by Cooper, Jodi
Romance:
Boss
Jodi Cooper
Romance: Boss
Jodi Cooper
Copyright © 2015
Published by Run Free Publishing
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
***
Please note that this book was first published as ‘Her Billionaire Master.’
Other titles by bestselling author Jodi Cooper:
Hired for the Billionaire’s Pleasure
The Billionaire’s Demands
The Billionaire Games
The Exclusive Club
The Billionaire’s Mansion
Return to the Billionaire’s Mansion
Interviewing the Billionaire
The Billionaire Actor
The Billionaire’s Assistant
The Secret Billionaire
Bad Boy Biker
The Billionaire Boss
The Billionaire’s Holiday Mansion
The Billionaire’s Wish
The Damaged Billionaire
Assistant to the Billionaire
Boss
Jodi Cooper
Chapter One
“What a waste of money,” Hannah shook her head as she strolled up the path through the first layer of security at the gated community where her new boss lived. Every aspect of the lives of the super wealthy was on display here. From the newest sports cars to the biggest mansions, Hannah could see it all in front of her – teasing her.
Lives for the people that lived here was not about stressing where their next meal was coming from, rather, they were about stressing which expensive dress to wear to the next gala dinner.
Serene Willow was one of the most prestigious gated communities in the north-eastern United States and the residents all boasted important rolls of high success and the addiction to working that comes with it. Surgeons and doctors, government officials, investment bankers, and high-powered CEOs all called The Serene Willow complex home.
The coffee this morning had been the only thing to perk her up and get her going. The new job wasn't panning out to be as perfect as she thought it was going to be when her friend told her about it. She had a feeling she was on her way to blowing it.
One of the many dove-white homes complete with colonial pillars, archways and a pair of golden lion statues at the top of the stairs to the front door belonged to her boss, Nathan Maxwell.
Mr. Nathan Maxwell - a thirty-five year old investment banker and stunning heartthrob.
“Oh yum,” Hannah whispered as she thought about his tall, broad frame, his thick, wavy dark hair, and his perfect skin complexion.
Mr. Maxwell was a stock trader that landed success whenever he made a move in the market. Hannah imagined he had more money than he knew what to do with, and he reinforced her assumption by buying and selling small businesses in the area and investing in startups to bring life back to the city.
Hannah had been hired only two weeks ago and was added to the staff of Mr. Maxwell's house making triple what she had made in her previous position, which she had worked for the last four years. The improvement in pay had taken a lot of stress and pressure off of her, but things kept happening that made her feel like her job may be in jeopardy.
Coffee runs were often long, and she delivered them later than Mr. Maxwell expected. She knocked over an expensive vase two days ago, and it shattered on his marble foyer floor. Mr. Maxwell was a very strict and demanding boss with high expectations without her breaking his belongings and giving him more reason to make mental demerits in his mind against her.
Hannah liked things simple. The work that was required to run a seven-bedroom home with a pool and guesthouse in the back was too much for her to imagine. She was happy with her one-bedroom apartment above a quaint coffee shop that she loved.
Bright Eyes sold coffee and teas, pastry and doubled as a used bookshop. It combined her two favorite things and was her favorite place to be when she had time to herself. Getting lost in a book and getting away from the mundane reality of her day-to-day existence with a big cup of fresh-brewed hazelnut coffee was the epitome of a day off.
Bright Eyes had been struggling for the last few years, and she wanted to give them as much business as she could afford to in order to keep it open. She had grown to love the shop so much that it's closing would feel like the loss of a good friend. She dreamt of buying the shop and saving it from its demise, but working as a housekeeper, even with the raise in pay, was not enough to make that happen.
With the world turning more and more to technology, instant gratification, and brand awareness, she had a sinking feeling it was only going to be a matter of time before Bright Eyes was bought out by Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, and the charm of the place would be lost, with a trendy hollowness in its place.
But, as always, her thoughts didn’t stay distracted too long. They drifted back to him.
And her.
“What a bitch,” she mumbled as she thought about her.
The two people had been a constant in Hannah’s head for the last two years. Two years. And she was still thinking about them. She wanted to move on. She really did. But she didn’t know how to do that. She didn’t know how to let go of the past.
“How can someone move on from that?”
She was referring to her ex-boyfriend – Tyson Colbert. The Tyson Colbert. High-school baseball star, model and all-round prick. He left her for another woman. And not just any woman.
He left Hannah for her.
Jessica Weston…
Hannah’s stepsister.
Hannah smiled as she remembered how hard she slapped him after he told her. It was the one and only time she had hit anyone in her life, and it felt so good. She wanted to keep slapping him, letting out her anger, but she restrained herself.
