Page 28 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 2
Devotion - Chapter 8
Friday
James was talking to two men in the foyer as I made my way down the stairs. He turned his head when he heard me and a smile broke over his face. It was easy to live in the moment when he looked at me like that. My heels clicked on the marble as I made my way over to him.
"May I formally introduce you to Penny," James said to the two gentleman. "Penny, this is Porter and Briggs. Our security team."
"Are those your first names or last names?" I asked.
"Last names. I'm Porter, ma'am," the one on the left said and stuck out his hand for me to shake. His grip was like iron. He was the taller of the two and had a shaved head and steely gray eyes.
"Briggs," said the other. If possible, his grip was even stronger. He had a buzz cut and blue eyes. They were both impossibly intimidating.
"It's nice to meet both of you. So, what are your first names?"
"That's classified, ma'am," Briggs said.
"Oh. Well, you can just call me Penny, if that's alright."
"We prefer last names, Miss Taylor," Porter said.
These guys were so serious. And, now that I was looking at them, they seemed familiar. "Actually, I do recognize both of you."
Briggs gave Porter a nervous glance. James had said he paid them to not be noticed. I wasn't trying to get them in trouble.
"I mean, only because I walk past you every day. Porter, you're always sitting on a bench outside Central Park drinking...tea not coffee. Because there's a little tea tab sticking out of your cup. And Briggs, I always see you sitting outside James' office building after work. Eating a hot dog and reading the newspaper."
"I thought you were laying off the hot dogs," Porter said. "You know that's incredibly unhealthy."
"I'm notalwayseating a hot dog," Briggs said defensively.
Porter cleared his throat. "Sorry, ma'am. We'll try to be more discreet in the future."
I pressed my lips together. I certainly hadn't meant to get them in trouble. "I never would have guessed you were security. And, hot dogs are delicious, I totally get it."
Briggs gave me a small smile.
"Mr. Hunter, we'll work on it," Porter said with a very serious nod.
I was surprised to see James smiling. "No, that's fine. I'm glad to know that she's being perceptive. I debriefed them on theIsabella situation. They'll be looking for her. If you don't notice her first."
I sighed with relief. "Great."
James put his arm around my shoulders. "We should probably get going."
"Did everybody else already head over?"
"Mhm."
"What about your detective friend?"
"Already taken care of."
"And Officer Kemp?"
"It's all taken care of. Let's go enjoy our night." He let go of my shoulder and slipped his hand into mine as he led me to the door.
"So everything went smoothly?" I asked as we stepped onto the elevator. I was surprised that Porter and Briggs didn't follow us on.
