Maid For The Tycoon: A BWWM Billionaire Romance

by Lacey Legend

“Baby Girl,” cooed Jenna’s mother, Hannah, giving her a hug.

  “I was promised the cat was going to be dragging in something much more impressive than this,” snipped Liana.

  Even Zada, who spoke very little, looked her aunt up and down and blew a raspberry.

  “What, just for once, you couldn’t come in looking like a glamorous skank that was on the town all night at some massive charity gala instead of a drab old cleaner?”

  Kelly shoved the paper that was spread open on the table of the booth her family shared, showing Jenna the pictures of Spencer and Jenna. The photographs were colored and they did look stunning, but nowhere near as radiant as they’d been in the flesh.

  “The clock struck midnight,” scowled Jenna, sidling in next to her mother.

  The women realized this was something of a taboo topic. They sat in silence awaiting Jenna’s guidance on how to discuss what was the event of the decade.

  “Correction. The clock struck 5.30 am.”

  “Oh no you didn’t,” said Liana, placing her hands over baby Zada’s ears.

  “Oh yes I did and now I really wish I hadn’t.”

  “What, he awful in bed? Tiny downstairs?” prompted Kelly.

  “Girl, it’s breakfast and my granddaughter’s here. Keep your mind out of the gutter.”

  “No and No,” answered Jenna.

  “If he’s good in the sack and had a healthy cock, why on earth are you here now?” squealed her mother, laughing.

  The three young women caught one another’s eyes.

  “Settle yourselves,” said Hannah. “Baby Zada doesn’t know what I’m talking about and we’re all women of the world. You think moms can’t talk about sex?”

  “I think they should talk about sex with their own friends,” announced Liana, completely grossed out.

  “Let’s be mature now,” ordered Hannah, slamming her fist on the stainless steel table.

  “How’d you end up in the diner at 8 am, when you should be in that pretty British boy’s bed right now?”

  “He didn’t want me there.”

  “I’m getting her favorite breakfast and taking a break,” screeched Kelly.

  However, no matter how low her appetite, there was no way Jenna was able to resist the lure of the waffles with fresh cream, banana, walnuts and caramel sauce.

  “What happened?” started Kelly.

  “The night was indescribably perfect. Spencer’s father, mother and two older brothers are all in the medical professional, high up in their fields of expertise. Turns out Spencer just didn’t have the same knack. Not that he’s thick. Chatting with his father, he excelled academically and got into computers and literally made himself a billionaire.”

  “Yeah, but mummy and daddy had the money to give him the education he needed and I bet they had the network connections to get him in his field,” countered Kelly.

  “I’m not saying that he doesn’t come from a privileged background. I’m not saying that his family doesn’t have a secure financial background to enable him to follow the course he wanted in life. What I’m saying is he got out there and used his talents and did his own thing rather than rely on his surname and the reputation of his relatives.”

  “Nothing wrong there,” said Hannah.

  “He accumulates his fortune and check this out. He has a niece born with Rett Syndrome.”

  “Ahhhhhh”, the table harmonized in union.

  “Guys do you know what Rett syndrome is?”

  The women shook their heads.

  “Uh-uh,” said Zada.

  “At least she’s being honest,” giggled Jenna.

  “It’s a genetic neurological disorder. Messes up their bodies and well, Spencer’s niece may not get to see thirty. He doesn’t have the medical know-how to fight this horrible condition, but he spends the majority of his time and puts an excessive amount of his earnings into promoting and trying to advance research on the condition.”

  “I’m waiting to hear the part where he turns into an ogre,” sighed Jenna’s mother.

  “He didn’t turn into an ogre, mum.”

  Hannah could tell from the sound of her voice that he had. Her hand went to her daughter’s face and she cupped her cheek and turned her toward her. Looking into her mothers almost black eyes, Jenna wanted to place her face in her mother’s lap and weep. She didn’t want to feel cheap. She didn’t want to feel used. She didn’t want to feel like a whore and she didn’t want to feel like she would never amount to anything more than a nothing, a flibbity jibbit in Spencer’s eyes.

