Page 16 of In Bed with Her Billionaire Bodyguard

Hope waited for a counter-nomination, looking out across the faces of the thirty or so board members, none of whom met her eye. They might have voted for Nate but without him here, no one would stand against Simon. Her stomach clenched and her heart plummeted.

The silence was deafening and she was sure that everyone in the room could hear the dull thud of her heartbeat.No, no, no.This couldn’t be happening. She wasn’t enough. She couldn’t do it, not by herself.

‘Are there any other nominations?’

Her breath, locked in her chest, felt like a bomb that was about to explode.

You can’t sit on the fence any more, Hope.

‘If not, then we will forgo the vote and—’

‘Me.’ The word burst from her lips. ‘I nominate myself.’

CHAPTER FOUR

LUCAPACEDTHEbreadth of the room, furious with himself. On the one hand, now that Hope knew who he was, it would make it easier to protect her. On the other hand, he had never dropped the ball so hard before in his life. His company’s future was on the line, for heaven’s sake. A contract that would launch him light years ahead of any expectations he’d had for Pegaso. So he needed to get his head out of fantasies of Hope Harcourt and back on track. He was about to start another lap of the room when he heard the click of her heels on the parquet flooring outside the office.

He turned expectantly. ‘That was quick.’

She threw a folder onto her desk and glared at him. ‘You’re fired.’

Luca accepted her response as his due, but still shook his head slowly. ‘You didn’t hire me.’

She held his gaze for a beat before producing her mobile from her pocket. His guess was that she was trying to reach Nate. And if she could get through? Brilliant. Luca had a few choice things he wanted to say to his client. But, unfortunately for both of them, Nate didn’t answer.

‘You need protection,’ Luca warned her as she hung up the phone.

‘IfI need it, I can get it for myself.’

‘But you haven’t.’

She glared at him again, before turning her back to him to throw her phone on the desk. He gave her the time to gather herself. A lot had happened in a very short space of time.

‘Luc?’ she asked, without turning.

‘Luca,’ he corrected. ‘Luca Calvino.’

He saw the line of tension across her shoulders, the grip of her hands on the table. He could only imagine the sense of betrayal she must be feeling, but that wasn’t his job, nor his responsibility, he argued. Nate was his client, not her.

‘The meeting?’ he asked.

‘Do you care?’

Her question nudged at his conscience. ‘For professional purposes,’ he lied.

‘Well, I’ve pissed off three-quarters of the board, my grandfather and my cousin. Though, admittedly, I’m not too crushed by the last one. Apparently, they wanted to give Simon the easy win, celebrate over the weekend and resume work as normal on Monday.’

She turned back to him, her cheeks a little pink, her eyes glittering angrily. ‘You’re not just a bodyguard,’ she accused.

‘CEO. Pegaso Securities.’

Her gaze flew to his shoulder, as if she were seeing his tattoo beneath the layers of his clothing.

Focus.Hope’s protection. His future contract.

‘I’m not going anywhere,’ he warned, ‘so you might as well use me properly, rather than as just your driver.’

Hope let out a laugh that seemed far too cynical for her. ‘You’re not driving me anywhere ever again, Calvino.’

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