Instead, she threw all of his belongings out onto the street…
From her fifth floor apartment window.
When she thought about that moment, she laughed.
Hannah was blessed with casual beauty - nice curves, a nice smile and a head full of bouncy brunette hair. But Jessica Weston was another class – she was model material… although she didn’t have much going on upstairs. Once, she asked Hannah whether the film ‘Independence Day’ was the reason why America celebrates the 4th of July. And another time, she asked her if Polish people come from the North Pole.
Hannah tried to contain her laugh as she wandered through Serene Willow to the mansion where she worked.
Once inside the mansion, Hannah went to the work board in the staff office and looked at what was listed for her to do this morning.
Mr. Maxwell stopped giving her the morning coffee run after a few minor failures, so she knew she would be in the house doing something rather than sent on any errands.
Being unable to do the jobs she had been hired for made her feel like she was letting him down, and she worried that he was going to reconsider his need to have her there.
She looked on the big scheduling board, found her name, followed it across to the day of the week, and read through the list of jobs she was to do for the day while making mental notes about each of them.
Today she was scheduled to clean the ballroom on the second floor. Mr. Maxwell used the ballroom for large meetings and work parties. Before any of these parties he always had the house deep cleaned. She overheard him planning the party when she was cleaning the hallway outside of his office the other day.
There was an asterisk next to the line that read, ‘Clean Ballroom.’ She followe
d it down to where there was an added note that said it was an urgent matter and should be completed before any of her other tasks.
She headed to the supply closet and got all of the cleaning supplies, including the floor waxer and buffer so she could refinish the shine on the floors.
An hour into cleaning, and she had managed to sweep the entire ballroom, dust and polish the furniture and move most of it out of the way so she could work on the floor. But as she was cleaning, she could feel a presence behind her.
Slowly, she turned and saw the tall frame of Mr. Maxwell, dressed perfectly in his tailored suit, his shirt unbuttoned enough to let Hannah catch a glimpse of his strong chest.
He stood tall, with his hands in his pockets, staring at Hannah with his beautiful eyes.
Judging her every curve.
Wanting it.
Hannah froze under his stare, stunned by his presence.
“Hello, sir…” she whispered as her heart raced.
“Hello Hannah.”
His silky smooth, confident voice sent shivers through her spine.
Oh my…
Chapter Two
"How can I help you, sir?" Hannah smiled and wiped the slight sheen of sweat from her forehead.
"What is going on in here, Hannah?" Mr. Maxwell seemed dumbfounded as he looked around the room. His attention had diverted from her body to the cleaning of the room.
"I'm deep cleaning the ballroom like my assignment sheet said," she had the sinking feeling she had made a horrible mistake.
"I need this done, and at this rate you are not going to have it done by the time the catering service comes into set up the tables and take measurements for the decorations. I need you to pick up the pace and do your job."
He sounded incredibly agitated.
After looking at his watch, he glanced around the room.
"I need you to have all of this done in the next hour. Get moving," he informed her and turned to leave.
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry," she said to his retreating back and then mumbled "Arrogant bastard" under her breath.
"Did you say something, Hannah?" He thought he had heard her say something as she turned her back.
"You know what? Yes, I did say something." She had a feeling she was going to regret what she was about to do, but she couldn't seem to control herself when he asked. "You need to learn to treat people better. You haven't had to work a job with physical labor in your life, and you have no idea how much work goes into taking care of your own house." She wasn't sure where the sassiness was coming from other than pure and unadulterated frustration at how hard she was working to keep this job.
The man was never happy with anything. You would think with all he had at his disposal he would at least be able to keep up a modicum of happiness in his mansion and his life of moderate luxury.
She certainly would have been more pleasant if she were in the same position.
The look of shock on his face made her instantly regret speaking up, and despair started to sink into every cell of her body.
'Now I'm really going to lose my job,' she thought as she kicked herself for being hot headed.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Maxwell…" Hannah started to apologize, although she doubted anything she could say at this point would help salvage her position.
"No, don't apologize," he stopped her before she could say anything else.
"I'll just get my purse, and I'll go." She averted her eyes to hide the shame in them as she stuffed her polishing rag into her apron and reached around to untie it.
"You're right," Nathan said slowly.
"I am?"
Now it was her turn to be stunned.
"You are." He shook his head as if the realization had just hit him like a ton of bricks. "I do take everyone on my staff for granted far more than I should, and I don't take into account how much work you all put into keeping all of my properties in the condition they are in. I apologize for that. Sincerely."