  “You’re not that, baby girl,” her mother murmured in her ear, not needing her daughter to talk.

  “You want to keep it in, that’s fine. You want to share, we’ve got all the time in the world - even Kelly here.”

  “I was the idiot, mum. You’d think I’d grow up or learn from my past mistakes but it doesn’t happen. He’s just another charming knight on a white horse who I thought might come and rescue me.”

  The table was silent. The grownups were fully au fait with Jenna’s history.

  “Still, in fairness, I suppose he did charge in and rescue me. I earned $1000 for being his date.”

  “Best news ever!” said Liana punching a fist in the air.

  “Hush your mouth,” snapped Hannah.

  Liana never argued with her mother.

  “I tore it up and threw it away. I’m not an escort. I slept with him because I wanted to, but when I saw that check on the table it seemed to make a mockery of me and my morals. I run into those good looking, charming men that can provide me financial stability, but not one of them wants the fairytale happily-ever-after with me. What’s that say about me as a person?”

  “It says you haven’t met the right man,” said her mother serenely.

  “It says you’re the kind of girl that merely needs a helping hand now and again because you’re so busy conquering the world as a woman of independent means,” stated Kelly positively.

  “It says you aren’t the kind of girl who needs to be rescued. Where exactly could Prince Charming find a place in your life, and why would he want to? Your university fees are paid up, you’ve got a job, you’re devoted to your family and you study full time. Where in that schedule does Prince Charming get a slice of your life? You don’t need rescuing. You don’t have time for Mr Right, that’s why you never meet him.”

  Liana’s assessment was the most hurtful, but Jenna knew that was because it was the most truthful.

  “I don’t want to be rescued,” she snapped. “I would like to be respected and valued.”

  “You are,” insisted Kelly.

  “I know. And you guys mean the world to me, but I’d like it if just one man could see my potential. What I have to offer a relationship.”

  “One man did,” grumbled Liana.

  “Forget that man,” snapped Hannah. “Why is your tongue so loose this morning? Liana. That Leon did nothing good for our Jenna.”

  “That’s not strictly true,” interjected Jenna.

  “He was a bad influence. You’ve walked away from him now. We’ve all walked away from him now.”

  Jenna chewed her lip. Leon had let her walk away from him. He’d been adamant she do so. He’d wanted her to walk away, because Leon did see her as a Princess that deserved a fairytale ending. The problem was Leon was the frog, not the prince, and there wasn’t much he could offer her in the way of a happy ending behind bars.

  “He was a small time crook who led you astray.”

  “Mum, he led me to New York University.”

  Hannah sat still; her lips were in a thin line. She hated Leon’s name in conversation. In the kindness of her daughter’s eyes she saw compassion, loyalty and what she knew was puppy love.

  “And he led himself to jail. Best advice he gave you was to stay away from him. For God sakes, heed it – it’s the only sensible thing that ever came out of that boy’s troublesome mouth. And if this posh British man is going to treat you like a pay-as-you-g
o prostitute, leave the agency and find another job. Come back and work here with Kelly. It’s honest work and maybe the temptation of these fairytale endings will be knocked out of that foolish head of yours for good.”

  The remainder of the meal was a somewhat restrained affair. Kelly was relieved when she was able to return from her break. She squeezed her best friend’s shoulder. Even Zada knew better than to throw a tantrum, when faced with the high chair. Liana and Jenna exchanged frightened and half-amused looks.

  “You know, mom--” started Liana.

  “Not another word, I said,” she snapped.

  Liana said nothing. When they got into the flat, the girls watched their mother head straight to the bedroom. The girls sat in silence pretending to watch a cartoon with Zada. Eventually they could hear their mother dozing.

  “She’s working tonight?” asked Jenna.

  Liana nodded.

  “But that’s not what’s got her in a mood.”

  Jenna shrugged.

  “Then what?”

  “You ever tell mom I gave you this, you and I are through, FOREVER.”

