“I found some dirt under my keyboard. Care to explain that?”
“I cleaned it thoroughly.”
I had been sure of it.
“You did?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, I made sure of it. Under the keyboard is often one of the dirtiest places, and to get that gunk on your keyboard could result in needing to replace it. I get hired to make sure that things are clean so they are well maintained, not to clean under the keyboard would be highly unprofessional of me. I’m paying my way through school; trust me, I do everything I can to make sure I keep this job.”
He stared at me, again raising an eyebrow. “Anything interesting?”
My cheeks flushed. Somehow I didn’t think it was a good idea that I had said that.
“I mean, yea … anything within reason.” But that should go without saying, right?
“Of course.” But I didn’t like the look on his face, so I was going to make that very clear to him. I had no interest in doing anything to keep this job. I mean, really this wasn’t some porno.
He didn’t say another word as he stood and strode to the door, slipping past me as his eyes locked on mine. For a fraction of a second, his hand touched my thigh ever so gently. A shiver ran down my spine as I stared at him, not daring to look away.
“I’ll be back quickly. Be done cleaning by the time I’m back,” he all but ordered.
“Righty.” I gave a wide smile, trying to pretend that I hadn’t been fazed by the look in his eye.
He walked out of the office without further comment. I took a deep breath and mentally shook myself. I could have sworn I cleaned under it, I thought as I headed over to the desk and quickly cleaned up a mess that, I would swear in court, wasn’t there when I cleaned.
I checked under and behind everything else I could before I bit my lip, shrugging. Maybe I really did miss it.
But I never had before.
My brow furrowed as I turned for the door and got ready to head out.
“Thank you, for coming back.”
His voice was softer, and the look in his eyes had vanished.
“It’s my job,” I said with a smile.
He stared at me for a couple seconds, it looked like he was going to say something, but nothing came out. I bit my lip, swallowing dryly.
“Well, if you need anything else, let me know,” I said, ducking out of the office before he could say another word to me. I took a deep breath, my heart racing for some reason I couldn’t place.
I rushed out of that office faster than I’d like to admit, my mind racing almost as fast as my heart. I knew I had done that desk right. I knew it. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t gone to report me, and if that was the case, I could risk losing my job. I couldn’t afford that. I couldn’t afford to have to find another job, and nowhere within walking distance was close enough. What would I do?
I guess worst came to worst I can always become a stripper. It wasn’t ideal. I didn’t want to; I had plans to make it big, and something like that could be impactful on the kind of career I wanted one day, but what mattered was making it from one day to the next. If I couldn’t do that, then there was no way I was going to get into a career I wanted anyways.
The rest of the shift was spent cleaning up bathrooms and the office common room. It wasn’t too bad, but it did feel like there was more than normal and fewer workers to help me.
I didn’t dare ask about it, though. I didn’t want anyone to think I was complaining.
Around 5:30, I was finally changed and heading to the elevator for the end of the day.
My heart skipped a beat as I saw him standing there in his perfectly tailored suit with his back to me. He stared down at a book.
I came to a stop in front of the elevator beside him, staring right ahead at the elevator doors. I bit my lip, praying he wouldn’t turn around to see me there.
“I didn’t realize you were here so late,” he said.
“I … I stay a little later than most people to make sure everything is clean. Aren’t you done at 5:00?”
“I worked late.”
He still hadn’t looked up from the book as the elevator dinged in front of us, the doors opening. I stepped in quickly, and he followed, hitting the main floor button.
I could feel his gaze on me, but he didn’t say anything. I took a deep breath, keeping my eyes straight ahead.
The elevator ride felt like it took forever, though it was only a couple seconds we were stuck in there. I could feel him watching me while he pretended to read his book.
The second the doors started opening, I rushed out of the elevator and out the doors to the street. If I was going to make my bus, I needed to hurry.
I turned towards the stop just in time to see a blue and white bus with the number 13 on it pull away.
“No,” I groaned, rushing after it. I tried to flag the bus down, but he didn’t stop for me.
I stopped, I hadn’t even made it a foot away from the building before I was overcome with defeat.
“Looks like you’re in a pinch,” he said behind me.
My heart skipped a beat. “I … I’ll be fine; I can wait for the next one.”
It wasn’t ideal, they were running on the hour by this time, but what other choice did I have? I forced a smile over my lips and shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal. It’s not. I can study while waiting. Yes, that’s what I’d tell myself.
“I can give you a ride home if you like.”
My heart jumped, but I felt my gut twist in the pit of my stomach. I knew better than to get a ride home with a random guy. “Oh no, I couldn’t ask that of you.”
“Are you sure? It would be no trouble.”
“I’m sure. No worries, but thank you for the offer.”
Without another word, I gave him a quick smile and headed for the bus stop, hoping he wouldn’t follow me.
I sat down on the bench and pulled out my textbook. Glancing up from the corner of my eye, I couldn’t see him anywhere around. My heart skipped a beat. I hope he’s not behind me or something. Now I knew I was just getting paranoid.
