She sighed. “I don’t know if I’m more afraid for myself or for Aunt Julia, Wilder or Grandma Penny.”
“We’ll get through this,” Aiden said kindly. “You always do. You’re a lot tougher than you think you are.”
“I know. I just want this all to be over.” Lulu tried not to be afraid, but she could only keep the fear at bay for so long. “You know me. Drama is only fun when I create it.”
“Look at the bright side,” Aiden said.
“I had to buy ugly shoes. There’s a bright side?”
“Twenty-four seven you are surrounded by some really hot looking men.”
She grinned. “There is that.” Her thoughts drifted to Noah. He was the most exasperating man she’d ever known.
“How is Mr. Callahan doing?” Aiden asked, a little too casually.
Oh that old gossip. He just wanted the inside track. “Why do you ask?”
“You’re the one kissing on him and I have to know. He’s so not your type.”
“I don’t have a type,” Lulu objected. But she did have a type. She liked nice men.
“Of course you do.”
“What is my type?” she asked Aiden curiously. That he’d given any thought to her type of man surprised her. Usually he was busy analyzing his own type of date.
“Pretty, able to be led around by the ring in his nose. Gives in to your every whim.”
What was wrong with that? “What makes you think Mr. Callahan doesn’t give in to my every whim?”
He grinned and pointed at her feet. “You’re wearing ugly shoes.”
“They are for my protection,” she replied loftily. Though she agreed with the ‘ugly’ part of the comment. She tried not to look at her feet or the way the shoes looked on them.
His iPhone dinged and he glanced at it. “The laptops you ordered for P.S. 135 will be there in the morning for Career Day.”
“Good,” she replied. “I have a whole truck load of goodies for the kids.”
“They’ll like that. So. Back to Mr. Callahan.”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay, that’s bad,” Aiden said with a grin.
“What?” Because if she didn’t have a line on the man, well then, she was confused. And Lulu didn’t do confused. It messed with her complexion.
“If you don’t know, then you really, really, really like him.”
“We have nothing in common,” Lulu said.
“You’re a girl, he’s a boy. What more do you need?”
That wasn’t going over well with her. “You’re a boy, too.”
Aiden shrugged. “You can’t date me. I’m working on being taken. Besides, you have too much ego.”
Lulu hadn’t been perplexed about men since she was eight. Her father had been her first conquest. She’d known how to get around him and get what she wanted with simply a smile and a kiss on his cheek. But Noah wasn’t going to give her what she wanted no matter how many kisses and smiles she gave. That excited her. She felt challenged and intrigued. “The reality of this situation is that if I weren’t being stalked, I would never have met someone like him. Men like that don’t show up in my world.”
Aiden clutched his chest. “Oh my God! Lulu Bennington, deep down inside, you’re kind of a snob.”
“You know money, breeding and social standing mean nothing to me. I dated a hockey player.”
“With the best teeth money could buy.”
Lulu had been happy to get him back with his wife. “Noah is just so masculine.” He bordered on dangerous.
“They all are,” Aiden said.
“He’s so strong and so…so…” she couldn’t figure out the right word.
“Rough,” Aiden supplied for her. “I wonder if he’d be all commando in bed.”
“You’re thinking about Mark,” Lulu leaned forward.
Aiden grinned, a faraway look in his eyes. “Yeah. Oh girl. We’ve got it bad.”
They both broke into a fit of giggles. For the first time in days she felt almost normal. She was in control of her world and she just had to worry about regular things. How she missed those days.
“So,” Aiden leaned toward her, “how does he kiss?”
“On a scale of one to ten…seven hundred and fifty seven.” She closed her eyes remembering the kisses, the way her body reacted, the warmth of his closeness.
“Here’s my advice,” Aiden said. “You work this until you get what you want.”
“Sweetie,” Lulu said, “that man is putting up walls like he’s China and I’m the Mongol hordes.”
Aiden snapped his fingers. “You are Lulu Bennington. You get what you want.”
