Just Us Box Set

And This Is Ed-4

At precisely ten in the morning on Wednesday, I sat across from the new facilities director, my walkie-talkie on the table between us as we both sipped our black coffee.

“You often work nights?” Titus asked as he turned on his tablet and tapped the screen.

“As needed,” was my brief reply.

“How long have you worked here?” he continued, apparently making notes on his device.

“Ten years, Mr. Leung.”

He glanced up. “Titus, please.”

I shrugged and waited for him to continue. In the meantime, I secretly enjoyed the snug, long-sleeved, red Polo neck shirt he wore tucked into a pair of navy blue slacks. Everything showcased a very strong body, in excellent shape. Unlike mine, though I wasn’t overweight by any means. I just wasn’t as toned as he was.

“Ed?” He waved a hand in front of my face.

Geez, he’d caught me wool-gathering. “Sorry. You were saying?”

“Any problems you’d care to mention, either in your department or elsewhere?”

“Well, it would be nice to have an online system where building occupants can send in requests for maintenance of whatever kind. You could even reserve the service elevators and conference rooms with it, too. I know there’s software like that out there. A lot of other buildings have this. It would centralize and streamline things and help us have a quicker response to leaks, overflowing toilets, requests to take out large amounts of trash due to a move, and so on.

“I’m sure maintenance has talked to you, or will do so, about old plumbing that needs to be updated, air conditioning units that should be replaced, and the service elevator keeps getting stuck, no matter how many times it’s fixed. Also, our recycling program is for s**t. We used to use two cans to separate the trash, but the effort was half-hearted at best, and there’s no one here anymore to spearhead and keep track of that effort.

“Our cleaning equipment is aging. For example, we steam-clean the sidewalks on weekends, but stuff keeps breaking down. Our vacuum cleaners are ancient. Our uniforms are old. As for the way my staff is treated, the list of slights and pranks played upon them daily is too long to enumerate. I don’t know if this will ever stop, but it would be nice for my team members to be treated with respect for a change. I doubt there’s anything you can do about that, though.

“New signage would probably be good in the small parks surrounding the building regarding smoking, litter and dog s**t. The old signs are faded and people ignore them.” I paused to think for a few seconds. “I believe that’s all I have at the moment.”

“That’s quite a lot, actually,” Titus replied, fingers flying over the screen. When he was finished, he set his tablet on the table. “The idea for a centralized online system for maintenance and so forth is an excellent one. My old building installed that software and it made things a whole lot easier and more streamlined for everyone.”

He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled together as he watched me with curious eyes. “Have you mentioned any of these ideas to anyone else before?”

“Yes.”

“I see.” And I really think he did.

I looked at my watch, a gift from my mother when I turned twenty-five, right before she retired to Mexico. It had been her way of apologizing for leaving me all by my lonesome, I supposed. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have to meet with the inspector in five minutes.” I stood. “Please feel free to email me with any questions. You probably have access to the staff directory by now.” I leaned over slightly and shook his hand, ignoring the firmness of his grip. “I wish you well in your position here at Regent.” You’re gonna need all the luck you can get, man.

“Thanks,” he said, though I barely heard that as I hurried toward the staircase to jog down to the basement. I wasn’t sure if Titus would actually make a difference in this building, but at least he’d asked the right questions.

I made it to my office with ten seconds to spare before Liz informed me that Cara had arrived to do the inspection. Here goes nothing.