“I’ve embarrassed you. Forgive me.” She reached over and covered his hand with hers, her thumb making a little gliding gesture along the edge of his.
He forced himself not to pull away from her. He loved the way her soft skin felt on him. He liked the contrast of her ivory pale skin on his suntanned arm. She unnerved him on an emotional level as well as a sexual one.
He’d been around beautiful women before. A month ago he’d worked for some supermodel who like to parade half nude for her workouts. She hadn’t made him twitch the way Lulu did. Lulu Bennington was giving him an all over body ache and he didn’t understand why. Nor did he like it. Her softness made him nervous, unsure, and he couldn’t afford to be any of those things around her while on the job. Otherwise she might end up dead. Noah steeled himself and willed her to remove her hand from his. “I’m not embarrassed.”
She smiled and stood, her hand sliding away from his. Then she grabbed the dishes and took them to the sink. She rinsed them off and Noah kept telling himself to get the hell out of there, but his legs just didn’t seem to be listening to his orders. When she turned back to him and sauntered over, she bent down, her breath caressing his ear.
“Try as hard as you like, Noah Callahan, but I’m going to make you like me.”
Noah turned his head and stared straight into the sweetest cleavage he’d ever had the pleasure of seeing. His heart raced and his dick grew so hard he thought he’d burst. He refused to let her get the better of him despite the seductive challenge he’d been issued.
What man in the world wouldn’t like her? Wouldn’t want her? Hell, he was hers for the taking five seconds after she walked in her brother’s office and smiled at him. She’d beat him already, the only challenge there might be in this little game they’d engaged in was whether he’d let her know it or not. “You think so?”
She gave him a husky chuckle that sent shivers down his spine. “I do.”
“Give it your best shot, lady.” Even to his own ears, his voice sounded unsure. What the hell was she doing to him? He hadn’t been this unnerved.
“I’m Lulu Bennington and I always get what I want.” She sashayed to the door. She paused, turned, and blew him a sweet little kiss.
Noah’s hands curled into fists to stop him from leaping up, grabbing her and kissing her. She had the kind of mouth that begged to be kissed and he wanted to do exactly that. “We’ll see.”
“I’m sure we will. Good night, Noah.” She sauntered out of the kitchen with a little wave, her red silk robe swishing around her long legs.
Noah didn’t remember to breathe until after the door closed. “Good night, Lucinda.”
He sat for a long time before he was able to get up and leave the kitchen. This job was going to be hell.
Chapter Three
Lulu thought Aiden was going to start crying. “I’m not replacing you.” She stood in front of her desk trying not to cry herself. She didn’t know how she’d manage without Aiden, he was her right hand man, her left hand man and every man in between.
“But-˗,” Aiden wailed.
Lulu glanced at Noah praying he’d step in to help her. His face was a mask, though his eyes glittered with amusement. “She’s only pretending to be my personal assistant.” Lulu kept her tone calm. “I just have to have her with me at all times during the day. That’s her cover story. This is just temporary.”
“The ginger,” Aiden said in reference to her red hair and fair skin, “can’t do my job.” He turned to E.J. and said, “No offense.”
E.J. raised a hand. “None taken. I’ve been called worse.”
Aiden folded his arms over his narrow chest. “You can’t find ‘the Birkin’ without me.”
He was so right, she relied on him for so much, especially his supernatural ability to keep track of her purse. But she needed him to be safe. “Of course E. J. can’t do your job. You’re irreplaceable.” When all else failed with Aiden, she went straight to flattery. He was helpless in the face of a genuine compliment. Lulu heard Noah chuckle. “Ian is going to pose as my new boy toy during my evenings out, so I’m protected then.”
Aiden turned to glare at Noah. “Are you sure you can keep her safe, because I can be very vindictive if anything happens to my Lulu.”
Noah raised an eyebrow. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Aiden raised his index finger. “See that you don’t, or you’ll have to deal with me and it won’t be pretty.”
