Julie had to refrain from rolling her eyes. She pursed her lips together, holding back a choice response. “I was just there. He had a DND sign up,” she finally pushed out. “That’s why I called and asked to be given another room to clean.” As a temp, she only got paid for the rooms she cleaned and then only after one of the managers checked them once they had been returned back into the system. If there were any errors in any of the suites, a percentage was deducted from her pay. Julie needed to clean a minimum of sixteen rooms per shift. That gave her an average of twenty-five minutes a room. She couldn’t afford any errors. Literally.

Callie huffed out a breath, looking irritated. “Well, he’s changed his mind.” She raised her brows. “Now, do you want to keep arguing or should I give this unit to one of the ladies on the next shift?”

Callie was the best of the bunch. Most of the supervisors treated the temps like slave labor. They got the worst rooms. They had to work like dogs to earn something of an income. It wasn’t fun and it certainly wasn’t fair but Julie had never had it any other way. This was her life. “I’m on it.” She pushed the brake on her trolley and made her way back up the hall.

“Oh and, Julie,” Callie called after her.

She turned. “Yeah?”

“Pack up and clock out when you’re done. I need to fetch Harry from school today so I can’t hang around to wait on you.”

“No problem.”

“You sure?”

“No sweat.” Julie gave a reassuring nod of the head.

“Okay then.” Callie nodded back.

Julie continued down the hall. Callie was a single mom. She wasn’t really allowed to leave until everyone had checked out but her life was one big juggling act. Rules sometimes had to be broken. Julie understood that more than most.

It was a bit of a haul to the staff elevator. Julie walked as fast as the outdated housekeeping trolley would allow. It had one squeaky wheel and if she wasn’t careful the door would open and the amenity drawers would fall out. Every minute she had to work over time to get this room done would be for free. The hotel only paid for time spent on rooms cleaned within the allotted shift and then only if they were perfect. She sighed.

By the end of this month, she’d be up to date with her rent and then she could start saving. Julie had moved plenty as a kid. They were all small towns just like Walton Springs. There had to be more. There was a whole world out there to explore. Big cities. Beautiful views. Breathtaking sunsets. So much adventure just waiting. She was done with small time. Done with small towns.