A Deal With Mr Kane

Chapter 3: I Am Not A Thief

Alessia’s POV

The next morning, I left the house with one thing in mind; Returning Sebastian Kane's watch.

The moment I and Kate stepped into the changing room, we knew something was wrong. Francis was there.

It was strange because the manager never came into the cleaner's area unless something had gone terribly wrong. He stood near the lockers with his arms folded, scanning the look with a hard expression on his face.

"Where is Alessia?" He asked.

Oh dear. Taking in a deep breath, I raise my hand slowly and answer. "Here."

His jaw tightened as soon as his eyes land on me.

Great.

"Miss Lopez." He said sharply, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"Uh oh." Kate whispered beside me.

Francis gestured towards the door. "My Office. Now."

Kate squeezed my arm as I passed her. “Good luck,” she murmured. I tried to smile, but my stomach had already started twisting with unease.

What now?

I followed Francis down the hallway to his office. All through the walk, I couldn't stop trying to think of a reason why he would suddenly want to see me. Only one reason came to my mind but I push it to the back of my mind.

There's no way.

By the time we stepped inside his office and the door closed behind us, my nerves were at an all time high. Francis walked behind his desk and sighed heavily before looking at me.

“I expected more from you, Alessia,” he said, his voice filled with disappointment.

My brows knitted together and a strange knot formed in my chest. “What do you mean?”

He hesitated for a moment before speaking again. “I received a report this morning.”

“A report?” I repeated and he nodded slowly.

“From the penthouse.”

A strange chill crept up my spine.

God, no.

“Mr Kane filed a complaint early this morning,” Francis continued. “He claims that the cleaner who entered his suite yesterday evening stole his wristwatch.”

My heart dropped straight to my stomach. I had expected him to accuse me of seducing him but theft was on a whole different level.

“What?” I blurted out.

Francis looked at me. “You were the only cleaner assigned to the penthouse yesterday evening, Miss Lopez."

Shock rushed through me. The room suddenly became too hot as my blood began to boil with a mixture of anger and disbelief. “That’s ridiculous!” I snapped. “I didn’t steal his watch.”

Francis didn’t look convinced. "But do you have the watch, Miss Lopez?"

I quickly opened my purse and pulled out the wristwatch. “I have it,” I said firmly, holding it up. “But I didn’t steal it."

His eyes flicked to the watch. Then back to me and I could immediately tell that he thought I was lying. “Listen, I know how this looks but I swear I didn't steal it. I took it by mistake,” I explained quickly. “When I was cleaning his room, it fell and I must have slipped it into my pocket without realizing. I only noticed it after I left.”

I purposely leave out the part of me picking it up to have a look. It would only make things worse.

Francis remained silent.

“I tried to return it last night,” I continued, my frustration rising. “But Mr Kane had already left and you weren’t in your office either. I didn’t want to leave it lying around where someone else could take it, so I kept it safe.”

I placed the watch carefully on his desk.“I was going to return it today.”

Francis rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Alessia…” he sighed, his voice a little calmer now.

“What?” I demanded, tears welling up slowly in my eyes.

He looked genuinely worried now. “Whether you meant to or not,” he said slowly, “the fact remains that you left a guest’s room with his property.”

My shoulders fell and my mouth suddenly felt bitter. I was being labelled as a thief. How did things spiral this quickly? “Are you being serious right now?”

“I believe you didn’t intend to steal it,” he added quickly. “You’ve been a good worker. We've never had any complaints from any client before now.”

“Then what’s the problem?” I asked.

Francis hesitated again. “Mr Kane is… a very important client,” he said carefully. “There is a reason he stays in the penthouse."

I let out a disbelieving laugh. “So?”

“So,” Francis continued, “when someone like Sebastian Kane files a complaint, the hotel has to take it seriously.”

My chest tightened. This cannot be happening.

“I’ll go return it right now,” I said quickly. “I’ll apologize and explain everything.”

Francis shook his head. “There’s no need for that.”

Something about the way he said it made my stomach twist again. “What do you mean?”

He looked down at the watch on his desk before meeting my eyes again. “Mr Kane specifically requested that the maid responsible be dismissed.”

For a moment, the words didn’t register. “Dismissed?” I repeated.

Francis sighed. “You’re fired, Alessia.”

My vision blurred for a bit. I couldn't move. “You’re joking,” I said.

“I’m afraid not.”

