Ashley's POV

I spent the day helping my mom make some cupcakes for a birthday party. She decided on starting her own small business.

By six p.m. I had stepped into the hotel, which meant I was an hour ahead of my shift. This had to be a record.

Something was wrong, there was a completely different mood in the hotel. Whereby it's usually filled with peace and tranquility and a few guests trying to disturb that peace, there was an unusual panic amongst the employees.

I tried to figure out what was happening from the whispers amongst the maids in the corridor, but I had no luck.

I went on with my usual routine and dressed in my uniform.

I stopped by the break room to get some coffee.

"I heard he is coming here today," I heard Sandra one of the maids' whisper.

She was sitting around a table with four of her friends.

"I've heard about how scary he is. He doesn't allow any of his employees to look him in the eye when he is speaking to him. They always have to keep their heads down." Sandra's friend Erin spoke.

I raised my brow curious as to whom they were talking about.

"How about the time he fired someone just because there was too much spice in the spicy Korean food he ordered? Everyone in the restaurant got fired." Jerry, one of the bartenders at the restaurant on the first floor spoke.

Now I was really curious as to whom it was. We've had our fair share of difficult guests but this one seemed to be driving fear amongst everyone.

"Who is coming here today?" I interrupted walking to their table.

They all stood silent as they diverted their attention to me, they all had matching shocked expressions.

"You haven't already heard?" Sandra asked.

I shook my head no.

"The big boss Tristan Montenegro is coming to the hotel tonight," Sandra whispered.

"Oh, is that why everyone is so paranoid today?" I asked.

"Shh," Jerry whispered. "Don't speak so loud, rumor has it that he can hear you from as far as five miles away."

They all nodded in unison.

"I'm sure that's a bit of an exaggeration," I answered.

"I heard; he is coming here just so that he can fire some of us for his amusement," Sandra spoke, as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Heaven's help whomever that has to serve him tonight," Jerry whispered.

Luckily, that wasn't going to be me, according to the schedule I only had a few rooms to clean that were currently unoccupied. It was going to be a smooth shift for me today.

Just then, Marcus stepped into the breakroom.

He was in a state of panic, his usual neat tie loosed and his hair in its natural curls instead of brushed back as usual. He almost looked handsome, but then I remembered he was Marcus.

Everyone immediately stood up, leaving their seats.

A stressed Marcus wasn't good for anyone, it meant he was probably going to project it on me.

I was a bit hesitant because I still hadn't made my coffee. All wait, the coffee wasn't worth it in this case.

I turned around to leave, heading straight for the door.

"Ashley," Marcus stopped me in my tracks.

It was too late for me to run. Why me!

"I need for you to clean up the boss's penthouse." He spoke.

I looked at him confused.

There had to be some kind of misunderstanding, he couldn't have meant that boss. We worked for all the guests here so technically they were all our bosses.

"Tristan Montenegro," He confirmed my worst suspension.

My eyes widened in realization. I was going to be serving the infamous Tristan Montenegro. The same one everyone feared.

Marcus wiped the sweat off his brow.

His anxiety was slowly rubbing off on me.

"I don't think I can, I have a couple of rooms to clean up," I rumbled.

Why did it have to be me, usually only the maids with the highest clearance attended to our top guests, I've never even seen the inside of his penthouse. Sometimes I feel like it's a secret storage for dead bodies, no one is hardly ever allowed in there.

"You can cancel those plans. Unfortunately, your stupid friend decided to take a day off today. Along with everyone who heard he was coming today, they suddenly felt sick. Unfortunately, that means some of you are going to work even more." He answered.

Ivy was always off on Tuesdays; I wonder if she knew about this but didn't give me any warnings.

I sighed. My fate was sealed, there was no escaping this.

"I need you to listen to me carefully." He paused. "Tristan doesn't like having people in his space, so I need for you to clean up the penthouse and leave before he gets back, I don't want him to see you there. Do you understand?" Marcus spoke.

I nodded.

"Your job there is only to clean and nothing else," He spoke.

I wonder what else he thought I would do.

"If you do anything wrong and you don't follow any of my instructions, I'm going to make sure that I fire you and that you never work anywhere around here. Do you understand?" He threatened.

I nodded again.

"Now get to work," He demanded. He clapped his hands slapping me out of my thoughts.

He handed me the access card to the penthouse.

His penthouse had its own private elevator, we weren't allowed in here unless we were cleaning. I pressed the elevator to the highest floor in the building.

I wonder why he was coming here, he had about ten houses in New York alone. From what I've heard, he hasn't been here in the last three years. This was a shock for everyone.

In another way this was good for me, I'd only be cleaning the place and then leave before he arrives, I wouldn't have to face him.

The elevator doors finally opened after a long wait.

My jaw dropped as I stepped into the penthouse.

The place was magnificent, with several crystal chandeliers lining the ceiling. The penthouse was surrounded by glass, giving a view of the nearby buildings. Parts of the ceiling were also made of glass. The modern furniture perfectly complemented the place, the paintings here must have been worth millions.

I took a moment to explore the place. I wonder what it would be like to live here, it's such a shame that a place like this has had no one staying in it in at least the last two years.

Life wasn't fair, the closest most of us could get to a place like this was when cleaning it up.

It was time for me to return to my sad reality and clean the place up.

I didn't even know what I was doing here, the place was spotless. But if they were to even see a speck of dust, it would be the end of me.

I began cleaning up the bedroom as I usually do. It looked better than I could have ever expected,

I wiped the sweat from my brow, this place was far too big. It needed at least ten people to clean it up.

My phone rang in my pocket, I should probably put it on silence before it gets me into trouble one of these days.

