Page 11 of Passenger Princess

SIX

AVA

A moment later, the door to the meeting room opens, a gruff-looking older man walks in, and, for a moment, I think he’s who my security for this event will be. That I could deal with. A cute old man who won’t give me too much shit? Perfect.

But then a tall, broad man walks in behind him, scanning the room like he’s looking for a threat, and my entire body goes cold. I know that man, that build. And when his eyes finish scanning the room, stopping when they land on me, I realize I know the face, too.

The asshole bouncer from AfterDark.

“You,” I say, my lips tipping up into a small smile as he walks in, the pieces falling into place. What fun kismet this is.

The man stares at me, thoughts moving behind his shuttered eyes. “Princess,” he says, the words ricocheting in his mind nearly visibly.

“A pageant queen, technically,” I say, tipping my chin up with pride because it might not have been my life’s goal, but I worked hard to win my title. Plus, something tells me this man is not impressed by that title. If anything, he’s a little annoyed by it, and if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s pushing people’s buttons.

I stare at him as his boss sits, and the man—Jaime Wilde, a great name if I’ve ever heard one—sits as far from me as possible, eyes still locked on me, trying to read me, to understand the mess we’ve gotten into.

“Do you two know each other?” the older man at the table asks, salt-and-pepper eyebrows furrowing.

We both simultaneously shake our heads.

“No, not at all,” Jaime barks out with a fevered shake of his head. My lips tip up in an entertained smile. He says it as if I’m a serial killer, and he’s trying to deny any kind of connection to me for fear he’ll become a suspect next.

“No, not really,” I say, smiling my perfect pageant smile at the older man. “He was working at AfterDark when I was celebrating after my win. I tried to say hi to Atlas Oaks since I went to high school with Stella Greene, but he was kind of grumpy about it and didn’t really want to hear what I had to say. Honestly, he’s very good at his job.”

The older man looks at him with a semi-satisfied look. “Small world.”

“Yes, well, as I mentioned earlier,” Regina says, clearly over this exchange. “Jaime here is going to be following you on tour, keeping an eye on you, and chauffeuring you from place to place.”

“So he’s a school chaperone?” I say with a bit of a snort because it’s laughable. Is this real life?

Let’s backtrack:

One, somehow, I’m suddenly a nationwide pageant queen.

Two, the pageant I won hates me and wants me to resign so my newly founded archenemy can take the crown.

Three, I have a chaperone for the next three months because they want to watch my every move and force me to resign.

And four, my new buddy system friend is the grumpy bodyguard I drunkenly flirted with when he stopped me from entering a VIP sectiona few days ago.

I know God has to be a woman because no man has a sense of humor this good.

“Actually, chaperone is a good way to help you understand what he’s doing here,” Regina says with a more threatening than friendly smile. “He’s going to be keeping you safe but also, as I stated before, making sure you stay within the organization's code of conduct.”

“Or else I get your crown,” Anne blurts like a small child who can’t contain herself, her smile dropping when Regina kicks her under the table, her entire body jolting with the move.

You know what would definitely not be within the code of conduct?

Punching Anne in the face.

But it might be worth it….

“On that note,” the lawyer says with a glare at Regina and Anne. “We’re going to let you two get to know each other and talk about any needs or preferences either of you might have since you’ll be together for so long. Please let us know if you need anything. Ava, when you’re ready, we have a few forms for you to sign, so just go to the front desk.”

I smile genuinely and nod. “Thanks so much, I will.” I watch everyone but Jaime file out and close the door before turning to my new bodyguard with a smile.

He’s standing, looking down as he packs a notebook into a backpack without even looking at me.

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