by Nana Malone
“My job involves babysitting and keeping crises at bay. All you just did was make my job twenty times more difficult.”
She was ridiculous. “Then I’m sorry to say, you are very bad at your job.”
She whipped around on me then. “I will have you know, I am excellent at my job. I am the best publicist at Evans Public Relations. You just interrupted before I could stop those two idiots.”
I couldn’t help it, my lips twitched. She was spunky. And to be fair, I couldn’t be blamed, because her tits were legitimately bouncing right in front of me. I fought to keep my gaze on her eyes. “I admire your determination, but you have to know when you’re beaten.”
Her gaze narrowed. “You can feel free to go and self-fornicate.”
Oh shite. My cock twitched. I liked this one. I bit back the laugh. She was… something fantastic. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bouncers escorting people out. And then I heard the blare of sirens, so she was safe for now. I had to let her by.
She strutted away, and I stared in disbelief. Woe be the kingdom with her as their princess.
After a moment, Ariel joined me in the parking lot. “Smooth. Real smooth. Remember the time I said to make a good impression?”
That was probably going to be easier said than done now.
2
Roone…
"So how do you want to play this?" Lucas asked over the speaker phone.
I was trying to hunt down one of my new work shirts. If I didn’t get a move on, I’d be late. I still had no idea what was in half the boxes. I’d unpacked my surveillance equipment but the clothes, not so much. I searched through another box and muttered, "Come again?"
"My sister. How are you going to do the whole undercover thing?"
Oh boy. "You have the mission brief. What's the problem?"
"Yeah, the mission brief says go undercover to protect her, but you're going to get close, right?"
I sighed. I wasn't sure which question Lucas was asking, so I tried to tread carefully. "Lucas, I've already moved in across the hall from her. I'm in place to have a job at her company. And you know Ariel. She'll have this place wired up tighter than Fort Knox. So she'll have cover."
"Dude, you know what I'm saying. I mean, are you gonna go in as the helpful neighbor like Penny did, or are you gonna go in and maybe make friends, or are you going to try and date her?"
Shit. I really wasn't having this conversation. "Look, mate, you just leave that to me and Ariel. I promise I will keep Jessa safe. It's my number one goal, and you know that. It’s literally the only reason I’m here."
There was a pause. "Dude, I know that. Besides being my best bro, you're really fucking good at your job. You know… and that's coming from someone who tried to give you the slip more than once."
"Too soon, mate. I thought we weren't going to talk about that anymore." I’d forgiven him for ditching me as his security detail… mostly.
"Yeah, sorry. But the whole point is I know how good you are. And I know you go all soldier-mode of protect and serve. But I know Ariel is a little faster and looser, so I'm trying to figure you how you guys have laid out the plans. Helpful neighbor? I mean that works. But there probably won’t be a lot of instances where she's going to need you."
"I'm aware of that. Which is why I'm also going to be with her at work. Rick Evans will pretty much do anything for status. So the fact that Sebastian called him personally means he's in. Whether she likes it or not, I’m going to be unavoidable. She might be ready to kill me by the end of it." Rick Evans and Evan Millston had started Evans PR ten years ago and had soon established themselves as the premier public relations agency to use in London. Everyone affectionately referred to them as “the Evans.”
"You really think antagonism is the way to go?"
"If it were you, what would you do?"
There was another pause on the line from Lucas. "I don't know, if I were you I’d probably date her. But that's weird because she's my sister. Though I have no real connection or feelings about you wanting to date her."
"Oh my God, I do not want to date her. I think the whole dating thing is sloppy. Messy. Blurred lines make the job much more difficult."
"There you go again. Sometimes you gotta play in the shades of gray, man."
"Let me just make sure I have this clear; You want me to play in the shades of gray with your sister. All right, I'll see where I put my flogger."
It took Lucas a moment to get the joke. "Oh, hardy har. That's funny. You know what I mean though."
