The conversation stuck with her as she went about her day, though. For some reason, she didn't like the idea that Nate wasn't happy in his work.
Probably just because she was stuck with kind of a crappy job.
The day eventually did end, though, and Stella got to put away her apron and breathe out a long breath, happy for the chance to get away from taking orders and pretending everything was just fine. Nate stood as she came out, and walked ahead of her to the exit.
“No Todd yet today,” she commented as he opened the door and glanced out.
“Let me check the parking lot,” Nate cautioned, and so Stella waited at the door while he stepped outside.
In a second, he was back. “There's a black Ford pickup in the parking lot with a man in it,” he reported. “I can't see his face, but from what I remember from last night, he matches Todd's coloring and build.”
“That's him.” Stella let out a breath. “Waiting for me in the parking lot. Great.”
“We can handle this a couple of ways,” Nate said. “I can get your car for you, meet you around back. Or we could walk out together, show him that you're not alone anymore—”
“That one,” Stella said immediately. “Let's do that.”
Just yesterday, she would've jumped at the chance to have someone meet her with her car anywhere that Todd wasn't. But now that Nate was here...
Nate nodded seriously. “All right. In that case, you should know that stalkers often escalate if they think the object of their attention is with someone else. It's best not to let him assume we're together.”
“I thought we wanted him to escalate,” Stella pointed out. “So he'd do something we could take to the police.”
“Your safety comes first,” Nate countered.
Stella thought about a furious Todd thinking she'd jumped ship to someone new. It made her shiver a little. “Okay.” Her voice was smaller.
“Stella.” Nate waited until she made eye contact. “Even if he assumes that, even if he does try something he hasn't done before, I'm right here and I'm going to take care of it. But we can still do the other plan, and get you out of here without him seeing you.”
Stella took a deep breath and shook her head. “No. I want to stick with this.”
Nate smiled warmly. “Okay. Let's go, then. Stay close, and if he makes any sudden movements, fall back and let me deal with it.”
Stella nodded and followed him out.
The second he saw her, Todd hopped out of his truck and came over. “Stella, you—who is this guy?” He stopped short at the sight of Nate, an ugly expression on his face.
“This is Nate,” Stella said. “You met him last night, remember?”
“You've got a new boyfriend?” Todd asked. “What the hell, Stella? I'm over here, telling you I love you, bringing you presents, blowing off my guys for you—and you just throw this in my face?”
“Hey.” Nate’s stepped forward, his face grim. “I’m not Stella’s boyfriend. I’m her bodyguard. You’ve been terrorizing her for weeks, and it needs to stop.”
Todd’s face contorted in an almost comical astonishment. “What the hell?” he asked. He looked back at Stella. “Seriously, this asshole is your new boyfriend?”
Stella glanced from Nate back to Todd. “He's not my boyfriend,” she said finally. Reluctantly.
There was a second, though, where she'd let herself indulge the little fantasy that Nate was her boyfriend. Here to tell Todd to get lost, that Stella was worth more than he was, all that stupid teenager stuff.
She didn't need any of that, though, because Nate was already here to tell Todd to get lost, even without the boyfriend part.
“I don't believe you,” Todd said. “He's with you last night and this morning? No way. I can't fucking believe this.”
“Stay away from Stella from now on,” Nate said forcefully. “She doesn’t want you around, you’re scaring her, and now I’m here to make sure you keep your distance.” He dropped a hand on Stella’s shoulder and said, “Keep walking,” in a low voice. They made their way over to Stella's car with Todd trailing behind.
“Who are you, anyway? I haven't seen you around before. Some out-of-town punk? A city guy? You're better than this, Stella—”
Okay, maybe she didn’t need to have a boyfriend around to make this point. “No,” she snapped at him. “I’m better than this. I’m not going to take you back just because you’re stalking me, Todd. That’s not romantic. That’s scary.”