At least Noah didn’t laugh. “I’m shaking in my shoes.”
Aiden lifted his chin and puffed up. “You can probably slice me in half with a glint of your steely blue eyes, but I’m short, Latino, and gay. That is a rage you haven’t been taught to deal with.”
Poor Noah looked stunned. Lulu bit back a laugh. Score one for Aiden.
“Gay rage may work at a shoe sale at Barney’s, but I don’t think it will stop a bullet or scare Mr. Callahan.”
Aiden raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
Oh, the drama. Lulu went to her desk and grabbed her black crocodile bag. She opened her purse and took out her wallet. She fished out her black American Express card and held it out toward Aiden. “You take this and go to Bergdorf’s. When you feel appeased, I want you to go to the cash register and use it.”
Aiden snatched the card and tucked it in his shirt pocket. “Well, just so you know, I can’t be bought.”
The notion never entered her head. Really. “Of course not, sweetie.”
Aiden smiled. “B.T.W, you’re looking stunning today, girlfriend.”
Lulu smiled. Everything was right with Aiden’s world. Lulu posed, running a hand over her black wool pencil dress that hugged her curves. “Thank you. Alexander McQueen. What the fashionably stalked are wearing.”
“I picked it out. You can’t live without me.” Aiden pouted prettily.
Her Aiden was such a tricksy one. “Nor would I want to.” Her voice soothed him.
“I have an idea,” E.J. spoke up. “Why don’t we say I’m Aiden’s new assistant? He can still be around to keep you organized and no one will question me being in the mix.”
Perfect solution. Lulu smiled. She owed the ginger a debt of gratitude for figuring a way out of the dilemma. “Fabulous, I like it. Are you alright with that, Mr. Callahan?”
He held up his hand. “Would it matter if I wasn’t?”
“Of course it matters.” Not really, but it sounded nice. Lulu tilted her head and smiled. “Aiden?”
“I’m still going to Bergdorf’s.” Aiden patted the pocket with the credit card in it.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m going to be in the office all day so take E.J. with you so you two can bond. Give her a few pointers.” Turning to E.J. Lulu took in her plain, navy business suit, which was functional, but did absolutely nothing to capture her Titianesque beauty. “While you’re at it, turn her out a little, too.”
Aiden clapped his hands. Give him a pretty girl to play dress up with and he was in gay heaven.
Aiden stroked his chin. “The Ginger in slinky black Gucci.” Aiden slipped his arm through E.J’s. and led her to the door. “I like it.”
E.J. stopped and glanced back at Lulu. “I’m not missing dinner with Bono?”
The woman was a little star stuck. “Sweetie, I’ll let you sit next to him.” She watched the two of them leave the room. Then she swiped her hand across her forehead. “Crisis averted.”
“I could have taken him,” Noah said, a slightly upward tilt to his lips.
“Don’t be so sure.” Lulu raised an eyebrow. “He looks fragile, but he used to work for Naomi Campbell.”
“So what?” Noah grinned.
The manly men, Lulu thought. They just didn’t get it. “That’s about the equivalent to storming Normandy on D-Day every day of the week.” There she’d found a good man analogy.
“She’s a model. How tough can she be?”
“She is as pretty as the day is long, but she’s a mixed bag of n
uts. She threw a vintage Yves St. Laurent platform shoe at Aiden in a fit of rage.”
“She hit him?”
“He caught the shoe, gave his notice, and stormed out of there. The next day he sold it on EBay for five thousand dollars and came to work for me.”
“Impressive. He’s probably going to charge several times that amount on your credit card today. Not a very wise boss thing to do.”
Lulu sighed. “I was worried I’d have to throw in a trip to St. Bart’s along with a new set of luggage I’ve been saving for his birthday. Trust me I’m getting away cheap.”
“He’s one more person in the way.”