"I do know what you mean. But I'm not a shades-of-gray kind of guy, so I'm going to keep this as clean and pristine as possible."
"Have you seen her yet?"
I could still feel the curve of her ass in my hand. Just thinking about the spark of fire that lit her gaze sent an electrical current zapping down my spine.
Yeah, but you're not gonna tell him that. Nope. I was not going to offer up that little tidbit of information. Because this was Lucas, and he'd give me shit for it. But also, she was his sister whether she knew him or not. Not to mention, that just wasn't how I did things.
Penny and Sebastian had crossed the line. And Lucas… Well, Lucas had crossed all the lines. I wasn't that guy. Sebastian had given me a mission, and I was going to complete it to the best of my ability without shagging his sister, because I was pretty sure that was the last thing he wanted.
"Look man, all I'm saying is what if Ariel gave you the precise instruction to date her? I mean, isn't that the whole point of the dating app?"
Ariel’s role was plan B. To come in as a client hoping to take her exclusive dating app to the next level. Everyone in the company would be required to use it. If I couldn’t get enough coverage on Jessa by working with her, Ariel would pair us via the app.
"The whole point of the dating app is plan B. We have several Royal Guards in the system, so she'll match with somebody. The whole point is I won't really be dating her. And Ariel's never going to give me the direct instruction to start shagging your sister."
"Whoa, who said anything about shagging?"
I laughed. "Mate, when was the last time you went on a date that did not involve shagging?"
A beat of silence. "Yeah, fair enough."
"Besides, Ariel might play fast and loose, but she knows what I’m here to do. She's giving me leeway to play it the way it’s most comfortable."
"Okay, if you say so man. I just, I don't know. I want you to be careful with her, I guess."
Oh boy, out comes the big brother conversation. "You don't need to worry about me mate. I'm not that guy. I'm just here to do my job, protect the princess, find out who's behind the conspiracy, and bring her home. Those are my directives, and that is the mission that I have chosen to accept, so don't worry about it. I'm not gonna shag your sister."
Yeah but you sure as hell thought about what it would be like to shag her last night. Yeah, I needed to get that thought the hell out of my head. Either that or bury it deep, behind locks and chains so it wouldn't come back out again. I wasn't that guy.
Jessa was gorgeous, with a pair of tits that could make a grown man cry. An ass worthy of worship. But she was a princess. So that meant hands-off for me. Unwanted sons of English Lords didn't end up with the prize. Hell, soldiers didn't end up with the prize.
So, I planned to do whatever was necessary to get the mission done, even if it meant telling her she was in danger, though I knew Ariel didn't want to go with that protocol.
"How's it going with Ariel, by the way? You okay with her being in charge?"
Nope. "Yeah, she's great."
Ariel was brash and flew by the seat of her pants half the time, always going with her gut instincts. I wasn't saying she wasn't good, because she was. She was a tech genius.
But in terms of being mission command, I didn't know about that. I'd assumed it would be me. But maybe after the whole Marcus thing, Sebastian had lost confidence in me. I'd been really surprised in that mission meeting when E
than had named her as lead, but I thought I'd hid it well. “It’s fine.”
“Man, you're all zen about it. I feel like I would've lost my shit. But I mean she's cool, though. Smart. She's not going to do anything that's gonna put Jessa in danger."
The jury was still out about that, but what I said was, "Absolutely. Look, I gotta get going. But I'll check with you later. Give my love to Bryna."
Lucas groaned. "She's saying to send you kisses."
I chuckled. Yeah, that sounded like Bryna. "Well, if your fiancée is willing to give me kisses, I'll take them."
"You take a kiss from my fiancée and I swear to God I will kill you."
God it was fun fucking with Lucas. "You're welcome to try."
I hung up on him and tried the last box, still searching for a shirt.
Success. Now all I had to do was pull off the act of a lifetime.
Jessa…
I was late. Really late.
