Panic in Aisle Five

She winced and shook her head. "No, that's not what I was thinking. If you give me a job, isn't that like bribing me to testify on your behalf?"

He furrowed his brow and glanced away for a moment before looking at her again. "Who knows your finances are in bad shape besides us?"

"No one. I haven't even told my parents yet."

"Then let me give you a little cash for now. Don't deposit it and there will be no trace. How much can I give you?"

"Uh ..."

Jordan dug into his back pocket and withdrew a slender black wallet. He flipped it open and pulled out a handful of hundred-dollar bills. "Will a thousand do?"

"I ..." She stared at the money. "I can't take that, Jordan."

"Please! I can give you more. The money doesn't matter to me. Only Jaylen does."

Cherise bit her lip and she made a snap decision. "All right, Jordan ... but only on the condition that you let me work and pay it off. What kind of business do you have, anyway?"

"Home and office cleaners. Janitors for hire."

Her leg ached at just the thought. I guess I walked into that. Not like I have a lot of choices left. Cherise took a deep breath. "Jordan, you have a deal."

#

As far as Cherise was concerned, the court hearing turned out to be an anticlimax. Aside from the security footage from Valor Foods and Cherise's testimony, Latanya Lacroix had been found with a bag of cocaine in her coat pocket--and not for the first time, from what was said by the lawyers. With her facing multiple counts for the drug offenses and battery, the judge wasted no time in revoking her primary custody and awarding it to Jordan.

Despite Cherise's fears, no mention or inquiry was made as to her presence beyond her testimony. She was glad for Jordan and Jaylen but was happy to put the whole thing behind her.

Her landlord paid no mind to the fact that she suddenly paid in cash instead of a check. Cherise had never really liked the man and always gotten a creeper vibe from him. When she paid her current bill, he donned a greasy smile and his eyes roamed up and down her body. She all but ran back to her apartment, fighting back the urge to take a shower.

She didn't know what to expect on her first day of showing up at Malone's Custom Cleaning Services. She'd worn a nice blouse and slacks but brought some grubbier clothes in a backpack. She tried to ignore her leg, which already ached in anticipation.

The black woman at the front desk smiled as she came in, stood, and hurried around to meet her. The woman had an open, smiling face and Cherise guessed she was in her early-forties. She said, "Ms. Wilcox?"

"I'm sorry, have we met?"

"No, dear. Jordan told us to expect you. I'm Meredith." She cocked her head. "Though I need to box that boy's ears. He didn't tell me how pretty you are."

Heat filled her cheeks. Cherise stammered, "I'm sure he was just being professional."

"Yeah, that's him, all right. Well, let me introduce you to everyone who's here."

The men and ladies of the cleaning crews greeted her with friendly caution. Meredith assigned her to one of the crews, gave her a locker, patted her on the shoulder, and wished her luck. Her crew leader, a husky white woman a few inches shorter than Cherise who introduced herself as Elayne, gave Cherise a polo shirt with the corporate logo. She slipped into a bathroom stall to change--more to avoid questions about her leg than for modesty. Then they piled into one of the company vans and went to work.

It took five minutes at the job site--a corporate law firm--for Cherise to realize she knew nothing about proper cleaning. Regardless, she applied as much elbow grease as she could and tried to keep moving. She suffered some light teasing from the crew over her inexperience but none of it felt mean-spirited. The day went quickly and returned with the crew, feeling tired and filthy. She grabbed her good clothes from the locker and headed out.

Jordan and Meredith stood in the front office, laughing and conversing. Cherise took in Jordan's tailored business suit and wingtips and she felt a tingle of something she hadn't felt in a long time.

Meredith laughed and touched Jordan's arm. She gazed at him fondly. In an instant, Cherise's attraction morphed to discomfort.

He didn't seem like the type to dip his cock in the company pool. Shows how little I know.

Jordan's eyes fell on her and his smile widened. "Cherise! How was your first day?"

"Good. A little tired. I can't wait to take a shower."

"I understand."

"Do you?"

"I didn't always wear this monkey suit." He plucked his lapel. "I do now, because it helps bring in clients. But when I started this business six years ago, it was just me and a mop and bucket. I went home filthy and exhausted many nights."

"I see." She had a hard time reconciling the dapper man before him with someone scrubbing on his hands and knees. "Well, I guess I should get going."

