ONE

    Bella Hawkins stared through the glass door to watch the owner of the building as he typed up some document on his computer. Clark Anderson was the sexiest man she’d ever seen and far out of her league. He owned the entire Anderson Corporation and was worth billions. Looking like a sex god meant there were many women begging for his attention, glamorous women with the time and money to make themselves available to him. Clark had been seen with many super models and actresses. When she’d been waiting for the bus she’d read the article in a glossy mag that linked him to several porn stars as well.

    Way out of her league in every way.

    She worked in his office from seven at night ‘til twelve. The late shift money helped pay her rent, while the diner she worked in during the day gave her the money to eat. The latest recession hit her hard. She wasn’t smart and didn’t have the qualification to get any better paying job. Being a cleaner and waitressing were fun. She loved making places clean, and her small apartment was immaculate.

    His blond hair caught the light of the lamp by his desk side. The golden strands looked silken, and she wanted to run her fingers through his hair to see if they were as soft as they looked.

    You’re going insane. Working this job has built up a fantasy inside your head.

    Ignoring the impulse to speak to him, she picked up her dusting cloth and started working throughout the top floor of the office. On several of the desks lay empty sweet wrappers. Bella picked them up, then threw them into her trashcan. She didn’t know how some people could work in mess or even function.

    Humming to herself, Bella worked through each desk making it spotlessly clean for the next day. She loved cleaning. There was no chance of her getting emotionally attached to anyone. The cleaning company she worked for required one person on each floor of the building to clean that one floor at the Anderson Corporation. She worked on the top floor after the staff had gone home. The job description saved her from getting her heart-broken again. Her last boyfriend of two years had left her over a year ago. Frank had taken two years of her life and crushed her heart as well as what little ego she’d kept. There was no way she’d ever let another man get inside her heart or her head. When she’d first been with Frank, he’d been a caring, loving boyfriend. In the last year of their relationship he'd changed. Frank started getting angrier, and he’d lash out. Bella hated being one of the women who made excuses, but she ended up finding reasons for his behaviour. Fortunately, Frank never put her in the hospital as otherwise she’d be in trouble. Since Frank had worked his magic on her while dumping her, she refused to allow another man inside her heart or her body. She liked living alone in her spotless apartment with nothing to look forward to other than her weekend ritual of baking. Her neighbours loved her baking, and that’s how her life was going to remain. Careful, organised, and peaceful, the three words were her motto.

    Baking, reading, cooking, cleaning, and work.

    She let out a sigh then grabbed the vacuum cleaner to start cleaning the floor. During the summer months she kept the windows open to allow dust and fresh air to permeate the office. It was the middle of fall going into winter.

    Opening the windows would only freeze her.

    Going back to her humming, she started cleaning around each desk.

    Every so often Bella looked up to see Clark reading in his office.

    Sometimes he typed on his computer. He didn’t look her way at all. She didn’t mind. Cleaning ladies were supposed to be invisible to everyone else. The company she worked for held a standard that she prided herself in keeping. Bella may not hold any qualifications, but she could make the places she worked at shine.

    None of the customers she served in the diner complained about her service. She took pride in being able to excel at what she did. Bella had graduated from high-school at eighteen and had worked every day since to keep herself alive. Her mother had lived in a trailer park, and she’d moved out the moment school finished. College was a big fat no. Bella got by on what little she knew. She could read, write, and spell, but everything else had been really difficult for her to deal with.

    It was hard for her to concentrate during high-school because of her mother’s drinking and late night callers. Even though her mother denied being a whore, there were plenty of men willing to pay her for services rendered.

    At school she’d been the fat daughter of the drunken, town whore. Bella had vowed to get away. She hated the men who tried to sneak into her bedroom late at night when her mother was passed out.

    To be safe, she’d climbed out of her window and gone down to the lake where an old ratty sofa lay. She’d curled up in a blanket she kept in her backpack. Those nights were only during the summer. When it was too cold to leave the trailer, she’d wedged a chair against the handle stopping anyone from coming in.

    Her mother was a light sleeper, so anyone banging on her daughter’s bedroom door would wake her up. None of the men would risk her mothers wrath to get to fatty Bella.

    Shaking her head, Bella put more effort into vacuuming. She hated thinking about the past. The past left a bad taste in her mouth. Her mother wasn't a bad woman, but she wasn’t a great one either. She preferred to drink and sleep with plenty of men rather than help her daughter graduate with a decent education.

    Bella didn’t know who her father was or what he looked like. She figured he was one of the numerous men to go inside her mother’s trailer. Shaking off the negative thoughts, she wheeled out a chair and vacuumed underneath the desks. She occasionally glanced at the family photos on people’s desks, and envy struck her big time.

    After the Frank betrayal, she wasn’t going to chance it again. She’d always wanted a family, but family came at a cost she refused to pay.

