The Billionaire and the Cleaner (11 page)

“You live here?” she asked.

“Yeah.
It’s nothing like my
parents’ home, but this is where I live when I’m not with them.”

“This is insane. I can’t believe you want to spend time with
me when you could be here.”

“It’s lonely, Lana.”

She kept her mouth closed after that statement.
Kent
had opened
his heart to her the last time they were at his parents’ house.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He parked the car, and together they
made their way up to his apartment. She stared at their reflections in the
metal door of the elevator.
Kent
wore a designer business suit while she wore her cleaning uniform. They were
like chalk and cheese.

Her old tattered purse dangled in front of her legs. They
were polar opposites of each other. Dropping her gaze from their reflections,
Lana stared at her trainer pumps. She spotted a tomato grease stain from one of
the kids she’d served in the diner. Pulling a tissue out of her bag she dropped
down and started cleaning the mess from her shoe. She hated mess, and she
couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen the stain on her shoe before now.

“Lana, what’s the matter?”
Kent
bent down.

“I’ve got to clean the mess. I’ve had a raise, and I can’t
believe my standards are slipping.” Tears filled her eyes as she recalled the
horrid food stains in the trailer. The time she’d gone into her mother’s room
and the stench of sex, urine, and alcohol had filled the room.

She’d never allow herself to be like her. Frank was wrong.
She wasn’t like her mother. Everything had to be clean and have its own place.

Kent
’s hand
closed over hers. “Stop this,” he said.

Lana lifted her head. Tears fell on her cheeks. He wiped the
tears away. “I’m not like her. I’m not dirty. I like things clean, and I work
hard. I’m not like her.”

“No, you’re not like her.”

He didn’t have a clue who she was talking about, but hearing
him agree with her meant a lot.
Kent
removed her hand away from the shoe. “See, it’s all clean. You’re fine. I
promise.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry.”

The bell on the elevator rung out letting them know they’d
come to the right floor.
Kent
lifted her up in his arms. She didn’t let go as he carried her down the
corridor to his room.

Resting her head against his chest she waited for him to
open the door.

“I won’t have to fight semi-naked women out of your
apartment, will I?” she asked, teasing him.

“No. There are no naked women here.”

“That’s good to know.”

His heart thumped against her ear.
Kent
carried
her inside his apartment. He sat down on the sofa pulling her onto his lap.

“I’m too heavy,” she said. Lana went to move off his lap.
Kent
stopped
her by holding her tightly against him.

“Don’t even think about it. You’re not going anywhere.”
Kent
stroked
her hair, soothing her with tiny caresses. She closed her eyes relishing the
closeness she felt next to him. After a time,
Kent
lifted her off his lap and
placed her at the end of the sofa. He removed her shoes and socks.

“I don’t want you to move from this space.”

“I’m sorry about the elevator. I don’t know what came over
me,” she said, dropping her gaze as the shame of her past gripped her.

“You know what came over you. It’s your mysterious past. You
don’t want to talk about it, and that’s fine. You don’t have to talk about it
or say anything. You’ll tell me when you’re ready to.”

He tapped her leg and made to move away.

“It’s my mother. She’s the only person from my past.”

“Didn’t she like mess?” he asked, sitting down.

Heat filled her cheeks as she recalled the mess inside the
trailer. “She didn’t care for mess or much of anything else. I’m nothing like
her.”

Dropping her gaze, she wrapped her arms around her legs.
Kent
handed her
the remote. “Here, watch television. I’m going to get us some food.”

“You know how to cook?” she asked, teasing him.

“You’ve seen my mom’s kitchen. Do you really think she’d let
any of her boys go without knowing how to look after themselves?” he asked.

“Point taken.
I look
forward to your food.”

He left her alone. She clicked on the television. The screen
was large, and seeing the size of it made her chuckle.
Kent
had been
trying to get her to have a bigger television for a long time. Shaking her
head, she flicked through the channels.

“I see why you want the bigger screen. I don’t even think
this would fit into my apartment,” she said, calling out to him.

“Everyone deserves a big screen. I can get one to fit your
apartment,” he said.

Lana laughed. “My electric bill would go through the roof.
How much does it cost to run?”

“Stop teasing me and enjoy it.”

She continued flicking through the channels like he told
her. There were several sports channels along with a couple of porn channels.
Lana shook her head at his choice of viewing and stuck with the news. The
safest channel was the news.

He came back out of the kitchen with a tall glass of milk.

“The news?
You’re watching the
news?” he asked with mock disgust.

“I thought it was better than sex.” She lifted a brow.
Kent
chuckled
and walked away.

Glancing around the room she spotted several pictures of his
family along the shelves.

****

If his cock got any bigger Lana would notice him tenting his
pants with the size of his erection. He felt like the worst friend in the
world. While she’d been crying in his lap, he’d been enjoying the feel of her
pressed against him.

