"Oops," Tyler smirked, looking down at the elder man. "Guess you'll have to start over, Pops."
Martin didn't argue. He knelt, methodically ringing out his mop in absolute silence. But beneath his lowered brow, something flickered in his weathered eyes. It wasn't submission. It was recognition. It was the look of a man who had seen this exact dance a thousand times before.
Chapter 3: Engagement Metrics
Weeks later, the cruelty escalated from casual disrespect to calculated humiliation. Tyler realized that Martin's quiet stoicism made for excellent, enraging content for his girlfriend Amanda's livestreams.
During a busy afternoon, Tyler grabbed Martin's cleaning cart and violently tipped it over, sending bottles, rags, and scrub brushes clattering across the concrete.
"Content, baby," Tyler laughed, flexing for Amanda's glowing phone screen. "Watch how the help scrambles."