Meredith cleared her throat. "Can you give me a few moments before you do? We have some paperwork to finish up."

"And I need to get going." He glanced at Meredith. "See you for dinner?"

She smiled. "My door's always open."

I bet it is.

Jordan left, pushing through the front doors. Cherise watched him, expecting him to get in a flashy sports car but was surprised to see him enter an older truck and drive away.

"I know, right?" Meredith said from her shoulder. "I keep telling him he should drive a BMW or something else befitting his professional image. But he insists on driving to work in a vehicle with utility, so he could carry cleaning equipment with him."

"Hmm."

"He does pitch in from time to time, when there's a shortfall on the crews. Not afraid to get his hands dirty."

Cherise's nostrils flared. Getting tired of hearing how great this guy is. "You said you had some paperwork for me?"

Meredith nodded. "Yes, dear, right over here, please."

She filled out a few forms, which Meredith promptly filed. "I guess that means you're staying."

"I need the work." Cherise hefted her bag. In her fatigue, she was unable to keep the snark out of her voice. "Well, I should go. I don't want you to be late for dinner."

Meredith gave her a long look, then started laughing. Cherise flushed. "What?"

"If you showed your fangs any more, you'd be a dog. Settle down, girl. Jordan and I aren't involved like that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I've known Jordan all his life--probably because I carried him under my tits for nine months."

Cherise stared, mouth agape. "You ... oh, God, I'm sorry. You don't look old enough to be his mother."

"As I'm well past fifty, I'll take that as a compliment."

She glanced in the direction he'd driven away.

Meredith's smile faded. "Cherise, I know Jordan's a good-looking man, and in great shape. Between that, his generous nature, and owning his own business, a lot of women are interested. But believe me, the scars that Latanya inflicted run pretty deep. That woman put him through the wringer. You seem like a good person, so I only say this to put you on notice." Her eyes narrowed. "I know he's a grown man but if I have any say, I won't let anyone else ever hurt him like that again. Are we clear?"

With her emotions whipsawing back and forth between chagrin, weariness, and lust, all Cherise could do was nod and hurry out.

#

Working for Malone's Custom Cleaning Services, Cherise learned, was something of a mixed blessing.

On the one hand, the work was hard but rewarding. Jordan paid well, and promptly, and seemed in touch with the needs of his twenty employees. From everything she could see, he spoke to them as peers rather than subordinates and tried to be accommodating to their needs. When one woman pleaded for a few days off to tend her sick child, Jordan not only immediately agreed and continued to pay her, but also asked if he could help with the medical payments. True to Meredith's word, Cherise had seen him pitch in and go to work with the crews when needed.

She also quickly realized that Jordan was no pushover. He didn't hesitate to fire clients who tried to take advantage of their services. She witnessed him kick out one crew member named Rick, whom Cherise had noticed had a tendency to loaf and let other people do the work. According to Elayne, Jordan had already reprimanded Rick several times before dismissing him.

"That Jordan," Elayne said between puffs on her cigarette, "he's a damn good boss but he sure don't put up with no fuckin' nonsense. And I like it."

Cherise had smiled and nodded. She'd grown to like Elayne. The heavy-set blonde smoked like a chimney and cursed nonstop, but as a supervisor, she was demanding but fair, and worked as hard as the rest of the crew. From what Cherise heard, Elayne was an old acquaintance of Meredith and the first crew leader Jordan had hired. Elayne displayed a fierce loyalty to Jordan that Cherise didn't think was born of any attraction but deep respect for a boss she admired.

She'd quickly picked up some of the tricks of the trade. Cherise always thought cleaning was somewhat of a no-brainer--that one just needed to sweep and mop and run a microfiber cloth over surfaces to pick up dust. She learned that it was far more than that and became acquainted with a bunch of products of which she had never heard. She left every day dirty and with her leg aching, but satisfied--and better paid than she ever had at Valor Foods.

All in all, Cherise considered taking the job with Malone's to be one of her best decisions.

The downside was that she had to be around Jordan Malone.

Her initial physical reaction on seeing Jordan had not diminished. Every time she saw him--especially when he caught her looking and shot her a toothy grin--Cherise caught herself squirming in place. Several times, he'd passed through the office in work clothes or worse, in a tee shirt and gym shorts. He'd proven even better built than she thought, which only heightened her desire. More than once, she finished her day's work, went home and showered, then immediately got in bed with her favorite toy and buzzed herself to a crashing orgasm while visualizing his hard body and gorgeous face.

