Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency)

by Jeffries, J. M.

  “You don’t like?” he said preening as he adjusted the pink tie.

  “For you, the look is perfect.” She turned and walked back into the dressing stall.

  Alone, his nerves started to eat at him. He forced himself not to chew his thumb nail. He was a wreck. Lulu was his best friend and when she was almost hit by the car, she’d spent an hour consoling him. Aiden had met Lulu at NYU when some bully was picking on him. She marched right up to the kid, slapped him on the side of his head with her gorgeous Prada bag, and made him leave. The jerk scampered off then Lulu had given him an up and down look, took by the arm, and marched him to the nearest coffee shop. In seconds she had him calmed down and talking.

  Lulu had been a master interrogator and in seconds, had his whole life history. By the time he finished his second cup of coffee; Lulu had been on the phone and got him hired at Bennington’s in the mail room. After he graduated from NYU, she got him a gig with a model friend of hers and somehow he ended up working for the Evil-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, Naomi Campbell. When he quit Naomi, Lulu gave him a job even though she didn’t need him. He loved his Lulu.

  E. J. walked back out of stall. She wore black pants, a gold colored silk blouse and an olive green double breasted jacket. Aiden’s mouth fell open. “Girlfriend, Frida Giannini had you in mind when she designed this suit.”

  “Who is Frida Giannini?” E.J. said with a sigh as she straightened the collar on the jacket.

  Shock clutched him. “She’s the head designer for Gucci. When we head to fashion week in Paris next month, I’ll introduce you. She’ll be falling all over herself to give you free stuff. “

  “I’m not really made for designer clothes.”

  This woman was clueless. Thank the fashion gods she fell into his lap. He had a project. “They were made for you. Go try on the next outfit. And when we get back to the office, I’ll take you by the Closet to accessorize you.”

  “The Closet?” One eyebrow rose curiously.

  “Swag heaven. I always feel like a thief when I do my Christmas shopping there.” He grimaced. “Maybe thief was the wrong word.”

  Her face perked up. “It’s a good word. I like it. It fits me.”

  “I know.”

  She disappeared into the stall.

  “Tell me about being a thief. How did you get into it?”

  “I rebelled against my youth.”

  Aiden grinned. Now he had to know the story. “Do tell.”

  “I don’t dwell on the past.”

  Oh, you will, girlfriend, you will, he thought. “Fair enough.”

  She came out again wearing grey pants, a purple silk blouse and a matching silk cardigan. The holster was barely a bump against the silk. He realized except, for the strapless leather dress, she’d chosen clothes that effectively hid her gun.

  “I really don’t need a whole wardrobe of designer duds.”

  He gave the thumbs up sign and she went back in the dressing room. “I bet you spent a lot of money on that gun you’re wearing. I’ll bet you spend a lot of money for your job as a bodyguard.”

  “Tax deductible.”

  “The way you look reflects on Lulu and I will not have anyone reflecting badly on Lulu. That means this is the same concept as your gun, which means it’s tax deductible, too. Hello.” He threw out his arms as though he just solved all the ills of the world. “If you have a problem with that, I’ll take you to see Moe Edelstein.”

  “Who is he?”

  “The god of all accountants. Moe can get a bathroom remodel as a tax deduction and the IRS will say thank you.”

  She stepped out of the dressing room in Gucci black riding pants and a flame colored wrap sweater. “I have to meet him.”

  Damn he was good. She was all hotness in that number. “You will.”

  He eyed her up and down. “Hold that thought. I saw a blouse that will go with those pants, too. You’ll have a few other options.” He hopped up and walked determinedly toward the display of silk charmeuse blouses.

  “Aiden,” came a voice behind him, “Darling, how are you?”

  Aiden saw Jeffry Kaiser prancing down the aisle with an armload of clothes. “Who was the gorgeous redhead I just saw you with?”

  Jeffry Kaiser was tall and willowy with artfully styled blond hair and not an ounce of personal style. Aiden tried to avoid him, but he worked for actress Bethany Forrester. A.K.A. cheap boyfriend stealing bitch.

  “E. J?”

