Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
I not only had an ongoing affair with one of the contestants, Summer Michelle, I violated my contract by doing so. Someone turned me in, and the producers made it clear to me—the word leaked from Summer herself. I lost my job for consorting with the talent, while she went on to tie for runner-up in the show. My current boss knows the whole sordid story, but he believes in second chances, and besides, I came highly recommended from the firm I worked for prior to Dan’s. I had to take a trial period while I earned my position and proved to my then-bosses I could be trusted to think smart on the job. Be a professional. Keep my dick in my pants. Not get taken in by a pretty face.
My lesson was learned the hard way.
“No. Fucking. Way.” Another thing about Dan. He invites us—his people—to speak our minds, which is why I have no problem expressing myself now. “If you are telling me I’m now bodyguard to Summer Michelle … that’s a hell no.”
Dan runs a hand over his cropped short salt-and-pepper hair. “I’m not finished with the explanation, although now that you’ve put together who’s involved…” Dan hits a key on the laptop, and Summer’s picture jumps onto the screen alongside a girl I remember from the show as well, Tawny Renee.
My visceral reaction to Summer’s photo doesn’t bode well for this potential assignment. I haven’t seen Summer in years, but looking at her is like a punch to the gut and a kick start to my groin at the same time. The publicity photo accentuates her glossy black hair, still long, still curling over her shoulders in a glorious silken wave. Her golden-brown eyes stare back at me while her pink lips are glossed in a pretty pout. And I distinctly remember having those same lips wrapped around my dick while her tongue did her best to make me come.
Damn. How had fate landed her back in my lap?
Okay, bad choice of words, I think, and cringe.
“You with me?” Dan asks.
Beside us, Jared and Ava are silent, no doubt either enjoying my discomfort or uncomfortable themselves with the situation I now find myself in.
“I’m listening,” I mutter to Dan.
The older man nods. “Vague threats have come to Jade Glow’s people regarding picking Summer for the opening act, so Orion Motors, the sponsor of her world tour, wants to hire protection for both women just to be safe.”
“Are you giving me a choice of who I get to protect?” I ask. Neither option appeals. Tawny was a spoiled brat with constant demands, but for some reason, Summer liked the other girl. The two were friends. Maybe that should have been my first clue to steer clear of Summer Michelle.
“No. There’s no choice for you. We’re the best in the business, and Jade’s people want us to look out for Summer since the threats focused solely on her. Unfortunately we have no other bodyguards to offer, at least for the moment, so they hired another firm for Tawny. You going to be okay?”
Since I don’t have a choice, I nod.
“Good. Everything else you need to know about the case is in the file,” Dan goes on. “Her itinerary is in there as well, so you’ll know where to meet up with her later today. She has a series of events lined up over the next month. You’ll stick close.”
“How close?” I ask warily. Some cases involve daytime surveillance only.
“Summer lives on the West Side in a one-bedroom walk-up. No doorman. No protection. So we’re talking twenty-four-seven cover.”
Of course, we are. Because why should I catch a break?
We file out of the room. I’m tense and really pissed at this latest assignment.
“Ben, wait up,” Ava calls out to me.
I’m not in the mood to talk, but I slow my step and wait for her to catch up with me.
“Hey,” she says, placing a hand on my arm. “Are you okay?” Concern flashes in her gaze and expression.
“I’m fine.”
She eyes me as if she isn’t quite sure she believes me. “And this assignment? I know it can’t be easy for you. Dan knows it too. He’s just cornered without anyone else to send in your place.”
I nod. “I get it. And I can handle it.”
“I never said you couldn’t. I just know you had feelings for this woman and—”
“And nothing. I’ve been burned and lived to tell the tale. I learned my lesson.” Which Ava knows, since I opened up to her in a drunken moment when the team was all available for a night out.
“Okay. Just know I’m here for you. Call if you need to talk or blow off steam.” She squeezes my arm again and walks away. Those of us who work for Dan are a tight-knit group, and I value our friendship.