Guarding His Fortune

by Stella Bagwell

  Carlo asked, “Have you told Alejandro about the incident with the security alarm?”

  “Not yet. I want to check out a few more things before I give him a report.”

  Carlo’s expression took a serious turn. “Were you really serious when you talked about Charlotte Robinson possibly making mayhem for us Mendozas?”

  “Damn right. A mother who would cause her own son to get gravely injured will stop at nothing to get back at the Fortunes. Even if she has to go through the Mendozas to do it. And I wouldn’t put it past her to bribe a worker in the winery or restaurant to spy for her. She could gather lots of information about us and the Fortunes that way.”

  Groaning, Carlo wiped a hand over his face. “That’s a frightening idea. But how the hell would we know if anyone was secretly working for Charlotte? I’m telling you, Chaz, it scares the hell out of me to allow Schuyler to travel around the city on her own. Some of Charlotte’s goons could be tailing her and... Well, I don’t have to tell you what it would do to me if something happened to my wife. She’s—”

  “She’s everything to you,” Chaz finished for his brother. “Your life.”

  Carlo nodded, then slanted Chaz an unabashed grin. “It still amazes me that I can love someone as much as I love Schuyler. I didn’t think I had it in me.”

  “I didn’t think you had it in you, either,” Chaz said in a deadpan voice.

  Carlo was still laughing when a light knock had both men glancing toward the open doorway.

  “Am I interrupting?”

  Chaz watched his brother’s face light up with joy as Schuyler stepped into the office.

  “Speak of an angel and she appears.” Carlo rose from the couch and greeted his wife with a kiss to her cheek.

  The blonde beauty directed an impish smile at both men. “Have you two been talking about me?”

  “Only good things, sweetheart.” Carlo curled an arm around her waist. “What are you doing here anyway?”

  “I had a few errands to run before the tasting party this afternoon. I wanted to go over a few things with you before the event, so I stopped by on the chance I might catch you here. Lucky for me, I did.”

  The provocative look she gave her husband made Chaz feel like a third wheel. It also made him wonder how it would feel to have a woman like Savannah look at him with that kind of genuine love.

  Damn it, Chaz. You’re not supposed to be thinking about Savannah.

  Chaz mentally cursed at the images in his head. Savannah had ruined any chance of him ever having an enjoyable date. How could he find pleasure in another woman’s company while his mind was saturated with thoughts of Savannah? With the need of kissing her again, removing every stitch of her expensive clothing and making hot, urgent love to her?

  Chaz purposely turned his attention to his sister-in-law. “There is such a thing as a phone, Schuyler.”

  Laughing at his suggestion, she moved away from her husband and took a seat next to Chaz.

  “One of these days, Chaz, you’re going to learn what it’s like to be married. Then you’ll understand that a phone conversation just isn’t the same as the real thing.”

  “Don’t waste your time on him, honey,” Carlo warned with a hint of sarcasm. “He’s too busy hanging on to the past to ever let himself be happy.”

  Schuyler darted her husband a perplexed look before she turned a smile back on Chaz.

  “Actually, I’m even more pleased that I’ve bumped into you, Chaz.”

  Her expression was more calculating than thoughtful and Chaz braced himself. He’d already learned his sister-in-law was the adventurous sort. Once she made a plan, she refused to let anyone or anything stand in the way.

  “What’s wrong?” Chaz asked. “Are you already getting tired of Carlo’s ugly mug?”

  “Not a chance.” She winked at her husband, then turned back to Chaz. “I’ve been planning on calling Savannah, but doing this through you might be better. Since she doesn’t really know me that well—yet.”

  “This,” he repeated warily. “What is this?”

  Schuyler answered cheerfully, “For the four of us to have dinner together at La Viña. Savannah is one of my new cousins. I’d love to have the chance to spend a bit of time with her. Can you arrange it with her? Perhaps tomorrow night? At seven?”