  “Did you finally dump the fatty and find yourself someone decent to work for?” Jeffry said cattily.

  Aiden retracted his claws. Making a scene at the Bergdorf’s would not be good. Besides Jeffry had applied to Big Girl Productions three times and Aiden made sure his application ended up in the ‘not interested’ file every time. “E. J. is my personal assistant. E.J. was my Christmas present and Lulu’s treating us to a little shopping spree for a job well done. How’s Bethie?”

  Jeffry bristled. “The usual, all kinds of crazy. You know, that girl can’t buy her own underwear. She always claims she doesn’t know what size she is.”

  “Still having a little touch of the bulimia?”

  Jeffry rolled his eyes. “If she’s not a size zero, there’s hell to pay. She has been acting a lot more crazy than normal lately.”

  Well color me so surprised, Aiden thought. He knew she’d pop sooner or later. God in heaven let someone with a camera be there. “Do tell?”

  Jeffry leaned toward Aiden, his voice dropping a notch, “She’s got this little commando type on the side. As hard as she campaigned to steal Jake from Lulu, you’d think she’d be happy. God knows if I woke up every morning with Jake O’Malley across the breakfast table, I’d be smiling. “

  Note to self, Aiden thought, let Lulu know that Jake O’Malley may be on the market again. Not that Lulu would care. That man was stale water under her bridge. Besides, from the vibes she was giving off around Noah Callahan that man was going to be doing some extra-curricular activity on the job soon. The way Callahan watched Lulu, oh yeah. Somehow, he had to foster that relationship. But for the moment, he’d put that thought on the back burner. “Doesn’t Lulu have a lunch coming up with Bethie in a couple days?”

  “Seriously, what is that all about?” Jeffry said.

  Aiden knew to keep things shallow with Jeffery. The more he pretended he didn’t care, the more info he could get out of him. “Some charity they’re working on.”

  E. J. walked up to Aiden. “I’m done. The saleswoman is totaling everything, she’ll be there for an hour.”

  “Aiden,” Jeffry said, “do introduce me.”

  “E.J., this is Jeffry Kaiser. He’s the personal assistant to a friend of Lulu’s.”

  Jeffry held a hand out, his fingers limped. Aiden may be gay, but he knew how to shake a woman’s hand more firmly. E.J. grasped his hand and he winced.

  Jeffry yanked his hand back. “Got to go.” Jeffry waved. “Keep in touch, Aiden.”

  Aiden nodded as Jeffry strutted away toward a hovering saleswoman.

  “What was that all about?” E.J. said as Aiden led her in the opposite direction. “From what I overheard, you don’t like him much.”

  “Girlfriend, we are classic frenemies. Think you could shank him for me?”

  “You know what shank means?”

  “I watched Prison Break. Hot, gorgeous men behind bars turning to each other for comfort. Who didn’t have that fantasy?”

  E.J. chuckled. “Not me.”

  “You know I’m going to know all your fantasies by the end of next week.”

  She laughed again. “You’re so gay.”

  “And proud of it. Now,” he waved his hand, “on to the men’s department. Let me show you how shopping is really done.”

  “We really should get back to the office.”

  “There are some Stefano Ricci ties with my name all over them. I cannot deny them a home. Afterward we’ll head up to the seventh floor for a little R&R at the restaurant. Stop worrying abo
ut Lulu. She’ll be fine. She has that fine Mr. Callahan to look after her.”

  “Is it my imagination or am I sensing a bit of chemistry between Lulu and Noah?”

  Aiden took a breath. “I thought it was just me. I’m thinking yeah. Would it be a tad unprofessional if they…well…you know.”

  “I love Noah to death and would love to see him happy. So what goes on goes on. I know nothing.”

  He would be good for Lulu. Aiden liked Noah even though he was bit rough around the edges. He was all man. “What can we do to help it along?”

  “Frankly, nature doesn’t need any help.” E.J. shook her head as he led the way through the crowded store to the elevator.

  Chapter Five

  Wilder fought to control the stutter that plagued his childhood. The stutter had left him feeling shy and often left out. The other children didn’t want to be bothered waiting for him to spit out his words.

