His Mistress, Her Nightmare (COMPLETED)

Meet the Crew

Lorenzo, our General Manager pulls us all into a mandatory meeting, around 7:45am. He told us it would be short and we would be able to start our 8 o'clock shift on time. I desperately look toward the break room doors, in hope that Teyana would show up. She missed the last meeting and she was late, to the one before. They'll fire her, next time. "She has one minute, Charity." Lorenzo says. He knows I always ride for her. She's my best friend, here. "I'm here. I'm here," Teyana rushes in. "I said I wouldn't be late." She throws her bag down and sits at the table, with me, Romar, Malika and James. Lorenzo rolls his eyes, before closing the door.

I was so focused on Teyana that I didn't notice a new guy, sitting at the table, behind Lorenzo. "Alright guys. I mentioned, about two weeks ago, that we'd have a new shift manager, Marcus, starting today," Lorenzo starts. I forgot about that, too. Michelle got sick of the hotel business and dipped. I don't blame her though. You may get over time but the people that come through are WAY too entitled. I guess that's the price we pay for working at the second most popular hotel, in Atlanta. Celebrities are always here, so we're always here. Overstaffed and underpaid. I roll my eyes. As Lorenzo gives us a history on this guy, I can't help but notice how attractive he is. He also looks young. Normally, the managers are much older. I mean, we're not teenagers, as associates but the managers usually has us by 15 - 20 years.

"First, I'd like to say that I am honored to be here," Marcus starts. "As Lorenzo said, I've worked my way up, pretty quickly. I'm very determined and serious about the hotel business. I am following in my dad's footsteps, who happens to be the GM, at THEE most popular hotel, here in Atlanta. I believe that we can be better." He winks. The charm on this guy. He says a few more words, before Lorenzo ends the meeting. First thing I do is stare at Teyana. "I know. I know. Tiara was up all night and I just couldn't sleep," Teyana explains. Tiara is her one and a half year old. She only works in the day, so her boyfriend can watch their baby, until he works the overnight shift. She gets off at 5 and they have a few hours, to spend together, because he takes a nap, before his 11 o'clock shift. He doesn't get much sleep, unless Tiara takes a nap, in the afternoon. I feel bad, for them.

We head over, to the front desk, to relieve our co-workers. They worked the 11PM - 8AM shift. I could never. My body doesn't work like that. I either work at 8AM or 11AM. "You know Rashad's job wants to promote him." Teyana says. "Isn't that a good thing?" I ask. "Yea, it's way more money but we're going to have to spend that money on daycare. He'll have the same shift times as me. And you know I'm not working the graveyard shift." She rolls her neck, as she says this. She's a mess. "Well, what about your aunt's daycare? At least you'll know she'll be safe." "Yea but we haven't spoken since we got into it, about not giving me a discount. Back then, Rashad wasn't making much, at that other job. We couldn't afford it." "Well, just explain this to her and apologize. You're both so stubborn, though." She rolls her eyes. "Tee." I fold my arms. "It's your only hope, at this point." "I'll think about it."

Our shift continues, as Marcus makes his way around the hotel. Lorenzo's been showing him the ins and outs. "Now, here are the real money makers." Lorenzo says, as he approaches us. "Even though that one," he points at Teyana "is always late. These two make anybody pay for a deluxe room package." He's not lying though. With me being so sweet, I draw them in. Teyana's harsh truths seal the deal. One time, she made 50 Cent get two rooms, just because she told him Trey Songz did it. "Wow. I'd like to see how you ladies work, then." Marcus says. "I'm going to take my lunch, now. I'm confident you all can handle this, for thirty minutes?" Lorenzo says with a hint of asking. "We got you." Teyana answers.

We spend the next thirty minutes, allowing Marcus to shadow us as well as showing him how the software works. He's already pretty experienced, with similar software, so it wasn't hard for him to catch on. By the end of this week, he'll be good to go, for sure. His phone rings and a sudden look of worry rushes his face. "It's my wife. I gotta take this," he says, before stepping away. I hadn't even noticed his ring, on his finger...

***FOUR MONTHS LATER***

5PM hits and my hand is already on the mouse, to clock out. I'm going out of town, with my girls, this weekend, so I made sure I was off, until Tuesday. I still live on campus, so this money is just for fun. "Later, Tee!" I yell, to Teyana, as she gets in her boyfriend's car. She finally spoke to her aunt, about 3 months ago and it went well. She actually was able to give her a discount too. They now both work 8-5 and get Tiara, from daycare, around 5:45ish. She said it's made a big difference, in their relationship.

I rush home, in hopes of getting ready,  within two hours. We're supposed to leave by 7:30 to get to Fort Valley, Ga, by 9:30. We have some out of town friends, that we met at our annual Greek step show, last year. We've been talking to them, every now and then.  That's actually where I met Devin. He was one of the frat guys, that entered the show. His team won and we took them out, to celebrate. We haven't been able to really date, but his conversation is great. We get to see each other, every few months and for now, it works. I'm sure he's dating in his city, as am I. He's thought about transferring, to my school, and if that happens, we could actually be something.

Zora pulls up, in her BMW, around 7:15. That girl is ALWAYS on time. Jaydah and Lilah, are already in the car, ready for a turn up. Jaydah and Lilah are sisters and Zora is basically a sister. The three of them were my freshman year roommates. I was worried that I wouldn't fit in, since they all knew each other, already. It actually worked perfectly, though. I'm the nice one, that follows the rules. Zora is the boojie one, that gets us into all the top shit. Lilah is the sensitive and emotional one. Jaydah is the complete bad ass. We're all different but fit so well, together.

"Bye, Amara!" I yell out, to my roommate. We both took two summer classes, in hopes of graduating, this fall but it won't work out. She's an RA, so she only has to have one roommate. We have the biggest sized dorm, that only features two bedrooms and two bathrooms. I like how our dorms look like apartments. They have full kitchens, eating areas and living rooms. I lock the front door and meet my girls, at the car. "Damn, Cher!" Zora says, when she sees me. That's the nickname, they gave me. I must admit, I did my damn thing, tonight. I'm wearing a black, fitted dress, with a small v-cut, that makes my c cups look like d cups. I paired it, with my furry, strapped, black heels and gold clutch. It's just a kick back but me and my girls never dress down...