I’d been up since five trying to fix the debacle of last night. I'd started with the police, trying to work my contacts to make sure that Emerson's name never appeared on any reports. And then I went to work on Toby.
Last night I’d gotten him a solicitor, even though I was pretty sure he wouldn't need one. But still, because he was part of the company, I did what I needed to do. I hadn’t seen him with drugs, but better safe than sorry.
The police hadn't found any drugs on him so, it was mostly speculation. Unless they could get someone to corroborate, it wasn’t going to be a problem.
As soon as I woke up, I sent breakfast and I’m so sorry your party was busted by the cops flowers to Abbie Chase. I'd done more before seven a.m. than most people did all week.
And then I had a disaster morning. I spilled tea all over the front of my favorite blouse and followed that up with a broken heel. By the time I was running out the door, it was 8:15. And I always left at 8:00 and walked in the doors of the office at 8:30. Now, I'd be late. And I'd miss the morning status meeting.
I attempted to close my door, send a text Chloe to check her email for all the status notes she would need, and balance my to-go cup of coffee. It wasn't until I finally had my door locked and turned around that I noticed I had a new neighbor across the hall. My unit faced the street. Those inward units had their own gardens and faced the courtyard with direct access to the storage units.
A block of row houses was owed by Evans PR and served as corporate housing, but sometimes they leased their units out. That townhouse unit had been empty for about three months, but someone was running across the kitchen now. Someone tall, with very nice back muscles. It was only when he turned his head that I realized that first, I was staring, and second, I knew exactly who he was.
"You?"
He looked up as he shook out his shirt and unhooked it from the back of the chair at the kitchen island. "Me. Hello, neighbor. But then, we've met already. Jessa, right?"
No.
This was not happening to me. No, no, no, no. There was no way that guy could be my new flatmate. Okay, not exactly flatmate, but this was too close for comfort.
"Do you always get dressed with the door wide open?"
He flashed a grin that was almost as devastating as the rest of him. "No. I was running something to the garbage and spilled something on my other shirt. I flew back inside in a hurry, hence the open door. Now I’m late for work."
He was still shirtless. And yes, I was still drooling. Apparently eight pack abs were a thing. "Well, fine."
Shit, how was he my neighbor? This wasn’t even fair. I could still feel the imprint of his hand on my ass. My bare ass. FML.
Oh, there was nothing worse than being helpless, having someone else completely in control. If I could, I would kick him. I hustled to the lift when I heard him say, "Hold the lift for me, would you?"
The hell I would. If he thought it was okay to fondle my ass, then he had another think coming. He could take the stairs. Not that he fondled my ass exactly… You might have enjoyed that.
I heard his footfall in the hallway as he rushed toward the lift. I, in turn, frantically pushed at the Close button.
On a scale of one to petty, yes, this was Real Housewives level, but I didn't care. The idiot had manhandled me.
Well, you kind of liked it.
No. I did not like it.
Liar.
Also, he was trying to keep you from getting hurt and from flashing the world your snatch.
The doors to the lift finally slid closed with only an inch left as he skidded to a stop in front of me. Our gazes locked just before the doors closed completely.
I smiled to myself as the lift lowered to the ground floor. I’d pretty much just cemented the two of us not being the friendly, borrow-sugar kind of neighbors. But, I was okay with that.
3
Roone…
On the walk toward Evans PR on Beak Street in the heart of SoHo, Ariel walked fast and talked even faster. I could've slowed down my pace. But I wasn't really in the mood, because she was busy telling me how to do my job.
"Okay, you had a slight setback last night. It seems Jessa wasn't really in the mood for the caveman thing. But everything about her says she needs someone strong. Her entire psych profile says it. She won’t respect anyone who isn’t. She's a survivor, so she's going to need someone strong and firm who can coax who she really is out of her. But you need to be really crafty."
I nodded noncommittally. "Uh-huh."
She charged on. "You know how important this is. You've got to get in, get close. Establish trust. You were doing so well at first yesterday and then—well, the whole hand-on-her-ass thing probably did you in."
