Page 26 of The Stalker

4

The Qualifications

Tatiana was sittingat the dining table talking to Jesse when Hayden appeared again. He was wearing dark jeans, a white shirt, and a dark jacket. His hair was wet and slicked back from his forehead. When he sat down next to Tatiana, she found the woody aromatic scent of his cologne enticing.

“It’s so weird having a bodyguard who doesn’t look like a bodyguard,” Hayden commented as he slowly looked her over from head to toe.

She was wearing a short, dark blue dress. It had off-the-shoulder sleeves and was made of a soft, floaty material. It was one of Tatiana’s favorite dresses to wear because she could use it for dinners or clubbing and fit in both places. She never wore flashy colors or sequins, because she always aimed to blend in.

Don’t draw attention. That was her motto. Unfortunately, she appeared to have Hayden’s attention right now as he assessed her appearance. Tatiana forced herself to show no signs of her arousal, even as her entire body felt as though it was on fire from his gaze.

Client. Boyfriend.

She reminded herself of the situation before smiling at him.

“Would you prefer it if I pulled out a black suit like Jesse’s?” Tatiana turned to grin at Jesse. “I mean, I do have suits like that. It’s just not my style. I only use them for more formal situations.”

“Like when you’re protecting a foreign dignitary from assassination?” Hayden teased her.

“Exactly,” she laughed. “Basically, I want to blend in. This dress will allow me to do that at Club Delirium, not so much at a summit of foreign leaders.”

“I’m not sure that dress is doing for you what you think it’s doing for you,” Hayden said in the same amused tone.

Tatiana’s heart began to thud fast in her chest, and she blinked at him for a second. Her brain was running through his comment and pointing out to her all the ways in which it could be completely inappropriate. Was there a way for that not to be inappropriate?

She forced herself to maintain her professionalism and said, “I don’t quite understand.”

“Blending in, right?” Hayden asked. Tatiana nodded at him, and he smiled. “I’m not sure if you’ve been to Club Delirium, but you’d probably blend in more if you wore something sparkly.”

Be professional, Tatiana Swanson.

Of course he wasn’t complimenting her. He was her client. He had a boyfriend.

“Sparkly?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah. I see lots of women with sequins and glitter, bright colors—” Hayden cut himself off and started to backtrack, instead. “But you know what? That dress is very nice. I’m sure you’ll blend in fine.”

He looked adorably concerned that he might have said the wrong thing to her, and Tatiana laughed.

“I think I’ll take my chances. I don't want to look out of place, but I don’t want to draw attention to myself, either. Sparkly tends to do the latter.”

“I suppose you’re right. There was something I was thinking about…” he trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

Tatiana glanced over at Jesse, who was giving Hayden a strange look. She wondered if he knew what Hayden was going to say.

“What was that?” she encouraged him.

“Well, you’re supposed to blend in with the people around me, right?”

“Correct.”

He didn’t say anything for a second, then said in a rush, “If you’re always around me, isn’t it going to look to my stalker like you’re my new girlfriend or something?”

“I’ll be close to you, but not that close, Hayden,” she laughed. “I’ll generally look like a friend or hanger-on.”

Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t say it.

She couldn’t stop herself, and she finished, “It’s not like we’ll be making out in public, or anything.”

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