It sucked to high heavens that Mrs. Harridge immediately took the side of the guest. The customer might be king but that didn’t mean that he was always right. “He told me to clean his room. Said to ignore him. It was almost the end of my shift and he seemed like an okay guy so I got to work.” She pulled in a deep breath. “I should have left. It turns out he was a major pervert. He started…” She wasn’t a prude but the way her boss glared at her made her feel like she was the pervert, not him. “He started to touch himself… inappropriately. I asked him to stop. He didn’t. Instead, he offered me money to clean his room while he touched himself. I’m sorry, but I’m not desperate or depraved. There was no way I was staying in that room for a second longer. No damned way. It was sick. He swore at me. I was just defending myself.”

Mrs. Harridge picked up the phone on her desk. “Please, can”—she put her glasses on and peered at the screen—“Susan Jones come to my office?” Then she replaced the receiver in the cradle.

“I swear to you that…”

Mrs. Harridge held up her hand. “I’ve heard enough. I need to speak with Susan and then we can conclude.” She turned back to her computer and continued typing.

It was the longest seven minutes of her life. She felt like a naughty school girl. She could tell that Gretchen Harridge was not interested in what she had to say. Hell, the woman had fired her before hearing her side of the story. What the hell was she going to do?

Even if she found another job today, there was still no way she was making rent on Tuesday. James had been clear about any more non or part payments. He wanted the total outstanding by Tuesday, no excuses.

That bastard from room 211 had totally lied and strung her out. He’d said that she’d be sorry. She wasn’t though. Julie would rather be out on the streets than taking handouts from a lowlife pervert.

There was a light knock on the door before it opened. “You called?” Susan ignored her completely. “How can I help?” Susan was one of the permanents.

“You cleaned room 211 yesterday afternoon?”

Susan nodded. “The gentlemen complained that he had asked for a room clean. The room attendant that showed up originally, swore at him and left without doing the room. I went and sorted it out. He was quite upset. I had him direct his complaint to the shift supervisor, as per company policy. He was happy when I left and accepted the apologies put forward. He was given a free night at the hotel for his troubles when he checked out that same day.”

The bastard! Julie had to bite her tongue to stop herself from saying her piece.