Maid For The Tycoon: A BWWM Billionaire Romance

by Lacey Legend

  “I know that’s not you talking,” said Kelly, “but if you aren’t in the mood, then I’ll leave you to it and get on with things.”

  “What about Leon?” called Jenna as Kelly rose and wolfed down Jenna’s pie for her.

  “What about him? You’re clearly more upset about Spencer Lawson than Leon, so deal with that first. Leon isn’t someone you should be dealing with at all. If you’re sensible you’ll not invest any energy in that boy.”

  Jenna threw a note down to cover the charge and tip for Jenna. Her ears hated the advice but she respected Kelly for being a good friend and telling her how it was and directing her to the path that would bring the most happiness and the least risk. But Jenna wasn’t always great at taking on board other people’s advice. She had it in her head she could make everyone’s lives better in her own way.

  *

  Jenna was glad college finished early that day and even more pleased that her client, Mrs. Goldstein, released her from her duties early. Rather than rush back to the apartment quickly, having jumped off at the bus stop, she ambled home. Outside on the front lawn she saw Leon working on a motorcycle.

  “That yours?” She couldn’t help herself from asking. Jenna wasn’t exactly setting a shining example of keeping her distance from Leon.

  “Uh-uh,” he grunted, using an array of tools that seemed to be quite intricate. “I couldn’t afford this beast. I’m doing this as a favor.”

  “For ‘The Wheels Of...’” her voice dropped below audible as she recognized the logo painted on the motorbike of the notoriously violent and dangerous motorcycle club.

  “Not for the club,” specified Leon, rotating from his haunches to face Jenna. “For a friend. I don’t know if he’s part of the gang or if his workshop just can’t handle the extra work today.”

  “It doesn’t sound a safe job.”

  “It’ll be safe if you allow me to finish the job so I can get paid by the garage. If they like my work, they may even take me on,” he said hopefully.

  “Not sure someone that works on vehicles provided from gangs is your best job opportunity.”

  “It’s a job ain’t it?”

  Jenna could see Leon’s nostrils flare as he stood to face Jenna. That was normally a sign that he was verging on angry.

  “I’ve got to get paying work, Jenna,” he explained, lightly taking both her hands in his. It was an intimate gesture but Jenna found she didn’t instinctively pull away. “Not a lot of people want to take on an ex-con. You know I wouldn’t be stupid enough to get involved in anything that wasn’t 100% legit, but these kind of guys need to have their motors fixed, too. If I work in a garage and one stops by, so be it. Doesn’t mean I’m signing up as a member and you’ll be seeing me in my biking leathers tomorrow.”

  Jenna laughed. “I sure hope not. I’ll be a curtain twitcher now, checking in on what you’re wearing when you arrive and leave the block.”

  “I kind of like the thought of you wanting to check me out,” he confessed cheekily.

  “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “I’m sure you didn’t mean it like that, but I was just checking.”

  “Well, don’t,” huffed Jenna.

  “Ahhh, you just want to check up on me to see that I’m sticking to the straight and narrow and not breaching the terms of my parole?”

  “Exactly.”

  “If you really want to do that, Jenna, you won’t be able to stay away from me,” he winked.

  Jenna fought an urge to kick the bike. She wasn’t into violence or destroying the property of others, but Leon could be infuriating and sexy at times.

  “Just don’t be doing favors for people with questionable ethics,” she warned.

  Jenna stomped upstairs into her apartment. Liana was packing her backpack while baby Zada was playing in her crib. She flopped on the couch. This phone standoff with Spencer was disappointing. He hadn’t been aware of what played out after he’d dropped her off on Sunday night and that she needed support; the fact that she had not received one text or call from Spencer stung. Jenna studied her phone. Given the photos of him on Friday night, was it actually her duty to initiate contact?

  “You won’t be able to wish a text on there,” stated Liana brutally as she jumped on the sofa next to her sister.

  “I know. I was sitting here feeling affronted by the fact that Spencer hasn’t bothered to call.”

