’d worked for Jay, the house was spotless.
Hmmm…
Chapter Six
Octavia wasn’t feeling good. Each month, she had hard days. Days that were filled with pain, sorrow, a little rage. These days were not a surprise. They were even marked off on her calendar. She anticipated them and made sure that once the 15th of the month rolled around, she was as far away from people as possible.
It had been a month since she started working for Jay. Admittedly, Octavia was surprised that she still had employment. After pretty much calling her boss a terrible person and placing the woman in a category she always found herself in, others, Octavia was surprised that nothing came of it.
That moment was still embedded in her mind. She played it over and over. It wasn’t enough that she called the woman predictable, but she also said, “you people.” As if Jay had ever been called that before. Although she was a clear dyke, or the fact that she was also an immigrant (from Europe, so that hardly counted), Octavia felt the need to knock the rockstar down a peg or two or three. It was one thing for her to deal with the occasional difficult client. And another for her in-home boss to be belligerent towards her.
Then the puke-face incident happened, and Octavia felt like for once, karma was on her side. Add that to the fact that Jay felt bad enough to clean up after herself, Octavia did not know what to think about the rockstar. Part of her still loathed the woman, but another part felt like she had gotten through to her.
Since the incidents, a shift occurred. Octavia never changed her schedule for vacuuming, and Jay had not complained since. No longer did she stay silent, either. If she needed something, she’d ask Jay. Octavia would greet Jay on passing and expect the same.
Octavia refused to hide in her new home, she refused to be unseen. She was the help, yes. Which meant that she expected respect. Even though she never said it, that conversation solidified that respect.