“That man knows me better than I know myself. He is a fount of information on all that is Lulu. He can tell you where I bought my coffee on June 5th 2009 or what dress I wore to the Met Ball four years ago. You’ll need him for the things I don’t remember and his ability to ferret out information is uncanny. ”
“I’m going to let you have this one, but don’t think I’m going to be a pushover all the time. I’m not one of your adoring fans who live to serve your every whim.”
Too bad for you. Being in her inner circle had a lot of perks. “It’s not a bad thing to be.” The very idea of him adoring her sent a delicious shiver down her spine. For a second she wondered what being naughty would be like with a man like Noah Callahan. She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from sighing. A girl could do much worse than having him for a night time playmate.
“I don’t give a crap about shopping at Bergdorf’s or having dinner with Bono,” he said.
She liked that he wasn’t impressed by the trappings of wealth and privilege. It really added to his appeal, which bothered her in a way she didn’t want to examine too closely. “What do you give a crap about?”
“Right now? Keeping you breathing.”
She held up two fingers. “Two days in and I’m still breathing. You and your company are doing an excellent job.”
“Only two days? Feels longer.”
Lulu stuck out her bottom lip. This verbal sparring they shared really got her motor running. She hadn’t worked this hard for anyone’s attention in a very long time. “Why that almost hurts my feelings.”
“Stop it.” He glared at her.
“Stop what?” She gave him an innocent flutter of her eyelashes.
“Doing that thing you do.”
She was getting to him and liked that he felt flustered. “What thing?”
“Pretending that your feelings are hurt and you’re going to cry.”
“I’m really going to have to work on my manipulation skills with you. You’re quite a challenge, aren’t you Noah?”
“I don’t want you to think I’m easy...Lucinda.”
There was nothing easy about him. He was all hard planes and angles. And he’d called her Lucinda. “At least Lucinda is better than Ms. Bennington. I was starting to feel like your old maiden aunt.”
He grinned at her. “I couldn’t think of you like that.”
Was that just a gleam of attraction in his eyes? For her? “Then we have made progress.”
His face went still and quiet, the amusement gone, as he held up a handful of files and turned them back to the business at hand. “We have some work to do.”
She was affecting him. Good. “What are those?”
“First we’re going to talk about the people you’ve fired in the last three years.”
The time had come to play in the dirt, and not in a fun way. She sighed as she went to the emerald regency sofa and sat. “Nancy Sands and Gina West.”
He glanced through the files. “I can’t believe you’ve only fired two people in the last three years.”
Lulu hated firing people. She firmly believed she could find a place for anybody that would make them happy. “Nancy had a substance abuse problem and Gina wasn’t a good fit, although she tried.” What could she say? Sometimes even she was wrong.
“Are you still in contact with them?”
Lulu nodded. “I paid for Nancy’s re-hab and she was re-hired and just got her one year chip. Gina’s in law school in California. I hear from her occasionally. She’s doing quite well.” She was very proud of the both of them and happy to help them find their way in life.
“So we can mark them off the list.”
She could have told him that. “I should imagine so.”
“Tell me about your business? How are you doing?”
She was a bit surprised that he cared. “Even in this the economy we’re doing well. I’ve tapped into a very powerful niche market. Big Girl Production’s brand has expanded with a fashion and cosmetic line. Next year we’ll launch my perfume Lush. Besides the talk show and magazine, I have several TV shows and movies in production. I’m not afraid to try something new, but I do keep my eye on the bottom line.”
“Anyone denied a promotion or laid off?”’
“I haven’t had to do either.” The last two years she’d gone without a salary just to make sure she didn’t have to lay-off any of her people. She didn’t need a salary anyway. She could live off her trust fund for a couple hundred years.
“We’ve been vetting your employees and we have a few red flags.”
Somehow she’d hoped this meeting would end with Gina and Nancy, but that wasn’t going to happen. “Really?”
He pointed to the files on her teak coffee table. “Oh yeah.”
