The Billionaire and the Cleaner (6 page)

Cherrie reached him and opened the first button of his
pants.

“Stop!”
Kent
shouted
the word. Cherrie stopped.

“What? This is what you want. This is what you
always
want,” she said. Gone was the
seductress, and in her place was the whining woman.

“I didn’t give you permission to enter my apartment. I want
you to leave. I haven’t seen you in over a year, Cherrie. If I see you again,
I’ll have you done for trespassing on my personal property.” He grabbed the
coat from his chair and threw it at her.

“You’re an evil bastard,” she said, jerking the coat back
on.

“Get the fuck out.” He followed her to his door and slammed
it in her face. Next, he called security to warn them about her presence.

Staring at the sheets in his room,
Kent
decided on
the sofa for his night’s sleep. How had his night turned into a fucking
nightmare?

Chapter Six

The next few days flew by, and before Lana knew it, the
following weekend was there. Every night during the week
Kent
had been
waiting for her in his building. Some nights they went to the diner to eat and
others he dropped her home without going inside with her. She didn’t mind as
some nights their friendship confused her.
Kent
talked a lot about his work,
and she got the feeling he didn’t talk with anyone else. His own friends were
settled down with children. He liked to talk about them a lot. She didn’t mind
listening. He stopped asking her questions about her past.

Turning over in her bed, Lana checked the time on her alarm
clock. It was gone nine on a Saturday morning. She’d gone shopping last night
after finishing work early at the diner. Lana switched on the radio and climbed
out of bed. Walking into the bathroom, she cleaned her teeth and started a
shower. Once her shower was finished, she dressed in a long denim skirt and
pink jumper. The weather looked chilly outside even though the sun was shining.
She wrapped her hair in a messy bun before going into the kitchen for her
cereal and morning coffee.

Sitting at the table she went through the bills she needed
to pay along with the details for her bank account. She did some quick maths to
make sure she had enough to pay everything. As she was finishing up her sums someone
knocked on her door. Frowning, she checked the clock and saw it was just after
half nine.

Going to the door she opened it as far as the security latch
allowed.
Kent
stood with coffee and baked goods.

“Good morning,” he said. Last weekend he hadn’t stopped by,
and she wasn’t expecting him this morning. He carried a newspaper with him.

“Are you turning into a stalker?” she asked, not opening the
door any wider.

“Do I look like a stalker?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know that many stalkers,” she said,
smiling even though she tried not to.

“Well, not many stalkers are known to bring breakfast
muffins and Spanish blended coffee, but I do,” he said.

She let out a sigh then opened the latch. “I’ve already eaten,
but feel free to sit down and eat.” She finished writing out her calculations
as
Kent
took a seat opposite her.

“What are you doing?” he asked. Their friendship really was
strange.

The billionaire businessman and the cleaner, she chuckled at
her own thoughts.

“I’ve got money for your thoughts,” he said.

“And I’m not sharing them. You can keep your money,
Kent
. I’m doing
what
us
mere mortals do.”

“Which is?”

She lifted her gaze to his. “I’m making sure I’ve got enough
to pay the bills.”

He nodded. “Check this out,” he said, handing her the
newspaper.”

Dropping her bills and notes, she took the paper from him. A
picture of him and a supermodel was on the front page. Lana slapped his hand as
he went to touch her bills. “It’s rude trying to look at a lady’s bills.”

She read through the story. “What’s this about?” she asked.

“Last week after our Chinese, I went home and discovered her
in my bed with nothing but red underwear,” he said.

“The bitch, she should have been naked,” Lana said with
sarcasm.

He gave her a pointed look. “You’re supposed to be my friend,
and I’m sharing this with you.”

Lana smiled at the trust he was showing her. “You do realise
our friendship is weird, right?”

Kent
shrugged. “I
don’t give a shit what people think of me.”

“Then why are you bothered by the newspaper headline?” She
handed the paper back to him. Seeing the story had felt like a punch to the gut
for Lana. It took every ounce of self-control not to show her feelings. She and
Kent did not have that kind of relationship. He was a man with needs while she
was a poor woman without any.

“I wanted you to know in case you saw it and thought the
wrong thing,” he said.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t got any spare money to spend on
newspapers or glossy magazines. Your celeb life is safe from me.” She stood up
and placed the bills inside her safe before returning it to the draw in the
kitchen. “Why are you here?” she asked.

“It’s Saturday.”

“So?”

“What do you normally do on a Saturday?”

“I bake.”

“What else?” he asked, getting up from his seat. He moved
toward her, cupping her face in his palms.

“
Erm,
read a little. I don’t have
any plans today,” she said. Her boring life was finally catching up with her.

“Then I’ve got to change what you do today. I forbid you
baking on your own.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. She gasped
then covered it up with a sneeze.

“What do you have planned?” she asked, feeling nervous.

“I’ve got to go to my parents’ tomorrow, and I was wondering
if you’d go with me as my friend and date.”

“Really?”

“Yes, they’ll like you. They’re very down to earth kind of
people, and I think it will be good for you to see me in a different setting.”

