“Of course you don’t. I’ll take that as a yes. ’Bout time. It fits you, this…whatever it is. Helps sell this project, so keep it happening. Now, get out.” The feet came down with a thunk.
Jenna returned to her office and found Josh sitting in her chair. Monica was at the end of the desk chatting with him about hummingbirds, of all things. What was it about irritating people talking to him about nature?
Although he was probably used to it.
Monica leaned toward Josh, no doubt to show off her stellar rack, and set off an unexplainable surge of anger that washed over Jenna.
Jenna strode into the office, barely containing her annoyance. Monica didn’t make room as Jenna brushed by.
Not a wise move.
She barked at Josh to get out from behind her desk. Instead of complying, however, he rose gracefully and stepped closer. He slid an arm around her waist, tilted her head up with a finger on her chin, and planted a big, passionate kiss on her lips.
She gasped in surprise, and he used her opened mouth to his benefit, filling her with his taste. She moaned as her boiling anger turned to passion. She slid her arms up his chest before her brain caught up with her body.
“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly as she backed off. His kaleidoscope eyes were hooded as he looked down on her.
“Let’s get some lunch. Have a nooner,” Josh said with a tug at the corners of his mouth. He was perfectly serious.
“Josh, this is neither the time nor the place to be talking like that,” Jenna scolded, although the scolding sounded more like a purring kitty than an enraged tiger. “Now get out from behind my desk. You shouldn’t be there.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied lazily. He moved around the desk on the opposite side of Monica.
Oh shit, Monica. Jenna had forgotten about her.
“Monica, sorry about that. Can I help you with something?” Jenna asked, focusing on the here and now.
“Oh, ah, well, I guess you are my direct supervisor now? So I thought I would report in?” Hair flick.
Jenna didn’t have to be a genius to know that was pure BS. Now that she knew what was going on, she put on her no-nonsense face. “Have you finished the list Mike gave you?”
“How did you— No, I just wanted to make sure I should be doing that for him instead of whatever you had?”
“Erika, Mike, and I work as a team. I organize our team because I am better at big-picture stuff, but if they give you something, I’ll know about it. You need to do whatever they ask as quickly as possible without coming to me first. If I don’t approve, I will take it up with them and alter your schedule accordingly.
“I do not like to micromanage. It undermines the employee and eats time. But if you prove yourself unreliable, the first step will be me on your ass. Next step will be your termination. Have I made myself understood?”
Monica was looking at her with giant eyes. She was trying for defiance but couldn’t entirely wipe the fear off her face. The woman nodded mutely.
“Great. Let me know when you’re finished.” Before Monica reached the door, Jenna added, “And one more thing—” She waited for Monica to fully face her. “You do not have, nor do you need, a bodyguard. They are not your concern and they are not your friends. At least not at work. Being polite and showing respect within the workplace is preferred, of course, but if you go beyond that, things will get a little more…pressured around here. Yes?”
Monica just stared at her.
“All right, get to it,” Jenna finished, sitting down at her desk.
When Monica was gone, Jenna met Josh’s steady, heat-filled eyes.
“Please don’t do that again, Josh,” Jenna said calmly, trying to ignore the grating, distracting jealousy. She hated herself for it, but couldn’t seem to push it away. “It makes me look bad. I wouldn’t do that to you on your wooded tour.”
“You did do that on my wooded tour, but understood. Just so you know, I only did it to get that child off my back. She’s been following me around all week like a lost puppy. I figured I needed to make a display.”
“Okay, but not again, all right?”
Josh nodded. “But now I’m turned on. How about that nooner?”
“I need to get something done.”
“I can be quick.”
“By the time we get home and back, it’ll be an hour.”
“Don’t have to go home. I have all the equipment I need right here.”
Jenna smiled despite herself. “How quick?”
“Fast as you want. Within reason.”
“Fifteen minutes?”
“More than enough time.” Josh got up and slowly walked to her desk.
“Don’t be getting the impression I like it fast,” Jenna said as she picked up the phone.
After two rings, Erika picked up. “Yup?”
“Need a place for a little private R and R.”
“Quick or slow?”
“Are you serious?”
“What? I get lunch breaks.”
“Jesus. Quick. Somewhere close.”
“Third floor, third office on the left. Make sure to lock it. Also make sure you are behind the boxes.”
“Thanks.”
“Boyfriends at work are good times, huh?”
Jenna rolled her eyes and hung up. Josh was lounging against the door, radiating sex, the bulge in his pants defined. Jenna got a shiver as she grabbed her keys, locked her office, and led the way.
Chapter Sixteen
It was sweltering in front of the old apartment building that afternoon. Heat waves shimmered through the clingy air, creating an oven of daylight. It was the kind of day where a shower could get you wet, and the humid air would keep you that way. People fanned themselves with flyers without receiving relief, but the act of doing it tricked the mind into enduring the stifling day.
