Page 15 of Daddy's Bodyguard

“You don’t worry enough. Especially considering … who you are.” I cover my slip quickly as Nick goes past my desk. “But you should definitely see the kind of relationship we have with our clients,” I say for Nick’s benefit, but my boss doesn’t seem to hear a word. His eyes are locked to his phone.

I gather the things I need for my meeting, and Jasper follows me to the elevator. It’s a perfect day, with the temperature a little above seventy and sparse clouds blocking most of the sun. Usually, I would have taken the opportunity to walk to the bistro instead of taking a cab. I hate that I can’t do as I please. I shouldn’t have to upend my life because of my father’s dirty deeds.

Jasper glances at my face and chuckles softly. “On a scale of one to ten, how mad are you?”

“Six,” I grumble.

“Better than I figured.” He bumps my hip lightly as we exit the lift. “So, after this lovely lunch date, what are we going to be doing?”

“More paperwork. I thought you’d like a boring day. Doesn’t that make your job easy?”

“Nothing aboutyoumakes my job easy,” Jasper says as he hurriedly bundles me in the back of the cab and joins me right away. “But you keep it interesting.”

Of course, more of his teasing. That’s how he keeps things interesting for himself, not for me. I’d rather him watch from some undisclosed location on the outskirts of my life, so I wouldn’t feel half as suffocated.

The bistro is close by, at least. The less time I spend talking to Jasper, the better. I take a table outside since Mr. Nance likes to smoke, and Jasper glowers at my decision. I’m glad when he doesn’t argue. I hate smoking, but I need to keep my client happy, so the donations can keep coming in. Jasper’s eyes flick around us, never focusing for longer than a few seconds. He adjusts in his seat twice before concentrating on me.

“You look fidgety. You’re going to make Mr. Nance nervous.” But he ignores me and looks around again, his head swiveling. “Jasper! Seriously. Turn off meerkat mode.”

His eyes focus on me. “I noticed someone has been sitting in their car just watching the restaurant.”

“Okay, maybe they have a delivery order. Relax.” I sigh. “Not everything is life or death, okay? Sometimes, people do things that have nothing at all to do with us. It’s just them living their lives.”

“Yeah, and that kind of thinking isn’t what I’m paid for.”

“And it’s not letting you blend in either,” I hiss. “Come on, Jasper. If we can’t fit in and get work done, being out here is pointless.”

He glances around again, then adjusts his spot, sitting next to me as if his big body there alone will keep me from being seen or hurt. When there was some distance between us, it was easy for me to forget exactly how big he is, but now that I can’t even see around him, I have to admit … I do feel safe.

Jasper is a wall of muscle and a pretty good human shield. He puts his hand on mine – on the freaking table – when the waitress comes by and offers us menus and a drink. I take an iced tea, and he orders bottled water.

The waitress looks him over and then glances at me. “You guys make such a cute couple,” she says with an adorable smile.

“Thank you. Appreciate it,” Jasper replies before I open my mouth.

“I see you have a third-place setting. Is this not a date?”

My cheeks must be on fire. Jasper squeezes my hand. “It is. But you know how hard it is to trust someone you’ve met online. She feels safer out in the open with a work colleague joining us.”

“Oh, how did you meet?” she asks.

I fight the urge to kick Jasper’s shin as he brings my hand up to his lips and kisses across my knuckles. “I just loved her memes on Instagram. You wouldn’t know it, but her sense of humor is amazing. She didn’t respond at first when I slid into her DM, but once I turned on my charm, I caught her hook, line and sinker.”

“That’s such a cute story to tell your kids, am I right?”

“Oh, definitely!” Jasper replies with a grin.

The server winks and walks away, and I shoot Jasper a glare, but he’s focusing on the road again, so he doesn’t see it. I nudge him. His hand drops to my knee, holding me in place and spreading warmth up my thigh. “Just one second, honey bear.”

“Stop with the damn pet names. Especially right now. I’m still working.”

“Your person should be heading up now,” Jasper says, ignoring me entirely.

The server reappears with our beverages just as Mr. Nance sits down. He smiles and nods to me. “So good to see you again, Miss Wilson.”

“Mr. Nance. I’m so glad we could make time to do this today. How long has it been since we’ve last seen each other?”

Just like that, I focus on business. By the time the food arrives in front of us, Mr. Nance and I have an agreement. He’ll make a continuous food donation to three local shelters while making a cash donation to a boys and girls youth club in the projects. I hate that Jasper got involved when Mr. Nance was on the fence about how much money he should donate. But he was able to convince Mr. Nance to raise his offer by ten thousand dollars, which is a lot more than I expected. So, no harm done. But Jasper’s forceful manner is a risk I can’t afford to take again. Thank God Mr. Nance is a good-natured man who’s easily swayed. Next time, we might not be so lucky, and I can’t afford to lose a donor, not when there are so many people in need.

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