Page 36 of Quickies

PARIS & BOONE

Only one man knows how the illustrious Paris Olivier feels about his dizzyingly successful life: his quiet, stoic alpha bodyguard.

My angel was upset.

He strode through the hallway with his back stiff and fists balled up. As always, I followed two steps behind him. When we got back to the hotel suite, he paused. I swiftly opened the door for him and let him inside before locking it behind us.

He threw his jacket over the sofa and glowered, hands on his hips.

“That primitive lowlife,” he spat.

I remained standing to the side, waiting for his command. No matter how much I wanted to, it wasn’t my place to console him.

“Tell me, Boone, why are so many alphas so abhorrently entitled, even though they’re dumb as a lamppost?”

“Maybe it’s the Dunning-Kruger effect, Mr. Olivier.”

He squinted at me. “Explain.”

“People who lack knowledge and skill tend to overestimate their competence. At the same time, those who excel at something tend to think the task is simple for everyone and underestimate their own abilities.”

Eyeing me up and down, he hummed. “Interesting. You read a lot, don’t you? You always have a book with you when you’re waiting for me.”

“Only when it doesn’t compromise my task.”

“And I know for a fact you’re not stupid.”

“Thank you, Mr. Olivier. I hope I’m competent enough to do my job properly.”

He huffed and walked to the bar on the other side of the living room. He poured himself a glass of bourbon.

“You’re the only alpha in my life I actually like, Boone.” He said it casually, and I knew better than to read into it. “Do you want one as well?”

“I’m still working, sir.”

“And I’m your boss,” he countered.

“Are you ordering me to drink with you, Mr. Olivier?”

His expression fell. “No. Of course not.” He took a gulp.

“I’m sorry you’re upset,” I told him.

He drank some more as he ambled to the glass wall. The luxury suite on the hotel’s top floor offered a stunning view of the Ardaine skyline.

“I haven’t been on a bearable date in forever. Why do I attract asswipes?”

I knew why.

I’d been with him every day for fourteen months now. Paris Olivier attractedeveryone. He was the single most beautiful being in the whole universe, inside and out. His intelligence, grace, and otherworldly beauty put him so high above the rest of us that he might as well be a different species. To me, he wasan angel. A divine yet fragile, precious, ethereal creature whom I protected with my own life.

Only those men who grossly overestimated themselves dared to approach him. They were arrogant and obnoxious, all of them.

“None of those people deserve to breathe the air around you, Mr. Olivier.”

With a sad smile on his dazzling face, he turned to observe the cityscape and drank his bourbon until the glass was empty. I waited quietly. If he wanted to talk to me, he would.

“I’m lonely.”

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