“That won’t be necessary. I don’t have a long work night tonight, but if I did, it would be pretty premature. We’ll start tomorrow like I originally threw out at lunch.”
“Mr. Steele, that is not a wise idea. If you’re going to be here, then I need to be here.”
“I’ll meet you at the award ceremony tomorrow.”
“Mr. Steele, I’m your bodyguard. I go where you go. And if you're staying here, I insist that—”
“I’m glad to have hired you, Miss Williams. You’re obviously very good at what you do. From taking on this elegant persona to quickly observing and reading the minds of the people around you, but I won’t allow myself to be governed by fear. The more I think about all of this—the letters and the threatening tones and the cheap language—the more it seems like some twisted prank. Some antibusiness hippie trying to get underneath my skin. In a couple of days, I might not even need you. So, when I tell you I’ll meet you at the ceremony tomorrow, that’s the frame of mind from which I’m speaking. I’m not asking your opinion on it, and I’m not asking for your input. I am telling you when I will need my bodyguard and nothing more.”
I watched Sam clench her jaw as she nodded her head.
“Yes, sir,” she said.
“Good. Feel free to charge whatever hotel you choose to stay in tonight on the charge account with which you purchased your clothes.”
“Should the hotel be elegant and to your liking?” she asked.
I slowly panned my gaze over toward her as she stared at me.
“Sleep wherever you’d like,” I said.
Chapter 4
Sam
“AND WHO IS THIS LOVELY woman?”
“This, Mr. Chesterfield, is my new personal assistant. Miss Williams,” Derek said.
I stuck my hand out for the man to shake as he encompassed it with his lackadaisical fingers.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Mr. Chesterfield said.
“She will be aiding me with the new companies pitched this year to purchase,” Derek said.
“Wanderlust Inc., Dyre and Associates, and SonikBoom are all very lucky to have Steele Inc. behind them in this venture,” I said.
“And what will you be helping Mr. Steele with? Hopefully, keeping this man on track. I’m sure he’s bitten off more than he can chew,” Mr. Chesterfield said.
“He’s right. Derek is the kind of man to go and get himself in over his head.”
“Miss Williams, this is Mr. and Mrs. Lichtenstein,” Derek said.
“It’s wonderful to meet you both,” I said with a smile.
“Be careful with this one,” Mr. Lichtenstein said. “Take your eye off her, and someone will snatch her up.”
“She’s my personal assistant, Gary. Not my girlfriend,” Derek said.
“Though I manage his schedule like one,” I said with a grin.
“And fiery, too! Doll, if you get tired of him, you come work for me. I’ll double your pay, and I won’t make you wear heels,” Mr. Chesterfield said.
“Who says I’m making her do anything?”
“If I recall, it’s my job to make him do things. I tell him where to be, what to do, and I update him on statistics of the businesses he’s rebuilding. Speaking of which, Wanderlust Inc.’s stocks dropped today. Another four and a half points,” I said.
I could see the shock on Derek’s face as I continued to talk stocks and business with the families quickly surrounding us. The more who approached, the more analyzing I had to do. This was my job, and for some reason, he was stunned that I did it to the best of my ability. If he was going to pass me off as his personal assistant, then I needed to do my research. Watch the stocks of the companies he invested in and purchased. Keep updated on his yearly ventures. If I was going to play the part, I needed to act the part.
And acting the part meant knowing the information that went along with it.
“If you’re not careful, she’ll be running your company, Mr. Steele,” Mrs. Lichtenstein said.
“Am I not already?” I asked with a grin.
Everyone fell apart in laughter as I tossed my gaze toward a very tense Derek.
“Well, if you all will excuse us, I believe there are some investors who are wanting my time while we’re here tonight,” Derek said.