Page 16 of Not the Bodyguard's Princess
“Of course not. I order room service to which room?” Blake only allowed her to order to his room. Then he would move the food without inspecting it.
Stu paused as if the question had caught him off guard. “Mine.”
Jordan locked the door after the Hearthfire guards left and did a quick scan of the room as Blake had taught her. Behind the lamp on the end table, she found a pea-sized device like the ones Andrew had located. Had he missed it before, or was it new?
Jordan sat down and invited Princess to join her on the couch. She held the dog close and whispered only loud enough for her to hear. “I’m scared.”
* * *
What on earth was Miss Lee thinking? Didn’t she realize how inept the Hearthfire security team had shown themselves to be in the last two hours? Andrew glared at the door. She’d acted smart one minute, then all soft and incompetent the next. The key was that she’dacted,shifting personalities faster than a chameleon.
Andrew typed a quick report on his phone and sent it to Blake’s people. He checked the time, wondering which of his brothers he could talk with, then sent out a text on the Hastings app, asking who was available.
Adam answered that he could call in two minutes.
Andrew used the time to order takeout. Tomorrow, he’d grab some groceries. The protein bars he kept in his go-bag only worked for so many meals before he’d starve rather than eat another.
Adam’s call beeped in. “What’s up?”
“Trying to decide if I should jump ship. The Hearthfire bodyguards are a disorganized mess. But then, when push comes to shove, Miss Lee sides with them over her own safety!”
“What happened?”
“I got her alone after finding the bugs in her suite. If there is a danger, either she doesn’t know or doesn’t want to talk about it. Kept changing the subject on me. Well, not exactly. She kept asking me personal questions. Then, it took HF nearly two blocks to catch up with us. We got out of the building with a dog and drove two blocks!” Unfathomable. No security team should allow that. “I’m one person. I can’t protect her against whoever is out there and her guards’ incompetence. All I can figure is they were watching the game and not the floor. Then, at the dog park, they spent the entire time watching either me or her.”
“They must not have much experience or think you are her biggest threat.”
Andrew paced the room. “We get back to her room and there’s a white florist box leaning against her door. One bodyguard picks it up, and a black rose falls out. They’ve rented the entire floor. No one should have gotten near enough to her suite to deliver it. The front desk wouldn’t have left it outside her door. The Hearthfire guards didn’t even stop her from getting close.
I did.”
“Can you imagine how fast Dad would fire them?”
“I’m thinking they’re actors. ‘I’m not really a bodyguard, but I’ve played one on TV.’” Andrew deepened his voice, mocking the “bodyguards.”
Adam laughed. “Imagine aReal BodyguardsTV show about standing around all day hoping nothing happens.”
“Back to what happened. The HF bodyguards stand there staring at the rose, I bring her down to my room since they don’t have a secure place. Ten minutes later Stu gets up in my face about it, and she defends him. Then she leaves with him and goes back to her room. I can’t be on call 24/7 and protect her from her bodyguards plus whoever is threatening her. Not to mention care for her dog. This won’t work. If she won’t take her own safety seriously, what am I supposed to do?”
Guarding a celeb was never a one-person job. And guarding one who’d been shot at? Andrew needed a team. Jordan would be better off with no personal bodyguard so she didn’t have a false sense of security. But Hastings had never failed a client. This job could well be the first where something happened to their principal, and Andrew wasn’t willing to take that chance.
“How do you know she isn’t taking her security seriously?”
“Too many personal questions? I get Mr. Blake’s been her bodyguard for over twenty years and she is stressed, but this is not the time to get chummy with the bodyguards.” Andrew didn’t point out how much easier it would be if she were rude or snooty.
Adam paused before responding. “Are you quitting?”
“Hastings don’t quit.” And that was the dilemma—stay and face the disgrace of failure or leave and be a quitter.
“Um, sometimes we do.” Adam’s voice was slightly strangled. Andrew winced. Adam had quit a job, and it had turned out disastrous for everyone involved.
“Sorry, wasn’t thinking.”
“There are jobs we don’t take. Sometimes a client isn’t a good fit. This job has unusual constraints. Blake has been with Jordan for over two decades. Even with our longest-term clients, we’ve switched team leaders. Jordan probably doesn’t understand what she needs to tell you.”
“Was September clueless about her safety?”
“To a point. She remembers when Dad used to be the bodyguard on her parents’ tours and Mom being on the set. There were years September’s family used other firms because Hastings wasn’t big enough to do the national or international thing then. Bodyguards are a natural part of her life. I don’t know that September could tell me what we do all day for her.”