Opening his fridge he took out the pasta and sauce he’d
bought the other day. He’d intended to cook for her when he bought them. The
only thing that had changed for him was Frank coming back on the scene. He
filled a pan with water and salted the water.
Kent
got everything ready like his
mother taught him to cook the pasta. He glanced into the room to see Lana had
taken her coat off. The uniform she wore did nothing for her figure.

His cell phone buzzed letting him know he’d gotten a call.
His mother’s name flashed on the screen.

He let Lana know his mother was calling.

“What are you doing up this late?” he asked, putting the
phone to his ear.

“Don’t be cheeky to me. I’m calling to see about Lana’s
Christmas present. I’ve got a catalogue here, and I see some dresses I think
will look gorgeous on her.”

His mother already viewed her as being part of the family.

“What colours?”

“I’ve got blue and purple. I think the purple will look
good. I need her size.”

“What does Dad think of you ordering like this?”
Kent
asked.

“Your father leaves me to do what I do best, and that’s
looking after my family. I’m looking after my family, and I get the feeling
Lana hasn’t had much looking after,” Penny said.

Kent
turned the
heat on the stoves down and walked into his bedroom. “I’ve got something to
tell you.”

“Okay, I’m ready for the gossip.”

He chuckled and then told her everything that had happened
from Frank showing up to the episode inside the elevator.

“She’s been hurt bad, son. I think you need to take it
carefully.”

Kent
took her
advice and hung up.

Moving out of the room he saw her sat watching the news. He
quickly finished dinner and handed her a plate of steaming pasta.

“This smells good,” she said.

She twirled the pasta around her fork and sucked it into her
mouth. He watched her lips close around the fork, and like a randy teenager he
was hard imaging those lips around other parts of his body.

He was going to burn in hell because of his thoughts.

“This is really good.”

“I was taught by the best.”

“Penny is an amazing woman,” Lana said.

“I’m glad you like her. She likes you, you know?”

Lana shrugged, and a blush stained her cheeks.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Sometimes I feel a little out of place. We’re
weird being friends. I don’t know. I forget we come from different worlds.” She
finished her food without saying another word. He let her.

Kent
had come to
realise Lana kept herself closed off in order to protect herself. She’d been
hurt in the past, and he didn’t think it was just because of Frank. There were
parts of her past that were fuzzy. At least he knew she’d known one parent. He
got the sense that one parent wasn’t the best source of comfort to his woman.

She handed him her plate and sat back against the sofa. He
cleaned away the dishes and found her asleep curled around a pillow.
Kent
didn’t
want to wake her.

He moved toward the spare bedroom and made the bed for her
to sleep. He turned the thermostat up so she’d have plenty of warmth in the
large bedroom.

Once he was done, he moved back to where she lay on the
sofa.
Kent
lifted her into his arms and carried her through the bedroom. She mumbled in
her sleep but didn’t fight him.

Her weight meant nothing to him as he placed her on the bed.
He stared down at her for the longest time. She looked relaxed in her sleep.
The deep frown she usually wore was flat. She appeared younger in sleep without
a care in the world. He wanted to see her like this more often. She shouldn’t
worry about money or stressing about life.

He’d make it his business to make sure she was taken care of
in all things.

Opening the top button of her uniform,
Kent
averted
his eyes and removed the dress from her body. He took a quick glance at her
beauty before covering her up with a blanket. For the longest time he stood
over her watching her sleep. He wondered what it would feel like to climb into
the bed behind her and have her wrapped in his arms.

Instead of doing what he craved, he turned away and made his
way to his own room. He switched off the television on his way to his room.

Kent
turned the
lamp on before going through to his bathroom. Staring at his reflection he saw
every one of his forty-five years reflected back at him. Lana was the first
woman to sleep in his apartment without him having sex with her.

His time for sleeping around had ended the moment she
entered his life. Did Lana even realise the impact she’d had on him?

He doubted she even understood her value to him.

Removing his clothes he climbed into the shower. He squirted
some shower gel in his palms and massaged the gel over his skin. His cock
pulsed as he remembered the sight of her naked body. He cupped his cock
thinking about touching her silken skin. His mind was filled with her moans of
pleasure.

Kent
pumped his
shaft until his seed released from the tip. The orgasm was satisfactory but
nothing like he imagined taking Lana would be.

Later that night he fell to sleep thinking about Lana and
the future he could have with his cleaner. She meant so much more to him than
being a cleaner.

Chapter
Twelve

Lana opened the mail on Saturday morning and almost spit the
coffee she’d been drinking all over the door. She’d been sent a bonus for her
cleaning work and the amount had her gasping for breath. Looking over the
numbers she decided the amount had to be a mistake.

She went down to the pay phone they kept in the building.
Putting a few quarters into the machine, she punched in the number for the
company where she worked.
 
Once she
reached the boss she asked her about the amount.

The amount was correct, and the bonus would be paid in full.
All she needed to do was
take
the check to her bank
and cash it.

Gazing down at the amount she wasn’t paying attention as
someone knocked on the door. Looking up she saw
Kent
stood with a key in hand. He
was unlocking the door as she made her way over to him.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.