Falling For Mr. Greenfield

§ 2 § (BWWM)

THE CLEANER

Finally, the end of her day was within reach. The house had been cleaned from top to bottom and her brain began its daily process of disassociating itself with each pass of the floor.

As she worked to finish the one part of her job that required a bit of finesse and concentration, Sorrow polished the individual wood planks with a specific kind of cloth to prevent oil build-up and streaks.

The professional housekeeper found herself speculating about the owner's reason for living in such an expansive place all alone? Without a wife or children, it was beyond her to comprehend why a single man remained in such a big house. Sure, it wasn't any of her business, but she often wondered if he regretted staying after such a messy public divorce.

Regardless of her musings, every time she finished cleaning the place, Sorrow felt a sense of pride once she surveyed her work.

Nobody needed to tell her that the owner of the property was an important man. Since she was a teen, her mother worked in the same house cleaning it before and after the divorce.

Sorrow's mother advised her to place this property on her personal list of responsibilities since it belonged to a well-respected prosecutor. The older woman emphasized the importance of keeping him as a good reference.

Since so much had changed for the owner, her mother believed it would be unwise to hand the cleaning of the Greenfield house over to one of the people who worked as a member of her cleaning crew.

The house was impressive in both size and grandeur. Had she been a stranger to it, maybe she might have felt intimidated when she inherited the cleaning of the property. But Sorrow was no stranger. Like any of the other homes and businesses contracted to employ her cleaning services, she had never before taken responsibility for anything if she wasn't confident in her skills to provide well-designed professional care.

As soon as the timer dinged, she was pulled from her thoughts by her queue to leave.

Sorrow had clear instructions from her mother about this client's preference that her crew vacate the premises before he made it home. Completing her checklist and ensuring every task was marked as the last step. She always left notes on the checklist, so the clients were apprised of what was done in their homes for that day.

It was her process to move her cleaning supplies closer to the entrance of the foyer before she cleaned the wood floor. This step was taken second to last to assure herself that no tools were left in the home or commercial structure.

One final spritz of air neutralizer and then she wrapped up the job by cleaning the strip of hardwood on which she had been walking towards the end of the visit. She also wiped off any shiny surfaces she had touched on her way out. With her exit touch-ups checked off, the job was complete.

Her attention was so focused on what she had left to do that she hadn't noticed someone had entered the room as she backed herself out of it.

Cleaning her footprints from the hardwood floor firmly grasped her attention. It was just a small area to clean so Sorrow got on her knees and made her way backward out of the room.

Stopped by something directly in her path, Sorrow turned to look back behind her only to find that she had bumped right into her client.

§§§

SURPRISE

Leaving work early was a rare privilege that he was always grateful to enjoy.

Asher was lost in thought as he unlocked the door to his home. Just inside the door, he found a bucket, mop, and other unaccompanied cleaning supplies.