  “Wilder,” Lulu said firmly. “Stop talking, right now. Just be silent.” She stood with her hands on her hips, watching him.

  He sighed struggling to contain the facial contortions and spasms that accompanied his stuttering. He took deep breaths, concentrating on the flow of air through his lungs.

  “I know this frustrates you,” Lulu continued in a calm voice, “but stuttering is a part of you and that’s all right. I know you don’t like people seeing you like this, but not one person out in the other room is going to judge you. I just want you to take a moment and relax. I understand how stressful this whole situation is.” She gestured at the magazine on the desk.

  Wilder forced his throat to relax. He tried hard to not let the other children see him hurt, but the childhood cruelty still existed in his head. By the time he was ten he’d started to stutter less and one therapist discovered that he loved to sing. From that moment the therapist handed Wilder his first guitar, the stuttering stopped for the most part. Now it only showed up when he was under severe stress, and seeing his sister’s photo on the cover of a magazine with a target surrounding her definitely fell under the heading of severe stress.

  “Sweetie,” Lulu said, “you are Wilder Bennington. One of the richest men in the world. Trust me, no one judges you and if they do, you can fire them.”

  Wilder wanted laugh.

  “God knows you own everything,” Lulu said. “You are gorgeous, charming, occasionally when you want something, you’re impeccably groomed, you have elegant manners, and are considered one of the world most eligible bachelors ...’” her voice trailed off softly as she listed all the strengths she saw in him.

  This was his sister’s way of helping him ground himself, distract his mind and keep the moment light. He took a deep breath and forced his body to relax. He closed his mind to meditate and when he took a second to breathe, he said, “Thank you, Lulu.”

  She patted his hand. “You’re welcome, sweetie.” She picked up the magazine twisting and turning it as she gazed at the cover. “Do you think I should wear more pink lipstick?”

  He grinned. “You can’t fool me, Lulu Bennington.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “Really?”

  “You keep making your little jokes and thinking everything is okay, let people think you can’t be bothered by—”

  “I don’t like being scared.” Her voice trembled.

  “Then I need you to follow every instruction Noah Callahan gives you to do.” He put an arm around her and pulled her head to his shoulder. In his office she could drop her little happy face and be frightened.

  “I promise I will do everything Mr. Callahan wants me to do.”

  “Good,” he replied, “I don’t like being scared either.”

  She broke away and studied at the cover. “Why did someone send this to you? All the previous threats have been directed to me.”

  “I can’t pretend to know how a stalker acts, that’s why I hired Callahan. If I did, I would take care of this myself.”

  “Oh, sweetie, you’re too pretty for prison.”

  He chuckled as he rubbed his forehead. A headache was beginning to throb. “What would I do without you?”

  “Half the time you don’t know what to do with me,” she replied, turning toward the door, but stopped with her hand on the knob. “Start playing Magical Mystery Tour in your head, take a deep breath, count to ten, and everything will be fine. Remember to take the time to think before you speak.”

  She twisted the knob, opened the door, and stepped aside for Noah Callahan and Harrison Bain to enter with a strange man following them.

  Wilder handed the magazine to Harrison who dropped it into a brown paper bag. “I’ll get that sent to the lab immediately.” He opened his briefcase and dropped the paper bag inside.

  “Mr. Bennington,” Noah said, “Let me introduce Mark Desha. Mark is our bloodhound. If someone has hacked your security, he’ll find out who they are. He’s going to be going through your security files. That envelope was delivered directly to your assistant and left on her desk which means someone used a key card to gain access to this floor.”

  Lulu glanced at Mark. “My, aren’t you interesting.”

  Mark Desha had the strong featured face of a Native American but with the added bonus, if it could be called a bonus, of tattoos, piercings and a fierce look that made Wilder want to hide. He gestured for everyone to sit down. Both Harrison Bain and Mark Desha perched their iPads on the coffee table and opened them.

  “The magazine being sent to you changes things,” Noah said.

  “In what way?” Wilder sat down on the sofa and the others took chairs around him.

