"Not especially. I think there's a difference between a floor and a person."
Maya reached the lobby just in time to hear the exchange. She looked from Ellen to Shenine. "You don't have to do that, Miss Ellen."
"It's only shoes, baby," Ellen replied, deliberately holding her ground. "And I don't mind cleaning an actual mess."
"See?" Shenine said, lifting her chin. "She knows her place."
Derek appeared from the corridor carrying a paper cup. He took in the situation and immediately sided with Shenine. "Facilities says yesterday's flood damaged the lobby carpet backing. We are docking the cleaning team's pay for two days."
Maya stared at him. "For a bucket that was pushed over?"
"It's a cost recovery."
"You can't simply deduct earned wages because you're angry about a mess," Maya said. "There are payroll laws and contract procedures."
Shenine waved a hand. "Make it a week. Maybe then they'll remember to watch where they're going."
Derek hesitated. Ellen noticed the moment when he could have said no. Then he opened his tablet, typed a note, and nodded. "I'll put it through."
"A week?" Maya repeated. "That isn't lawful."
"You're not in human resources," Derek said. "Stay in accounting."
Ellen lifted a damp cloth from the bucket, folded it, and looked straight at Derek. "Write it down, Mr. Shaw. Every word. Include who asked for the deduction and who approved it."
Derek gave her a contemptuous look. "You really want to lose this job twice?"
"I want the record to be accurate."
"Fine. Then your little friend can pay for it."
He walked away with Shenine, leaving Maya beside a woman whose apparent powerlessness had begun to make the young accountant feel physically ill. Maya wanted to follow them and argue until someone admitted what was happening. Ellen touched her wrist lightly.
"Don't let them decide the order of your day," she said. "You have work to finish."
"They can hurt people's wages."
"They can try. Whether the payment actually gets processed is another question."
Maya studied her. "You sound very certain."
Ellen gave a small shrug. "Old women learn to read paperwork too."
By noon, the marketing floor was chaos. Shenine had ordered a complete redesign of the campaign presentation, then complained that the revised concepts looked too conservative. Boards covered in product photographs, color samples, and launch slogans lined a long table outside her office. Maya arrived with an invoice query she needed Shenine to answer before the next payment run.
"I need supporting work descriptions for these three SM Creative charges," Maya said. "There are no deliverables attached."
Shenine turned. "Why are you going through my invoices?"
"I process invoices. It's literally my job."
"You think I don't know that? You're just angry because of yesterday."
Maya kept her tone level. "The review requirement applies to every vendor. I would ask the same question if the invoices came from another department."
"You have been jealous of me since day one," Shenine said, loud enough for people to turn. "You stand there judging my clothes, my relationship, everything."
"I am asking for a contract and evidence of completed work."