    Glancing up at Clark in his office, lust hit her square in the gut. He was another man who’d never look at her twice.

    Stop it, Bella. Get your work done, and go home.

    ****

    Clark Anderson watched the cleaner working outside his office. He’d noticed her from the moment she started working in his building. Phoning the firm, he’d gotten her moved up to his floor. He liked watching her work, and he’d taken it upon himself to care for her. They’d never spoken a word to each

    other. She’d smiled at him, and he’d smiled back but nothing beyond that. He'd seen her nerves and understood the reason she held herself back. Every employee underwent a background check. When he’d employed the cleaning firm he’d gotten detailed background checks done on the men and women the company sent over to him. Bella Hawkins was a thorough worker and sexy as hell.

    She wore the pale blue cleaning uniform that hid her curves from his view. Watching her bend over to clean or pick something up was the highlight of his day. She’d never ventured inside his office because he’d given the cleaning company strict orders to leave his office alone.

    Being a successful businessman had created many enemies. He’d encountered a lot of people who were willing to do whatever it took to make money, even if earning money meant stealing files from him. Clark didn’t trust anyone. They were all bad news. The only person he trusted was himself.

    Bella Hawkins, however, was a problem to him. Her file gave him everything he needed to know about her. She didn’t have anything but the standard high-school education, and she worked two jobs to make ends meet.

    Her apartment was small in a good part of the city.

    There was nothing fascinating about her. When he’d dug a little deeper, he’d discovered her mother was a drunk with loose morals and Bella had used to live in a trailer. The woman before him looked like she’d had a hard life, and for some reason that bothered Clark.

    What was it about her that hit him in the gut?

    He loved women. He loved fucking them and making them scream his name, but he also liked leaving them. Clark didn’t do permanent relationships.

    The women he bedded knew the score. They could stay, have a great fuck, and leave at the end of the night. He didn’t allow his women to stay over, and there was no way he’d butter them up. When he wanted sex, he’d call and take what he wanted.

    Jewels, wining, and dining were for couples who wanted forever. He’d taken a few of his women out to dinner in order to keep the press happy. The women knew it wasn’t anything but a show to keep the media happy.

    Being a businessman wasn’t about being a nice guy. Clark saw what he wanted, took it, and enjoyed it. He was ruthless and made no jokes about what he wanted.

    She’s different.

    Bella was different from all of his other women. He expected her to try to make him notice her. Moving her to his floor he’d expected some sort of flirtation. He’d gotten nothing. Her uniform remained the big, bulky pale blue uniform, and her dark brown hair was tied back in a ponytail. She didn’t wear makeup or spend hours trying to gain his attention.

    If anything, Clark felt like he didn’t exist in her company. She came to the office floor, worked, packed everything away, and walked home.

    He’d followed her home. Bella made him feel like a stalker. She’d become an obsession to him.

    Clicking off his computer, he watched as she started packing her cleaning stuff away.

    “It’s a cold night out,” he said, gaining her attention.

    She jerked, turning to face him. “Excuse me?” she asked.

    He noticed she pushed a strand of hair off her face as she stared at him.

    “It’s a cold night out. How are you getting home?”

    Her hand moved to her side. She fisted her hand as her gaze moved toward the windows. “I’m walking.”

    Bella turned her back to him and continued packing away her stuff. He stared at her back for several minutes, admiring the lush curves of her ass.

    What would she do if he reached out and touched her?

    She’d have your ass down to court for sexual harassment.

    “I don’t like the thought of a woman walking home. Put your stuff away and meet me at my car. I’ll be waiting for you,” Clark said. He walked past her going to the elevator. She was staring at him in shock. Winking at her, Clark waited for the doors to close.

    The elevator started to move taking him down to the parking lot. His prized possession sat in the top parking space. He nodded at security and then climbed behind the wheel. Sliding his key into the ignition, he felt his baby purr to life.

    He loved his car. Turning the radio off, he sat and waited for Bella to arrive.

    Checking his watch, he noted ten minutes had passed.

    Once another ten minutes passed, Clark drove to the security guard on duty.

    “How can I help you, Mr Anderson?” the guard asked.

    “I’m waiting for a woman. I was wondering if you could tell me where she is so I know how long to wait?” Clark tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as the guard clicked away at his computer.

    “Sir, no one is in the building. It’s shut down for the night.”

    “Are you sure?”

    “All lights are off, and the security code was punched in five minutes ago by Bella Hawkins. She’s the cleaning lady with the instruction of closing up if you’re not there,” the guard said.

    Clark cursed. “Thanks,” he said.

    He waited, impatiently, for the gate to open. She’d gone without him. Why didn't she listen to him? He’d offered to give her a lift home, and she’d left him high and dry.

    What would you do if a stranger offered to take you home?

    Shit! His obsession for a woman he’d never really talked to was driving him insane.