Free The Billionaire and the Cleaner by Sam Crescent

bunch. Were you struggling to keep up?” he
asked.
    “I was getting there. It was pretty hectic.” She smiled. He
kept a firm grip on her hand as they made their way up to his room.
    He opened the door. The only other woman in his childhood
bedroom was Tonya.
    “You’ve got a lot of trophies,” Lana said. “You’ve gone all
silent on me.”
    “I’m just thinking.” He sat down on his bed, picking up the
ball his mother had left there on his last day of college.
    “What are you thinking about?” Lana tucked some stray
strands of hair behind her ear. The glasses she wore made her look adorable.
    Kent let out a
sigh. “I’ve not come to a family dinner in some time. I’ve always made an excuse
not to be here. Work, dates, my friends.”
    “You were hiding from Tonya,” Lana said.
    “I thought I was hiding from her. It’s insane how I’ve built
this wall up between myself and my family,” he said.
    She waited for him to speak. He tried to find the right
words to say. “I was pissed at Seth and Tonya. I felt they’d betrayed me, but
you can’t control the person you fall in love with. They’re in love.”
    “I can see that.”
    “I didn’t. I thought she wanted the older brother, the guy
who’d inherit the real fortune from our dad. I’ve always wanted to go my own
way. Dad let me do what I wanted.” He laughed thinking how silly his past
thoughts have been. “When I came here, alone, I used to feel sorry for them
all. They had family, responsibility. They weren’t free. I thought I had the
good life.”
    “You don’t think that?” she asked.
    “I thought they were jealous of me because I didn’t have any
responsibilities. They felt sorry for me because I have nothing.”
    “You have something, Kent .” Lana nudged his arm.
    Tears filled his eyes as the truth hit him square in the
chest. “No, I don’t. What exactly do I have?” He stared down at the ball in his
hand. “I’ve got a successful company and a lonely big penthouse fucking
apartment. I’ve got friends who’ve settled down with a family.”
    He wiped under his eyes as the real loneliness started to
set in. “Like I said to you, I don’t have female friends I don’t fuck. I’ve got
nothing. When I go home tonight I won’t be going back with a wife or
girlfriend. I’ll be going home to an empty apartment. I’ve got a big fuck-off
television to keep me company. Man, I’ve got a phone filled with lots of
available women who’ll come and sleep with me. But what do I really have? I’ve
got nothing.”
    She wrapped her arms around him. Tears were streaming down
her face. “You’ve not got nothing , Kent .”
    “No? Then what do I have? Because right
now I feel like a fucking waste of time.” Lana cupped his cheek and
turned him to face her. “You’ve got me. I’m not going anywhere.”

Chapter Ten
     
    One month later
     
    Lana placed the food down in front of her regular customer.
She waited for them to ask for something else. When they ignored her, she
walked toward the next customer. She checked the clock on the far wall to see
how long she had left before it was time to start heading for her other job.
Her time with Kent was the best part of her day. Their time at his family’s home had really
cemented their friendship. After she’d promised to always be in his life, Kent had held
her close, and their friendship deepened. They were no longer the billionaire
business man and the cleaner in her mind. They were simply Kent and Lana, two
friends who enjoyed spending time together. He was her first real friend, and
she adored him. She checked the clock again to see if the hands had moved
faster. This was how her life had become, clock watching.
    She grabbed the cloth and started wiping down surfaces while
also taking used plates and trays back into the kitchen. The other two
waitresses were giggling over a story in the newspaper. A quick glance at the
paper and she saw Kent ’s
face on the front cover. He’d