Mr. Love: Queen's Choice One Shots

Victor: Ranks

⚠️ WARNING: Adult language.
—
(Your P.O.V.)
"Ouch!"
    I pulled my hands away from the wooden handle of the mop. One of the blisters I had on my palm had popped and the skin got torn. I winced and reached into my pocket, pulling out a Band-Aid and ripping it open with my teeth. I gently laid it on the wound and pressed down, sealing it to my skin.
    My body wasn't used to this level of physical labor. I had just graduated college with a degree in business. I was in desperate need of a job, so I went searching for one. When I saw that there was an interview open for LFG, I immediately took it. Upon meeting the CEO, Victor, he gave me a job. But it wasn't one that I would find very fitting.
    "Starting tomorrow, you're a janitor," he said, turning his chair back so he didn't need to look at me. "See you at 9."
    A few weeks had passed since I had been hired. Being a janitor, I wasn't treated with much respect. And since I was the newbie, the other janitors looked down on me, too. I was constantly running around the building, doing the work of twenty janitors all by myself. I was exhausted everyday, but I knew that it would keep me in my apartment and get food on the table. I was in no position to complain.
    "Hey, newbie!" I heard one of the janitors call me. "Quit slacking. There's a mess that needs cleaned up in Victor's office."
    I nodded and grabbed the cleaning trolley. I wheeled it into the elevator and pressed the eighteenth floor. The doors opened and I pushed the trolley out. I grabbed what I needed and knocked softly on Victor's office door. "I'm here to clean a mess."
    The door opened. Victor stared down at me, his cold grey eyes flashing with distaste. "I didn't call for anyone. And there's no mess here. You're mistaken." He slammed the door on my face before I could even respond.
    I sighed and turned back around. I walked back to the trolley and placed everything back on it, ready to wheel it to the elevator again. I felt the wheel hit something, and a man let out a small yelp. I immediately stopped the trolley and came around, looking at the officer worker rub the top of his foot.
    "I'm so sorry," I apologized. "Are you okay?"
    "What does it look like to you, bitch?" the office worker barked, crumpling the papers he had in his hand. "You ran over my foot!"
    I winced. "I'm sorry. It was an accident."
    "No, it wasn't!" the man was getting louder, causing people to turn and whisper. I didn't want him to cause a scene, but it was quickly escalating. "Damnit! That hurt!"
    "I-I'm sorry," I said, apologizing for the third time. "I didn't mean to—"
    "What do you mean?" The man came over and yanked my hair, making me grit my teeth in pain. "You think you're all high and mighty? You're a fucking janitor. I'm an accountant. Know your goddamn place!" He threw me to the ground.
    I watched the man walk away. His foot was perfectly fine; no limping was detected. I brushed myself off and stood, looking at the people giving me strange looks. I lowered my head and grabbed the trolley, pushing it back onto the elevator. Once the doors slid shut, I began to shake.
    I'm glad Victor didn't come out of his office, I thought as I pushed the trolley towards the janitor's closet. I would have gotten fired on the spot.
    I went into the closet. I grabbed rubber gloves and a mask, slipping them on. I grabbed one of the cleaning agents and a set of towels before heading off to disinfect some of the free workspaces. My hands ached from the workload, but I had to keep working.
    One of the janitors saw me working and paused. "Why aren't you cleaning the mess in Victor's office?"
    I looked at him. "There wasn't a mess. I knocked on the door and he said—"
    "Don't talk back to your superiors!" the janitor barked, grabbing my arm and yanking me. The canister of the cleaner hit my arm and spilled on my skin. I winced at the burning sensation. The janitor frowned. "Now look what you did. Clean this up!"
    I picked up the canister, preventing the rest of the cleaner from spilling out. I began to wipe away the remaining residue on the surface, the liquid seeping into the towels. The burn I had received on my arm was starting to itch. I knew I needed to treat it, but I couldn't stop working until I had gotten the mess cleaned up.
    "Present the paperwork to me tomorrow," I heard Victor's voice pierce the space near me. "If the company still can't fix the holes, then cut off the funding for them."
    I looked up and saw Victor looking at me, his phone to his ear and his eyes locked on the mess. I quickly ducked my head and went back to cleaning up the spill. Victor snapped his phone shut and walked over.
    I froze. I knew I would be reprimanded for the accident. I looked at him. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll clean this up right away."
    Victor's eyes softened slightly. He knelt down and took my arm in his hand. I winced as he turned it, looking at the chemical burn. He frowned deeply and pulled me to my feet. "Let's get this burn treated."
    Victor began to walk me to the elevator. I looked back at the mess. "But sir, the mess."
    Victor didn't stop. He pushed the button on the elevator and walked in, dragging me gently along. We went up to the eighteenth floor and he pulled me into his office. He sat me down and grabbed a first aid kit from the drawer in his office.
    "Sit still," he commanded as he pulled out a tube of ointment. He pressed some onto a Q-Tip and gently began to rub it into the burn. I winced, the pain still fresh. He was being gentle as he rubbed more on, making sure to cover the entire burn. He then took out some bandages and wrapped it for me. When it was secured, he grabbed an ice pack and gently rested it on the bandages. "Let it sit for a while. It will help the itching."
    I looked at his handiwork. "Thank you, sir."
    Victor looked at me. "So I heard that you ran over one of my employee's foot with a cleaning trolley."
    I'm gonna get fired, I thought. I looked down, gripping the end of my shirt tightly. "It was an accident. It won't happen again, sir. I'm sorry."
    Victor held up a hand. "Don't be so nervous. I won't fire you over it." He noticed my shaking. He gripped my chin lightly and tilted my head up to look at me. "Why are you so panicked all the time?"
    I looked away. "I don't want to get fired, sir. This job is all that I have."
    Victor slowly nodded. "So that's why you're putting up with the mistreatment." He narrowed his eyes when he saw my shock. "What, you think I don't pay attention to all of my employees? I know what's been going on. You're always scampering around on the security cameras. You've cleaned this entire building everyday for the past two weeks without complaint."
    I was shocked. Had Victor been watching out for me? I was just doing what I had been hired to do. "Am I fired?"
    Victor chuckled, making me blush in embarrassment. "No, you're not fired. If anything, I should be giving you every other janitor's salary." He gave me a small smile. It was rare that he smiled; to give one to me felt special. "I'm giving you the power to recreate the janitorial team. I'm firing everyone that treated you horribly and you'll find their replacements."
    I froze. "But sir! I can't ask you to do that."
    Victor smiled. "You're not asking; I'm offering."
    I looked away. "Why are you being so kind, sir?"
    Victor held up a finger. "For one, stop calling me sir. We're not that far apart in age and I'm not your master." He held up another finger. "Second, I didn't hire you because I was desperate. I hired you because I knew you'd be a good worker. And you've proven my theory correct." He held up a third finger. "Finally, I just so happen to take an interest in you. So my intentions are to keep you here so I can see how you thrive."
    I blushed. The all-powerful CEO was interested in a janitor like me? This was something straight out of a manga. Things like this never happened! "T-Thank you, si—Victor." His name fell off my lips. It was strange, but it was something I could get used to.
    Victor looked at his watch. He took off the ice pack and set it aside. "Go on, get back to work." He gave my hand a small pat, careful of the blisters. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to get me."
    I gave him a smile. "Thank you."
    Victor blushed and watched me slip out of his office. He chuckled, touching his forehead. "Oh God, that woman is going to break me."
—
I actually had this one planned for a few days and finally got around to writing it.
    See you all soon!