  Chaz tried not to flinch. He already had hours of being with Savannah in a family setting. Hours he was going to have to work at forgetting. He didn’t need to add to the problem.

  “Why dinner at La Viña?” he asked, careful to keep any irritation from his voice. “I’m sure she’d be fine with you visiting the apartment. You two can talk all you want.”

  Schuyler scowled at him. “That’s not the same. I want the four of us to be together—as a family. I’m hoping it will, at least, make her feel more wanted by the Fortunado branch of the family. Now that I think about it, let’s make the time six. That way we can have wine and hors d’oeuvres and a leisurely talk before dinner.”

  “I think that’s a great idea, Schuyler,” Carlo said, while over his wife’s head, he leveled a pointed look at Chaz. One that warned him not to try to weasel out of this. “I’m glad you thought of it.”

  The four of us...together—as a family. What was Schuyler thinking? Savannah was just a woman he was protecting. She wasn’t his family. But protesting too loudly would only rouse suspicions and the last thing he needed was for Carlo and Schuyler to get the notion that Chaz was falling for Savannah. If word like that ever got out, it would be the end of his career as a bodyguard.

  Hell, who are you kidding, Chaz? You’re not worried about your career. You’re more concerned about having your heart torn right out of your chest.

  Disgusted with the voice plowing through his head, he purposely plastered a smile on his face. “I’ll ask Savannah this evening and let you know what she thinks,” he said.

  Schuyler gave him a bright smile. “Great! Thank you, Chaz! You’re the best brother-in-law a girl could have.”

  The remark drew a chuckle from Carlo. “She tells Mark, Rodrigo, Stefan and Joaquin all the same thing.”

  “I do not!” Schuyler exclaimed, then poked a playful finger in her husband’s ribs. “Now. About this afternoon. I was thinking—”

  While Carlo discussed the wine tasting party with his wife, Chaz walked over to the one window in the office. Beyond the glass there was little more to see than a paved alleyway where box trucks parked to unload their freight. But the dreary view didn’t register with Chaz. Instead, he was only seeing a blue spring sky, an occasional wisp of a cloud floating overhead and Savannah’s lovely face.

  Chapter Nine

  Later that afternoon, Professor Barcroft surprised the whole study group by ending the last class a few minutes early.

  After telling Marva and Arnold a quick goodbye, Savannah carried her tote bag out to the park bench where Chaz normally waited for her. He was nowhere in sight, so she decided to take a seat on the bench and use the opportunity to call her sister while she waited for him to arrive.

  As director of public relations for Fortune Investments in New Orleans, Georgia was always overloaded with work and stretched for time. But Savannah was hoping her sister might have a moment or two to share with her. Since Georgia was three years older, she’d always looked up to her for advice and guidance. Two things that Savannah could certainly use right about now.

  Georgia answered the call with a scolding question. “What in the heck have you been doing, sis? I’d practically given up on you calling!”

  Chuckling, Savannah asked, “Uh, are you going to give me a chance to say hello?”

  “Okay, tell me hello and then tell me everything that’s been happening. You know, Mom is getting really peeved at you. Those few short texts you’ve sent her is not enough to convince her that you’re well and happy.”

  Savann
ah held back a long sigh. “I haven’t exactly gotten any calls from you or Mom, either,” she pointed out to her sister.

  “Sorry. We’ve both been very busy. And I convinced Mom that we needed to give you time to get settled before we pestered you with phone calls.”

  Smiling, Savannah said, “Thanks, sis. I am well and happy. And in case you’ve all forgotten, I have an overload of work going on up here. Actually, more than I expected. Our professor is a taskmaster.”

  “Forget about your damned professor! I want to hear about the bodyguard! Your bodyguard! Belle is dying to see a picture of him. Can you message her one?”

  “No! I don’t even have a picture of Chaz! And I wouldn’t send it to Belle anyway. What does she think this is, fun and games?”

  “Well, she and I both know it’s not fun and games with you, but it might be to us. Seeing that we view men in a slightly different light than you.”

