Page 1 of Holidate Pursuit

Lucy

All I can think as Eli walks down the hall toward my desk is thank God I don’t have a crush on him anymore. After seeing Justin for the past couple of weeks, I’ve finally been freed of the infatuation I’ve had with my boss’s brother, who happens to have an office down the hall from my desk. In fact, after Justin rocked my world on Friday, I’ve forgotten why I was ever attracted to Eli in the first place.

It was ah-mazing. First, we went to dinner at a new Italian restaurant he remembered I’d wanted to try before ending up at my place. It was our fifth date, and I’d already decided that if Justin made the first move, I was more than ready to go further—as in, let’s get it on.

The guy is a walking wet dream, for starters. Add in his profession… He’s a hired hitman—just kidding, he’s not. But he is a bodyguard, which is how we met. My boss hired him to protect his girlfriend. Okay, it was more like spy on her, but hey, I’d let Justin spy on me any day.

Anyway, the first time he came into the office, he was all sexy and sly, flattering me like I’d never been before. It surprised mebecause that kind of thing doesn’t usually happen to me. I mean, here’s this sex on a stick standing in front of me with a shaved head—I’m a sucker for that—muscles for miles, and a rigidness about him that does nothing but make me want to see what it would take to loosen him up.

I’m usually standoffish, more of the look-and-keep-going type, but when he was at my desk for an appointment with my boss, there was simply nowhere to go. In the end, I gave him my number since he made it clear he wasn’t leaving without it. Little did he know, I wouldn’t have let him. My usual reluctance just wasn’t there.

After calling me that same afternoon to say he couldn’t wait a second longer to hear my voice again, we went out the following night. Ladies and gentlemen, it may have been lust at first sight, but that’s nothing compared to love at first date. I could have stared into his beautiful brown eyes all night while listening to his slightly Southern drawl. Unfortunately, our date came to an end when we were asked to leave at closing. The sweet kiss he gave me before helping me into the Uber confirmed I’d found a true gentleman until Friday night—when one night between the sheets with Justin ruined me for all others.

Jarring me from my thoughts, Eli stops at my desk. “Morning, Lucy. I wanted to let you know that Sebastian won’t be in for a couple of days.”

“Is he sick?” That’s the only thing that would keep him from the office.

“No. I wish that were the reason. Lily had an incident this weekend. She was kidnapped from the gala on Friday—”

“Oh my God, is she okay? What happened?” I like Mr. Dubree’s girlfriend, Lily. It’s weird saying that since, one—I didn’t think he would ever have a girlfriend—and two, certainly not one I’d like.

“She is. Some psycho friend from school was obsessed with her and thought taking her was the way to get noticed. Luckily, Sebastian got there before anything major happened, but she was pretty shaken up. Sebastian certainly was. She’s safe and recuperating at his place. They’ll probably surface by Wednesday or Thursday, but I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, let me know if you need anything.”

“I will. Tell Mr. Dubree I’m sorry and let them know they’re in my thoughts.”

“Sure. Thanks, Lucy.” He walks off toward his office, leaving me in shock.

That’s unbelievable… the kind of thing you hear about in movies or true crime shows, not in real life. Geez.

Maybe that’s why I haven’t heard from Justin since he left Saturday morning. We had just finished breakfast after round three, or maybe it was four—yeah, it was definitely four—when his phone rang. After a quick kiss when the call ended, he left for an emergency at work. His parting words were, “I’m so sorry, babe. Hate to run off like this, but I’ll call you later,” and then he was out the door.

There was no call later, and when I didn’t get a response to my text yesterday, I told myself he was just busy and tried not to let it go to my head. I’ll admit that my mind started going a little crazy this morning, so the new information is helpful. With Justin being Mr. Dubree’s security officer, he’s probably up to his eyeballs with paperwork, details, and whatever else Mr. Dubree has him doing after a scare like that. I’m sure he’ll call soon.

I’m anxious while heading into work this morning, knowing Mr. Dubree is back. I’m sure he’ll already be in since he usually gets here at the crack of dawn. Although maybe that will change now that he and Lily patched things up after their hiatus. According to Eli, she’s been at his place the last few days. Maybe he’ll turn over a new leaf and not work so much. However, I hope that’s not the case today because I’m dying to ask him about Justin.

It’s been four days since I’ve heard from him, and I’m eager to get any information I can from Mr. Dubree. Waiting for his return to bring it up has been torturous. The problem is, I’ll have to be sly about it. It’s not like I told my boss that I was sleeping with the head of his security team. However, I did accidentally call Justin by his first name once and may have blown my cover anyway. Oh well, it’s not like there’s any rule against interoffice dating, and even if there were, does a subcontractor count?

I’ll be finding out soon because, sure enough, he’s in his office when I reach my desk. Putting my things down, I inhale slowly to calm myself, grab a pen and notepad, and head in.

“Good morning, Mr. Dubree. I’m so sorry to hear about what happened to Lily over the weekend. Thank goodness you got there in time. Is she doing okay?” He looks up from his computer and sets his pen down to respond.

“Thank you, Lucy. Yes, she’s doing much better. It’ll take some time for her to feel safe after the whole fiasco, but I’m doing everything I can to ensure she is. I’m just thankful the situation was contained before more damage was done.”

“Me too. I’m sure it helped that you already had security in place, right?” This is the opening I was hoping for.

“It did and didn’t. Unfortunately, I’d let security go for the evening after she was safely inside. My concern was for reporters, not a stalker. On the other hand, I was lucky Mr. Burns investigated the guy on a hunch and already had his address. I only wish I’d had the information earlier.” He sighs and runs his hand through his hair in frustration.

Here’s my opportunity. “I’m glad Mr. Burns was able to help. Will he be protecting Lily full-time from now on?” That might explain why he’s been too busy to call.

“She will be under protection 24/7 moving forward—you can count on that—but Mr. Burns has selected two of his own from Southpaw Security to be employed directly by me. I’ll email you their information so you know who they are. Interrupt me anytime they call, no matter what meeting I’m in.”

“Certainly, sir. So, we won’t be dealing with Mr. Burns anymore?”That was subtle, right?

“Not on a daily basis. However, I’ll still use his company and services for investigative work, such as background checks. So, tell me, are there any pressing issues I need to address from the last few days before moving forward?”

“Oh, right. Uh… no, not really. You’ll see a daily rundown in your inbox. Let me know if you have any questions. Otherwise, things went smoothly while you were out, and Eli handled anything that needed immediate attention, sir.”

“Great. I’ll let you know if I need anything else. Thank you, Lucy.”

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