Maybe not this time, she thought. “Back to Career Day,” she said changing the subject, “we do have the clothing coming, too. My babies have to be warm.”
“You’d make a great mom.”
“I’d need a sperm donor,” she said with a grin.
Noah opened the door and walked in.
“Speak of the devil,” Aiden whispered.
Noah stopped in mid-stride, a look of confusion on his face. “You need the devil for what?”
“Gird your loins,” Aiden said, “tomorrow you’re facing hordes of grade-schoolers.”
“Yeah,” Noah said, “and a security nightmare.”
“I can guarantee none of them are trying to kill me,” Lulu said.
“I can’t get over the fact you went to school there.” Noah shook his head.
“Aunt Julia isn’t very conventional.”
“I couldn’t tell,” Noah said.
“She didn’t want us to grow up not understanding who we were and our responsibilities to the world. I spent three years there and Wilder went to a public high school. If Uncle Hiram had won the custody suit for me and Wilder, my life would be very different,” Lulu said wryly remembering the ugly battle between Julia and her half-brother even though her parents will had spelled out who should get custody of her and Wilder. Julia barely won. Uncle Hiram hadn’t been interested in Lulu or Wilder he’d wanted to control the money.
“I’m happy Aunt Julia won. If Uncle Hiram had won he’d have sent us to some boarding school in the Alps, hoping we’d freeze to death or die in an avalanche so he’d have a clear claim to our money.”
“If he were still alive, he’d be number one on my suspect list.”
Grandpa Bennington had been married three times with one child from each marriage. Lulu’s father had been the firstborn, Uncle Hiram the second, and Aunt Julia the baby of the family.
“If Grandpa weren’t such a randy old goat,” Aiden said, “you wouldn’t have had to pay off Uncle Hiram.”
“Thirty million dollars is a lot of money,” Noah said. “But I can’t help but feel its pocket change for you.”
“It was thirty million dollars cash,” Lulu offered. “Even though Uncle Hiram wanted the whole shebang, he settled for the money. Otherwise, Aunt Julia would have brought up some of his more interesting associations.”
“Such as,” Noah asked curiously.
She was never really sure, but hated being out of loop, so she told a bit of a lie. “Twenty years ago the world was not ready to hear about Uncle Hiram’s activities and I’m not ready to divulge them.” Though she remembered a conversation between Julia and Hiram where Julia told him that if he took her to court, she would make sure the whole world knew about his dirty little secrets. Uncle Hiram had backed off then.
“That’s because you don’t know,” Aiden said. “I’ve been trying to get the info out of Julia for years and she won’t tell me. If she won’t tell me, I know she wouldn’t tell you.”
Lulu winced. Busted by her assistant. She might just have to fire him.
Noah made a note on his iPad. “Do you two practice this routine or does it come to you naturally?”
Lulu exchanged a look with Aiden. “We’ve been together so long, we’re just like an old married couple.”
Aiden glanced at Noah. “Apparently I’m sharing with you.”
“Aiden,” Lulu said sharply.
He stood up and gave them a sly smile. “All right. I have work waiting for me. I’ll leave you two alone. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He sauntered out of Lulu’s office.
“Why do I get the feeling that statement gives me a lot of flexibility?” Noah said.
Lulu ignored his comment. “Did you need to talk to me about something?”
“I just wanted to go over the security for the trip to the school tomorrow.”
That sounds like so much fun, Lulu thought. What she really wanted to do was kiss him and run her hands over his short-cropped hair. She pulled back. She wanted him. He called to her. But every time she pushed to get closer, he backed away. Her head told her to leave him alone because he was too risky. But her heart demanded she take the risk.
“You’ve got a strange look on your face,” Noah said.
“Is it unattractive?”
He answered her question with another question. “What are you planning?”
“Nothing important,” she replied.
“Should I be nervous?”
She waved her hand at him. “You’ll be fine.” Smiling she tuned him out as he went over the security for the next day while she figured out just how she was going to seduce him. She ran a number of scenarios through her mind. Aiden told her to get what she wanted and she wanted him. He was just going to take more planning than most other men.