  “Maybe someone is trying to get to you by threatening your sister.” He typed on his iPad. “We’re going to need to dig deeper into your personal life, Mr. Bennington.”

  “Welcome to my world, sweetie,” Lulu said with a half-laugh. “Let me get comfortable.”

  “So who have you pissed off in the last few years?” Bain asked

  Wilder rubbed his forehead again. “I don’t know where to start.”

  “Then let’s start with your parents,” Callahan said. “Have you been investigating the murder?”

  “I’ve never stopped investigating it. I’m no closer today than the police were twenty years ago.” Flashes of memory appeared in his mind and Wilder closed his eyes as he saw himself in the water being towed by Lulu as she swam the lake toward their grandparent’s house. He remembered the cold and the aching numbness surrounding his body.

  “You may think you’re no closer,” Callahan said, “but someone else may not feel that way.”

  “Nothing new has come up?” Bain leaned back in his chair.

  “The investigator I hired to look into the murders died of a heart attack three months ago. I haven’t hired anyone new.”

  Desha pointed to his computer. “Then how come you have a ten million dollar reward on the internet? That’s a lot of incentive for someone to come forward with information.”

  “That reward has been available for several years. I didn’t handle that directly, that’s why I hired the private investigator. He said a lot of people had theories, but none ever panned out. My parents’ murder is up there with the Lindbergh baby’s kidnapping and D.B. Cooper. I doubt it will ever be solved, but I’m never going to stop trying.”

  “Then business rivals?” Bain asked.

  “He has those aplenty,” Lulu broke in. She sat in her chair with her legs crossed and a rather sad look on her face.

  “Anyone in particular come to mind?” Callahan asked.

  “Presidents and stockholders of NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, the pie is only so big gentlemen and we’re always looking for ways to increase our share.”

  “Something a little more personal than that?”

  “Like women?” Lulu clapped her hands. “I’m all ears.”

  Wilder frowned at her. She was back to making light of everything again.

  She grinned. “Mr. Callahan, you probably should talk to Sylvia. She knows more about my brother’s private lif
e than he does.”

  Wilder shot her an annoyed look.

  Lulu held a finger up. “Don’t scowl at me, Wilder. If not for Sylvia, I’d think you were a monk.”

  Wilder clamped his lips shut. His private life was supposed to be his private life. He hated airing his dirty laundry.

  Desha turned his computer around for everyone to see. “Dude, Candace McBride. I’m impressed.”

  On the screen Wilder saw a photo of him and Candace walking into a restaurant. He held the door open and Candace was looking up at him with an adoring look on her face. How had that happened? He hated being stalked by photographers and went out of his way to avoid them. “I like my private life to remain private.”

  Desha pulled his computer around again. He typed for a few seconds and then his eyebrows went up. “Says here you fired Danny Mills.”

  “I didn’t fire him,” Wilder said, “I chose not to renegotiate his contract.” Danny Mills had had a radio show with a station Wilder had bought. Danny had thought that an expanded audience allowed him to say what he wanted, when he wanted, be mean and nasty. Wilder had asked him to keep his show on a professional level, but the man had refused to listen. Making fun of Lulu had been the last straw in Wilder’s book.

  “Why?” Callahan asked.

  “When you call the boss’s sister a fat bitch on air, there are consequences.” Wilder gritted his teeth. If Lulu hadn’t intervened Wilder would have beaten him to a pulp.

  “Yeah.” Bain smiled. “That would be bad.”

  “What’s the story,” Callahan asked after a quick glance at Lulu. Lulu sat in her chair looking strained.

  Lulu took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she said, “Danny Miller’s ex-wife, Summer, is a friend of mine. When Danny kicked her out of the house, I took her in and helped her get a lawyer. She’d been married to him for eight years and he treated her like dirt. I told her not to marry him. He’s a jackass on the air and a jackass in his personal life.”

  “Didn’t he try to sue you,” Mark said, “for wrongful termination?

  This man knew a lot about a case he’d kept out of court. “Where are you getting all this information?” Wilder asked curiously. He had kept much of that out of the mainstream news.