“I’m going to do it, Zoey. I might need to text you tomorrow to build my courage before I do it though.”
“Do that. We can pretend I’m right there with you.”
The woman gave her a grateful smile before spontaneously reaching out to give Zoey a hug before leaving her standing in front of her office.
Meeting his gaze, Zoey’s smile faded at his skeptical expression.
“You lay it on pretty thick, don’t you?”
“That was my last appointment. We can talk in my office.”
Stump closed Penni’s office before striding into hers. She had already taken a seat on the couch where she motioned for him to take the opposite side.
“There’s no need for me to sit. I’m ready to go when you are.”
“There are several things we need to discuss before we do.”
“Like what? Your asinine idea that I work for you?”
“It isn’t asinine. Either you work for me or you can go back to your plan of staying in the lobby. In that case, I plan to contact the owner of the building and report you, which would have you removed from the property.”
Her matter-of-fact tone had his hackles rising at being outmaneuvered again.
“I’m really starting to dislike you.”
“You hated me on sight. Why?”
His feelings about her weren’t explainable to himself. Therefore, at a loss for words, he gave a loud sigh and took a seat on the couch.
“Let’s get this over with so I can go home to my dog.”
“How’s Hannibal doing? Has he run away again?” Her features smoothed into the same gentle expression that he saw whenever she talked to other people. It was the same one she had used on him the first time he met her. He hadn’t realized how much he had liked it until now.
“He’s good. And no, he hasn’t. So, are you going to get on with it, or we going to sit here and stare each other for the rest of the night?”
“I guess we can get started since you’re not comfortable with polite conversation—”
“Lady, you just don’t know when to quit. Look, let’s make this quick and simple. Tell me what I need to do to get you to go along with me trying to find out who’s stalking you, and I’ll tell you which ones I will and won’t do.”
“First, we need to settle on your pay. How much do you charge to be a bodyguard?”
“I’m not a fuc—” Stump stopped short of finishing the word at the warning look she gave him.
“Call it what you want… How much?”
“Let’s say five hundred a day.”
“Let’s say a more reasonable amount, like one hundred.”
“If you were planning on chipping me down, why not just say how much you wanted to pay?”
“I wasn’t planning on trying to get you to lower your fee. I just didn’t expect it to be in the five-hundred-dollar range. That amount is ridiculous.”
“You can afford it.” Stump settled back on the comfortable couch. If she wanted to be a pain in his ass, she was going to pay for it. “I counted ten clients today coming in and out of your office. If you charge each of them a hundred dollars, you can easily afford me.”
“I don’t charge that much. I’ve only been charging my clients a fee when I started renting this office two months ago.”
“How much do you charge?”
The subtle shifting of her body showed that Zoey wasn’t comfortable having the focus turned around on her.
“It’s not about money with me. I enjoy helping others,” she predicted.
“How much?”
“Twenty dollars.”
“Twenty dollars? You’re shitting me?”
“What did I say about—”
“Woman, a good hamburger and fries will cost you twenty bucks. You should be charging fifty dollars.”
“Many of my clients can’t afford that amount.”
“I saw your clients. Most of their shoes cost that much. Not one of them looked like they were hurting for money.”
“I help my clients by teaching them to dress for success. To do that, they have to wear the right clothes. I direct them toward a stylist who helps them achieve that goal.”
“Now I get it.” He nodded slyly. “Your clients think you’re offering them a deal on your fee, and you’re sticking it to them by getting a commission off the sales of the clothes and products they buy. Damn, you’re smarter than I gave you credit for.”
Instead of being complimented, she was taken aback.
“I… do not take a commission, and neither does Cory.”
“That’s lame.”
“You’re a very negative person.”
“I might be, but at least I’m not lame.”
“I can’t sit here all night going back and forth, arguing with you. Give me a price I can work with.”
“You have somewhere to be?” Seeing irritation on her face had him rudely propping his long legs on the low table.
“Yes, I do.”
“Where?”
“Your duties as a bodyguard begin and end at this office building. What I do before and after is no concern of yours. A hundred dollars a day it is then. I’ll schedule you in for the same time tomorrow and Thursday.”