  “Told you what he was like,” muttered Liana under her breath.

  “Then I realized I’ve been so preoccupied with this Leon business, that I didn’t ring or text to see if he got home okay that night or even to thank him for the weekend.”

  “You got paid for the weekend,” noted Liana enviously, thinking of all the clothes her sister brought home with her.

  “No, I was treated on the weekend. I’m not an escort to be paid for services.”

  “Well that’s how it beginning to look, especially as he hasn’t called you yet.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, green-eyed girl. His family is over and he’s run off his feet. Manners dictate I should’ve rung or texted to check on his well-being and thank him again for the lovely date.” Jenna emphasized the word date. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make a call,” she announced, flouncing to her bedroom.

  The question is do I bring up the photos of Friday night or let sleeping dogs lie? I don’t know if he did anything more than party with them. If he did then I’m hurt by the exclusion. If there was something more than he’s an absolute waste of space I can’t waste any more time on him.

  She dialed his number. It rang five times before he picked up.

  “Spencer Lawson.”

  Jenna had hoped for a warmer reception. She’d hoped he’d had caller ID and see it was her. His tone was formal, but not unwelcoming.

  “Is anyone there?”

  “Sorry Spencer, it’s me, Jenna.”

  “Oh, hi Jenna. Everything okay?”

  Not really, my ex-boyfriend’s out of jail and I’ve seen photos of the man I’m dating with a crew of women I don’t recognize, thought Jenna.

  “Kind of. I was making sure you got home okay the other night.”

  “I answered the phone. That should tell you I’m alive and well.”

  “It does. I can’t believe I didn’t think to ring and thank you for the amazing weekend.”

  “You thanked me in the car,” he said off-handedly.

  “Right. Your family got in yesterday. How’s all that going?”

  “Family stuff, you know.”

  Jenna didn’t know if she had a right to pry or ask for more details. Her phone call felt distinctly redundant.

  “Have you had a thought about how we might sort something out about seeing each other this week?” asked Jenna, repeating almost the exact same words Spencer had left with her at the airport.

  “I have had an idea, as it goes.”

  Somehow, it was only when Jenna made herself emotionally vulnerable, that Spencer would step in to reassure her and instill confidence in the lovely words he was prone to promising when they were alone together.

  “My brother, his wife and my parents are out for dinner and dancing tomorrow night, leaving me with placing my niece with the babysitter. I figured seeing Zada would be in your care, you’d be responsible for making decisions to her well-being that night. Place the kids together with our nanny and we can go out and do something.”

  Jenna was silent. It was a lovely offer. She knew the nanny would be one of the best, but she couldn’t pretend that Liana hadn’t made the comment about Zada not being left with strangers. Even as her Aunty, it wasn’t Jenna’s place to override the decisions of Zada’s mother, however supercilious and spiteful they might be.

  “Please don’t tell me you too are seriously questioning the ability of our child minders?” asked an aggrieved Spencer.

  “Of course not. It’s just that I’m caring for Zada but I’m not her mother. It’s not really my decisio
n to make. I can put it to Liana, though.”

  “She made herself crystal clear when we discussed it before.”

  “She was ratty that night and is protective of me, that’s all. If I talk to her she might change her mind.”

  “You don’t even have to tell her,” persisted Spencer. “She doesn’t have to know. Zada would have company, be properly looked after and enjoy herself and we’d be free to do the same.”

  “It doesn’t work like that-“

  “Don’t bother, then,” said Spencer. “If your family dictates your life for you and you allow that, it demonstrates to me where I stand in your list of priorities. Perhaps you’ll be keen to spend time with me when I’ve got a private plane booked for the Bahamas.”

  Jenna was shocked to hear the phone slam and the dial tone beep in her ear. Spencer clearly had quite a temper on him. How had this happened? He was angry with her when he was the one gallivanting round the country with other women on the eve of their romantic weekend. He’d barely let her get a word out in the telephone conversation. Jenna could feel her own temper flaring. She dialed Spencer back and it went straight through to voice mail.

