Page 33 of Bossy Bodyguard

“That’s not how Mrs. Chang treats me,” he said, talking about my mother and opening the fridge. “She treats me like her own son.” He emphasized the last part, grabbing a jar of kimchi and leftover noodles.

I sighed, knowing full well where the conversation was headed. “Let me guess, she put my profile on some dating site and wants me to go on a date? So, you’re here to prod me into going to one?”

He leaned back on the island after putting the noodles in the microwave to heat it up. “You’re almost right. She threatened me using her secret soup recipe if I didn’t give you this letter.” He pulled out a plain letter from his pocket and opened it for me. “It’s a list of Asian women who are single moms and looking for a suitable, handsome—”

Before he could finish, I picked it up and tore it into tiny pieces and threw it into the bin. Sean smiled at me and pulled a plate from one of the cupboards, pausing and looking over me with a raised brow.

“No, I already had dinner. It’s all yours.” I sat down on the stool and opened the iPad to look over Emma’s school schedule with all the events. “Have you seen Caleb today?”

“Not really. I bought him some beer, but I haven’t seen him since I arrived. Must be with his girlfriend or out partying.”

I stiffened. “He got dumped by her.”

Sean laughed and sat across from me with a steaming bowl of noodles, kimchi, and two glasses of soju. Smart man.

“Remind you of someone?” he asked, wriggling his brow. “You and Olivia broke up every couple of months. Don’t give me that look. He’ll be with her before this month ends.”

I poured another glass of drink and threw it down my throat. “I don’t think so,” I said, slamming my lips and clearing my throat at the burn. “He told me he fucked up and—”

I shook my head, looking down at her schedule and marking my calendar according to it.

“You’ll get stomachache if you won’t tell me.” He said in a singsong voice, annoying me by playing with the chopsticks in front of me.

Sean Tae was one of my only friends who stuck around me after the death of my wife. We grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same school, military, and he was the best man at my wedding. He was the one I called when she passed away, and he was standing beside me at her funeral.

He was also a damn good lawyer and knew me too well.

Sighing, I pushed the tablet towards him. “Emma Moore. Nineteen years old and ex-girlfriend of Caleb.”

“Why do you have a file on her?”

“She’s being stalked and I’m her bodyguard until we catch who’s harassing her.”

He stopped eating and frowned at me. “Caleb should be the leading suspect?”

“He is.” I clasped my fingers together, leaning on the marble. “But I know he is not.”

“True. He’s too emotional to ever pull this off.”

I stared at him.

He swallowed his food and blinked at me. “What? We both know he’s lazy, too. He won’t do that.”

“Yeah… but he still hasn’t told me why she dumped him. I don’t want to—so you know, that’s how I made the stir-fry sauce. Just a bit of oyster sauce does the magic.” I pursed my lips, changing the topic abruptly when I heard the door of Caleb’s room slam open, the sounds of his footsteps running downstairs.

Sean subtly closed the tablet and stuffed his mouth with noodles so he wouldn’t have to speak as my son looked at both of us with suspicious eyes.

“Hey Sean.” He nodded at him. He was wearing a clean shirt, and I caught a whiff of cologne in the air. “What’s up?”

“Are you going out?” I checked the time again on my watch. “It’s way past ten.”

“There’s a party, so…” He shrugged, scrolling down his phone.

I stared at him. “It’s a school night, Caleb.”

I didn’t want to be a dad right now, but I had to.

He scoffed, looking at me, “Right. Yeah, it is. And are you going to tell me why were you discussing Emma with him? And what were you doing in her room this morning?”

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