  From the suggestive drawl in Georgia’s voice, it was obvious that her office was empty for the moment.

  Savannah rolled her eyes skyward. “Right now, I’m asking myself why I even bothered to call. To get insulted, I suppose.”

  Georgia let out a good-natured groan. “Oh, sissy, I’m only kidding. We’ve been missing you like crazy down here. What’s it like in Austin? Are the people really as weird as they say?”

  Smiling, Savannah shook her head. “I can’t honestly give you a fair assessment on whether Austin folks are weird. I’ve not met that many people yet and the ones I have met are not Austin natives. I’m stuck on campus every day of the week. And Chaz doesn’t want me to go out and about by myself.”

  “Chaz,” Georgia repeated thoughtfully. “Mom told us his last name is Mendoza. Is he related to that good-looking Mendoza guy that Schuyler Fortunado married?”

  “They’re brothers. And before you ask, yes, Chaz is just as good-looking as Carlo. Only in a different way. He’s built like a powerhouse. With short black hair that waves just enough to keep it from being straight and brown eyes that have lashes to die for. He also has a black mustache and goatee. The kind that’s neat and trimmed.”

  The kind that made her fingers itch to stroke it, Savannah thought guiltily. And the kind of lips that made her knees too weak to bear the weight of a feather.

  “Oooh, Savannah, what in the world has come over you? I’ve never heard you describe a man in those terms. I’m starting to think I should find a reason to fly up to Austin just to see for myself.”

  Closing her eyes, Savannah wearily pinched the bridge of her nose. Even though Georgia was teasing, she would know exactly how to handle herself around Chaz. Being in public relations, she dealt with all kinds of men. And Georgia’s upbeat personality would probably be more to Chaz’s liking than Savannah’s serious disposition. The only men who liked women scientists were in the field of science themselves. She figured men like Chaz wanted a girlie girl, who was not only feminine and pretty but fun to be around. Not a bookworm like her who knew all about the causes of the plague, but was lost when it came to seducing a man.

  “I wish you would fly up. It would be nice to see a familiar face right about now,” Savannah said, more glumly than she’d intended.

  There was a long pause before Georgia replied, “Why, sis, you sound very down in the dumps. What’s going on? You were so excited about this study group. Other than the professor being a taskmaster, isn’t it going well?”

  Savannah turned her head away from the phone so her sister couldn’t hear her troubled sigh. “The study group is great. I’m learning and making a few friends in the process. It’s just that I—seriously, Georgia, having a bodyguard can be quite taxing on the nerves. And it makes things worse because he won’t allow me to go out and about the city alone. I can’t really do anything unless he deems it safe.”

  “Oh, that is a bummer,” Georgia agreed. “But look at it this way, sis. What if you really were in danger and no one was around to help you?”

  And what if you were falling helplessly for a man who considered marriage a communicable disease? Although she wanted to ask her sister the question, she held it back.

  “You’re right. And while I’m here, I’ll deal with Chaz. For Dad’s sake.”

  “For all our sakes,” Georgia reminded her. “We all want you to be safe. God only knows what that wicked woman has on her mind next! I get so spooked just thinking about it that each time I leave the house, I find myself looking over my shoulder.”

  Savannah sat up straight on the edge of the bench. “Why are you getting spooked? Has Dad gotten more news about Charlotte?”

  “I think he talked briefly yesterday with Connor Fortunado. I don’t know exactly what was said, but he and Dad seem to think the woman has gone beyond revenge now. They think she’s truly become unhinged. Which is understandable, I suppose. What woman wouldn’t go half-crazy if her ex-husband had a list of lovers a mile long and plenty of illegitimate children to prove it?”

  “True,” Savannah glumly agreed. “Especially when the scandalous information is plastered all over the tabloids. But does that really have anything to do with our family? With me? I just can’t see the motive.”

  “Do crazy people usually have reasonable motives for the things they do?”

