Page 26 of Not the Bodyguard's Princess
“But your dog is just lying there.”
“Princess is sunbathing. She needs the vitamin D to be healthy. Ten more minutes will not ruin anyone’s schedule. The read-through isn’t for another hour.”
Stu stalked back to the tree he’d been examining.
Andrew stood behind the bench where Jordan sat. “Any chance Princess can be in the read-through with you for an hour? I’d like to take care of some things.” It also gave him an excuse to stay near the hotel conference room where she should be.
“That could be a problem. I heard Storm is not a dog person. I found another bug.”
It took a moment for Andrew to register what she added to the conversation. “Where?”
“Kitchen. If they aren’t Stu’s, I need to tell Paul. I need to practice my lines, and if it’s an outsider recording me, it could be an issue.”
Andrew assessed Stu’s progress. “I think they are his. Either that or he saw me reach for something in the tree yesterday.”
“If they can transmit that far, they’d be fairly boring to listen too. Birds, dogs, and squirrels.” Jordan’s contagious smile made it hard not to laugh.
Princess rolled over a few times, then came to sit by Jordan. She scratched the dog under the chin. “Too bad you’re not a German shepherd. We could pass notes in your little barrel.”
“You mean Saint Bernard?” Andrew cleared his throat as Stu returned.
“Are you ready now?” snapped the bodyguard.
“I suppose so. Andrew, would you walk her around the trees before you come? I’d like to have her in with me today, and it won’t work well if she’s asking to go out all the time.”
Stu folded his arms. “Paul won’t like the dog being there.”
Jordan didn’t look up, instead rubbing the dog’s belly and speaking in a singsong voice. “Princess is my emotional-support animal. Last time I checked, I had a PTSD-worthy weekend. I’m sure he’ll understand. Yes, he will, won’t he Princess?” Jordan stood. “Andrew, will you bring her to my room at ten till?”
“Of course.” Andrew leashed Princess to keep her from following Jordan out of the park, all the while reassessing Jordan’s skills. She’d given him an excuse to stay in the park with all the other bodyguards gone and paved the way to have Princess in the read through. Perhaps he’d been too hasty last night and underestimated her.
She may be a woman of a dozen faces, but he was appreciating all of them. Andrew retrieved the bugs, planning on sending them to Alan for analysis.
* * *
Storm Tordon showed up forty-five minutes late to the reading, smelling of Thunder. Paul discreetly opened a window. Jordan hurried to bury her nose in Princess’s fur. Thunder must have been engineered by a high school student trying to find a scent worse than old wet tennis shoes.
The reading progressed slowly. Storm demanded an explanation regarding everyone’s motivation for almost every line. Jordan suppressed every natural emotion as Storm asked Suzi what the maid’s motivation for straightening Princess Sam’s closet was.
Behind a copy of her script, Reggie rolled her eyes and mouthed, “It was messy.”
Paul grinned and nodded at Storm as if someone finally understood the director’s point.
“I’m a maid. I clean things, and people pay me. And I report back to the King about what his daughter is really doing. My motivation is to listen in.” The forty-something actress who played the maid and sometimes confidant didn’t try to hide her annoyance.
Storm leaned forward, resting one arm on the table. “But is that enough?”
Princess growled.
Jordan interrupted. “Paul, I need to take Princess out. Can we take a fifteen-minute break?”
Storm pinned her with a glare. “We’ve only been working for an hour.”
“Some of us have been here for nearly two.” Jordan stood with Princess in her arms, wondering if she was a good enough actress to muster any on-stage chemistry with the narcissistic star. Of course, she could faint from the smell of Thunder and skip the kissing scenes. The thought of Storm attempting mouth-to-mouth was enough to convince Jordan to locate some smelling salts.
Paul checked his watch. “Hour break for everyone. Grab your lunches, people. And don’t be late.”
Stu and two other bodyguards waited outside the room. Andrew sat farther down at the end of the hall. Jordan made a beeline for him.
