Page 11 of Playing With His Heart

“You…washed my clothes?”

“Yeah, I’m not helpless. I do have a washing machineandknow how to use it.”

“Well. Alrighty, then. Sorry I underestimated and misjudged you.”

“Let me go grab them. I’ll shut the door and give you some privacy.”

Zayn disappeared, closing the bedroom door behind him. She couldn’t deny it, he wasn’t like other suits she’d met in the city. He was more real, down to earth, and had a level of respect for others that surprised her. She felt bad grouping him in with all the other stereotypical billionaires—not that she knew many personally, anyway.

She pulled the blanket along with her as she walked into the bathroom. When she heard a knock, she stood behind the door and yelled out into the room.

“Coast is clear, you can come in. I’m in the bathroom.”

“Just leaving your clothes on the bed for you. I’ll be out in the kitchen when you’re ready. Towels are in the closet.”

She waited for the door to click shut again and cautiously emerged. Jenna threw the blanket on the bed, grabbed her clothes, and rushed back to the bathroom. The least she could do was take a shower. If she went in to work in the same clothes as yesterday, it would be like doing the walk of shame, only she hadn’t done anything. Her co-workers wouldn’t ask questions or wait for an explanation before the rumor mill would spread through the office like wildfire.

While she stood under the waterfall, she basked in the immense water pressure that her apartment did not have. The hot water didn’t dissipate after three or four minutes, either. Itwouldbe a pleasant change to move into another apartment while her new one was being built. He was generously offering to move everyone—no questions asked—and not make them pay more. She knew there were one or two elderly couples living solely from their social security, and they had little else. He would be a literal godsend to them.

When Jenna finally came out of the bathroom feeling like a newer version of herself, there was a set of folded clothes on the bed and a note.

Ran down to get the newspaper at the front desk. Thought you could use these. Wouldn’t want you to do the walk of shame into your office.

“Seriously?”

She lifted the shirt, amazed that it was pure silkandher size. The skirt was the same, only a different color, and he’d even found matching shoes in her size. Seemed like he’d spared no expense—but that shouldn’t surprise her with his vast amount of money.

“When did he have time to do all this? I wasn’t in the shower that long.”

She went back to the bathroom one more time to change into the clothes he’d left for her, which were a hundred times nicer than the outfit she’d worn to his house. After she buttoned the blouse, she took a minute to look at her new appearance in the mirror.

“Who are you?”

Jenna didn’t recognize the person looking back at her. She never bought those kinds of clothes because she couldn’t afford them, even with her decent-paying job. She could get used to them, though. The silk glided against her skin effortlessly, so good it was almost climactic, but she would not like to see the price tag attached. She collected her old clothes from the floor, looked around to make sure she’d grabbed everything, and left his bedroom. She must have left her phone out where they’d been working the night before.

She followed the smell of coffee down the hallway, but when she got to the kitchen, Zayn hadn’t returned yet. He’d left an empty cup out on the counter for her, so she filled it and went to stand in front of the windows overlooking the city.

“God, this is such an unbelievable view.”

“It is pretty spectacular, isn’t it?”

“Oh my gosh, you scared me. When did you come in?”

“Sorry to startle you. My front door is super quiet since I oiled the hinges.”

“Don’t you have someone to handle that at this building? Like maintenance?”

“Yeah, but I’m not helpless. It was something simple, so I just took care of it myself.”

“I can’t blame you because that’s how I feel about my apartment building, too. Anything to keep Frank from coming to my door for anything. Speaking of creepers, what will you do about him?”

“That’s a good question. He has an apartment in Terrace Gardens, too—but only because he’s the maintenance man for the building. Honestly, I’d rather not keep him on in that position—even though I don’t necessarily like to fire people. He just hasn’t been doing his job, so that’s an issue. All my other buildings already have that position filled, and it’ll be awhile before the new building is ready.”

“I know what I’d do, but it’s not my decision.”

“You’d get rid of him, huh?”

“You bet. I couldn’t in good conscience keep someone like him around when he makes all the female tenants uncomfortable.”

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