Alison smiles widely, ‘OK, we’ll see you then’ she gushes, finally releasing the footballer and sparing me a dark glance before hurrying away.
I raise an eyebrow at my friend as he groans loudly, shoulders slumping, ‘my little sister’s best friend’ he sighs, ‘she can be very . . . ‘
‘Obvious?’ I offer, giggling.
Mateo’s lips tilt up as he chuckles, ‘yeah’ he agrees, ‘I don’t want to hurt her feelings but . . ‘ He rolls his eyes upward, ‘how do you let a girl down without ruining her friendship with your baby sister?’ he sighs.
I shake my head, slipping my arm through his again, ‘sorry my friend’ I reply, ‘I don’t have any siblings. Maybe ask Noah, from what I can tell, he’s been shot down repeatedly by his older sister’s best friend.’
That makes the football player laugh loudly, ‘ah Daisy’ he agrees, ‘yeah, I don’t think there have been many days in her life since Noah reached puberty that he didn’t ask her out.’
We both laugh, starting to walk toward my class again, his sister’s friend long forgotten as we crack jokes about his team mate and try to decide if he really does have a thing for his sister’s friend or if it’s like he says, just something he does to annoy the woman.
Caleb’s POV
‘Your coffee Mr Hawthorne,’ a steaming cup is placed in my peripheral vision and I grunt, not looking up from the folder I’m studying.
‘Umm, is there anything else you need?’ I sigh in agitation, looking up at Olive? who is hovering by my desk, biting her lip apprehensively.
‘Be nice!’ My brother’s voice echoes in my head, so I sit up straighter and force a smile.
‘No, thank you, the coffee is fine’ I reply, watching the woman relax as she nods before hurrying out of the office and pulling the door closed.
I return to the new job that’s on my desk, a dignitary coming to Maine for a seminar and wanting extra security after a threat to his life.
Dad and Lorraine have been gone for a week, and to say it’s been torture being in the house alone with Tessa is an understatement. The scent of her body lotion or shower gel lingers in every single room. She tried at the beginning to make small talk with me, but I’m such a surly bastard she gave up and now we exist in a world where we try to stay out of each other’s way.
Since the incident in the kitchen a few nights ago, I’ve been even more reluctant to be around her, I can’t be trusted.
I rub a hand over my face, turning to my computer and checking the date against current bookings already made. I start shuffling names around, figuring out who I can spare to make up this new team. Damn, we need more staff, as our reputation grows so does our client base and whilst it’s good for business, I don’t like having anyone on our payroll that I don’t trust. Every man and woman who works as a bodyguard for our clients has to be the best of the best.
A knock at the door has me looking up as Callan slides into the room, grinning at me.
‘You knocked?’ I ask in surprise, ‘since when do you knock? Normally your ass just waltzes right in regardless of what I might be doing.’
My best friend drops into the seat across from me, tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair.
‘We got another request’ he sighs, and I groan, great, we’re already scraping for bodies and now another job lands in our laps.
‘Can we turn it away?’ I question already knowing by the fact that Callan is in my office, that we can’t.
‘It’s Seikh Mahara’ he replies and I close my eyes in defeat, one of our longest holding clients, a big spender who has sent a lot of work our way over the years. If the Seikh wants us to guard him, then Hawthorne Security will guard him.
‘He wants you’ Callan adds and I nod, already expecting that, he’s one of the few men I personally guard when he comes to the US. He hand picks his detail from our personnel and liked my no nonsense approach and the fact I can blend into the background making him more approachable to others. Some bodyguards are all over their charge, making sure every f*cker knows he or she is protected. Mahara doesn’t like that, he wants to be able to conduct his business, and make connections whilst still having someone watch his ass from the sidelines.
‘We gotta get more staff’ I grumble, dragging my fingers through my hair and tugging the ends.
Callan nods, ‘I know’ he agrees, ‘but your standards are high man, you’ve turned down a lot of good resumes over the last year.’
I grunt, it’s true, I have, but just because someone looks good on paper doesn’t mean they fit into our company. I met with every damn applicant who ever applied since I started here, and some were arrogant f*cks, some had the aura that told me they didn’t do well with orders, and some I just didn’t damn like.
My best friend sucks in a breath, his gaze uncertain as I narrow my own eyes at him, ‘what?’ I demand.
‘I know someone’ he admits roughly, ‘but I’m nervous about him.’
I tilt my head, trying to read the man across from me, ‘from your tour?’ I ask bluntly.
Callan nods, ‘He’s a good guy, well trained, someone I’d always want at my back . . ‘
‘But?’ I push, knowing there’s a damn but in there somewhere.
The other man grimaces, ‘he’s a little . . broken’ he admits, ‘look, after Gage and I left, the team was deployed again. Job went south, badly, Hallick was captured . . ‘ Callan swallows and I see the same shadows in his eyes as I know are in my own. ‘It was bad man, they got him out, but while he was there? F*ck . . . we didn’t know! No-one told us, we only found out about six months ago. He was discharged when he got back, and he’s been floundering. I went to see him a couple of weeks ago, he’s . . . he needs a purpose.’
I nod, ‘would he come in for a sit down’ I ask as my friend nods, ‘Hallick? That’s his name?’
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.