  I hate call dodgers, thought Jenna. She began composing a text of epic proportion. Her finger itched to hit send. Instead, she opted to dial Kelly.

  “Yes, how can I be of counsel now?”

  “Do you think it’s unreasonable of Spencer to refuse to see me on the grounds that he wants to put his niece and my niece with a nanny when Liana has said she doesn’t want Zada placed with a stranger?”

  “If he categorically said he was refusing to see you because you won’t go against Liana’s wishes than I’d say he was unreasonable.”

  “Right, he finishes the phone conversation saying perhaps I’ll be keen to spend time with him if he books us on another romantic getaway – to the Bahamas.”

  “I’d be well up for that.”

  “So would I,” sniggered Jenna.

  The thunderous dark cloud of Spencer ditching her because of babysitting duties came biting back at Jenna.

  “What he was basically implying is that I’m using him for all the good stuff that riches can buy and have no interest in getting to know him, which just isn’t true.”

  “I guess with someone like him, that probably is a major concern in dating.”

  “Whose side are you?”

  “Yours,” assure Kelly. “I’m merely saying sometimes our insecurities prevent us seeing things clearly. Let’s be honest. You are petrified of upsetting your mother and sister and rocking the boat. You muck in and never complain or put yourself first. You’ve done that for as long as I’ve known you. Spencer comes along and challenges that thinking and you call him unreasonable. Why instead of using Liana as an excuse, didn’t you find an alternative whereby you do something nice for yourself while still fulfilling family duties?”

  “Like what?”

  “Why can’t the two of you babysit together? Liana has nothing to moan about then and the kids should go down at a reasonable hour with the nanny, leaving you guys plenty of time to jump into bed and get to know each other.”

  The idea didn’t just sound feasible and practical, it sounded positively enjoyable.

  “Remind me why you didn’t go to college?”

  “Lots of common sense, but no brains whatsoever,” answered Kelly matter-of-factly.

  “I’m not so sure about that. You came up in seconds with a situation I probably never would have considered.”

  “Such flattery.”

  “Guess I shouldn’t send this text to him then.”

  “What’s it say?” asked Kelly shrewdly.

  “Spencer. I look forward to our forthcoming trip to the Bahamas. Have you thought about which club you will be attending the night before and whether you’ll be taking two or three dates this time?”

  “Don’t send it,” warned Kelly.

  “Why? He slammed the phone on me acting like I was some money-grabbing harlot.”

  “If you like this guy, that’s a discussion to be had face to face. You’re fuming right now and I completely understand that. Sending things in anger is a bad idea because you might feel significantly different when you’ve calmed down. I said to you earlier you don’t know for sure what those photos are about. You know the paparazzi will find or make up a story to sell magazines – it’s how they profit.”

  “He’s ignoring my calls.”

  “Because he’s calming down, too. If he’s got a temper on him and he likes you he doesn’t want to expose you to him when he’s in a rage; especially, as I suspect, when he’s settled down and realizes he’s behaving like a spoilt child that can’t get his own way and is being mean to the people he cares about so they hurt, too.”

  “What would I do without you, Kelly?”

  “Probably have a cheaper phone bill,” laughed her friend as she blew Jenna a kiss down the phone to say goodnight.

  Chapter Ten

  “The girl is infuriating,” said Spencer aloud as he terminated his call.

  Rupert looked over at his brother, unsure whether he should enquire as to the problem or not. His youngest brother Spencer was clearly very prickly about the new woman in his life so he was treading on eggshells.

  “You good, old chap?”

  Spencer considered Rupert. He was taller and leaner than Spencer, but they shared the same dark brown eyes, square faces and curly hair. Spencer had lost the majority of his Englishisms when he moved to New York, but he noted his brother still adopted phrases from his days at world-renowned private school Eton.

  He rubbed his temples. “American girls are....”

  “Difficult?” guessed Rupert.

  “Actually I haven’t found them to be until now, but maybe that’s because this is the first one I’ve been in a relationship with.”

