Page 3 of Just a Bit Guarded

The sheikh’s dark eyes gave nothing away. It was impossible to tell what he thought of his answer. “I see,” he said. “But you’re straight, right? You have no homosexual inclinations at all?”

Willeyed him curiously. He continued to be surprised by this man’s excellent English. He spoke English like someone who spoke it very often. “A hundred percent straight,” he answered truthfully. He’d never been attracted to men—andnot for lack of offers. He was good-looking, and like most bodyguards, he was tall and fit.

The other man’s gaze became piercing. “And you’ve never been tempted?”

“No. I don’t get the appeal. I like women.”

The sheikh stared at him for a long moment before finally saying, “You’re hired, then. But you’ll have to sign an NDA before you’re told the specifics of the job.”

Willnodded, unsurprised. It was par for the course.

Over the next ten minutes, he carefully read the NDA thesheikh had handed him. It was a standard NDA, without any problematic clauses, so hesigned it and handed it back to the other man.

Dark eyes glanced at the document before fixing on him again. “You will be the bodyguard of my brother, Gadiel. He’s nineteen years old, and he has a propensity for doing things he shouldn’t. Your job is to stop him.”

Willjust nodded, having expected that.“Sounds pretty straightforward.”

“It isn’t,” the sheikh said. “Gadiel has... issues. He tends to act out for attention.” His expression was somber, almost grim. “The kid was basically raised by nannies and servants. He never had enough attention as a child. Our father has always been... distant, and Gadiel’s British mother divorced our father and left the country when Gadiel was a kid.”

The more he learned, the less enthused he was about this job. Gadiel sounded like a nightmare of a charge even without being his cousin’s walking death sentence. Not only wasWill supposed to babysit a spoiled kid, he’d have to babysit an attention-seeking spoiled kid with abandonment issues. InWill’s experience, it was never a good combination.

“And that’s not all,” the sheikh said, watching him carefully with his sharp eyes. “Gadiel is... not heterosexual.”

Will returned the look steadily. “As I said, I don’t have a problem with that.”

“You wouldn’t be here if I thought you did,” the man said. “Your background has been thoroughly vetted. You have a gay cousin you seem to get along with. Though it doesn’t necessarily mean anything.” Before Will could respond, the man continued. “In any case, Gadiel’s sexual orientation is very relevant for your job. The kid has no sense of self-preservation. He isn’t discreet about his sexuality. Some might say he’s downright suicidal.” His lips pursed. “And they may not be wrong. Sometimes I almost think he wants to get caught. And hecan’tget caught. He’s engaged to the daughter of the president of the UAE. If he’s caught, even I won’t be able to save him.”

So this man simply wanted to protect his brother. That was a relief. He didn’t want to work for a bigot.

“I’ll double the wage you asked for,” the sheikh said.

Will barely kept his expression neutral. He’d already asked for a higher salary than he was willing to work for. If he got paid twice as much, his financial cushion would be more than just good. He wouldn’t have to worry about bills for a long time.

“Triple,” he stated, looking the other man in the eye. “Babysitting high-profile, self-destructive, attention-seeking boys is a full-time job. I’ll have to watch him 24/7.”

“Fine,” the sheikh said, not even blinking at his outrageous demand.

Will nearly laughed. It must be nice to be that rich.

***

Gadielibn Mustafa Al Rahim lived in a penthouse of the skyscraper that belonged to his older brother. Will had been given his own set of keys, which he used to access the private elevator that took him to the penthouse.

He entered the huge apartment and looked around. It was dead silent.

His brows knitting together, Will walked toward the master bedroom. He’d carefully studied the plan of the apartment—of the entire building—so he knew where it was.

“Hello?” he said, pushing the door open.

The large, luxurious bedroom was quiet. It was tastefully decorated in light green colors, but the air smelled stale, as if it hadn’t been aired in a while.

He almost thought it was empty before he noticed a body-shaped lump under the white silk sheets.

Will cleared his throat. “Mr. Rahim?”

The lump moved before a smooth pale leg emerged from under the sheets.

“Mr. Rahim?” Will said again, feeling a surge of annoyance. He’d expected the guy to be awake at this hour. His brother had been supposed to warn him of his new bodyguard’s arrival.

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