“At your service,” she said with a cocky grin. “And don’t be so concerned. I’m not worried about the fact that you’re worried by the fact that I’m a woman.”
“Run that by me again,” I said.
Her eyes fluttered up to mine once again and that lurch in my pelvis took place. This was not good. I needed to abort this. All of this.
This was not going to turn out well.
“You’ve read my file. You know I’m more than qualified for this position. I not only know how to protect you in your own home, but I also know how to manage your office security better. You know, now that I’ve gotten to experience it firsthand. Or experience the lack of it if we’re being honest. It doesn’t shock me that threatening mail is getting through those guys. A quick bat of the eyelashes and a little chest action and they’re no longer paying attention to anything else.”
“Wait a second. I haven’t briefed anyone on why I was hiring you,” I said.
“I know. But a little bit of research and a great deal of time to analyze you in your normal surroundings gives me all I need.”
“We talked for five minutes,” I said.
“Mr. Steele, if there’s anything you need to know about me, it is this. If you give me one minute, I’m okay. If you give me two, I’m good. If you give me three, I’m great, and if you give me four, I’m wonderful. But if you give me five?” She placed the paperweight her hands were playing with back onto my desk as she smiled. “I’m perfect,” she said. “And I believe my record speaks to that testament. The first thing you need to do is change the security procedures of your staff at work. I can help you do that. The second would be to change who’s handling the mail coming into the office. I can also help you with that. Then, there’s the security within your home. Anything electronic can be hacked, whether it’s hooked up to the internet or not. I can help you secure it as well as choose other measures for your home that’ll help you sleep better at night.”
“I thought that was what I was hiring you for, Mrs. Williams,” I said. I couldn’t have a female body guard. What would people say? I blinked as I thought about that again. What would people say?
“Miss,” she corrected. “And I won’t be watching you when you sleep. I’ll be in the house if you want me to be. But I won’t be at your bedside, if that’s what you’re hoping. However, there are always precautions to take when a life is at stake. I’m here to make sure you take them and that those precautions work.”
I stared at her, allowing all of this to sink in. I tried to put her in the context of the file I had read. I tried to envision her taking down terrorists and blowing up a child sex trafficking ring. I tried to see her in close quarters combat, taking down the enemy while disarming him in the process. I tried to put her in all these scenarios as my eyes fluttered down her body.
But the only thing I could think about was how beautiful she was.
“We can discuss things over lunch,” she said as she grabbed her leather jacket. “I’m hungry, and you’re buying.”
“Since I’m paying you, shouldn’t you have the money to pick up your own tab?”
“When I’m on the clock and we need to speak, the price falls on your shoulders. Did you not read the contract enclosed with my file? Or were you too busy assuming I was a burly man with monkey hair?”
She was astounding, and her confidence was striking.
“You’re not the first person to do it, and you won’t be the last.”
She walked out of my office, her skinny jeans hugging her body and her white shirt fluttering around her hips. She walked with her back straight and her fists clenched, ready to fight at a moment’s notice. She was confident and intelligent on the situation. And her file did boast of someone who was more than qualified for this position. But the reaction her body elicited in mine? It was going to pose a threat. It was going to be difficult to be around this woman all the time and not be distracted by how hot she was.
But I didn’t have any other choice. The latest threat I had received came through my own home security. I couldn’t take chances any longer.
This was getting serious, and this woman meant business.
Chapter 2
Sam
I could hear him following me as I made my way to the elevator. He had a very distinct cadence to his walk, a rhythm that set him apart from everyone else. There was a bounce to his step, a confidence and a swagger that shone through the way his shoes tapped against the tiles of the floor. I felt him approach me from behind as I slid my leather jacket on, his eyes still on me as he studied me.
“Enjoying the view?” I asked.
“A bit impressed is all,” Derek said.
“A partial truth, but it’s better than a partial lie.”
“What?” he asked.
“You’re very impressed, but you believe admitting that to a woman you find attractive somehow diminishes the power you think you wield over me. Rest assured, I know you’re impressed. But I’m not here to impress you. I’m here to protect you.”
The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped in, feeling him follow closely behind me. We rode down the building in silence, my eyes closed as I took in the sounds around me. The dinging of the floors as we passed them. The sound of the whirring of the cords that descended the elevator. The deep breathing Mr. Steele was still doing.