Page 64 of Bossy Trouble

“No. For a person.”

“What’s this person’s deal?”

“It’s not their deal. It’s mine.” I wondered how much to tell him, then decided to give him enough of the truth so he knew what we were dealing with. Cole was very discreet and had held on to many of my secrets for several years.

“To make a long story short, I may have pissed off some very dangerous people,” I said. “And they are maybe looking for some way to get leverage on me.”

“How dangerous are these people? Are we talking about the mob?”

“Perhaps,” I responded tiredly.

“Damn, Donovan. What on earth did you do to piss off the mob?”

“That’s not the point. The point is that I need three of your best men to discreetly guard somebody.”

“You?”

“No. Someone more important.”

There was a meaningful pause on the other side of the phone that spoke volumes.

“Wow,” Cole finally said. “I never thought I would hear you say those words ever. Who’s the lucky woman?”

“It’s not like that,” I defended. “And it’s also none of your business.”

“I mean, it is my business if I’m going to be sending three of my best men to guard her.” There was amusement in his voice. “Come on. You have to at least give me a name.”

I hesitated, then sighed. “Georgia Peyton.”

“Georgia,” Cole mumbled the name over thoughtfully. “Where have I heard that name before?”

“Maybe on a map. It’s a state, remember?”

“No, I’ve heard it somewhere else.” Suddenly, I could hear him snap his fingers at the other end of the line. “I got it! Georgia. That’s your friend Garrett’s sister, right? The one with the nice rack?”

I frowned. I don’t remember telling him anything about either Garrett or Georgia. “How do you know that?”

“It’s my job to know things, Donovan. And also, you told me.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did.” Cole sounded certain and highly amused. “I guess I wasn’t the only one who got shitfaced in Vegas. You went on and on about how the girl at the bar reminded you of another girl named Georgia and how much you wanted to go find Georgia and sink your teeth into her fantastic set of tits and her great ass. You got pretty descriptive about it.”

Damn. I didn’t even remember that. “Well, you better forget all about it if you know what’s good for you.” I hated hearing another man talk about my Georgia’s body, even if he was my friend, and using my words.

“I will never bring it up again,” Cole said with a chuckle. “But I sure am happy that you found this Georgia of yours, though. Yolanda will be happy too. I’ll send the men over later tomorrow.”

“Thanks, buddy,” I said. “Tell Yolanda that I said hi.”

I glanced out the window after I hung up. The sun had already begun its gradual descent, but I stayed at the office, hoping I would eventually figure out the solution to my problems before I left.

But nothing came to me. Not yet, anyway.

I was running out of options, and I didn’t have enough time to court another investor right now. The news of this breaking would be devastating.

I rubbed my neck. Maybe it was time to cut my losses and let it go. Letting the company fall wouldn’t break me. I still had much of my money tied up in other investments, and a voluntary liquidation might be the best. But everything inside me rebelled against giving up this thing I built. It was mine.

But I would do it.

---