swipe

He carries his bucket and his Starbucks Triple Espresso with guarana and B vitamins in the same hand using a technique that involves balancing the bucket handle on the tips of three fingers, allowing his thumb and palm to grip the can of coffee. He climbs two flights of stairs and sets his bucket on the floor outside the bathroom the other guy is cleaning. He sits and he opens his coffee can.

The security guard comes through the door and waves to him and he waves back. The security guard puts his hands into his pockets.

“You guys haven’t done AC yet, right?” the security guard asks.

“No, we’ve been doing it last,” he says.

“Yeah I figured. I’ll be in the office so you can call in when you’re over there.”

“Oh. Our swipe card worked the last time,” he says.

“What? Really?”

“Yeah. We just randomly tried it and it worked. I figured they fixed it,” he says.

“They didn’t tell me anything,” the security guard says. “It hasn’t worked in a year.”

He laughs. “Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, we’ll call you if it doesn’t work. But it seems like it works now.”

“Crazy,” the security guard says and he shakes his head. “You know they don’t have anyone clean in our office?”

“Seriously?” he asks.

“Yeah. I sweep the place and take the trash out every once in a while. But yeah. Something goes wrong we’re the first people they call but they don’t even clean our office.”

“Nuts,” he says. “I mean, I know Joe is swamped. He’s so understaffed right now.”

The other guy steps out of the bathroom with his bucket in his hand and says, “Oh, hey,” and the security guard says, “Hey, guy,” to him.