The Billionaire and the Cleaner (12 page)

“I’ve been sent a bonus.” She lifted the check up for him to
see. “Do you have anything to do with this?”

He took the check from her. “No, but you must have gotten
good feedback.”
Kent
raised his brow. She slapped him with the check.

“You’re the one responsible for this. I shouldn’t take this
money.”

Kent
glared at
her. “You earned that money. The work you do around the office is amazing.
Lana, working the hours you do, you deserve a bonus. When the company asked me
for feedback I gave them the truth.”

“This has nothing to do with our friendship … or the kiss?”
she asked, nibbling her lip.

“I’ve never had to pay for it, Lana, and I don’t expect to
start now. I suggest you cut the crap. You earned this money because your work
is brilliant.”

He stormed past her making his way up the stairs. “Do you
have to look at every gift as if it is a bad fucking thing?” he asked.

Lana followed him up the stairs cringing at the words he was
saying. “I’m sorry.”

“You better be. I can’t believe this. You’ve made me feel
guilty for telling your boss you were a good worker.”

She closed the door behind her. Several of her neighbours
came out to see what the commotion was.

“Sorry,” she said.

Turning back to
Kent
she saw him pacing her short
living room. “Does this mean you don’t want to go shopping with me? Why does everything
have to have an angle with you?”

“I’m not used to something like this,” she said, lifting the
check up for him to see. “I don’t take anything for granted. This means I can
go shopping with you without holding back. I can buy all of your family
presents.”

Tears filled her eyes at the true meaning of what the money
meant to her.

“Thank you,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Deep gratitude filled her at the gift he’d given her. “This was really
thoughtful of you.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything else to her.

“Are you ready to do some shopping?” he asked.

Lana saw he was uncomfortable and decided not to push him.
“Yeah,” she said, following him out of the door.

They spent the day moving from shop to shop in the city
centre. She went with him when he visited designer boutiques, and he followed
her into the more reasonably priced high-street stalls.

After some lunch in a French bistro, they finished shopping
for his siblings.

“Sophie will want something designer,” he said.

“Why?” Lana took a lollipop out of her bag,
unwrapping
the foil around it and started to suck.
Kent
paused in
talking to watch her.

“What?” she asked.

He shook his head, smiled and carried on talking. “Her
theory is down to the fact I’m made of money I should splurge on her.”

“That’s not very nice,” Lana said.

Kent
chuckled.
“One Christmas I bought her a pair of slippers from the corner shop. She went
mad because they were too big and ugly for her. It’s kind of a long running
joke for us.”

She smiled even though she didn’t understand the joke. Lana
stood with him as he checked through several items of jewellery. While the
assistant was flirting with him Lana gazed over several of the jewels. A ruby
pendant caught her eye. The jewel in the centre was surrounded by a silver
serpent. The design was entirely feminine and beautifully crafted. When she
spotted the cost of the piece she shook her head. There was no way she’d ever
be able to afford such an extravagant piece of jewellery. She’d be terrified to
wear it.

“What are you looking at?”
Kent
asked, making her jump in the
process.

“You startled me.” Lana pressed a palm to her breast.

“Sorry. What were you looking at?”

Pointing at the necklace, she waited to see his reaction.
“It’s beautiful. I want to see it on you.” He signalled to the assistant.

“No, I can’t afford anything like this,
Kent
. Please,
don’t.” She grabbed his arm, giving him a shove, but he ignored her.

The assistant walked over with an easy smile. Lana watched
as she checked out
Kent
.
“What can I help you with, Sir?” she asked.

I’ll give you
Sir.

Her jealousy was going to land her in heaps of trouble.

You’re
friends. Stop acting like you’re something more.

“My friend will try on the ruby serpent,”
Kent
said.
There was no asking; he simply demanded.

The woman smiled. She unlocked the case and carefully
brought the necklace toward her. Lana stared at the necklace, which was even
more beautiful when it wasn’t covered by the safety glass.

She lifted her hair up as the woman secured the clasp. Lana
turned toward the mirror and stared. She wished she could be frivolous with
money and buy it. Instead, she lifted her hair up and waited for the woman to
remove the necklace.

****

Kent
saw her
desire for the necklace. The cost of the jewel didn’t faze him, and yet Lana
looked so unhappy by it. He gave the assistant a nod. This would go with Lana’s
gifts. He wouldn’t leave the shop without having the necklace put away for her.
The way her eyes lit up at the sight of the jewel was more than worth the
effort of coming back to get it.

He handed the assistant his card, which she used to finish
paying for his gifts.

As he took Lana out of the shop he spotted the woman
packaging the necklace for him. Once they finished all of their shopping, they
made their way towards his car. They were laden with shopping bags. He filled
the boot of his car before climbing behind the wheel. The winter chill was upon
them. He rubbed his hands together before starting the car. The heater blasted
ice cold air. Lana shivered.

“Give it a few minutes to warm up,” he said.

“It’s so cold.”

Her teeth started chattering, which for some reason he found
to be the cutest thing.
Kent
turned the engine over and waited for the car to heat up before turning the
heating on. She rubbed her hands together over the heater.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “I timed the heating to come on in
my apartment. We’ll be okay if you want to start driving.”