“You can’t fire me over a misunderstanding,” I said, my voice rising. I was starting to panic.

“I’m only following orders,” Francis replied quietly.

“I told you I didn’t steal it!”

“I know.”

“Then believe me!”

He sighed again, looking almost apologetic.

“I wish I could help you,” he said. “But when Sebastian Kane makes a request like this, we have no choice. There is nothing i can do about it.”

My hands clenched at my sides. “You’re really going to throw me out because of him?”

Francis didn’t answer.

“That man pretty much owns half of this hotel,” he finally said. “If he says he wants you gone, there’s nothing I can do.”

The shock slowly began to fade and anger soon took its place. “You’re telling me I’m losing my job because some arrogant billionaire decided I was a thief?”

Francis had nothing else to say. He pointed to the table and looked away. “Please leave the watch here and collect your things.”

For a moment, I just stared at him.

Four years.

Four years of rejection letters.

Four years of pretending to my parents that I had a real career.

And now the one job keeping me from returning to Italy as a failure was gone because Sebastian Kane couldn’t be bothered to listen for five seconds.

My shock turned into pure rage. How dare he ruin my life just because of some watch?!

“No,” I said.

Francis frowned. “What?”

“I’m returning the watch myself.”

Before he could stop me, I grabbed the watch off the desk and stormed out of the office.

“Alessia!” he called behind me but I ignored him.

My feet carried me straight toward the elevator. My hands trembled as I pressed the button.

If Sebastian Kane thought he could ruin my life and walk away like nothing happened, he was very wrong. The elevator doors opened. I stepped inside and pressed the button for the penthouse floor.

By the time the doors slid open again, my anger had reached a boiling point.

Good. He deserved it.

I marched down the private hallway and pressed the doorbell like a mad woman. My sense of reasoning had flown out the window and right now, I didn't care. He had done his worse. What more could he do?

After almost thirty seconds, the door suddenly swung open. Sebastian Kane stood there, dressed like he was about leaving.

I couldn't be bothered to notice how good he looked in that corporate outfit. He had the personality of a trash can.

His expression shifted immediately from irritation to surprise. Before he could say a word, I shoved the watch straight into his chest. Slamming it with all the strength I could muster.

“Here,” I snapped. “Your precious watch.”

He caught it instinctively, clearly stunned. “What are you—”

“First you call me a w***e and then a thief. I wonder what the next derogatory word is going to be,” I cut in angrily. “Thanks to you, I just lost my job. You should be happy.”

His brows furrowed for a bit then he rolled his eyes. "And i thought you came to apologize for stealing."

"I am not a thief!"

He chuckled humorlessly. "Why do you have my watch then?"

“I took it by mistake!” I yelled. “And I tried to return it last night but you had already left!”

His eyes widened briefly but the surprise disappeared as quickly as it came.

“You didn’t even bother to listen,” I continued, my voice shaking with fury. “You just assumed I was some kind of thief and got me fired like it was nothing.”

Sebastian opened his mouth to respond but I didn’t give him the chance as I wasn't done speaking..

“You’re arrogant, entitled, and so full of yourself that you think every woman in this building exists for your convenience.”

His jaw tightened.

"Firing me must've been so easy for you to do for a watch that you can always buy back with all the money you have but, you should know that this job meant everything to me!" The tears I fought so hard to keep away came rushing anyway.

The look in his eyes had softened into what looked like pity. That made me feel worse.

“You just ruined my life and I hope I never meet another selfish and arrogant human like you for the rest of my life,” I finished bitterly then turned to leave when the elevator doors opened and a man dressed similarly to Mr Kane walked in.

I hastily clean the tears on my face and try to walk away but am blocked by the man.

“Well,” he said with a grin. “Now this is a pleasant surprise.”

I looked ahead, not having the energy to deal with another rich and entitled bastard. His gaze swept over me with obvious admiration.

"Do you have a name?” he asked.

I opened my mouth, ready to snap at him. But something stopped me. He hadn’t done anything wrong.

“…Alessia,” I said stiffly.

His smile widened. “Alessia,” he repeated.

Then he turned toward Sebastian, clearly impressed.

“I didn’t know your secretary was a hot Latina. You should have said so. I would have accepted your requests for a meeting earlier."

My eyes widened. “I’m not—”

"She just joined us a few days ago." Sebastian said immediately, cutting me off.

I turned to stare at him in disbelief.

What?