I stopped. "The hand on her ass was merely to keep her in position because she was fighting me so hard she was going to fall off my shoulder. It's a six-foot drop.” It was also because it seemed the princess didn’t like to wear underwear. But I kept that to myself.
She waved her hand. "No, I know. But still, someone like her is going to bristle at that. She never lets anyone close. Clearly, she never lets anyone near her ass. Which is a point of note for you."
The laugh tore out of my chest in a sharp bark, making several pedestrians around us turn to stare. I didn't want to laugh. I didn't. But the way she said it, I wasn't even sure Ariel knew what had come out of her mouth.
It was only then that Ariel stopped and turned. "Look, Cassanova, I'm gonna tell you right now, if you want to establish trust, anal isn't going to be the way to do it." And then she turned around and kept walking.
Oh, so at least she understood the ramifications of her joke. "I'm not an idiot. You recognize this isn't my first rodeo, right? I do know how to protect someone. And believe it or not, I do have a way with women."
She scoffed. "With women that you'll never have to see again. In the last two and a half years, I have seen you go through women like Kleenex. Which, if that's your thing, then whatever. But…how you get close to those women, will not be how you get close to this one. Even when you were doing well, she was wary. Cautious. But you need to move faster. Find something, seize it, and make it stick. Make it work."
"Okay, Tim Gunn, I get it. I've got my Bedazzler out, and I will make it work. Picture me covered in sparkles."
Ariel grinned then. "Actually, that would be hilarious. You think there's a chance she'll like you better if you bedazzle yourself?"
I rolled my eyes and kept marching.
"Okay, you know who the players are. Her right-hand woman is Chloe. She's been at Evans for three years. Jessa’s dad died a year ago. Toward the end, he wasn't well. I'm sure she's got daddy issues, so use it to your advantage."
"I know the plan. Get as close to her as I can."
We were two blocks away. She stopped and sighed, forcing me to stop along with her. "What?"
"Look, I know that we haven't really talked about this whole I'm in charge of the mission and you're not thing. And with you being His Majesty's close friend and confidant, I know it can be awkward."
I rolled my shoulders. "Now is not really the time to talk about this."
"I know, I know. I'm just saying I'm aware that it's awkward. And I'm not saying that you don't know what you're doing. You've kept him safe for years. That was your job. It's always been your job. And you're good at that. You're an excellent soldier. The difference is that this assignment needs finesse. You have to lie. And lie well. Make her believe you. Make her want to be near you. Your open brash honesty, your directness, you have to use it but in a different way. There's a reason I kept your profile as close to the truth as possible. It’s so you don't have to lie too often, because it's the little lies that get you caught. But you have to not be you. I mean even now, you're walking like a soldier. And it’s totally sexy, sure. But it's gonna put her off or at least make her suspicious. You need to be strong, but not soldier-bodyguard strong."
I ground my teeth. I didn't want to listen, but I forced myself to because she might have a point. I didn't really know how to do the nice, cajoling thing, the nuances, the lying. I hated to lie. Mostly because of the whole inconvenience. You had to keep track of those things. But my profile was close enough to who I actually was, so I wouldn't have to lie too much. "Okay, I hear you."
She nodded. "With Penny and Sebastian, it was difficult. Penny had a hard time separating reality from who she had to be for the mission. It worked in her favor then. But for someone like you, that murky line is going to suck. I just want you to be ready."
"I am. And frankly, I didn't know you cared."
She pursed her lips. "I don't. I just don't want you to make me look bad." And then she started walking again.
I chuckled behind her as we approached the building. "Noted. We'll be fine. We started on the right foot yesterday, and then we faltered. But you’re right. When the fight started, I went into soldier mode. It was a wrong move for her. Now she thinks she hates me."
"No. She actually hates you, and you're starting over from less than ground zero. So I hope you are really, really charming when you need to be."