Putting the car into gear, he headed in the direction of her
apartment. She’d promised to cook for them. Even though it was pitch black
outside the clock said it was only after six.

They’d been shopping for a good eight hours. It was the
longest time he’d been with a woman shopping and enjoyed it.

She didn’t
ask for a single thing.

Lana asked for his advice on purchases for his parents but
nothing else. She never expected for him to get his cash or his card out of his
pocket. When they went for lunch she paid for her own meal as he paid for his.

She was the first woman to not expect him to foot her bill.
The knowledge was refreshing for him. He parked the car in the parking lot, and
together they made their way toward the front of her apartment building. Their
arms were laden with packages. A couple were exiting the building, and they
helped them through the doors.

By the time Kent and Lana made it to her apartment, they
were overcome with laughter. He couldn’t stop as he listened to her laughing.
They fell together in a heap amongst the packages.

“I have no idea what I find so funny,” Lana said.

“Me neither.” Their laughter died off. “I think we need to
get up off this cold floor.”

“I agree.”

Kent
got to his
feet first and held his hand out for Lana to take. He helped her up, and
together they placed the bags onto the spare sofa.

“Shit, I forgot wrapping paper,” he said.

“No worries, I’ve got some.”

She disappeared into her bedroom and came out several
minutes later with the stuff they needed to wrap the presents. He watched her
remove her coat before going into the kitchen. Her body called to him. The
glorious curves tempted him, and it was getting harder to resist her.

“I’ll get started on dinner. You can take your coat off, use
the bathroom, and make yourself at home,” she said, smiling.

He liked how fun and easy his life was with her. She never
expected him to talk about work or for him to give away some important point
about a business deal. There were no strings attached with her friendship.

They had a great time together, and he loved it.

Disappearing into her bedroom,
Kent
forced himself to ignore her
bed and go straight to the bathroom. He quickly did his business and was wiping
his hands on a towel when the colour red caught his attention.

Her laundry basket was full. He knew she’d be going to the
laundrette tomorrow to do her washing. Lying on the top for him to see was a
lacy bra and panties set.
Kent
checked the size and quickly typed the size into his phone. Touching the
fabric, he felt like a creep and quickly placed them back inside the basket.
Her body had been rubbing all over the underwear.

Licking his lips, he took several deep breaths before
returning to the living room. She was making some meat sauce with pasta. The
garlic and onion scents filled the air. His mouth watered, and his stomach
grumbled. Grabbing the remote he turned the news on and then wandered into the
kitchen.

Lana was stood at the counter, stirring the sauce.

He gazed at the curve of her back and the full roundness of
her ass.

“I bought you some beers,” she said.

“Thanks.”

Kent
grabbed the
bottle from the fridge. He moved beside her and popped the top off on the
counter.

She whacked his shoulder. “You break or damage my work
counter in any way and you’ll be paying for it, buddy. There’s a bottle opener
in the far drawer. Use it next time.”

He watched her work about the kitchen. All the time he was
imagining her in the red underwear he’d discovered in the laundry basket.

After they ate dinner, Lana did the dishes as he started
wrapping their gifts. They fought over the tape, and
Kent
knew in that moment there was
no other place he’d rather be than in Lana’s apartment, wrapping gifts. He was
in love with her. His feelings for her were no longer in question. Their
friendship meant everything to him, and his love would remain hidden.

Chapter
Thirteen

Christmas at the
Andersons
’

Lana waited for
Kent
to pick her up. It was
Christmas Eve, and everything had been arranged for him to collect her on his
way to his parents’ house. He’d stopped off at his office building prior to
picking her up. She checked her suitcase for the hundredth time then all of her
bags to make sure she’d packed the presents. Her stay with the
Andersons
would last until the New Year.

She looked forward to bringing in the New Year with them.

Tucking her hair behind her ear, she pushed her glasses up
her nose before putting on her coat. She sat waiting until finally there was a
knock on her door.

Kent
stood with
his hands in the air in surrender. “I’m sorry. Traffic was a nightmare. Is this
everything?” he asked, grabbing some of her bags.

“Yeah, this is everything.”

“It’s snowing out.” He warned her as they got to the ground
floor. She followed him out the door and around to his car. He’d put snow tires
on the instant the bad weather hit.

They placed her bags alongside his in the boot of his car.
He helped her into her seat then climbed in behind the wheel.

Lana watched as he pulled into the flow of traffic.

“Everyone’s panicking with the last minute shopping. I’m
surprised you got the time off work at the diner,” he said. “I passed it on the
way to you, and it was packed.”

She smiled. Lana wasn’t about to tell him she’d lost her job
at the diner. After she’d asked for time off, the woman who owned the diner
refused. She expected Lana to work Christmas Day, which she’d refused. She
would worry after New Year on how she was going to pay for rent and food. The
bonus she received from
Kent
would stretch and, she hoped, give her enough time to find a new job.

“Are your parents happy with me coming this year?” she
asked.

“They are. You’d better be prepared, Lana. The whole family
is going to be there. Sophie and Dawn are bringing their men, and Eric’s got
his whole family. Christmas is always a big event at home. Mom is cooking up
two turkeys to feed us all.”