Page 2 of The Stalker

They entered a conference room and Cooper sat at the head of the table, while the other four men sat down on the side closest to the door, which was a relief for Tatiana. She hated having her back to a door in a room. At the same time, if Hayden were already her client, she would hate to have him across the table from her with his back to the door.

You haven’t even accepted this contract yet.

She gave her head a tiny shake as she reminded herself of this. Still, it was good practice to keep her skills sharp and assess everything as though she already had.

Tatiana sat down in the chair opposite Hayden, knowing that this would be beneficial for later discussions in this meeting. He smiled at her, and she smiled back, grateful that at least he seemed to be friendlier than Cooper was.

No wonder he’s a rock star. He’s got a face for magazine covers.

He really did. Tatiana saw plenty of beautiful people in her line of work, but Hayden Vega had a kind of handsomeness that he seemed almost unaware of. Unlike Sebastian Fox, who she could tell knew precisely how hot he was.

Cooper began talking, and Tatiana’s smile dropped as she switched into business mode.

“Well, we’re here to discuss you taking the contract to protect Hayden at your request, Miss Swanson. What would you like to know?” Cooper asked her.

She gestured to the men sitting across the table from her. “Firstly, why are all of Cruise Control here? I was under the impression that I would be meeting with you and Hayden.”

Cooper smirked at her. “When you get to know them, you’ll find out that they’re very co-dependent.”

“I see. Well, my focus is singularly on Hayden, and I have no interest or need to be in a meeting with the rest of the band at the moment.”

“Rude,” Sebastian said haughtily as he narrowed his eyes at her from where he sat next to Hayden.

Tatiana turned to look at him. She’d met many people like this in her time doing personal security contracts for high-profile clients where the people close to her client were also high profile. They weren’t used to anyone not caring about them. They also liked to tell people what to do and when to do it, so she tried to make it as clear as possible in her first meeting with clients about how it would be if she worked with them.

“Perhaps. However, if I take this contract, and that is still very much an if, my job will be to keep Hayden alive and safe. Make no mistake, those are two very different things. Priority number one is to ensure that he remains breathing. Priority number two is only barely less important, because somebody can remain breathing while being in an incredible amount of danger.”

Sebastian seemed to be taking in what she was saying, but he still had his eyes narrowed at her. So, she wanted to make it very clear to him what the stakes were.

“If my focus ever diverts from my task, your friend could end up dead. So, with that being said”—Tatiana turned to look at Cooper—“I’m wondering why these three men are here in this meeting and Jesse Howell is not. It’s crucial that I get a chance to speak to Hayden’s current security.”

“Understood. I’ll get him.”

Cooper opened the door to the meeting room and said something to Jesse, who was standing with the other bodyguards in the hallway. He followed Cooper back into the room and sat at the table next to Gabriel.

Tatiana addressed Jesse directly, “I’m disappointed that you didn’t request to be a part of this meeting.”

“Yes, that was my oversight. I was unsure whether my presence would be required, but I can see why it would be necessary for us to speak.”

Tatiana nodded. “Good. Okay, I’ve read the police reports and information that Cooper sent through, but can you tell me about the car crash?”

“Sure. I noticed that we were being followed for some time. I thought it was paparazzi, at first. Then, they began trying to hit us. I successfully completed several evasive maneuvers before they pushed us into the barrier. Once we’d crashed, they sped off.”

She envisaged the scenario in her mind as Jesse was talking. She could see herself as the driver, and imagined how she might have handled it.

“Was there anything that you could have done better to avoid the crash?” Tatiana asked, and she saw looks of annoyance cross Sebastian's and Gabriel’s faces.

“Possibly. I did the best I could at the time. I think that I might have been able to outrun them or lose them earlier on. Once they began trying to hit us, it was difficult to avoid it.”

Tatiana liked that he admitted his flaws. She felt confident about working with this man. There was always something that could have been done better, and a bodyguard that couldn’t see where they’d failed in a situation where a client was harmed was hardly better than not having a bodyguard at all, in her opinion.

“Good assessment. Okay, Cooper, let’s run through everything so far.”

She pulled a file out of her bag, one with the general case information in it. She left another folder, with a dossier she’d made on everyone pertinent to Hayden and his life, in the bag. Opening the file, they ran through all of the information that she had been given.

“So, the FBI is working on the case, Cooper?” She looked over at him.

“Yes. They’re in contact with me, and I’ll pass on any information that’s relevant to you when you need it.”

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