A Deal With Mr Kane

Alessia's POV [Thank you for your application, Miss Lopez. We will get back to you soon.] They didn't need to be so polite. After almost four years of getting rejected by every company I have applied to, I knew what a rejection email looked like. You would think that after being rejected so much, one would be numb to mails like this, but the pain only gets worse. I hold back the tears that threaten to fall as I stare at the email once again. I really hoped things would be different this time. Maybe I was finally going to stop being a disappointment to my family. I guess I was wrong again. "Did you get in?" Kate, my best friend and roommate said, entering our shared room covered in a towel. She leaned in so that she could see my screen. Her shoulders dropped after reading the first line. "Oh..." She whispered. "It might not be a rejection." She said, in an attempt to cheer me up. "I mean, they did say they were going to get back to you soon." A heavy sigh leaves my lips as I drag my feet off the bed. "It is a rejection, Kate." "I know." She sighs, walking over to give me a hug. "They're idiots. All of them. One day someone is going to realize how f*****g smart you are and they'll regret every email they ever sent you." I let out a small laugh against her shoulder. I appreciated the effort. I really did. "Thank you, Kate. I guess I should be happy I have a job at the hotel to sustain me." I say with a forced laugh. I worked as a cleaner at Kings Hotel and earned just enough to keep me from starving to death. Plus, I shared a studio apartment with Kate so I didn't have to pay so much for rent. "Speaking of the hotel..." She checked the time and squealed. "You better get your ass into that shower or we are going to be fired. Francis will not listen to anything we have to say." She cried, dropping her towel to the ground and running to the wardrobe. An hour later, we were jumping out of a bus and running to one of the biggest hotels in the city. "You are late. Both of you." Francis, the manager said with his usual scowl on his face. I sometimes wonder if he is even capable of smiling. "It isn't 8am yet," Kate replied immediately, checking her wristwatch. 7:59am. Thank goodness. Francis cleared his throat, annoyed. "Well, get to work then!" He nearly yelled. As we hurried to our changing rooms, Kate rolled her eyes. "I wonder what crawled up his ass this morning." She said and I had to agree with a chuckle. I had only taken off my top when my phone dinged. It was a message from my Mom. Mom: [It's your sister's wedding anniversary this Saturday. Can you take a few days off and come home?] I could feel bile already rising to my throat. I knew my answer as soon as I saw the text. I imagined the dinner table. Sofia sitting beside her husband with their child in one hand. My father asking about the 'firm' I worked for and my mother bragging about her 'ambitious' daughter in New York. I typed quickly before I could think too much. [I can't. I have a lot of meetings to attend this week. Send my regards to Sophia and her husband.] I send the text and tuck my phone into my purse before putting on my cleaning uniform, or a maid's uniform as Kate would call it. Fuck. I hate my life. Four hours later, I am drained as hell from cleaning almost ten suites. My shoulders ached and my fingers smelled like disinfectant no matter how many times I washed them. Rich people were the messiest. "One last spot before we call it a day," Kate says from behind me, wheeling her cart into the elevator. Excitement rushes through me as I anticipate walking into the penthouse. After almost two months of working here, it will be my first time going in. "You should know that Sebastian Kane loves his privacy more than anything so if you realize that he is in, walk out and do the cleaning later," Kate warns and I nod. Sebastian Kane. Even I knew that name. The billionaire who owned half the companies in the financial district. It was expected. He was a VIP after all and one thing people like that hated was being around people like me. "He won't even know I exist," I muttered. The elevator doors slid open to a private corridor and we arrived at the large doorway that towers over us. The anticipation nearly takes over me as I slide the master key card across the scanner and push the heavy door open. A gasp leaves my lips as I take in the beauty of the penthouse. It spanned over two stories with two private bedrooms, a study, and two bathrooms with a Jacuzzi tub! Staying in this place for a night costs more than I have made all my life. "Can you imagine staying in a place like this?" Kate asks with a dreamy smile. "Nope," I tell her with a heavy sigh, still ogling at the beautiful architecture. "It is beautiful but it is a waste of money. With this much money, why not just buy a house?" Kate touches my arm and shakes her head. "That, my friend is why you aren't the one staying here but the one cleaning it." "I'll leave you to it before Francis starts to scream for me." She says and pats my head like a dog before running off. Once she leaves, I decide to give myself a little tour of the place. I take the stairs to the top floor, running my hands over the smooth railing. There is a large bedroom on my right and I suck in a breath as I take it in. It looks like it fell out of the magazine with a king-sized bed and million dollar chandelier. I see that it is wrinkled so I walk to it to straighten it out when my eyes land on a leather wristwatch on the table. It catches my eye immediately because of how much it stands out. It isn't flashy like the other things in this room. Instead, it is old, slightly worn out, and looks like it doesn't cost over three hundred dollars. Why would someone who could afford anything choose this? "Weird," I say, and decide to drop it when it suddenly slips from my hand. It lands on the ground with a loud thud and my heart nearly freezes. "No, no, no." I cry, praying it didn't break. I am halfway down when a sudden voice sounds from behind me. "What are you doing in my bedroom?"