  “You got me there,” Savannah mumbled, then forcing a more cheerful note to her voice, asked, “So what has been going on with the rest of the family? And have you bumped into Mr. Right yet?”

  Georgia laughed. “I’ve not had time to take a deep breath. After getting a massive quarterly earnings report, Dad has hired ten new employees this past week. And he’s asked me to develop a new media blitz to help pull in more accounts. I’m trying to put something innovative together for that.”

  “Just like he needs more accounts,” Savannah said dryly.

  Georgia was passing some of her advertising ideas by Savannah, when she suddenly spotted Chaz’s black car brake to a jarring halt in the parking lot.

  Once he departed the car, he closed the door with a bang and strode quickly up the sidewalk to where she was sitting. Even from a distance, Savannah could see he was fuming about something.

  “Sorry to interrupt, sis. But I have to go. I’ll call you later.”

  By the time Chaz reached the park bench where she was sitting, Savannah had ended the connection. After slipping the cell phone back into her purse, she looked up to see he was standing over her, his face taut, his eyes snapping fire. He was someone she’d never seen before.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  He blasted the question at her and for a moment, Savannah stared at him in stunned silence.

  “I beg your pardon?” she said when she finally managed to speak.

  Mouthing a curse word under his breath, he wrapped a hand around her arm and tugged her off the bench.

  “Let’s go,” he ordered. “Now!”

  The domineering sound of his voice shocked her senses back into action and she promptly yanked her arm away from him and planted her feet on the sidewalk.

  “Don’t order me around like I’m a child!”

  If possible, his jaw clamped even tighter. “If you don’t want to be treated like a child, then start acting like an adult—if you’re capable.”

  Furious now, she jerked the strap of her tote bag onto her shoulder and glared at him. “I don’t know what your problem is, but—”

  “My problem is you!” he practically shouted. “You not having an ounce of common sense!”

  Her teeth snapped together as she brushed past him and stomped her way down the sidewalk toward the parking lot.

  She didn’t have to look to see if he was following. She could feel his ominous presence bearing down on her like a storm cloud about to unleash its fury. But at the moment, she didn’t care if he was snorting flames from his nostrils. She was sick of him giving her orders. Sick of him
trying to keep her confined. And more than sick of trying to hide her desire to be in his arms.

  As soon as she reached the car, she tried the door handle and was relieved to find it unlocked. Not waiting for Chaz, she tossed her tote in the back floorboard, then climbed in and fastened her seat belt.

  When he slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine, she was staring straight ahead, her chin high. It wasn’t until he was gunning the vehicle out of the parking lot that it dawned on Savannah that he was correct about her. She wasn’t using common sense. Otherwise, she would’ve used her cell to call a taxi and told him to get the hell out of her life.

  “Would you mind telling me what you thought you were doing?” he asked sharply.

  Her gaze fixed on the street, she asked in a saccharine sweet voice, “At what point? What are you talking about?”

  “Damn it!” he growled. “You know what I’m talking about!”

  “I’m afraid I don’t. But I’m sure you won’t mind pointing out my mistakes. Especially since you never make any.”

  For the next three blocks, a heavy silence permeated the interior of the car. Savannah stared out the passenger window and wished with everything inside her that she was no different than the women going in and out of the stores and businesses lining the street, that she had the freedom to simply be Savannah. Not Savannah Fortune, a millionaire’s daughter with a target on her back and a thorn in her heart.

  “Did it never occur to you, even once, that you were sitting out in the wide open? That anyone could have come along and snatched you up? Taken a shot at you? Harmed you in some way?”

  All of this over her sitting on a park bench? She wanted to smack him right in the mouth. And not with her lips!

  Glaring at him, she said, “If the situation has become so bad that I can’t sit on a bench outside my classroom, then I might as well give up and go hide in a cave. That isn’t living, Chaz.”

  His tanned complexion turned a furious red. “Many more stunts like that and you won’t be living! Literally!”