Page 37 of Finding My Bodyguard

“Everybody been canceled, Chocolate.” His voice was firm, and the smile that was plastered on his face had me speechless. This was the second time he expressed dropping everyone for me, and it made my heart swell. The knock on his office door sounded again, making him stand from his desk.

“Enjoy your date.”

“I will!” I replied, waving goodbye as I disconnected the call.

London

“You're perfect.” I stared into the camera at Monroe’s beautiful face. I was fresh out of surgery when the picture of her in the library room I’d set up for her came through my phone. I damn near broke my neck running to my office to call her back. I was desperate as fuck to see her and hear her voice. It had been a little over a week since I’d seen her in person. Being without her had been hell. It was a testament to how attached to her I was.

A knock at the door pulled my attention away from Monroe.

“Dr. London, there’s someone in the lobby requesting to see you,” Rebecca said from the other side of the door. People didn’t request to see me, so that already had me on alert. I opened my laptop and clicked on the security camera system. Kashus Grant and two other men were waiting in the lobby. I sighed. I knew it was only a matter of time before he showed up here or sent someone else looking for Monroe. I’d been waiting.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” I informed her.

“Okay.” I heard Rebecca step away from the door and take off down the hall. I returned my attention to Monroe. She looked so happy lounging in her recliner. It had taken me a few thousand to get her library room set up in a such a short time, but she was worth it. I smiled at her. She was never going to have to worry about anything again, especially the nigga that was standing in my lobby.

“I have to get back to work, beautiful. Sleepover again tonight?” Last night had been one of my most peaceful nights of sleep. It was the closest I’d come to spending the night with a woman in years. I could only imagine what it would be like to actually sleep next to her.

“Yes, just make sure your weekly whore is canceled this time.” I smirked at her mention of Briana. No doubt her image would forever be ingrained in her head, but Monroe didn’t need to worry about Briana or any other woman for that matter. I was already a sucker for her.

“Everybody been canceled, Chocolate.”

Her face lit up, providing me with my new favorite image. My eyes bounced between Monroe and the security cameras. Kashus and his guests were heckling Rebecca. I shook my head. The knocking returned on my office door, and I stood to my feet.

“Enjoy your date,” I told Monroe before hanging up the phone and moving toward the door.

“Royale, I’m this close to cussing somebody out!” Samara yelled from the other side of the door just as I swung it open. “Those niggas are rude. You know them, or do I need to get my gun?” She popped her hands on her hips. Samara stayed ready to shoot a nigga. She was a little Pitbull. I had instilled in her not to tolerate disrespect from nobody, especially not a nigga.

“I got it.” I assured her. I hadn’t filled Samara or anyone here in on our marriage. They wouldn’t understand, and I didn’t want their opinions. I was going to marry Monroe with or without their blessings, so it didn’t matter. The less they knew, the better. Aunt Vanessa was different because she’d always been my confidant. The moment she saw me in Havana with Monroe, she knew something was up, and I wasn’t about to lie to her. So, I told her the truth.

“Okay.” She glanced at me suspicion stained on her face, but she didn’t protest. I rounded the corner and could hear elevated voices in the lobby area. Instantly, I became pissed. I just knew that Kashus wasn’t in here disrespecting my staff and place of business. That was one thing I didn’t play about.

“Aye, why you acting like you don’t remember me? I was here a couple of days ago with my fiancée. Her name is Monroe Iris. She came here to get a surgery done. She has an aftercare appointment today. She is waiting for me to go back there.”

His voice was past the level of appropriate volume to speak to a woman. Immediately, I walked up behind Rebecca, and Samara was right behind me.

“Dr. London!” Rebecca exhaled a breath of relief.

“What’s the problem?”

“This gentleman is asking questions about a patient, but I told him I couldn’t disclose patient information. It violates HIPAA laws.” She rolled her eyes toward Kashus.

“I got it from here.” I rounded the desk and stepped into the lobby. I wasn’t sure if he recognized me or not. We’d only met briefly at his birthday party. I assumed if he was coming looking around here, he’d done his research and knew exactly who I was. I was going to use that to my advantage—make his ass think I was not a threat to him.

“Kashus Grant! What do I owe the pleasure?”I walked up to him.

“Dr. Royale London. The only nigga that would trade being CAPO for a pair of scrubs.” He laughed. “I wasn’t sure if you’d remember me. Meechie only introduced us briefly at my party. How are you, my guy?”

“I’m great. Just got married a few days ago, my nigga. Walk with me.” I signaled for him to follow me to my office. He nodded before telling the two white boys who were with him to stay back. I wanted so badly to knock his ass out for playing with Monroe, but I’d learned over the years that the best revenge wasn’t physical. Niggas who had a God complex like Kashus needed to be brought back down to earth, and I was just the one to humble him.

“What brings you to Miami yelling at my employees and shit, nigga?” I opened the door to my office and allowed him to walk inside.

“My bad about that, man. My fiancée been MIA for a few days. I figured she was just mad at a nigga. Now I’m getting a little worried.” He walked over to the extra chair in my office and had a seat.

“Damn, so your fiancée missing?” I played along. “What that got to do with me? That sound like some shit for the police.” I took a seat behind my desk. While I had him here, I was going to fish for information to make sure everything was going as planned.

“You know we don’t get the police involved unless we have to. Twelve starts looking around and find some shit that’s gon’ have my ass behind bars.” He reclined back into the chair. His demeanor was too relaxed for a nigga that had a missing fiancée.

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