Page 30 of Not the Bodyguard's Princess
“If you can’t sleep tonight, you can call me and pretend I’m some friend from home. I promise you a conversation so boring that whoever is listening through the bugs will ignore it.”
“You would do that for me?”
“My job is your safety. If you aren’t sleeping, you aren’t safe. If I can bore you into slumber, I will.” Andrew smiled as he made the offer. As if talking to him could be boring.
“What if our conversation keeps me up?” Jordan couldn’t resist teasing Andrew, hoping for another smile.
“I will read the dictionary to you.”
Stu drove up next to them. “Walk is over now.”
Jordan bent down to scratch Princess behind the ears before handing her leash to Andrew. “See you soon.” She hoped he realized she meant him too.
* * *
Stu said Princess can stay up here tonight as long as I text him if she needs to go outside.
Jordan’s text had been a surprise. Andrew took the dog outside before heading to the elevator. When the elevator opened, Andrew found Stu waiting inside. He joined the bodyguard and pushed the button for the third floor.
Stu inserted a key that kept the elevator from opening on other floors. “How many bugs did you find?”
“I believe the total is six now. Are all of them yours?”
“Only four, including the two still in the room. I didn’t break her contract. As long as they aren’t in her private areas, we can use any means necessary to protect her.”
Andrew didn’t respond. “Where did the other two come from?”
“I don’t know. I checked her room when she went to dinner and only found ours.”
“Would you like me to do a sweep?”
“Yes, we have one on the back of the lamp next to the couch and one in the kitchen behind the coffee maker.” Stu pressed the elevator’s stop button. “I don’t like what’s going on any more than you do. I didn’t get to hire my own team, and I have some of the biggest nitwits in the industry working for me.”
Andrew didn’t hide his momentary smile. “How come she can’t have her own security team and a nice little rental that’s easier to guard?”
“I don’t know. This whole mess is new to me. Managing the lot is much easier given access points, employee IDs, and full background checks. Shooting at the mansion they chose will be a nightmare. The grounds are huge, there’s even a garden maze, and supposedly the house was built in 1870, complete with hidden passages because the owner was paranoid. And the current owner won’t give us a blueprint to anyplace other than the rooms we’re shooting in.”
“I heard Mr. Tordon is staying there.”
“Only in the guesthouse. We’re not filming there. I need you on-site as much as possible. I don’t like that this is happening on my watch.”
In other words, Stu wasn’t going to take the blame. Andrew nodded. “I’ll do my best, but try to give me as much access as possible. Do you want your bugs back?”
“The ones you removed from the room or the ones in there?”
“Either?”
“I’m assuming you destroyed the first two. Don’t bother. But leave the two in there and let me know if you find any others.” Stu restarted the elevator.
“Spying on her isn’t the same as protecting her. You should remove your other ones too.” Jordan couldn’t relax if she knew someone listened to everything she did.
Andrew made a quick check of the room with Jordan trailing behind. He didn’t find any bugs not belonging to Hearthfire. He signed to Jordan the relevant parts of his conversation with Stu.
“My contract?” Jordan’s signing reflected her anger. “I’ll have my a-g-e-n-t check.” She finger-spelledagent, which was a good thing since Andrew wasn’t sure of the sign for it either.
“Remember, call me if you need to.”
“I will.”