“Okay, why are you here today?” she asked.

“I need to go to an art exhibition today. I’m checking out
some art. The event is very low key, and I’m not expecting any press. This is
just a viewing today. Will you come with me, and I’ll treat us to Italian tonight.”

“You’re tempting me with food,” she said, groaning.

“Of course.
I know the
best way to get my own way is by tempting you with food. So, what will it be?”

Lana stared around her apartment and bit her lip.

****

Kent
waited for
her to speak. He’d been thinking of taking her out last weekend, but because
work had overrun him he’d not gotten the chance. Then last night before he’d
gone to bed, his mother called inviting him for Sunday lunch. Both of his
brothers would be there along with his two sisters. All of his siblings were
married or in some state of bliss with a partner while he remained single. His
mother wanted him to settle down and have lots of babies.

He hated upsetting his parents. They were his rock in life
and believed in him when he’d not the confidence to believe in himself.

“Come on, Lana. Tomorrow you’ll be saving me from my
mother’s matchmaking skills, and today you’ll be saving me from boredom.”

She chuckled. “Why do you agree to do these things if you’re
not interested in them?”

“It’s good business.”

“There is more to life than earning money,” she said.

He wanted to see her bills. There were a lot of papers on
the table, and he’d seen some of the calculations.
Kent
had never lived like she did.
Not once during his life did he worry about paying a bill. He’d come from money
without fear.

How did Lana cope with living month to month?

“I’ll come but no press or lies. We’re friends, and we’re
not dating. I’ll come as a friend but not as anything else.”

She was the first woman who needed to be coerced into going
with him.

“Fine.
Are you ready to go?”
he asked.

“Is there something wrong with the way I’m dressed?” she
asked.

Kent
didn’t think
so. The sweater she wore moulded to every sinful curve. Her tits looked ever so
full and soft.

“You’re fine.” He was dressed in a pair of jeans and white
shirt. Weekends were his time to relax.

She grabbed her purse and coat before following him out of
her apartment. They walked side by side to his car, which he’d parked in the
spot he deemed his own. A couple of kids were checking his ride over. He nodded
at their approval before helping her into the car.

“I can plug myself in,” she said, moving his hand out of the
way.

“Nice car, man,” one of the kids said.

“Work hard at school, and you’ll be driving one of these
beauties when you’re older,”
Kent
said.

The kid nodded.
Kent
climbed into his side and
turned the engine over.

“That was nice of you to say,” she said.

“I meant every word. Some kids just need an incentive to
try.” Placing the car in gear, he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Are you going to tell me about your parents to be ready for
tomorrow? I’ve noticed you’ve not talked about them.”

And she didn’t fight him for information on his family. Lana
accepted him for him. She didn’t force him to talk about his family or his
money. Their time together was fun. The few times they’d watched a movie
together, he’d enjoyed the time by playing with a few strands of her hair.

He craved her smile and her touch, but he didn’t want to
spoil their time together. There were times when he fought his desire for her.
She’d sat next to him in a pink fluffy robe without a stitch on underneath.
He’d spent most of the night hard, wondering what she’d do if he pulled the
robe from her body.

His desire for her didn’t diminish but seemed to grow with
every passing day.
Kent
enjoyed her company, and she didn’t judge him like others did. There was no
jealousy or bitter rivalry between them. She didn’t seem fazed by the women in
his life even though they were in the past.

“You’re quiet,” she said.

Their friendship was strange. Tonya was his last female
friend. He’d been sleeping with her before she decided she loved his older
brother.

“I’m just thinking.”

She didn’t ask him about what. He really liked her. Was this
how John and his other friends felt about their women?

“Do you own a cell phone?” he asked.

Lana shook her head. “No, I don’t see the need in having
one.”

He intended to get her a phone and a bigger television.

“Do you live in the Middle Ages?”

“This coming from the older guy?” she asked, laughing.

“I’m not that old.”

“Of course not.”

Kent
loved the
banter between them. “Besides with age comes experience, and I’m experienced.”

“Are you coming onto me?”

You’ve got no
idea how much I’m coming onto you.

She wouldn’t
know if I was coming onto her unless I bluntly spelt it out for her to see.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

Lana thumped him lightly in the arm. “You’re a tease. So,
did Cherrie and you date a lot?”

Was she
jealous?

“Do you really want to know the truth?” he asked.

“You brought the newspaper to me. You clearly want to talk
about it. I’m available to listen. You’re driving, so you may as well get it
off your chest if it’s bothering you.”

“It’s not bothering me. We never dated. We fucked a few
times, but that is all. There is nothing else going on. She was easy, available,
and I don’t always like working for it.”
Kent
admitted the truth to her.

“
Wow, that
is putting it bluntly.
No love was lost between the two of you.”

“No. The only thing lost between the two of us was easy cash
for her and open thighs for me.”

She winced. “That’s pretty colourful.”

He tapped the steering wheel. “Will you tell me about the
last guy you dated?”

Lana let out a sigh.

“Come on. There has got to be a guy in your past.”