For the most part she knew people had secrets. Secrets they never talked about, or even thought about, but secrets nonetheless. Not only was she their boss, but their cheerleader, and occasional therapist. God knew she hated people prying into her private life, judging her, holding her to a different standard.
“All right.” She patted the spot next to her.
Normally she didn’t like to push people’s buttons, but Noah Callahan just fell for it every time. A part of her enjoyed making him uncomfortable. She suspected on some level a part of him enjoyed their little battles.
He sat in the chair opposite her, dropped the files on the coffee table, and opened the top one. “Morris Anderson.”
She knew exactly where this was heading. “My lighting man.”
“Registered sex offender.” Noah tapped a finger on the open file.
She hoped she looked unfazed about the entire matter. “I knew about his record.”
“You hired him anyway?”
That judgmental tone of his unnerved her. If she didn’t have better manners, she’d just smack him across that beautiful mouth she so wanted to kiss. “He’s married to Shannon, my make-up girl.”
“I repeat, registered sex offender.”
“Extenuating circumstances.” Lulu clasped her hands together.
“You knowingly hired a pervert.” His blue eyes blazed with fury. “He was busted for statutory rape in 1999.”
Lulu paused for a moment, took a breath and prepared to level both barrels at him. “Shannon was sixteen and he was eighteen. They’d been dating since junior high school. Her father didn’t like him and had him arrested the day after his birthday. The second he got out of jail, he married Shannon and they’ve been together for ten years and have three boys. He fulfilled his parole obligations and hasn’t had so much as a parking ticket since. He’s been working for me for almost five years now. I’ve been trying to get his record expunged for awhile now.”
Noah sighed, closed the file and rubbed his forehead. “Boshay Dawa?”
“She’s a copy editor for my magazine.”
“She was arrested outside the Chinese embassy.” Noah coaxed.
Lulu crossed her legs and forced down the rage that still affected her at Boshay’s treatment at the hands of the Chinese. “For protesting.”
“She tossed a brick at the Chinese ambassador.”
Well Lulu had wanted to hit the condescending bastard herself. “She was trying to get information on her kidnapped sister. I spent a lot of money looking for her sister. She was in a brothel in the Wang province. I pulled a lot of st
rings to get her out of China. She died from complications from AIDS six months later. Amil was only fourteen years old. The Chinese raid the border villages in Tibet and kidnap young girls for the sex trade or sell as wives. The government knows it goes on, but they choose to do nothing to stop it from happening. Possibly because they make a lot of money for themselves by letting these activities continue.”
Noah frowned and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you for that.”
“Sarah Regan was--”
“Arrested for assault and battery three months ago. The charges are being dropped because she was defending her daughter from a crazy ex-boyfriend.”
“You know this how?”
Lulu shrugged. “I paid her bail and hired her lawyer.” She was done with this exercise for now. “I know what’s in those files, Noah. I know my people.”
“How do you know?”
She knew the threat to her came from outside. Her people protected her the same way she was prepared to protect them. “I make it my business to know. I’m responsible for everyone who works for me. That is the way my grandfather did business, the way my father did business, and the way my brother and I do business.”
Noah’s eyes narrowed as he watched her. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“I try my best.” She could feel the tension coming off of him in waves.
“Okay, I think we can eliminate the threat from inside, now we’re going to get into your personal life. I need to know everything about the men you’ve been involved with.”
She forced herself to remain calm. She knew this was coming. She could do this and maintain her pride. Really. “What do you want to know?”
Wilder looked at the pile of private correspondence on his desk. He shifted his big body in his leather chair and pain ripped through knee. If he had not already been sitting he would have fallen.
He’d overdone it at the gym again. He couldn’t help himself. His stress level was tapping him out. Over twenty years ago, he’d been shot at his parents’ estate in France. Since then he’d had four surgeries to correct the damage. For the most part he could ignore it, but when he was under stress his knee was always affected like right now.
Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency) Page 4