She nodded her head in all the appropriate places, one ear listening to him while she planned her campaign of seduction.
A knock sounded on the door and E.J. poked her head in. “Harrison wants to know if you can spare a few minutes for him. He’s in the conference room.”
Noah stood, nodded at Lulu and stepped out into the hall.
“You look miffed,” Harrison said when Noah entered the conference room.
Noah stopped. “Miffed? I look miffed? Miffed is a term a woman would use. I’m pissed off. Good and pissed off. I think pissed off is a much better phrase.”
“Okay, you look pissed off,” Harrison said mildly.
The conference room was strewn with piles of paper, open laptop computers and trays of glasses set around pitchers of ice water. Noah hoped no one would need the room anytime soon.
He poured himself a glass of water and sat down across from Harrison.
“Have you noticed that E.J. is looking…like a girl.” Noah complained. When had he lost control of the situation?
“E.J. has always looked like a girl, you just think of her as your little sister and little sisters aren’t supposed to be all pretty and soft.”
Noah closed his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about this.” Lulu was running him ragged. How come he hadn’t followed his first thought to just turn the job down? He could have saved himself a ton of grief. Instead, he asked Harrison, “What’s on your mind?”
“I thought we’d go over some of the suspects we’ve been investigating.”
Noah waited patiently while Harrison shuffled through some papers in front of him.
“Gideon found Fiore in D. C. for a banking summit so he was able to talk to him. The man offered the resources of his rather vast group of friends to hunt this bastard down. And I use the terms ‘friends’ loosely,” Harrison said as he perused the piece of paper in front of him.
“You are joking?”
“Oh no, he’s ready to come here and help personally.”
Noah rubbed his tired eyes. “Tell me Gideon told him to kiss his ass.”
“He declined the offer.”
Thank God for small favors. “What’s next?”
“I’ve talked to at least ten of the men Lulu has dated over the last few years with the exception of Jake O’Malley. He’s been out of town and only popped back in briefly for the premiere and then left again. Everyone has been incredibly nice about her. A couple of the men told me that Lulu even introduced them to their current girlfriend or wife. They all admire her, I damn well thought my teeth would fall out from all the sweetness. I don’t even get a read on anyone who dislikes her.”
Noah rubbed his temples. “I find it really hard to believe that she has no enemies. We know she has at least one enemy or she wouldn’t be in this predicament.”
“Then we’re looking for a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
“We keep digging. Someone out there hates Lulu.”
“Lulu runs her business ethically. She gives generously to a number of charities. She treats her fans with a level of kindness other celebrities can’t be bothered with.”
“Lulu is a paragon,” Noah replied sarcastically, yet he felt there was a darkness to Lulu that she kept strictly under lock and key.
“Has she said anything about her parents’ death?” Harrison asked.
“Not much. It’s still painful.” That subject seemed to be off limits.
“I had Roman contact the original investigator in France who handled the case. The inspector is retired, but he’s never given up. Inspector Leroux says it’s the biggest stone cold case in French history. There was no DNA evidence left at the scene. The shooters policed their brass. No motive was ever found. Wilder and Lulu’s survival was a miracle.”
“A miracle or dumb luck,” Noah stated. Lulu had been ten and Wilder around fifteen. They must have been terrified, yet Lulu had acted courageously in saving her brother.
“I also spoke to a reporter who was in France at the time. She told me Carter Bennington and his wife, Gabrielle, were great parents and considered the ‘it’ couple of their generation. Gabrielle came from money, but she modeled and made her own respectable fortune.”
“What did you find out about her family?” Noah asked.
“Titled, wealthy vintners. Have a very well-run winery in Bordeaux and a shipping business. Gabrielle’s parents are dead. Her younger brother runs the winery. The older brother inherited the title and runs the shipping business. The uncles are married, only the oldest one has children. From what I can find out about them, they all lead boring, ordinary lives and love Lulu and Wilder but aren’t particularly close. Roman is digging deeper into their backgrounds, but there doesn’t appear to be any big scandal there either. Interesting thing is Gabrielle’s parents sided with Julia as Wilder and Lulu’s caretaker.”
