Actually, when I gathered all 15 coins, it wasn’t just the feeling of victory that felt good, but also how they reacted afterward.
After I found the expensive watch worth thousands of dollars behind the bed and left it in the drawer with a note, I locked up the house and left. A few hours later, the homeowner herself called me. Her voice completely betrayed the embarrassment and shame she felt.
She politely apologized for the coin “test,” explaining that her husband had had a bad experience with previous cleaners who had stolen personal items, so they decided to check my trustworthiness. But when they saw that I had not only found every single coin hidden in the hardest spots, but also returned the expensive watch he thought he had lost for months, they were speechless.
She immediately asked if I could agree to work for them regularly, every two weeks. I told her my schedule was quite busy, but I could make room for them only if they agreed to my new rates—since the work required a high level of precision and reliability (and “coin hunting”).
Not only did they immediately accept the doubling of my rate, but from that day on they gave me the house keys, left generous tips on every visit, and never tried to test me again!