  Jenna reached to take the envelope from Zada’s hand.

  “It’s Leon,” she mumbled.

  “Isn’t he due out soon?” whispered Liana.

  Chapter Five

  “Ms.. King. I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.”

  Jenna sat down opposite her employee’s desk.

  “Do you know why you’ve been called in?”

  “I spoke with Mr. Lawson over the weekend and we agreed that perhaps we need to reassess my roster.”

  “Well if you did, he made no mention of it to me.”

  “He has asked me to deposit an additional $1000 into your back account for this week’s pay.”

  Jenna’s back stiffened in the chair. It was like ice had been breathed into the normally snug office.

  “I thought it an odd request, but when I found these pictures of the two of you cavorting at the Rett Syndrome Charity Gala, he informed me you stepped in last minute as a date for the evening and he wished to pay you for your time. Apparently you forgot to collect your check the following shift.”

  Discreet till the very end, thought Jenna. “I believe I did. It was thoughtful of him to deposit it with you.”

  “That particular duty doesn’t really come under your normal routine.”

  “It was an emergency. It appeared Mr. Lawson had no one to help out, and as a good client I thought I could assist him, if possible.”

  “You do realize what kind of an agency we are don’t you, Ms.. King.”

  “Or course,” said Jenna firmly but politely.

  “Because we aren’t an undercover escort agency.”

  “If you’re implying for one second that I would lower myself-“

  “Please keep control, Ms. King. I was implying nothing of the kind. I have always found you to be of high character and good standing, hence your employment at the agency. Surely you understand from my point of view, I couldn’t afford to have the time, money and history I’ve invested in Supreme Cleaning Services become tarnished over a one night fling or a short term affair.”

  Jenna was preparing to defend herself when Ms. Princely rotated the newspaper gossip section to her. A photo taken at 2 am showed Spencer and Jenna entering Spencer’s apartment block, a photo taken just after 6 am had a picture of a half-dressed disheveled Jenna leaving the building in her Supreme Cleaning Services Uniform.

  “That’s not what it looks like,” she said quietly.

  “There may be a perfectly reasonable story behind it and I wouldn’t question your integrity if you confided it to me. The problem is Jenna, that photo is what it looks like.”

  “I don’t want our male client base that has the finances and taste to indulge in activities similar to what I’m sure was the perfectly innocent date you embarked on Friday night, believing that may become something we offer permanently, as an additional extra. Our high standards revolve around cleaning services, not the bedroom services our employees may or may not want to supply.”

  “Am I out of a job then?”

  “No. Not at all.”

  Jenna’s chest loosened considerably. She found the imaginary chokehold on her neck disappear.

  “He specifically asked for this incident not to go on your records or for you to be disciplined and I’ll respect Mr. Lawson’s wish there. I cannot, however, indulge his whim that you continue working for him. He feels you are the only trustworthy maid in New York, but he’ll soon learn there are others that are as trustworthy as you but a lot less alluring.”

  Jenna struggled hard to gulp down a sob. Sounded like Spencer wanted to make up, not break up. Now this was becoming a fairytale and Ms. Princely was the wicked witch.

  “Where will I be working then?”

  “Here. Once your classes are finished, you’ll clean the offices in the evening Monday to Saturday.”

  “Actually. That’s not so good for me. My sister attends night classes and—“

  “Your working here won’t stop her education,” said Ms. Princely curtly.

  “No, but I need to babysit my niece so my sister’s able to go to school.”

  “Don’t look shocked Jenna. We aren’t anti family values here. I understand your predicament. It looks like you’re going to need to use Mr. Lawson’s $1000 bonus to purchase a portacot for you to clean the premises while babysitting.”

  Jenna put her head in her hands. There really was no comeback to that.

  *

  Jenna had no idea why she was shivering when the sun was radiating and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The building in front of her didn’t look particularly foreboding. All things considered, the minimal security prison appeared quite pleasant from the outside.

  “It’s going inside that’s the problem.”