She noted that she wasn't the only one, that several clients looked after him with longing. But Jordan seemed oblivious to all of it, or at least above it. Meredith's words about his ex-wife repeated in her head, tempering her desires.

Jordan brought Jaylen to work every day, where Meredith watched him while everyone was out. Meredith was the paragon of efficiency and tended to her grandson without seemingly impacting her administrative duties. Jaylen himself was a happy, calm child, who rarely yelled or caused trouble, and pretty much had every employee in the company wrapped around his little fingers, including Cherise herself. Watching Jordan interact with his son, and seeing his care and affection, only made her want him even more.

Even if she never expected it to happen.

Winter gave way to spring in a grudging, reluctant fashion, as it often did in Wisconsin. The bitter cold receded, replaced by chill mornings and mild afternoons. Cherise considered that as she parked her old Honda and limped into work. She had always viewed the budding of trees, the slow greening of the land, and the steady lengthening of the days as a ritual of renewal--a promise of better times ahead.

She sighed to herself. Her work satisfaction was good. Her finances were better than they had been in a while; she'd even been able to start herself a rainy-day fund. Her social life was humming along. Paulette had kept in touch with her after Cherise's firing and dragged her out to some gatherings. Cherise had made some new friends and enjoyed herself. Everything was going well.

Except her love life.

She'd met Greg through those new friends. A nice white man a few years older than her, he'd asked her to dinner. Conversation had been pleasant enough and she sensed he was a good and decent man ... but Cherise just hadn't felt the spark. No attraction. Not even mild interest. She'd insisted on paying for her half of dinner and declined a second date. Greg had clearly been disappointed but said he understood.

Cherise shook her head. Being around Jordan Malone was screwing up her expectations.

At least I'm not coming to work and going home in the dark anymore.

Meredith glanced up from Jaylen's pen as she entered. "Morning, dear."

"Hi, Meredith." Cherise half-smiled at the woman's form of address. It had become a running joke between them and the two had developed an ongoing banter. Cherise liked her.

"How's your leg?"

"Fine." Sharp-eyed as always, Meredith had been one of the few people to immediately notice Cherise's slight limp never disappeared, no matter how much rest she got. Not wishing to go into detail, Cherise had only said she had hurt it. "What's on the agenda today?"

Meredith didn't even glance at her job sheet. "The other crews are on repeat customers. Nothing abnormal."

She raised an eyebrow. "And us?"

"Well, Elayne is out sick and Jenn is in court for her traffic tickets. Because Jackie's team was a little behind at Ishihara Investments last week, I had to lend Bob and Alex to her team for the day."

Cherise spread her hands. "Okay, so where does that leave me?"

"With me."

She jumped and turned to the speaker.

Jordan stood behind her, smiling. Instead of his suit or a sports coat and tie, he wore the company polo and slacks, which only highlighted the muscular lines of his body. He said, "We have a small job for the next two days. Post-construction clean-up at a renovation project. It's mostly sweeping, vacuuming, and dusting but will probably take us the full two days."

Cherise took a deep breath and lowered her eyes. Staring at him was bringing the most wicked thoughts to the front of her mind. "J-Just you and me?"

"Just us." His smile dimmed. "Unless you're uncomfortable with that. If you are, Cherise, please let me know now, and we can rearrange the schedule."

"Oh, uhm, no, it's not that." Heat mounted her cheeks and the realization that she was blushing and stammering made her even more nervous. "I mean, that's fine."

"Okay. All the vans are spoken for, so we'll take my truck. I should have everything loaded, if you're ready. Do you need to use the restroom or put anything in the locker, or anything?"

She glanced at the bagged lunch in her hands. "Uh, no, I'm ready."

"Great, let's go." He gave his son a hug, then paced toward the door and pushed through without looking back.

Do I really want to spend the entire day alone with Jordan? He said someone else could go. I want this but it's going to be torture ... isn't it? She glanced at Meredith, who wore a tiny smile. "What?"

"Nothing, dear." She flipped her hand with a shooing motion. "Go on, now. You don't want to keep your boss waiting, do you?"