I forced myself to focus on the book in front of me and the questions I was supposed to be answering for my homework—that was due on Monday.
I bit my lip, my mind unwilling to calm itself down. I closed the book and looked at my watch. Great. Fifty-eight minutes left to wait for the bus.
There were a few overpriced cafés around, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend eight dollars on a simple coffee … well, I wasn’t even sure I could afford to do that. I still needed to pick up food for the week, and I wanted something other than plain rice.
There was something about the girl. I hated to admit it, but I knew there were some feelings there.
“I tried to give her a ride, but she said no.”
“Why didn’t you press?”
“Because, she walked away, and I didn’t want to freak her out by following her over to the bus stop. Then you’d have to hear her tell you all about how some creep was perving on her.”
“I’d tell her to get some pepper spray and use it the next time she saw him.”
It was meant as a joke, but Adam didn’t find it funny at all. He let out a huff as the two men sat at the bar.
He glanced around. There were a couple girls around, but none of them really looked like his type. No, none of them look like her.
“Still, I wish she wasn’t out on the street by herself for an hour.”
“I’m sure she will be fine. Give her some credit.”
“I try, but you know how it is …”
49. Chapter Two
I stepped out of the shower feeling somewhat alive. When I’d gotten home the night before, my brother hadn’t been home, which wasn’t uncommon. Despite the fact we rented the place together, he was almost never here, but that didn’t matter much to me. He still paid his half of the rent, and that was all I cared about.
I changed into a pair of jeans quickly, packed my work bag and headed out
of the house, catching the bus in time this morning and getting to work a couple minutes early.
“You get here early, and you work late, interesting.”
His voice made my heart skip a beat. I spun to see him. Mr. Needs-his-office-cleaned-all-the-time.
“I could say the same for you.”
He shrugged, not saying a word as he padded towards the front counter. The girl there jumped to her feet when she saw him come over. She leaned over the counter, batting her eyelashes as she spoke to him.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I headed for the elevator.
I stepped in and turned, the doors closing as he glanced over. My heart raced; I was glad that I didn’t have to share an elevator ride with him. But I wasn’t alone.
I looked over to see Matt. He gave me a wide grin.
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“Not too bad. Are you working all day today?” Matt was about my age, but he was taking summer classes, which meant he wasn’t getting as many hours as me.
“Yup.” He grinned widely as the elevator came to a stop. “Gotta pay the bills.”
I laughed softly as the door opened, and we stepped out onto the floor, knowing full well how he felt. When I looked around, my heart leapt. How had he beaten me up here?
His eyes locked on me, then shifted to Matt.
“But thankfully, we get weekends off. I was thinking, do you want to hang out this weekend? Dinner, maybe?”
“Sounds fun.” I grinned.
I wasn’t sure if Matt was trying to be friendly or more than friendly, but we’d been out to dinner a couple times, and the more we went out together, the more fun we seemed to have. It was actually nice to have a guy friend that I could go grab a beer with, and so far he hadn’t made a move on me. So it was just a matter of time until I figured out what his deal was.
Still, it’s not like Matt’s ugly.
He was far from it. Every time we went to a bar for a drink, he got hit on at least half a dozen times.
“I look forward to it. See you later!” he called as he headed towards the men’s change room and I headed for the women’s.
I grinned as I entered the room. I didn’t have many friends; after all, I mostly spent my time working and in school, but it was nice to know that Matt and I could hang out every now and then. I changed quickly and headed for work.
Not surprisingly, the first stop I made was his office. I smiled as I peeked in. “You needed some cleaning?”
“My garbage is full.” He didn’t look up from his computer as he spoke.
I nodded, walking into the room and reaching for the garbage can.
“Did you manage to get home alright last night?”
Was he showing concern for me? “Um, yes. I did. It really wasn’t a big deal to wait; I got lots of studying done.”
“You catch the same bus every day?”
“Yes.”
“Then why were you late yesterday? Seems kind of stupid.”
My heart skipped a beat. “I … It took me a little longer than normal to get changed,” I confessed. I’d been so tired, I had almost forgotten my purse in the change room. I’d had to go back for it, and that had cost me. I’d make sure not to do it again, that was for sure.
I grabbed the garbage can and headed out of the room with it, dumping it into one of the huge garbage bags I kept with me at all times. I carried the can back into the room and placed it down where it had been.
I could feel his eyes on me. I just wasn’t sure if I liked it or not.
Biting my lip, I straightened and gave him a smile. “If you need anything else, please let me know.”
Most of my day was spent running around making sure there weren’t any spills in the garbage, but more often than not these days, it seemed like I was stuck on this floor only, and that meant whenever there was a mess on the floor, I was sent to it. That mess normally had something to do with the man I currently walked away from.
I tried not to focus on it too much, but there was something about him that made my heart skip a couple beats. Thankfully, I managed to slip into his office when he wasn’t around, and if I did, it was just for a couple seconds. I didn’t talk to him unless he talked to me, which he didn’t. Thankfully.