“Sounds like a dead end,” Noah said. “Who would benefit from Lulu’s death?”
“Most of the money goes to her brother if she dies unmarried and without children. There are some people who get money on her personal staff, Aiden and woman named Isabel Montgomery get ten million and a number of charities get the rest. Isabel is an old school friend. I checked on Aiden, and according to the Geek he didn’t start out as Aiden Montez, but as Hector Juan Benivides. Raised in Norco, California, the fifth of seven children. The Father runs a horse ranch and Mother cleans houses part time. The Geek says they weren’t into Aiden’s lifestyle and pushed him out of the proverbial nest as soon as they decently could.”
“I think we should talk to Aiden,” Noah said.
“Want to let Mark handle it? He and Aiden have hit it off and are dancing around each other trying to figure out what their next step is.”
“What?” Was everybody on the team falling off the professional wagon? Falling in love should be the last things on their minds. And on his mind, too.
“You’re not the only one mixing business with pleasure.”
Noah wasn’t sure, but he thought Harrison snickered. “I’m not trying to date Lulu Bennington.”
Harrison grinned. “Really? You could have fooled me. Though I’m surprised. She doesn’t seem like your type.”
Noah glared at his friend. “My type?”
“Generally you go in for blonde marathon runners, who don’t do commitment. I didn’t think you went in for the juicy booty girl.”
What language was he speaking? “What the hell is a juicy booty girl and how the hell do you know that?”
Harrison laughed. “Juicy booty? You know. Big girl.”
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“Are you making fun of Lulu?”
“Since I have my own big girl, no. My wife would kick my ass if I did. I don’t fear much, but I do fear the wrath of Debra.”
Noah thought about that. “Now that you mention it, so do I.” He settled back in his chair trying to study the reports Harrison handed to him. His mind refused to leave the idea of Lulu alone. She was as close as the United States came to royalty and he’d come from nothing. The fact that she even looked at him thrilled him.
That she was so different from any woman he’d ever dated made him a little uncomfortable. Lulu was uncharted territory. He’d spent a majority of his career in dangerous territory, but Lulu was something different.
He liked talking to her and being around her. He loved the way her mind worked, even if she did expect him to cater to her every whim, which he refused to do.
He’d liked his sisters a lot and he felt regret that they had all been separated after his parents murder. The guilt almost killed him because he hadn’t searched for them when he’d had the chance. He wondered what they were like. What kind of women had they become?
He tried to go back to reading the reports in front him, but his mind skittered away. He’d never been so unfocused on a job before. He wasn’t bringing his high level of professional ethics to the table. Lulu wreaked havoc with his senses and he felt he wasn’t doing his job because she was messing with his head. He glanced up at Harrison to find the other man watching him.
“You want to talk about it?” Harrison asked.
“I’ve said all I’m going to say.”
“Then I’m going to say some stuff,” Harrison said looking proud of himself. “Other than a brief lip-lock with Lulu, have you ever been unprofessional with her?”
“This is my point exactly,” Noah said pointing a finger at Harrison. “All of us thinking of her as Lulu and not as the client. We’ve never called a client by their first name before, but you use ‘Lulu’ all the time.”
Harrison’s eyebrows rose. “Lulu expects—”
“Exactly. Lulu expects us all to like her. We’re not here to like her. We’re here to keep her from ending up dead. Instead, E.J. runs around looking like a girl now. Dante went with her to get a ‘mani-pedi’. What the hell is a mani-pedi? Roman and Lulu have these long, intense conversations in French and no one knows what they’re talking about. They laugh and giggle like best friends. When has Roman ever treated a client like a friend before? Maybe the reason nothing has happened to Lulu is because we’re damn lucky. We’re no closer today to finding out who her stalker is than we were ten seconds after accepting this job.”
Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency) Page 13