  “I didn’t think two dates constituted a relationship.”

  Spencer sighed. He’d said so himself on Friday night when he hit the town without Jenna, but the thought of her doing the same to him filled him with fury. He hadn’t enjoyed going out by himself that night. The women frequenting the club were as adoring as ever, but he couldn’t interact or converse with them. Flirting came naturally to Spencer, but anything deeper and he tended to retreat - except with Jenna. Having someone to laugh and talk to as well as have sex with, gave Spencer a sense of fulfillment.

  “Perhaps not, but it’s headed that way,” he asserted to his brother.

  “Dare I venture further into sensitive territory and ask how this Brooklyn beauty is infuriating you?”

  Spencer grunted. He sat on the kitchen bench and stared at his brother. “She babysits her niece on weekday evenings. Her younger sister is a single mum and goes to night school during the week. As you can imagine, this situation makes things difficult for us to see each other aside from weekends. As you’re leaving Rosie with the nanny tomorrow night, I thought Jenna could leave her niece with the nanny too and we could spend a bit of time together.”

  “Jenna? She has a name then?”

  “I put this proposition to Jenna and she refused the idea because her sister wouldn’t like the baby being left with a stranger. As if Nanny Merton isn’t up to the job. We’ve used her consistently in America since Rosie was diagnosed and she’s a qualified nurse. How can leaving a child with Miss Merton not be a sensible idea?”

  Rupert looked at his brother quietly. “If you told me you were leaving Rosie with Jenna’s sister or mother, I don’t think I’d be overly comfortable,” said Rupert thoughtfully.

  “That’s different. Rosie needs special care.”

  “Even if Jenna’s sister or mother were trained nurses to deal with Rett Syndrome, I still wouldn’t like the idea. I’d want to meet them and assure myself, my wife and Rosie they’re in safe, competent and capable hands. I understand what you’re saying about Miss Merton’s credentials, but leaving your child isn’t based solely on someone who looks good on paper. It’s about seeing with your own eyes
and trusting your own instinct.

  You’ve put Jenna in an awkward position. If her sister’s forbidden her to this she can’t just defy her. It could cause havoc at home. How much do you know about Jenna’s niece? Rosie’s condition might disturb her. She may only be used to family so a new face would be frightening to the baby. I know this sounds patronizing, but if it was your own child you wouldn’t be blasé about the whole scenario.”

  Spencer discovered a spot on the floor to assist in him not having to make eye contact with his older and seriously mature brother. He sniffed and kicked his heels on the bottom of the kitchen counter.

  “Put like that, I can see why there might be reservations,” he conceded.

  “Why don’t I call Nanny Merton and arrange for her to babysit Rosie’s at yours? That way Jenna can bring her niece around, Miss Merton can do the work and Jenna’s on hand if her niece needs her.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” mused Spencer. “Only don’t bother calling Miss Merton to change locations. I’ll ring Jenna and tell her to come here. I can cook her dinner or something. It’s not like there isn’t enough spare bedrooms.”

  “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in your own pad? You’d know your way around the kitchen?”

  Spencer wrinkled his nose. Rupert had a valid point but he didn’t want the paparazzi poking round and risk being photographed with Jenna again. Conducting the early stages of a relationship in the public eye was one pressure the twosome would rather not have.

  “Given how we left things on the phone, here would be better. It’s neutral ground. Plus it means Rosie isn’t being carted around from house to house at all hours of the night.”

  Rupert nodded. “That makes sense.”

  Spencer hopped off the kitchen bench with renewed vigor. He hated initiating phone contact with women. It made him feel open to an unsuspected attack. Spencer preferred being in control with his walls up to protect him. Having spoken to Rupert, he realized his reaction at not getting his own way with Jenna didn’t put him in a good light, nor did his accusation that she was only interested in him when he had cash to spend on her. The truth was, she deserved an apology and he had some serious groveling to do. If he wasn’t man enough to stand up and admit to being rash, he didn’t deserve a girl like Jenna.