Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hannah I have a big secret.

At college, I’m a popular girl. I have many friends and enjoy the number of guys who ask me for my number. My friends say I’m loyal. Guys call me pretty. My grades are good, and since I’m constantly smiling, my friends will never discover my secret.

But the truth?

I’m eighteen, dirt poor, and struggling.

I can only afford my living expenses because I’m working full-time while also attending college. I barely have enough time to study, but I’m somehow managing.

Sure, I might hit a wall from working my ass off as a housekeeper at a hotel at some point. But what is a girl to do?

I need money and hate to ask for help, so I put on a show in front of my friends. I pretend I’m fine and without problems so they won’t worry about me, but my life is anything but perfect.

My parents avoid me like the plague and are too busy with their careers to call or try to see me. They both work abroad, and I half-suspect they are avoiding each other since all my parents do when they see each other is yell at each other.

I have a suspicion they are about to fill in for a divorce. And their relationship has made me think love is nothing but an illusion. But who needs love anyway? Not me.

With tired eyes, I push my cart forward. I round a corner while looking down at the list of rooms I have to clean before my shift ends.

Most of the rooms are enormous, and it takes time to get them ready for a new guest, but there is only one room to clean on this floor.

The problem? It’s one of the most expensive rooms we have, and it will take me at least an hour to clean it.

I groan in frustration even before opening the door with my card key. The electric lock lights up green, and I enter the room backward, dragging my heavy cart after me.

I then turn around and immediately realize something is wrong. This room is supposed to be empty, but a tall naked man stands with his muscular, sinewy back turned against me. He has brown short hair, and impossibly broad shoulders.

And he is humming a Taylor Swift tune! I almost choke when he shakes his glorious thick ass to the song. I shouldn’t look, but it turns out I’m a bigger sinner than I thought!

I’m not staring; I’m gawking!

That rump is what wet dreams are made of!

But while this guy is sexy, what is he doing here?! This room shouldn’t have someone living in it! Did I enter the wrong room?

With growing panic, I look down at the paper, gasping, when I realize I’m supposed to be on the floor above this one!

“Um?” A deep voice hums, definitely the dancing male.

I look up by instinct and then scramble back two feet. The man is now standing in front of me naked, and he has that kind of deep-set v-lines that turn girls dumb!

My heart pounds in my chest at the marvelous sight before me, and I trip over my shoes, hitting my head against my cart. I swear I must look like a boxer knocked out of the game.

“Fuck!” I groan in pain as one cleaning item after the other topples over my head, prompting laughter out of the man.

“Are you okay?” He is trying to sound worried, but there is a hint of amusement in his voice.

“I’m fine…” I mumble bitterly, and then I fight like hell not to pay attention to his… thing!

But how am I supposed to ignore it?!

It’s huge!

And that six-pack?

Jesus Christ.

I think I mumble the word “beautiful man” or something similar, and the guy smirks at me. My face burns, yet I can’t look away. Could this day possibly get any worse?

I keep staring at the man, who takes out his earphones and wraps a white towel around his tapered waist. He then walks over to me, offering me his hand with amusement dancing in his eyes.

Too shocked to know how to react, I grab his hand and let him pull me back to my feet. Once I meet his eyes, I blush.

Not only is this guy packing, but he is also beautiful, and I instantly hate myself for finding him charming.

I seldom take a genuine interest in a man, but the one I find insanely attractive is the one I embarrass myself in front of—how freaking typical!

I want to sink through the face of the earth. This must be karma playing games with me, and while I know that I shouldn’t be looking at I can’t pry my eyes off him.

He is too gorgeous.

“Let me guess, wrong room?”

Blushing, I nod, and he smiles at me, all dimples and delight on his face. I expect him to make a joke at my expense, but he collects the items which have fallen from my cart in silence. It’s odd seeing him help me since the mess is my fault.

“Oh, wait! Don’t clean up after me!” I exclaim and sort my blonde hair behind my ear. Why am I suddenly so nervous? I never act like this! I have crushed plenty of hearts beneath my shoes, and here I am, acting strange because I’ve seen this man naked. “I-I can collect those myself!”

Instead of replying, the man silently holds my dropped items for me to take. I stare at his hands with burning cheeks before shyly taking the things from him.

“T-thank you!”

I salute the man like a fool before quickly placing the items back into place. I then push my cart towards the door. I need to leave this room immediately before my stupid brain takes another trip of staring at this man’s gorgeous face.

Unfortunately, my cart gets stuck on the carpet. I ram into it with full force, but it doesn’t move. I try to tackle it again, but the cart won’t budge. It’s completely stuck!

The man chuckles above me. He is directly behind me and towering above me like a human skyscraper.

“Do you need help with that?”

I swallow thickly. I’ve already caused this guy enough trouble as it is. First, I entered his room, then I saw him naked, and now, I can’t even get out of his room without his help. This is beyond embarrassing…

“No… I mean,” I bite my lower lip. “Maybe?”

The man smiles at me with water dripping from his body, and I step away from my cart to offer it to him.

“I think one of the wheels might be broken…” I mumble.

He chuckles in amusement. “I doubt that is the case.”

I know I should look away from him, it’s rude staring at him, but I can’t turn away from the muscles rippling down his arms and legs.

Then his face.

Jesus Christ, he is stunning.

He is wet from the shower, so fresh and gorgeous, and those green, emerald eyes are the cherry on the cake. And even if he is older than me, I find him attractive. He looks like a movie star.

I’m drooling over him as he grabs the handles of my cart and easily pushes it out of the room. It doesn’t even seem heavy for him. It makes me feel humiliated and incapable of doing my own job.

The guy probably thinks I’m pathetic too. I don’t dare to meet his gaze when he turns around to look at me.

“How long have you worked here?”

Huh?

What kind of question is that?

“Um,” I mumble and feel a little insecure. Is this guy going to write a complaint to my boss? I can’t blame him, but I really need this job. “I have worked here for about a year, I think?”

“And do you like it here?” The man asks and hands me a smirk upon noticing me watching him with wide eyes.

I swallow thickly.

Mr. Gorgeous caught me staring at him; I know he knows I find him attractive. It’s probably written on my face. The worst part is that he doesn’t tease me for checking him out. He doesn’t say a word, but somehow that is much worse.

I also feel like he is chillier now, and his face looks less kind, but that might be my imagination?

I lick my lips. “Yeah, it’s not the easiest job. It’s a little gross cleaning hair from the drain. And it took time getting used to all the stairs since the elevators are always occupied, but I like it here.”

“I see,” his eyes seem harsher now, colder. “I would expect someone who has worked here for an entire year not to walk into the wrong room. It would have been a huge disaster if I had been a normal guest and you had seen me naked. Someone could lose their job.”

His words and his stern tone give me pause. These aren’t the words of a regular guest. A guest might have laughed at this situation, but this man? He looks as if he wishes me out of his sight.

Shudders run down my spine. “Who are you?”

The man’s lips twitch, but he doesn’t smile. “Tobias Ford, the CEO of this hotel chain and the boss of your boss.”

My jaw slacks to the ground as his eyes glare into mine. I also forget how to breathe, but I’m unsure if it’s because one: he is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen, or two: I’m most definitely fired.