Page 23 of Flirtatious

Yet another time today I’m stunned. I look around at the group of them to see they’re doing nothing but lying in the sun. She can do that anytime. Hell, as soon as she hears me out and gives me the green light for more guys, she can go back to doing nothing.

“No. Now.”

Those two words get all eyes on me, and I find the six of her crew staring daggers at me. Mia sits up, almost as if she can’t believe I said no, and shakes her head. “Are you deaf? I said we’re busy.”

I look down into her dark eyes flashing rage and shake my head at her. “And I said I need to talk to you. Now.”

Grabbing her white cover up, she rips it off the back of the chaise lounge and storms away without a word, leaving me with the people who started my day off like shit glaring up at me like I’m some kind of fucking villain because I need to do my job. I follow her inside and find her fuming in the living room, pacing back and forth, her bare feet making a slapping sound with each angry step on the tile.

Before I can speak, Andrea walks into the room from her office and only takes a second to size up the situation. She probably feels the anger coming off both of us because as soon as she takes two steps toward us, she spins around and hurries back out. I stand there in amazement that everyone tolerates this nonsense from Mia. How the hell does anything get done around here?

“I heard what you said to my friends this morning. I should make you apologize,” Mia snaps on one of her passes by me.

“For what? Informing them of the fact that they’re the most self-centered people I’ve ever met? I won’t apologize for telling the truth. Now what I wanted to talk to you about was security.”

She stops in front of me and holds her hand up in front of my face. “I didn’t finish what I wanted to say, so I’m not interested in what you have to say yet.”

I tilt my head left and right, hoping to crack my neck and possibly ease the tension headache that’s making me feel like the top of my skull is about to blow off. “Mia, I won’t apologize to them, but if I upset you, then I’m sorry. Now I need to talk about security for your tour.”

“Talk to my mother. She handles all of that. Now if you’re done intruding on my meditation time, I’m going to go back and hope to find my center again.”

Mia moves to walk around me, but I step in front of her, blocking her path. “Not yet. I need four more men to work directly with me while you’re on tour. The locals your mother has aren’t good enough. She says I need your okay, so as soon as you give it, we can be done.”

Her face lights up in shock. “Four more? Four more men like you? No way!”

“You’re damn lucky nothing’s happened to you so far, Mia. The security situation your mother and those local people at each tour stop have going is lax, to say the least. I need men working directly for me to make sure you’re safe.”

Taking a step closer to me, she stops just before her cover up touches my arm and shakes her head. “No. I already feel like I’m trapped in this house. Four more of you and I’ll feel like a prisoner of war. No way.”

“I can’t do my job without those four men. If you can’t agree to this, then I’ll have to resign. VIP will send someone to replace me by tomorrow, I’m sure. Your choice, Mia.”

When I look down into her dark eyes, I see the idea of my leaving bothers her. She’s probably worried that someone new would be even more of a hardass than I am.

“Two, but no more.”

I shake my head, unwilling to bargain on this point. “Four or I go. Your choice.”

She stares up at me with rage in her eyes, but there’s something else there I see now too. I can understand why so many men think she’s one of the most beautiful women in the world. The way she can infuriate a person while at the same time looking so breakable like she needs him to protect her from the harshness of the world is very seductive.

That’s nothing I can let in, though. Getting involved in any way with a client is always a mistake.

Still, I can’t deny she has an effect on me.

CHAPTERNINE

Mia

He’sclose enough that I feel the heat coming off his body. I’ve never felt that from anyone in my entire life. Is it because he’s so much bigger than me, or was he working out before he came to talk to me out at the pool?

I glance down and notice he’s wearing jeans, so he couldn’t have been at the gym. Is he always this hot? Like literally hot?

Maybe if he didn’t insist on wearing a dress shirt in eighty-degree weather. That would explain why he’s so hot. I can’t stop myself from inhaling, curious to know if he’s sweating. It’s weird, but this man intrigues me. One minute he has nothing but utter contempt for everything I am, yet the next minute he’s here telling me he needs more people to make sure I’m safe.

“Tell me why you need four more of you. Michael never needed anyone else. He thought the locals, as you call them, were fine.”

Liam rolls his eyes and smiles in that way that tells me he’s about to insult someone. I’ve only been around him for a few weeks, but I already know when he’s about to lay some verbal smackdown on someone.

“Michael was a moron when it came to keeping you safe. I told your mother this and I’ll tell you. You’re damn lucky no one yanked you off the street and took you home to make you his personal Mia doll. With the security as careless as it’s been in the past, I can’t believe you’re still here to go out on tour at all.”

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