  Checking the visitor pass still clenched tight in her sweaty fist, she made her way to reception to undergo the formal and unwelcoming process required to visit an inmate.

  As they searched her handbag, insisted she fill out reams of paperwork and provide identification, all she could think about was how most people visiting Long Island were rich and visiting the Hamptons - not seeing ex-boyfriends serving time.

  Sent forward, on sight of Leon, Jenna thought she might rush up to him and throw her arMs. round his neck. He shook his head, reading her eyes carefully. With two fingers, he tapped the opposite end of the table indicating she should sit.

  When he smiled, Jenna’s entire body relaxed. The even white teeth and plump lips stretched over his defined stubbled jaw line. He had a trimmed black moustache and beard and looked impeccable groomed in his drab prison uniform.

  “Hey girl, how you doing?” his voice was deeper than she remembered.

  Jenna found herself studying Leon quite carefully. He was a monster at six foot five. His chocolate brown skin was flawless. He seemed fit and akin to a brick wall. There wasn’t a scratch on him.

  “What are you worrying about, girl? You know I can look after myself. You don’t need to be putting me down first on your list of social work charity cases,” he grinned.

  She laughed genuinely. “You look huge.”

  “Ain’t nothing to do but work out in the gym when you’re trying to stay on the right path and get out on good behavior.”

  “How’s that working out for you?”

  “I told you not to mind me,” he chided. “Told you that a while back. Don’t be worrying yourself about how I’m doing.”

  “And I’ve respected that. You asked me to visit.”

  “Yeah I did. Thought I should put you in the picture. Something odd happened in the last couple of days.”

  “Tell me about it,” she said under her breath, thinking of her own sudden change in life. Her frustrated niece being confined to a playpen each evening while Jenna cleaned the Supreme Cleaning Services Offices building as a punishment for breaking the employer – employee code.

  “I don’t know ho
w exactly, but somehow I got roped into seeing this weird sounding, pretty boy I’d never even heard of. British, I bet. Don’t know what strings he can pull, but me declining to see him wasn’t an option.”

  Jenna’s heart sank.

  “What’d he look like?”

  “White. Tall. Broad. Slim, but not skinny. Curly hair with dimples. Looked younger than he probably was. Good-looking if you like pale skin and dark features. Bit pretty for my taste – maybe not for yours, Jen.”

  They sat silently.

  “You know him?” enquired Leon.

  “I do. What did he want?”

  “He was nosing around. He never said he was a cop, but he acted like a man that expected answers. Are you in trouble, girl?”

  Jenna shook her head.

  “No.”

  “Cause if you are, the past year and a bit of my doing time has been a complete waste of time.”

  “I’m not in any trouble. My grades are good. I’m holding down a job. Mum, me, Liana and little Zada are surviving nicely.”

  “Your mum still hate my guts?”

  Jenna rolled her eyes.

  “Nah, that’s a good thing Jen. Keeps you focused on the right path. Means when you graduate you’ll stop people like me falling in with the wrong crowd when they’re too young to know better.”

  Jenna’s hand reached over and squeezed his. Their eyes met and in seconds, they exchanged a look of shared youths and growing up. Leon released her hand abruptly.

  “He was nosing about your university fees. How they were paid? When were they paid up until? That sort of thing.”

  “What’d you say?”

  “I went on to say I had no idea because I don’t know you no more, but he’d done his background checks. He knew we had a history, even knew we were neighbors. I told him it wasn’t any of his goddamn business.”

  Jenna was silent. She knew the essence of Spencer and he was a man who was determined to achieve what he set out to do. He may not have a cure for Rett Syndrome, but it didn’t impinge on his focus or determination. Locating how Jenna’s university fees were paid was small stuff to a man in Spencer's position. He’d have got an answer from Leon. Leon’s brawn was no match for Spencer’s intellect.

  “You put me in the yard with this jumped up playboy in his posh suit and I’d wipe the floor with him, but that wasn’t an option. I had a feeling he could be dangerous.”