Chapter 4 - THE UNEXPECTED ALLIANCEDavid turned to Emily. "Put your coat back on."
Emily blinked. "Sir? I have to finish wiping down the conference tables on floor forty-eight..."
"You are done cleaning this building, Emily," David said, taking his overcoat off the rack. "Tonight, you and Lily are my guests. And then, you are going to help me deliver a late Christmas gift to your boss."
"Mr. Mercer, please," Emily pleaded, her voice shaking with fear. "I can't get involved in corporate battles. If I lose this job, we end up in a shelter. I have forty-three cents in my bank account. I can't risk it."
David walked over and stood directly in front of her. For all his wealth and power, there was an unmistakable sincerity in his gaze.
"Emily, listen to me," he said, his tone low and fierce. "I grew up in a foster home in South Chicago. I spent three Christmases eating cold canned soup because the group home manager stole the funding for our meals. I know what forty-three cents feels like. I swear to you on my life, as long as I am breathing, you and Lily will never worry about rent, food, or safety ever again. But right now, I need you to stand up for the eleven other people on your crew who are going home to empty fridges tonight. Will you help me?"
Emily looked at Lily, who was wiping chocolate frosting from her mouth with a cloth napkin. She thought of Maria, an elderly custodial worker who wiped down the bathrooms on the lower floors despite severe arthritis in her hips. She thought of Marcus, a young father working two jobs to buy asthma medication for his son.
May you like
The fear inside Emily melted into something hard and resilient.
"What do you need me to do?" she asked.
