Scott & Mariana by Vera Roberts Page A

swept and mopped, and even did laundry. Over time, Mariana had grown to appreciate cleaning and loved it. In fact, her new cleaning job made Mariana take more care to her own home. She prided herself to have the cleanest toilet in all of Los Angeles.
    When Mariana was a child, she took origami classes. Over the years, she kept up the practice and often designed her clients’ bed sheets in some type of origami design at the end of her sessions. They were impressed to come home to their Egyptian 600-count threads in the shape of a fan, swan, or an intricate star. Despite the designs looking like they took hours to complete, in reality, Mariana only spent 10 minutes on them. T he illusion , her origami teacher once taught her, is to trick people into thinking what you’re doing is easy .
    Mariana earned an extra $400 a week and she would be lying if the money didn’t come in handy. The job was paying a very nice wage plus whatever tips the clients left. She only worked 20 hours a week and could do most of the cleaning on weekends and some weekdays between classes. She was able to get back on track with her bills and started to save up more for a vacation. However, she was still getting used to the cocktail of sweat, bleach and Pine-Sol at the end of the day.
    “Alright, class dismissed. Don’t forget to turn in your papers next week! Finals at the end of the month!” The Economics professor shouted over the bustling students hurrying out of class.
    Mariana quickly packed up her backpack and headed out the door. She glanced down at her iPhone. 2:20 PM. Her cleaning appointment was at 3. If she hurried enough, she would make it in time to see the fine-ass client leaving his house. Seeing him was a definite perk that made Mariana wish she started cleaning his home sooner.
    But on one fateful cleaning day, Mariana realized that cleaning up other people’s homes did have some very erotic benefits.
    ****
    Mariana’s day usually started with cleaning her main employer’s home before she moved to other homes. He paid her the most and in Mariana’s mind, deserved better treatment because of his generosity. He was a young and single executive who lived in a big Mediterranean-style home.
    It boasted of three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a Jacuzzi and a swimming pool. It had a large patio for entertaining and a home office that looked more like a small library with its many bookcases, world globe in the corner and aristocratic charm present throughout. It wasn’t just a home; it was a palace. Mariana wondered why Scott needed such a large home when it was mainly him and his occasional booty call.
    “There’s my girl,” Scott Reed smiled at Mariana as he glanced down at his watch. He had a smile that was both charming and sexy. Mariana wondered how many women stepped out of their panties for him just on his smile alone.   “You’re here early.”
    And miss the chance of seeing your fine ass? “Class let out early.” Mariana replied.
    “Works for me,” Scott grinned. “There are some drinks in the fridge if you want any and some snacks in the cupboards.” He picked up his briefcase and talked as he went to his SLK-class Mercedes. Mariana focused on the type of Mercedes class Scott drove based on what she learned in Economics. The higher the class, the wealthier the driver. “You know the rules.”
    How could Mariana forget? It was the only thing he’s said to her for the past six weeks.
Clean everywhere. Sweep, mop, do whatever you need to do. I just want it spotless. Oh, and one other thing: do not open this top drawer.
“Sure do. Have a good meeting, Boss.”
    “Scott,” he corrected her and drove off.
    Mariana shrugged as she watched him leave. “Scott, Boss…same difference.”

Chapter Two
    Mariana put on her iPod and went to work. The sooner she was out of Scott’s home, the better. There was the semi-annual sale going on at Victoria’s Secret. She was not about to miss that for anyone or anything. Budget,