Page 64 of The Billionaire Bodyguard Next Door

“Dramatic much?”

Then I remembered the other reason why I called Faith, and it wasn’t just because I wanted to complain about her partner. This conversation had already taken more turns than my sensitive stomach could take. “I might need to employ you to help with the design of the rest of the Chateau.”

Faith sputtered, sending water droplets over the camera lens. “Excuse me?”

“Turns out my designer is getting cold feet. I’m worried she can’t handle the pressure of a project this size.”

Faith finished drying her face with a tissue she’d found nearby. “I know she’s struggled a bit with the designs, but I think it’s completely normal to get client feedback and recalibrate. That’s the name of the game when it comes to design projects, especially ones of this magnitude.”

I nodded along. “I think so too, and we always end up with a great design, it just takes a few iterations to get there.”

“Again, totally normal.”

I sighed. “I’m going to get coffee with her and see if we can work things out. If not, consider yourself on notice.”

Faith turned the camera to show me her easel. “And what about this?”

“You can do both. You’re my supremely talented friend. You’ve already course-corrected so much on this project. I think I’ll name something after you.”

Faith perked up. “Naming rights?”

“Mmhmm.”

She tapped her finger to her chin. “Well, this changes things.”

“Think about it.”

My phone rang with another incoming call. “I’ve got to go, Faith. I’ll call you later to follow up.”

CHAPTER23

Beck

“You haveanother meet and greet downtown. A prospective client who doesn't trust anyone. I think it's some boy bander from the early aughts.” My assistant scanned his tablet to find the name. “Tyler James.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. He had just named the biggest male pop star of my teenage years.

“You don't know Tyler James?” I asked, just to be sure.

He lifted his head from where it was buried in his tablet. “No. Should I?”

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered under my breath. My assistant just made me feel like an old man. “Make sure to run a thorough background on him and give me all the info his agent sent over. I need to play this right, or he’ll never go with us. Where are we meeting?”

“They keep changing the location.”

I knocked my knuckles on the desk. “Once they make a decision, make sure to get the driver to pick me up two hours early.”

He gave me a quizzical look. “Two hours?”

“Yes, I’m going to get there ridiculously early to scope out the place. I want to make sure my best crew is there too.” I rattled off three team members that would blend in with a former heartthrob. People that fit his age profile and could pass as friends. I threw in Margot Madison’s name for good measure and she’d either love me or hate me for it. By the end of our conversation, a plan had formed, and I knew if anyone was going to get Tyler to agree to protection, it was going to be me.

Spending the weekend upstate meant I had a mountain of work to address. I made my biweekly calls to each person on my team to check on them, see how their active assignments were going, and gauge their mental health. In this job we oscillated between the mundane and the life threatening. It was exactly the thing that brought adrenaline junkies to me for work and was also the reason I needed to keep an eye on them. They had me, personal coaches, and a therapist to support them.

A handful of staff also worked for the VA and understood what other resources were available to my team. These connections made a powerful support system.

It was the very thing that set me apart. People trusted people. My people could be trusted because they had that support.

Now that I had a minute to myself, I couldn’t help but wonder what I could find out about the fucker that dared to harm Luna by slipping a roofie into her drink. The no-good asshole who thought he deserved her body despite not getting permission.

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