Rescue Me

She went to work that day as a cleaning lady and left a princess - in his eyes, anyway. Here's a modern twist on an old tale, told by G. Lynn Brown...

"In other news, Castle Greeting Card Heir and CEO, Printz Charmaine, seeks the owner of a lost phone."

Cyn stopped mopping and looked up at the television in the lobby.

“The phone, which was dropped by an unidentified woman in Kingdom Park on Monday, can be claimed at Charmaine's office, located at Castle Tower."

She breathed a huge sigh, releasing the knot in her stomach, and wiped her brow.

Thank God he found it.

Of course, she never would have left it behind if he hadn't distracted her with his brilliant blue eyes. They were like pools of tropical water and, if she kept staring into them, she was convinced she'd drown. And if the church bells hadn't chimed, breaking the spell and alarming her to the fact she was running late, she just might've.

She sighed, still thinking of the paradise in his eyes. It sure was nice talking with him, even if he didn't recognize her. For a few moments, she got to pretend to be someone else, someone a man like him would love. If a man like him could love.

But enough with the daydreams. That was then and this was now. She stuck the mop in the bucket and wheeled it to the maintenance room. At lunch, she'd go to his office on the fifteenth floor and retrieve her phone. Until then, there were trash cans waiting to be emptied.

***

Cyn stepped off the elevator met by thirty women, if there was one, lining the hallway to Printz Charmaine's office.

"You heard about the date, too?" asked a girl about her age, wearing a sequined mini dress and spiked heels.

She shook her head. "Date?"

"Whoever can claim the phone gets a date with Printz Charmaine." The girl squealed. "He's so dreamy."

"Weren't you mopping the lobby when I came in?" An older lady pursed her mouth as though she just munched on some pickles and onions and reminded Cyn of her miserable stepmother.

Cyn nodded.

The old hag cackled. "Get her, thinking a man of the world like Printz Charmaine wants a cleaning girl!"

Cyn lowered her head.

On the contrary, she didn't think that at all. Printz Charmaine passed her a hundred times in the lobby and never noticed her. Not until he saw her in the park wearing a cute, flowery sundress, and not a greasy, grimy smock, did he show her any interest.

As tempting as a date with Printz Charmaine sounded, he could keep it. She just wanted her phone. And she wasn't waiting in this ridiculous line while a gaggle of star-struck fools vied for Charmaine's affections under the false pretense of having lost theirs.

Cyn plodded up the hall and pushed her way through the doorway. Groans and expletives echoed throughout the fifteenth floor.

"That's mine." She snatched the phone from the grasp of a gal who looked exactly like the women Printz Charmaine dated, fake from her lush eyelashes to her painted toes.

"Wait!" The receptionist grabbed her arm. "You need to prove it's yours."

Cyn placed her thumb on the lock screen. "Ta-da!" She jerked loose from the assistant's grip. "See? It's mine!"

"Mister Charmaine, we have a match!"

Jeers and more curses filled the hallway.

A door flung open and Printz Charmaine hurried into the room. His smile faded into a crooked lip curl. "Her?" He shook his head. "She's the first floor housekeeper, not the girl I met in the park."

"Actually…" Cyn took off her glasses and removed the kerchief from her hair. Her long golden tresses fell on her shoulders. She wiped her face, knowing from experience where the smudges were, and straightened her smock.

His eyes widened. "It is you." His smile returned. "What's your name? And why did you run off? We were having such a nice time."

"Cynthia DiRella, but my friends call me Cyn, and I'm sorry, but I had to pick my niece up from school, and I didn't realize the time until the church bell chimed. My step-sister can be pretty wicked, and she would've killed me if I was late, just like my supervisor will if I'm late from lunch."

She started for the door.

"Wait!"

She stopped.

"I'd love to take you to dinner."

She tied the kerchief in her hair. "I'm not interested in being a part of your publicity stunt."

"It's no stunt." He stepped nearer to her. "When I found the woman whose thumb opened this phone I swore I wouldn't let her run off again."

She glanced at the door. "What if I want to run off?"

He laughed. "I thought it was every girl's dream to be whisked away by a gallant knight in shining armor." He winked.

She nodded. "But it isn't a dream meant to come true. Things like that only happen in fairy tales and, besides, I don't need rescuing."

"But sometimes it's the stoic knight who does, mostly from himself, and it's the beautiful damsel who saves him." He positioned himself between her and the door. "I've never been in love. I never wanted to be. It didn't fit my image. But yesterday all that changed when I noticed you standing beside the fountain, and I knew." He took her hand. "Cyn, you're the damsel to rescue me."

She shook her head. "I'm just a cleaning lady."

"Yet, all I see is a princess."

A tear burned her eye. "You never did before. Even a moment ago, all you saw was–"

"Beauty." He wiped the tear from her cheek. "Just because I didn't recognize you from the park doesn't mean who I saw wasn't beautiful."

She sniffled. "I want to believe you, but–"

He gasped. "You think it's because you're in housekeeping–" He laughed. "Trust me, that's not what's kept us unacquainted, but rather my strict policy against fraternizing with the employees."

"Then how can you take me to dinner?"

"Easy." He unclipped the employee badge from her smock, tossing it on the desk, and slipped his arms around her waist. "You're fired."

He pulled her close, leaving no room between them, not even for the dust on her smock, and leaned in, pressing his lips firmly to hers. They were soft and warm and tasted like happily ever after. By far, the best severance pay she ever received from an employer.

***