Chapter 11

 

It was week two of cleaning toilets, and still no result. April sprayed the vanity mirror and vigorously polished it working hard to make sure there weren’t any smears. She stared back at herself. Minimal eye make-up, just enough to enhance her eyes which were deep green today, but some days looked a completely different colour depending on what she was wearing. Because her hair was now short, she had small decorative ear-rings to enhance the cropped look and make herself look more attractive. She quite liked what she saw. Understated, but pretty. Hopefully it would be enough to catch Dylan Rider’s eye. She’d seen him in the distance a few times before he left each evening, usually from behind, but had not yet spoken to him directly. Ingrid Ruth saw to that. Every time she turned around, Ingrid seemed to be there giving her yet another cleaning job.

 

She knew with absolute certainty Ingrid didn’t like her. It was more sensing it than anything else because she was used to it. Most of her adult life she came across females who didn’t like her. She was tough in her police officers role, she had to be to succeed at the level she worked at in the male dominated profession. But it wasn’t the toughness that was currently off-putting as the part she was playing made her submissive and compliant. It was the fact that women like Ingrid saw her as a threat. And she was exactly the same as any other woman; apart from one thing . . . Ingrid wanted Dylan Rider for herself. That was the gut feeling of the police officer within her. She’d seen Ingrid come out of his office one night, flushed and heading for the toilet. Her intuition told her they’d just had sex. It certainly hadn’t been a long session though; April had timed her going in and coming out. It couldn’t have been more than a quick wham bam.

 

An unexpected bonus of being at the gallery each evening was seeing Rachel and Joey. She loved the banter with them, they were a real laugh and thoroughly decent people. She didn’t come across too many of those in her job.

Rachel had confided in her that she liked Joey, but he’d never made any advances towards her. She still persisted that he might be gay, likening him to a closet one as he gave the impression he favoured women. April dismissed that. Joey didn’t appear one bit gay to her.

Even though Rachel had seemingly set her sights on him, she clearly wasn’t the type to linger if she wasn’t making headway, although none of the men she met seemed to work out. She was a good-looking woman, so could certainly attract blokes, but it sounded as if her encounters never got past the one-night stand phase. Not that it deterred her. After each knock back, she seemed to be up again for the next challenge.

 

April was getting impatient now to make some headway with Dylan Rider, even if it was just to meet him. She tied a knot in the two black bags of rubbish and glanced around the toilets; the surfaces sparkled, and the dirty grout between the tiles, now looked much cleaner. She’d taken in a toothbrush, and worked her way along the grimy tiles, scrubbing a bit each evening to remove the ground-in dirt. There was something about cleaning that she liked. It was a purpose with an end result. Very task orientated. She knew she was doing a good job, and even though Ingrid didn’t like her, she seemed pleased with her work.

She dropped one of the bags to open the door, and held it ajar with her foot.

A male voice startled her. “Here, let me.”

Dylan Rider moved towards the door and held it open for her.

Halleluiah!

The moment she’d been waiting for.

The pictures and VT’s she’d seen of him had demonstrated how attractive he was, but nothing had prepared her for him up close. Dressed in a navy suit that had quality written all over it, he looked every inch, a wealthy man. He was breathtakingly handsome with his olive skin and dark hair which was cropped short, but it was naturally thick and tiny curls had started to sprout which was most probably due to being the end of the day. She’d wager a bet it would be much slicker first thing in a morning when he’d just washed it and probably used products to settle it down. His thick angular jaw had a day’s growth darkening it. No doubt that too wouldn’t be evident first thing in a morning either. The end-of-the-day look suited him. He appeared incredibly masculine causing an unexpected flutter to spread through her.

“Thank you,” she smiled and walked through the door with the two bags, one in each hand.

“Shall I take those?” he asked.

“There’s really no need,” she said, “I’m only going to the exit with them. I can manage.”

Go on, ask me again. That’s how it works.

“I’m sure you can, but I’m going that way anyway.”

“Then thank you,” she met his warm friendly eyes with her own, “that would be a great help.”

She walked alongside him.

“We’ve not been properly introduced; I’m Dylan Rider, the owner.”

She smiled an acknowledgment, “Yes, I know who you are.”

He made a move towards the lift, causing her to hesitate.

“Erm, I’m afraid I can’t take the rubbish in the lift. I have to take it down the back stairs.”

His beautiful dark eyes, enhanced by thick dark lashes, completely wasted on a man, crinkled at the edges. “Oh, I think on this occasion, we can bend the rules. The bags are heavy, after all,” he winked.

Heavy? They only had used paper towels in them.

He pressed the call button for the lift and the door opened. He gestured with his head for her to go in first and he followed, resting the bags down before pressing the ground-floor button.

The door closed.

It felt uncomfortably intimate to be in an enclosed space with him. She caught his cologne, a mixture of smooth vanilla and fresh lemon. It hadn’t been recently applied, but it was subtly there; an invigorating freshness befitting his masculine confidence.

“How are you getting on?” he asked politely, breaking the silence.

“Fine,” she smiled.

Maybe she should add more?

“Everyone seems really nice.”

“Yes, I’m lucky with all the staff. They work hard and are loyal. I like that in a person. I think it’s an important quality, don’t you?”

Was that a threat with her prison record?

“Yes, of course.”

She found his powerful aroma and nearness, intoxicating. Without warning, it gave a powerful kick to her dormant libido.

He changed the subject. “Do you live locally?”

“Not far. I only need one bus to get here.”

“That’s not too bad, then. Have you always done cleaning jobs?”

“I’ve done allsorts in the past.”

“Like what?”

He’d have a file on her, she knew that. And she knew exactly what false information was in it.

“Admin mostly, but I’ve done a bit of retail.”

“I see. Well I hope you get on here. Ingrid says you are proving to be a hard worker, which I’m pleased to hear.”

Yeah, she should bloody well say that. She’d worked her arse off in the couple of weeks she’d been there.

“That’s kind of her to say. I do try to do a good job,” she smiled, “a good day’s work for a good day’s pay, and all that.” Her eyes purposely met his.

He stared at her with an expression on his face that she couldn’t fathom. He was much more charismatic than she’d imagined. Sex appeal was oozing out of every pore.

Fill the silence.

“I’m very grateful for you for giving me this opportunity. I won’t let you down.”

“Good, I’m pleased to hear that.”

The lift door opened and they walked towards the exit.

“Thank you again,” she reached for the rubbish bags he was still holding.

Ingrid was heading towards them. “There you are, Gemma. Can you get a move on to the toilets on one? There seems to be a bit of a flood that needs cleaning up.”

“Yes, of course.” She placed the bags next to the exit door ready for Joey to take outside, and walked away. Without looking back, she knew Dylan Rider was watching her.

And so it begins.