QUEEN'S GAMBIT CHAPTER TWO: A FORMIDABLE OPPONANT
Of course I offered Sorana the position. The other candidates were all competent enough but none possessed Sorana's charm and enigma. Not qualities necessary for a cleaner perhaps, but I was intrigued by her. Frankly, it would have taken a miracle for the job not to be hers.
The first month or so after her appointment was delightful. My apartment had never been so clean and I'd managed to rediscover my eagerness to return home each evening, an eagerness absent since my initial purchase of the property more than a year ago. The added bonus was, of course, Sorana herself. Spending time in her company had quickly become addictive and I was increasingly arranging my WFH days to coincide with her shifts. And why shouldn't I? An attractive, witty woman was spending time in my apartment. Mia might have something to say if she knew but it's not like she and I were married. As long as I wasn't inappropriate towards her Sorana, which, after the debacle of her interview I went out of my way not to be, what was the harm? We got on well and she seemed to also like my company, so there was no issue. Nope. No issue at all... I mean, the boundaries were drawn very clearly. Yes, we would enjoy some banter occasionally - she'd taken to calling me Mr. Chocolate, for example - 'oh, Mr. Chocolate home again today...' - a tad racist perhaps, but it wasn't malicious so no harm done... But otherwise, our boundaries were very clear. Nothing that Mia or anyone else should have an issue with. I was her employer. She was there to keep the place clean. I would, mostly, curb my natural inclination to gawp her while she cleaned, usually wearing only shorts or leggings with a vest top or sports bra, and she would keep in check, or attempt to keep in check, her naturally mischievous and playful disposition. Admittedly some days were better than others in this regard, but for the most part, we managed just fine.
It was unfortunate then that after what was a very positive start, things had begun to take a downwards turn. Sorana, usually so diligent and attentive had become lackadaisical in her efforts. On the days I was not home with her, I would return to find that very little, if anything had been done in the apartment. The bathroom wouldn't have been touched; dishes would be left in the kitchen, not even loaded into the dishwasher. Oddly, she also seemed to be contributing to the mess, making no effort to hide the fact that she'd enjoyed some down time with a pizza in front of the TV - the remains left in plain sight for me to find upon my return.
When I first confronted her, she said the words consistent with an apology but also seemed somehow dismissive, as though none of it was a particularly big deal, seemingly suggesting that if I had a problem it was up to me to correct it. And things got worse from there. In the coming weeks I'd come home to find broken cutlery, left on the floor no less, and a clear smell of cigarette smoke circulating through the apartment. I'm not sure whether our friendly interactions had begun to blur the boundaries between employer and employee but her standards weren't just slipping - she was, it felt to me, being deliberately disrespectful and the latest challenge to her behaviour was met with the most bizarre response.
"All I'm saying, Sorana, is that I've hired you as a cleaner and you're not really keeping the place clean anymore, you know? The opposite is true in fact."
"You no like, Matt, you can correct. I tell you this before."
"I know you have but it's not my job, Sorana, it's yours." I can feel annoyance creeping into my voice. Why should I have to correct her shoddy work?
"I honest woman, Matt. I say this thing only if I must have correct. I have mistake, I say 'okay, sorry, you can punish.'"
"Wait, what?" I laugh disbelievingly. "Punish? You're a grown woman, Sorana. I'm not going to punish you. If I'm not happy I'll talk to you, like I am now. It would be helpful if you addressed the points I've made about your actual cleaning."
"Yes, talk...but you punish also, no? I no need this. For all I do bad?"
"Of course, you don't, absolutely not." For the first time since meeting her, I'm wondering whether something is being lost in translation. Is she talking about me correcting her mistakes or punishing her for them? Does she have a different understanding to me of what punishment/correction means? "Why do you think I should punish you, Sorana?"
She's standing with her arms folded, looking at the floor.
"Matt. I have punish before. It ok. I accept."
"But you don't have to accept it. Look, I don't want to pry but whoever punished you was wrong. I mean, I don't know the circumstances but you don't have to accept that." I try to speak sympathetically. "Do you want to talk about it? You can talk to me, or there are professionals?"
Sorana doesn't seem to care much for my compassion as she sighs loudly, tapping her foot repeatedly against the white floor tiles.
"It okay, Matt." She widens her eyes to stress the point. "When I good, you say 'Sorana, good job, I give raise.' But if I no good, if I smoke in your place, you say 'Sorana, what you do! Come here!' Really, it okay. You can trust on this."
Listening to her, I'm pleased this isn't about me and she doesn't think I want to hurt her, but it's equally troubling that she's trying to persuade me it's ok to punish her. Is that what happens in Romania? It can't be. Can it? Besides, even if she feels punishment is to be expected, she can't think it's okay.
"Look Sorana," I begin, "I don't know what you're used to but in England we don't do that kind of thing." I'm immediately aware of how condescending I sound and try to back track. "I just mean... whatever you might expect, I'm not going to do anything bad to you, okay? You don't need to worry about that." I'm pleased to be setting the record straight but Sorana seems uninterested and is muttering something in Romanian, looking to the heavens with a look of exasperation etched into her face.
"Oh God, Matt. Be man! I do bad thing, you must punish. It no difficult for understand!"
Involuntarily, I step backwards, shocked by her tone.
"Whoa there. I don't want to sound like a dick but I'm your employer, okay? I really don't appreciate being spoken to like that."
"If you are 'employer'," she does the 'air quote' gesture with her fingers which surprises me, "you must punish when cleaner do bad job."
"No Sorana. Not at all. That's completely wrong. Why are you so insistent about this?" I pause, gathering my thoughts. "Sorana. Do you...you don't actually want me to punish you, do you?" I can't believe I'm asking the question but what else am I to think?
"I want you say I do good job, or no good job. I do no good job, you can punish."
"But I can't punish you!" I'm almost pleading with her now. "You're a grown woman! This is absurd."
The August heat feels like it's closing in around us, encircling us in ring of implausibility that I would struggle to appreciate if I were not a witness to the scene. I suddenly have an overwhelming urge to drink some water but my limbs are heavy and I remain still while Sorana glares at me, seemingly considering her next move.
"Matt," she says calmly. She looks and sounds like she did during her interview, composed and authoritative. "Look how many glass I break in last weeks. Five. Six? I no clean my messy thing. I smoke in house. I no do good job, Matt. I break your place. Still no punish? You no strong, Matt?"
There's an edge to her words and a look of derision in her eyes. She'd previously joked about me being a gentle man, saying she thought 'men like me' were 'tough guys', whatever that's supposed to mean. A wave of tiredness passes over me and I feel sapped of energy.
"Sorana..." I have no clue what I want to say. "Sorana, I don't know what's going on but...I mean, this is all a bit..." I take a deep breath. "This seems ridiculous. I guess it's some kind of test, right? Some kind of game you're playing?" She allows a smile to form in the corner of her mouth but doesn't say anything. "You obviously can't want to actually be punished, right? You just want...God I don't know what you want... Do you want me to pretend to punish you?"
Her smile grows and she shrugs nonchalantly.