I changed quickly and headed for the elevator.
The door opened, and I stepped in.
“Matt!”
“Hey.” He smiled, but he didn’t sound happy.
My head tilted to the left. “What’s wrong?”
“I uh … I got fired.”
“You what? Why? You …” Matt was an awesome worker. Why would anyone fire him? He always went above and beyond.
“I don’t know. I mean, they actually laid me off, to make it look better, but yea … point is I’m out of a job.”
The elevator doors closed as I reached out and touched his arm softly. “I’m so sorry. I’m sure you won’t have any issue finding another job, though, you’re such a good worker.”
“Thanks.” He gave me a weak smile. Maybe I can talk to Josh and see if he can talk to his friend who works here. It was a long shot, so I wouldn’t say anything, but I’d give it a try. That way, at least I would know that I did all I could to get him the job. That was what mattered, right?
I bit my lip, stepping closer to him. “If there is anything I can do to help …”
“I know, thanks.” But I knew it didn’t make him feel any better. Really, how could it? He’d just lost his job.
“Do you want to come over?”
“No, I think I’m just going to go home and sulk by myself, but thanks. I wouldn’t want to make your night crappy. You don’t deserve that.”
“I really wouldn’t mind.”
The elevator door came to a stop, and I stepped out with Matt by my side. “If you change your mind and want some company, let me know.”
“Thanks, I don’t know what I would do without a friend like you.”
My cheeks flushed as I thought about what he had just said. I wasn’t that good a friend. “I’ll see you in a couple days,” I said. We were still going to do something on the weekend. I knew it would probably make things easier on him if he had something to take his mind off everything.
And with that, we headed out the door and our separate ways. Lucky for Matt, he had a car, and he lived on the other side of town.
I made my way over to the bus stop and sat down, thankful I’d been able to get out of work early enough to make sure I caught my bus home.
50. Chapter Three
I didn’t see Adam again until Friday night as I was leaving.
He stepped out of his office and crossed over to the elevator where I was waiting.
“Fiona,” his voice was silky smooth as he came to a stop in front of me, “we need to talk.”
My heart sped up. Had I done something wrong?
“About what?”
“What are you doing this weekend?”
“Um, excuse me?”
Was he trying to ask me out or something? I turned to see him standing there. His cheeks turned a shade of pink as he looked away from me. Oh God, he is asking me out?
“I’m attending a family event at the weekend, and it would be best for me if I had … someone with me. I figured … you’re … reasonable looking.”
Gee, that was sweet. I passed for reasonable.
“Of course, I’d be willing to pay you for your time.”
My brow furrowed. “I’m sorry, did you just try to hire me to pretend to be your girlfriend?”
His eyes locked on mine. “Is that an issue? Was I supposed to expect you to do it for free? After all, I thought you were trying to pay your way through school.”
My mouth fell open. How the hell did he know that? I’d never mentioned it to him, had I?
“Of course I’d pay you for your time; after all, it is more like a job than anything else. And of course, I’d be willing to provide you a … suitable outfit for each day.”
“Each day?”<
br />
“It would be both Saturday and Sunday.”
My heart skipped a beat thinking about it. It would be a little extra money. He was right; I was trying to pay my way through school. Despite how he’d known it.
“How much?”
I couldn’t make a choice without knowing the price, right?
“Seven grand sound fair?”
My mouth fell open. He was going to give me seven grand to pretend to be his girlfriend. Why?
Why not find someone else? Someone …
I cleared my throat. “I’ll think about it.” I turned to the elevator as the door opened.
His fingers wrapped around my wrist, pulling me to a stop. He spun me to face him. “There’s nothing to think about. Will you or won’t you? It’s a simple question, and if you don’t want to, I’ll just find someone else.”
Why not do that in the first place? I wanted to retort. I wanted to make some witty retort, but I couldn’t think of one. I took a deep breath and forced myself to nod. “Fine.”
But I expected some damn nice clothes out of this. And I wasn’t sleeping with him. No matter how much he paid me.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow at noon.” Without another word, he let go of me and walked away, heading back to his office.
My heart raced as he walked away. I stared after him until his door closed. What the fuck? Had that actually just happened?
I turned back to the elevator, doors now closed. Crap. I still had to get home. And if I was going to be away all weekend, there were a few things I’d need to do tonight.
The next morning, I realized I hadn’t given him my address. I was freaking out. I’d gotten used to the fact that I was going to have an extra seven grand in my bank account. I’d even thought about doing a little shopping as a way to treat myself. It had been a long time since I bought new clothes that weren’t for work.
Crap. Crap. Crap. I felt tears sting my eyes. What was I going to do? How was I going to get hold of him?
I blew out a deep breath of frustration. This was just fucking great. I had my bag packed and everything—and the guy who was supposed to be taking me away for the weekend had no clue where I lived.
Interview with a Billionaire: Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 32
