Page 6 of In Bed with Her Billionaire Bodyguard

‘Yes,’ Hope hedged, half curious about the wicked gleam in Elise’s eye.

‘Really? You don’t want to know what I’ve heard about TD and H?’

‘Elise!’

‘What? Heistall, dark and handsome.’

‘Hehas a name.’

‘And it’sLuc,’ Elise said, drawing out the sound of his name and swooning dramatically against the door frame.

Hope couldn’t help but laugh.

‘And I’ve heard that—’

‘Nope! Don’t want to know,’ Hope insisted.

‘Yes, you do,’ Elise teased.

‘I really don’t.’

‘It’s just that I’ve heard he has a really big—’

Elise’s sentence was cut off by the sheaf of paper that had been an agenda and was now a missile striking its target. Elise’s scream startled a passing member of staff and dissolved in to giggles.

‘Bike,’ Elise muttered quietly picking up the agenda from the floor. ‘His motorbike. I’ve heard it’s really big.’

‘Out!’ Hope demanded, trying to smother her own laughter as she gathered her things for the meeting because the only frustrating thing about this office was that it was a ten-minute walk from where most of the meetings were held. But it gave her a chance to enjoy the feeling of a day well spent. Too many things had been up in the air recently, but today...it was shaping up to be agoodone.

Thirty minutes later, the sound around Hope was deafening. Shareholders rose from their seats, some were shouting and jeering while others were clapping. She caught her grandfather’s purposely blank gaze before she turned to glare at her cousin. Simon was smiling and clapping the CEO, who had just thrown the room into chaos by announcing that he was stepping down, without warning or thought to the impact on Harcourts.

No!Hope’s head spun. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. For years, Nate had been primed to take over from Johnson. He’d done the required schmoozing and courting of the shareholders; he’d put in the time and effort. From the looks being shared between Simon and Johnson, the now outgoing CEO, Hope clenched her jaw and decided it was nothing short of a coup. And they had waited until Nate was out of the picture to make their move.

Her grandfather slammed his hand down on the table three times, silencing the baying crowd. ‘Clearly this news is unexpected, but we thank the outgoing CEO for his work and dedication over the years as he has safeguarded Harcourts’ clear dominance in the luxury goods market.’

Hope wondered how much that had hurt to say. Johnson had been nothing but a stick-in-the-mud, holding Harcourts back by penny-pinching and the least progressive business direction she had ever seen.

‘Leonard Johnson has steered our ship with singular focus and the utmost dedication and as Chairman it is my duty to ensure that the handover to the incoming CEO is smooth, efficient and quick. Nominations for the incoming CEO will take place in two days’ time. The vote for CEO will happen in two weeks’ time. That concludes the meeting.’

Hope bit back a curse. There was no way that Nate would be able to get here in that time. She looked to Simon again, who finally deigned to turn a smug, satisfied gaze in her direction. Her pulse raced from outrage and indignation, even as she became aware of the weight of several pairs of eyes turning on her.

Her grandfather stood, and so did everyone else in the room, a courtesy and a tradition upheld from an earlier time until the Chairman of Harcourts left the room, and instead of screaming and shouting her anger she smiled and nodded to the few people who had encouraging words on their lips but pity in their eyes.

CHAPTER TWO

LUCARESISTEDGETTINGout of the car. If it wasn’t for the thirty or so members of the esteemed British press, he’d have gone in there and given Hope Harcourt both barrels. He messaged her again.

The garage is safer. I can bring the car there in two minutes.

Her reply was instantaneous.

No.

He wanted to growl. This was part of the trouble with having a client who didn’t know they were a client. They didn’t listen to him when he made genuine decisions about their safety. He cursed Nathanial to hell and back, before remembering that he’d probably already been there.

The press had started to gather before he’d arrived and in the last five minutes even more had appeared. Luca had been about to call the analyst assessing the Harcourts case, when Nate had called to warn him that the current CEO was stepping down in order to ensure that Simon was the only viable option to take his place. The background info was welcome, but the warning about the resulting press attention came too late. Clearly someone—most likely Simon Harcourt—had tipped them off. Luca was beginning to seriously dislike the man and he’d never even met him.

Luca’s mobile was in his hand, his finger hovering over another message to Hope, when he saw her emerge into the famous foyer of Harcourts department store. She was walking at quite a pace and he readied himself to exit the car to have her door open for her, when a tall man sidled up beside her and stopped her.

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