After finishing four work orders, Al went to the 300 Building. He took the elevator up to the third floor, went to Unit 307, knocked on the door of Shaniqua Hines, and then waited in the public hallway. Soon he heard someone approach the door.
“Who is it?”
He heard her voice. It sounded tiny, even a little squeaky, like a mouse.
“Maintenance.”
“I’ll be right there. Give me a minute to freshen up”.
Al didn’t like the way that sounded. What did she need to freshen up for? He was there to fix something. He decided not to pass judgment.
“Could you hurry up, please? I have a few more apartments to go to in the building. I could come back later, if you want.”
Al lied. He just wanted to finish up for the day, so he could get home at a decent hour.
The door opened, and there stood Shaniqua. A short, chocolate skinned woman, around 5’4”, with a cute, round dimpled face, she was wearing next to nothing. In fact, he could see through what she had on, which was a pink lace negligee. He managed not to show his surprise and slight distraction on his face. It wasn’t the first time a woman had answered her door like this.
She turned and left the door open as she walked into the bedroom, waving her nightgown around. It was thigh high. He could see her firm, curved, brown bare buttocks flash at him as she swished down the hall. Clearly, she wasn’t wearing any underwear underneath the negligee. Her CD player was playing Anita Baker’s new cuts.
Damn, I’m here to fix an electrical outlet, not plug myself into her hole, he thought. He was annoyed. He didn’t feel like playing games today. He decided the best way to handle the situation was to avoid it. He stayed in the entryway of the apartment door.
“Miss Hines, I’m here to check the electrical outlets. But I can’t go inside the way you’re dressed.” He yelled down the hall.
He didn’t hear anything for a while. He didn’t intend to go any further than he was already. Soon, she came out of the bedroom, still wearing the negligee.
“You don’t want to fix my outlet?” She said shyly. Al noticed that she had a slight, inviting gap between her legs.
Al had been in that trap before. He wasn’t going to say that he was refusing to do a work order. She had to know that would have gotten him in trouble. Or, maybe she didn’t know that, but he wasn’t going to take a chance.
“No, Miss Hines, I’m not refusing to do your work. But, the office says that if a person is not properly or fully dressed when I come to visit, I can’t go inside.”
The safest way was to blame the office. Truth told, he was starting to get a little excited by her overall look. After all, she was wearing something that gave the illusion that she was nude.
“I can come back later, if you want, after you get up.”
“I’m up, now.”
She was going to be persistent. Al had been to her apartment before today. She had never answered the door dressed like she was ready to get down. What was on her mind, dressed like this? Al unfortunately already knew the answer all too well.
Just then, someone came out of their apartment down the hall. The man started walking in their direction. Al decided that was the perfect time for him to book out of the situation. He didn’t want anyone to say he tried to go into a unit with a tenant half dressed.
“I have to go, but I’ll keep your work order. I’ll stop by later in the day the next time. Thanks, Miss Hines.”
He bounced down the hall before the man could see how Shaniqua was dressed. As he left her vicinity, Al said ‘hi’ to the man, but kept walking. That was to let her know they were not alone. When she saw that someone was coming down the hall, she quickly closed her door.
He noted on her work order that she was not ready for his visit. No need to explain why. Patricia or Simon would ask if he or she wanted more information on it.
As he left the building, Al shook his head over what had just happened. Now that it was over, he was slightly amused by it all. He looked through his clipboard, and saw that he had some time to complete one more work order before quitting time.