Cherise glowered at the women, who only smiled further. She spun on her heel and flounced out.

#

Their job site turned out to only be about twenty-five minutes away. Jordan made small talk as he drove. Cherise responded to his questions. She sat with her hands in her lap and tried not to look at her boss.

"Elayne says you're doing well. She loves having you on her team."

"She's a great supervisor."

The truck glided to a halt next to a curb. Jordan put it in Park and turned in the seat toward her. "Cherise? I need to ask you something."

Her heartbeat accelerated. She brushed a springy curl from her cheek and flicked her eyes at him. "What?"

"Would you be interested in leading your own team?"

Cherise blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Business is going great and we're getting more clients than ever. I'm getting ready to hire enough folks for one, maybe two crews. I'd like you to lead one."

"Really?"

"Like I said, Elayne thinks you're doing great. I've been watching too and you've really got a knack with people. Customers have been complimentary." Jordan chuckled. "And Mom really likes you and I rarely go wrong listening to her. What do you think?"

"I ... I don't know what to say."

He grinned. "Say that you'll accept."

"I ..." Cherise stared at Jordan and found herself falling into his deep brown eyes. "Uhm ..."

Jordan's smile dimmed slightly. "You don't have to decide right away. Just let me know, okay?"

Heat climbed her cheeks and Cherise tore her gaze away. "I'm sorry, Jordan. I appreciate everything you've done for me. Yes, of course I'll accept."

A warm hand laid across hers. "Hey. You've done as much for me as I ever did for you. Having Jaylen with me full-time has been amazing and you helped make that happen--and I haven't forgotten that you were kind enough to intervene in the first place. Even then, I wouldn't offer this if you didn't deserve it." He squeezed her hand.

Oh my God, his hands are so warm. I'd love to have them somewhere else. She glanced down and imagined just that.

Jordan grimaced and withdrew his hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be forward."

"No, you're fine. Your offer just took me off guard. I guess I'm just feeling overwhelmed by it all." She forced a smile. "I'm sure all this indecision is cratering my professional image."

Jordan shook his head. "Nah, you're doing fine. Come on, let's get to work."

They unloaded the cleaning supplies from the bed of his truck and got to it. Cherise had not been on a post-construction clean-up, as most of those jobs were handled by another crew. Her mind immediately turned to professional matters and she asked Jordan a few questions about their tasks and procedures. They swept up the shards of drywall, empty plastic wrappers, and bits of wire. While Jordan collected the debris in bags and hauled them to the dumpster outside the front door, Cherise rounded up empty paint cans and other items too big to be swept. By the time they had done most of the office, it was almost noon.

Jordan returned from his latest trip. Perspiration dotted his brow. "Whew. Working up a sweat." He wiped his arm across his forehead. "Ready to take a break?"

"Sure."

Cherise fetched her lunch from the cooler in Jordan's truck and returned to him on his cell phone. He hung up as she entered. "Ordered a pizza. Do you want some?"

"No, I brought my lunch."

His meal arrived a few moments later. Jordan produced a pair of folding chairs from his truck and they ate in the shade of the building's overhang. Cherise ate her chicken salad and apple slices, and watched her boss devour half his lunch in a matter of moments. He caught her looking. "What?"

"I'm just trying to figure out how you stay in shape eating junk food, and at that speed."

"Ha. I eat pretty clean most of the time--organic produce and grass-fed meat and dairy, from local sources when I can find it. I only indulge when I'm out on jobs like this, and not every time."

"So when you're out with the common folk, you eat the common folk food?"

"Why, is pizza food for the common folk?"

"It isn't, it was just a bad joke." Cherise looked away. Real smooth. "I haven't had pizza for a few months. Finances have just been too tight but there's a family-owned place called Antonio's right around the corner that I really like."

Jordan nodded. "What's your favorite?"

"They have a killer supreme."

"That's why I like it. It's a universal food. Almost everyone can find a style they appreciate."

She tilted her head. "Even more the reason you should slow down and chew your food, so you can enjoy it. You're eating like you'll never eat again.

"I spent four years in the army. When you're in the field, you have to eat fast so you can get back to work. I never quite broke the habit. Don't worry, my mother gives me a hard time about it every time we have dinner."

"Do you often--eat dinner with your Mom, I mean?"