I looked at my phone to see an unknown caller ID.

"Hello?" I answered the call.

I set the mop aside, focusing on the call.

"Ashley," A voice whispered.

"Waylen," I answered.

I could recognize his voice any day.

"Please don't hang up on me, I just need to talk to you." He pleased.

"We have nothing to say to each other. We should just move on and go on with our lives." I answered.

He paused.

Apart from his lies he did have some good qualities in him, I'm sure someone else would be happy with him.

"Were you cheating on me? Is that why you are trying so hard to avoid me?" He spoke.

At first, his words left me shocked, then I was just angered.

We both had our share in the reason our relationship never worked out but for him to try and shift it all on me was far too low.

"Get over yourself. Our relationship wasn't working, and you knew that." I snapped.

I heard a loud sound in the background, perhaps a kicked drawer.

"I should have listened to all my friends when they said this would happen. I just know that you were cheating on me." He insisted.

"Our relationship ended because you wouldn't stop lying," I spoke.

"You are the liar here. Now I understand why you were always so busy, how you would fall asleep whenever we met up. You were just two-timing me with some other guy. Did you get tired of me and decide to leave?" He spoke.

"I had to work, and the only time we spend time together was on my off days. What did you expect from me." I yelled.

I had to hold my mouth to keep myself from yelling again. I was really about to lose it completely.

"You know what, I'm coming to you right now," he spoke.

He was delusional, there was no way he could get into this hotel. There was tight security around here, he would be lucky if he managed to get as far as the receptionist.

"Goodbye, have a nice life," I answered.

I hung up the phone. With that, his number was once again blocked and deleted.

It took me a moment to gather up all my anger and calm down.

I looked at the clock, shocked by the time. I couldn't believe this guy; I had lost so much of my time talking to him. It would be his fault if I didn't finish up on time.

I needed to return my attention to my job, I needed to clean this place up before Tristan arrived.

I picked up the mop and continued with the rest of my work.

An hour later and I was done with everything set.

I smiled as I took a final look at the penthouse. This was probably going to be my last time here.

I heard murmurs coming from the outside.

Could it be, was Tristan Montenegro here?

I panicked as I remembered Marcus's warming, Tristan shouldn't see me here. I couldn't lose this job, they paid much more than your average hotels.

This was all Waylen's fault, if he hadn't called, I would have finished a lot sooner.

My brain froze as I struggled to think of my next move.

"Hide," I whispered to myself.

I ran from the living room and hid behind the wall that separated it from the corridor.

This place was huge, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be able to find me.

The door opened as the footsteps became louder.

"Sir, this is what happens when you try to outdrink your grandfather and your cousin. The two of them are functional alcoholics." A man spoke.

I peeked to see what was happening.

As sure as the day, it was Tristan Montenegro, he was here.

He was with another man who supported his weight, carrying him to the couch. He looked drunk.

"I'm fine Luke, it was only a few drinks," Tristan answered.

"You are really drunk right now; I'm sure the bar owners made enough money out of you to start a new business. You have a meeting tomorrow morning, so you need to be sober." The other man spoke. I guess he was Luke.

Tristan leaned into the couch, resting his eyes.

"Fine," Tristan answered.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Luke answered.

Tristan stayed silent, unresponsive.

Luke then stepped out of the penthouse. Leaving the penthouse with nothing but silence.

With him, this drunk, getting out of here shouldn't be that hard.

I tip-toed, trying to make my way to the living room but just then, Tristan opened his eyes.

He slowly stood up, using the couch for balance.

I stopped in my tracks and returned to where I had been standing, behind the wall.

I watched him step forward, barely able to stand on his feet. Wait, he was coming here.

I needed to think of a plan. There was only one room down the corridor. Any other direction I attempt going in would only risk me getting caught.

I ran on my toes, going straight to his bedroom.

Something must have been out to get me today because this was the direction he was heading to.

I took in my surrounding trying to see where I could hide.

The bathroom, what were the chances of him ending up there?

I quickly ran to the bathroom, slowly opening the door making sure not to make a sound.

Taking in my surroundings in the bathroom, I realized just how cornered I was, there weren't that many places to hide in the bathroom. I stepped into the shower, standing in the corner hoping that if he walked in maybe he wouldn't notice me. The fact that the shower had see-through glasses surrounding it didn't make the situation better.

He was very drunk, I'm sure he would pass out on the bed at any moment. I would be able to escape without getting caught.

I heard some noises in the bedroom, that was probably just him preparing for bed.

I would have to check after half an hour to see if he was sleeping.

For a while, the noises stopped. Then it was followed by the sound of a door closing, this bathroom door.

Wait, maybe it was another door that had closed. I was just overreacting and acting paranoid.

What followed was a shirt thrown onto the floor.

I covered my mouth in shock, there was no denying it. He was here in the same bathroom.

Unless a miracle happened, I was about to get caught.

More clothes followed hitting the ground.

Was he undressing?

I saw Tristian's hand as he reached for the shower handle.

That's when a stream of ice-cold water poured all over me.

I covered my mouth tighter, preventing myself from screaming from the sudden shock of the freezing water.

I held my hands together praying for a miracle. I've been kind to so many people my whole life, that had to count for something right? The universe owed me this one, I had to get out of this by some kind of miracle.

That's when I heard the sound of his zipper opening.

The next thing that happened was that Tristan stepped in front of me, naked.

"AAAA!" I screamed.

____________________________________
A/N: Did you enjoy the chapter?

What do you think he is going to do next?

Please don't forget to vote and comment. Help me by sharing this story if you like it.