Chapter 01
When the alarm clock rang on this rainy Monday morning, Leon was very slow to wake up. After a while, he finally managed to get himself to turn it off and then crawled out of bed slowly and dejectedly.
He didn't know why he was still setting his alarm for 7.00 a.m., as he had already lost his job two years ago and hadn't found a job since.
Perhaps it was his way of salvaging at least a few habits from that time so as not to feel completely useless. Leon was 29 and had had a truly picture-perfect career until he resigned two years ago. After graduating from high school and university, he had immediately found a very good job in a large company and worked his way up to management level within a very short space of time.
Thanks to his very good income, the lifestyle of the previously almost penniless student naturally increased dramatically. Despite his very high salary, Leon lived beyond his means during these years and all he had left was an overdrawn bank account and a very expensive apartment, which he had been two months in arrears with his rent.
His entitlement to unemployment benefit had already been exhausted and although he had no reserves and hardly knew where to get the money for food, he was still too proud to apply for support.
To this day, Leon still didn't know why he had been dismissed. No one from the executive floor had spoken to him since then. All he had left from those glorious days was a very good reference and yet he hadn't found a new job in two years.
All of his countless applications always came back within a few days with a friendly rejection letter. As a rule, there was no need for such highly qualified managers at the time or they had decided in favor of another applicant. These circumstances had been gnawing at Leon's self-confidence ever since and had slowly worn him down and made him depressed.
Somehow he just didn't understand that a man with his training and qualifications was not in demand. At first, he had been almost convinced that companies would be beating down his door and the job offers would pile up. But after almost two years, he had gradually had to come to terms with reality and was now faced with the shambles of his once glorious dream career.
In addition, his long-standing relationship with Hannah had also recently fallen apart. His constant bad mood, alternating with depression and boundless self-pity, had completely destroyed their once very harmonious and happy relationship within a few months.
After a big argument, contact with her had been cut off completely. As Hannah had also supported him financially over the last few months, Leon was now completely on his own.
A few hours later, Leon found himself in the entrance area of this apartment building, emptying his letterbox as he did almost every day. Although he had only received rejections, reminders and threats of eviction in recent months, he opened and sorted his mail every day. Always hoping for a new job so that he could finally settle these claims and regain his old life.
Engrossed in a very unfriendly letter from his landlord, Leon didn't notice that the front door was unlocked and someone entered the entrance area.
A moment later, Leon was suddenly approached by a friendly voice: "Bad news? Is everything all right with you? You look very depressed."
Only now did Leon react and caught sight of his neighbor Svenja. "Oh, always the same. Bills, reminders and rejections."
Although Svenja had only moved into the apartment opposite eight weeks ago, Leon already knew her a little, as he had helped her carry her many moving boxes. Since then, they regularly chatted when they met in the hallway and already had a friendly relationship.
Svenja was 21 and a student. Her parents must have been very wealthy, as they paid for her to live in this exclusive apartment in the most expensive part of the city, and to enjoy a very high standard of living. Svenja was a really attractive young woman. Slim, about 1.70 tall and had very beautiful, long, blonde hair. As she was usually very stylish, she looked more like a model than a student.
Leon had had his eye on the pretty blonde from the very first day, but his financial problems had kept him so busy since then that they had always remained on friendly, neighborly terms.
What could he have offered a woman like Svenja in his situation?
The young lady now looked at him sympathetically with her big eyes and spoke to him encouragingly. "If there's anything I can do to help you, all you have to do is say so."
"That's nice of you, but I'll have to struggle through it on my own. Unless maybe you know a well-paid job for me." Leon joked as they took the stairs together to their shared floor.
On the way up, the desperate Leon poured his heart out to Svenja. He told her about his catastrophic financial situation and his endless and so far futile search for a new job.
She listened to him very attentively, but hardly spoke a word. When they arrived at Leon's front door and had already said goodbye, Svenja suddenly turned around again and spoke to Leon.
"I don't know of any vacancies in management, but I would need someone to clean for me. We have a cleaning lady at home, so I'm not used to keeping my apartment tidy myself.
I could pay you 10 EUR an hour. It's not the world, of course, but maybe that would help you a bit? Unless you're too bad for it?"
She smiled innocently and sweetly at Leon while she waited for his reaction.
Surprised and irritated by the unexpected and unusual offer, it took a moment for Leon to react.
"I was actually thinking of a real job, but thank you anyway." They both laughed as if the offer had just been a joke and Svenja trudged back towards her apartment. When she reached it a few meters later, she turned to Leon again.
"You can think about it again if you want. My offer still stands, anyway."
She then disappeared into her apartment, leaving the bewildered Leon standing alone in the hallway. After a brief moment, he shook his head in disbelief. Had he really just experienced this? This cheeky young thing had actually just offered him a job as a cleaner. It really was unbelievable.
A few days later, Leon's situation slowly became critical. He was now completely broke and he wasn't getting a penny from the bank either. For days, he had been subsisting on stale toast and rancid butter. He was now certain that if he didn't want to fish his food out of his neighbors' garbage cans soon, something had to change as soon as possible.
At that moment, he thought back to Svenja's almost outrageous offer. Cleaning for this young woman was really totally beneath him.
