Page 2 of In Bed with Her Billionaire Bodyguard

Luca scanned the next few headlines for lesser or increasing degrees of offensive misogyny, unsurprised that the by-line bore the same name.

Harcourt Fiancé Reveals Socialite’s Deep Insecurities.

Harcourts’ Flawed Diamond! The Truth Behind the Breakup.

Luca rode out the familiar burn of resentment towards the tabloids who would take advantage of anything and anyone for a scoop. But he also understood that for every journalist there was someone ready and waiting to reap the rewards.

‘My sister gets hit pieces like this all the time.’

‘So why now?’

‘Because I’m...here. I can’t protect her.’

For the first time since meeting Nate Harcourt, the frustration was genuine, the anger palpable.

‘You want Pegaso to protect her from the press?’ She wouldn’t be the first woman to court the press to advance her career, sales or reputation, Luca mused. ‘What makes you think that she would even want it?’

‘Because she’s not like that and because something’s coming. I don’t know what. But the shareholders at Harcourts are being tight-lipped and they’ve cut me out of the loop since they believe that I’m swanning around South West India trying to find my third eye.’

‘Could you have told them the truth?’

Nate stared at him long and hard.

Luca nodded, understanding without the Englishman having to explain. He knew this world too. ‘They would forgive ludicrous frivolity, but not a medical complication that could see you drop dead at any minute, putting stocks and shares at risk.’

Nate nodded as if satisfied that Luca had answered his own question correctly.

‘My sister and I grew up in a nest of vipers, Calvino. It may not seem like it, but she’s all alone out there and I can’t be there to protect her from this.’

Luca could feel himself swayed by the sibling loyalty and reached into his pocket to start recording the conversation on his phone. ‘Are there any specific threats we need to know about?’

‘Simon Harcourt, for sure. He’s our cousin. I’ve never been able to pin anything on him, but he’s clever enough not to get his own hands dirty. And then there’s the usual hangers-on, people after her money.’

‘That happen a lot?’ Luca asked, taking another look at the, quite frankly, beautiful woman in the pictures.

‘There was an ex. I dealt with it.’

‘Name?’

‘In the file. But I dealt with it.’

‘Sure you did,’ Luca said, knowing it would get a rise out of the man who had a no-nonsense manner and a quick, dry wit he was beginning to like.

‘I’d have thought you’d have more sense than to alienate someone who’s about to do you a favour.’

‘You’re not doing me a favour, you’re making me an offer,’ Luca pushed back, a smile curving the edge of his mouth. ‘I’ll put a team together. We can be in play in—’

‘You will handle this personally.’

‘That’s not going to happen.’

While his company was renowned for their careful handling of high profile, very public contracts, he personally didn’t. Ever.

‘It is. Because if you do this—if you, just you, handle this personally, as afavourto me—you will have the sole security contract for Harcourts. That’s not just store presence, that’s internal, industrial, cyber—and all of it international. You’ll have the biggest first step into the English markets by any company ever. You’ll be set for life.’

Nate Harcourt was offering him everything he needed to take Pegaso to the highest heights he could imagine. Luca looked at the black and white photo of a woman exiting the world-famous front doors of Harcourts, bag perched in the crook of a bent arm and large oversized sunglasses covering half of her face. How hard could it be?

‘When do I start?’

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