Mr. Maxwell ran his hands through his hair like she had noticed he tended to do when he was overwhelmed with something and sighed. "Go ahead and take as long as you need to get this done, but I really do need you to get it done as quickly as possible. The vendors can work around you as long as the floors are done. I'm sorry for snapping at you. I'm just under a lot of stress, but I shouldn't be taking that out on you or anyone else."
Hannah was unsure how to respond, so she just nodded and thanked him before getting back to getting the floors done as he had asked before he had the opportunity to change his mind. She couldn't believe after she insulted him he had been the one to apologize to her.
'Maybe he's more of a decent man than I've been giving him credit for?' Hannah wondered as she got the buffer ready.
When she was done with everything for the day, she was ready to go home, eat the Snickers she had hidden in the back of her freezer for a day like this, and take a long hot shower to wash the stress and achiness from her muscles.
All she wanted to do was relax, and nothing was going to stop her.
Unless…
Chapter Three
Hannah was getting ready to walk out to the front of the house when she heard the sound of music playing from the ballroom.
It was a smooth jazz that made her think of her grandfather and romance that had died long ago.
She couldn't stop her curiosity and turned around to go back in that direction.
Peeking into the doors she saw Mr. Maxwell sitting in one of the recliners in front of the fireplace she had spent an hour scrubbing this afternoon.
"Hannah?" He questioned as he spotted her in the doorway.
"I'm sorry, sir. I was just…the music. It's nice," she explained.
"Thank you. Come in. I'd actually like to talk with you a little about something if you have the time."
How could she say no?
"Of course, sir," she came in, and the music was even better inside the grand ballroom with the acoustics of the architecture making each note of the sax louder and bigger than it was anywhere else.
"You've done well for today, Hannah. I'm going to apologize for pushing you so hard in preparation for tomorrow's party. The crowd is very important to me, you see, and it's vital that I make a good impression when they visit."
Nathan straightened the bar and plucked two goblets from the overhead rack.
"I understand, sir, and thank you, but you don't need to apologize to me. Your standards need to be upheld, but I appreciate you realizing that we're all human, and we can only work as quickly as we can."
Hannah watched him as he moved fluidly from one task to the next, choosing a bottle of wine and bringing it to the sitting area.
"Yes, I do need to remember that more often than I do. I'd like you to join me for a glass of wine and talk about a few things. And please call me Nathan. Mr. Maxwell really isn't necessary."
Nathan read the label on the wine and opened it, letting it breathe for a few minutes while he prepared the rest.
Hannah was stunned that he invited her to stay and have a drink with him.
She wondered if it was appropriate to accept and decided that it would be okay since he seemed so genuine in his offer.
"Thank you, Nathan. I'd love to."
Using his first name added a level of comfort to the room and took away a little of the intimidation Hannah felt in being alone with him.
She looked at the invitation as a peace offering between them and a way to get back in the man's good graces after this afternoon.
She needed that.
She needed to keep her job, and to do that she needed to keep Nathan Maxwell happy in every aspect possible.
Nothing could go wrong…
Could it?
Chapter Four
Hannah joined him on the plush couch and waited patiently through her nerves as he poured the glasses.
Nathan could tell she was tense, and he worried that he was making this awkward by inviting her to have a drink with him.
He ne
eded to talk with her though.
Something about this afternoon and the way she had stood up to him had really made him think about things and the way he viewed himself.
It made him think about the way he viewed her too.
He found it immensely attractive that she was willing to put her job on the line to point out what was wrong in a situation.
That took guts on her part, and he admired that.
"If this makes you uncomfortable, you are free to decline," Nathan said as he swirled the wine in one of the goblets and took in the scent in full appreciation of the craftsmanship.
"I'd like to stay." Hannah accepted the glass when he offered it to her with a gentle smile that alluded to something more hidden behind it.
"Good. I'd like to extend an offer to you that you may be interested in taking," Nathan said, reclining in his seat.
Hannah crossed her legs and took a sip, listening intently to what he was saying.
She hadn't expected him to offer her anything… a pink slip maybe but surely nothing else.
And at this point she seemed to have avoided that, thankfully.
"I'm looking for someone to take over cleaning my penthouse in town. You could stay there if you wanted in one of the guest rooms if you didn't want to make the drive every day. I would require you to work at least four days per week, and those days will depend on when I will be using the penthouse versus being here. You would be on your own there quite a bit, so you would need to be a strong self-starter. What do you think?" Nathan looked at her with his brilliant eyes.
"That sounds wonderful, sir. I think that would be fantastic. My only concern is that the reduced number of days would leave me without the income I need to make my payments."
She hated revealing that she was more or less in a paycheck-to-paycheck situation to this stunningly handsome man who had probably been a millionaire since the day he was born.