I step around Maxwell and walk towards Brendan. He looks like he hasn’t had to lift a finger his whole life. He’s probably had maids galore running around after his arse. That’s what’s wrong with the youth of today, they don’t know what it’s like to live. You can’t so much as say boo to them without it being abuse. But then we’re left with a new generation of kids that can’t use the common sense they were born with.
“Who cleans your house?” I ask abruptly.
“Erm… Molly, my cleaner.”
I nod. “What about your car? Your bedroom? They’re all personal spaces.”
The blush that creeps up his cheeks tells me all I need to know. Molly does whatever he asks of her. She’s his skivvy.
“Well, those items you have in your hand aren’t just items for a maid to use. That’s a mop and that’s a bucket. They mop up spillages and clean floors. Maybe you should try it.”
I hate entitled people. They just rub me up the wrong way.
“Erm…” Brendan looks over my shoulder towards Maxwell.
“You heard the lady. I’ll be in when my meeting is over.”
Brendan rushes off with his tail between his legs and I turn around, expecting Maxwell to be pissed off at the way I just spoke to his brother, but he has the biggest grin on his face.
“Come this way. We can grab a coffee first. I don’t know about you, but I need one.”
Coffee.The magic word. I won’t say no to that liquid gold. I follow Maxwell through the lobby. He pushes open a door with the labelstaff roomon it and holds it open for me. I look around the small staff kitchen and seating area. Maxwell walks over to the coffee machine, positions a cup, and lets it do the magic. I run my finger over the worktop and it’s dusty. Call it a bad habit of mine, but I’m terrible for inspecting cleaning jobs.
“This is much cleaner than when I first took over,” Maxwell says.
Caught. Oops.“Sorry. Terrible habit. I’m a bit of a clean freak.”
“Good to know.” He hands me a cup and winks at me.
There’s that wink that caused my knickers to combust last night. I need to keep remembering that I’m here to bag a client, not bed him.
“So, you own a cleaning company. I don’t think we got that far last night.”
Heat rises in my cheeks, but I try to ignore the raging inferno burning deep within. “Clearly, Maxwell,” I draw out every letter of his name, since he told me he was called Max.
“I hate my full name,” he clarifies. “I always go by Max, unless you’re my parents, grandparents, or someone I don’t like, and then I give my full name.”
I take a sip of my coffee. It’s delicious. Dark and sweet, just how I like it. “I get that. Only my family call me Alexa, or my business clients. I hate my name because everyone associates it with the Amazon Alexa now.”
“And do I have to call you Alexa?”
I clear my throat. “You’re a business client, so yes, Maxwell, you do.”
I stand strong. I will not crumble under the heat of his eyes.
“In that case…Alexa, let me show you to my office where we can discuss business.”
I hold my cup with two hands because I don’t trust myself not to spill it or burn myself.
“Do you mind me asking what your brother was going to mop up?”
Maxwell looks over his shoulder at me and laughs. “Well, we had a burst pipe this morning. I decided to knock down a wall.My D.I.Y skills aren’t the greatest. Anyway, we had a difference of opinion because I was on my way to clean the mess up and he told me to wait for the maid.” Max shrugs and shakes his head. “You’ll get used to Brendan. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He’s the youngest of the four of us, the baby, and he has been mollycoddled. My father sent him to me to tame him before he strung him up with his bare hands.”
“How old is he?”
“Nineteen.”
“I apologise for the way I spoke to him. It just riles me when people have that mentality that says,It’s the cleaner’s job.”