The long, sleek limo pulled up, its air conditioning blasting. A new chain-link fence glimmered in the sunlight, caging off the shabby building and the waiting crowd. A podium had been set up in front of large signs advertising the project. Event staff bustled, preparing for the executives that were arriving even as the limo’s tires crunched to a stop on the loose gravel.
“This place is in desperate need of a makeover,” Erika said as they all looked out at the crumbling complexes beyond a cleared quarter block of dirt. The demolition crew was still working on the massive area the building needed, but given all the problems they’d had, the powers that be wanted their official breaking as soon as possible.
“So is the crowd.” Josh surveyed the waiting people. There had been no action since he’d been in New York. It was proving to be more of a paid holiday than any real detail, but today felt different. He had one of his feelings, and it only got stronger as they drew closer to this gangster-filled inferno.
It didn’t help that there’d be no real security, more hooligans than levelheaded citizens, and he had no authority outside of this shiny but useless limo. Keeping Jenna safe from ten yards away was a nightmare, but when he mentioned it to the snappish, pigheaded boss of hers, he got a snort. A snort and no comment.
“All right, folks,” Don started as he surveyed the crowd, “we are just waiting for the go-ahead from the PR people. The executives are right in front of us and they are sitting tight, so we might as well enjoy the air conditioning a second longer. Mike, how you holding up?”
Mike slouched in his seat, bags under his bloodshot eyes. What had happened in the woods and the pressure on the designers were not working wonders on his feng shui. He was also under the impression that he was next. He stuck to his mammoth bodyguard’s ass like spandex on a fat swimmer.
“Not looking forward to this, boss,” Mike said.
“Hang in there. If anyone is being targeted, it’s Jenna, and she only has the second biggest bodyguard.”
“Thanks, Don,” Jenna muttered.
Josh gave her a gentle nudge. “Trust me, Jenna,” he said for her ears only. “I’ll make su
re you’re safe.”
She looked at him gratefully, giving him one of her mouth-watering smiles, interrupted by that overprotective boss of hers with bionic hearing. “That’s right, Jenna. Cliché there will make sure all the yuppie villains stay well away with their greasy potato-chip fingers.”
Josh met his unflinching eye. The man wasn’t scared of much, unusual in a white-collar worker, which, unfortunately, meant he didn’t back down from intimidation. More was the pity. They’d had more stare-offs than a couple of fifth graders.
There was a knock on the curbside window and Mike jumped about ten feet in the air. If he were a cat, he’d have been hanging upside down, dangling from the ceiling.
The door opened, admitting a waft of stale, sticky air. Everyone moaned as Brian stuck his coifed head in the limo. He smiled at Jenna, his teeth gleaming, before he focused in on Don. “We’re ready for you.”
“Great.” Don heaved himself out of the vehicle and the rest followed, trying to scurry out without ripping, wrinkling, or tearing their new clothes.
Josh gave Jenna a hand and they waited for Jax and Erika. They walked toward the podium and stood in a haphazard line with powerful-looking executives. With effort, Josh kept his hands at his sides. He didn’t think Jenna would appreciate him giving her nervousness away by rubbing her back. She was doing a great job of hiding it—hell, she even looked confident—but he suspected she wanted to blow chunks. He didn’t blame her; the guys she was standing next to looked like they owned the world.
Don approached Josh and Jax. “All right, boys, where’s that monster of a man? There he is.” Maurice was standing by a still scared-shitless Mike. Don beckoned him over and gave Mike a look to keep him put.
Maurice took his place next to Don. Don backed up immediately. “Don’t stand so close to me; you make me nervous. I’m not a coach and this ain’t a huddle. Stand in a line with your fellow cows.”
Maurice did so with a small shake of his head. He’d admitted, more than once, that he wasn’t a big fan of Don, but the money was good, so he swallowed the complaints and did as he was told.
“All right, you guys know what your jobs are, right?” Don asked, looking around as they all nodded. “Okay, I’m not going to lead this ragtag crew ’cause I have to go look pretty with all the rich folk. So. Which one of you misfits is going to take point?”
Maurice spoke up first. “I will, boss. I’ve been bodyguarding for the longest.”
Don looked at him like he was wearing a padded helmet. “Maurice, I wasn’t including you in that question. I was asking which of the Navy SEALs would be taking point.”
Maurice’s eyes widened as he looked at Josh and Jax. “Oh cool, you are both SEALs? Cool. I had a brother who wanted to be a SEAL. He had flat feet, though.”
Josh couldn’t help but smirk. There was generally an eighty percent dropout rate in their training because the majority of applicants were unable to keep up with the physical and mental endurance needed to become one of the elite. For those who failed, there were a million excuses as to why they couldn’t get through it, and for those who never got the opportunity, there were a million more. He’d never heard flat feet, though. That was a new one.
“Should I call for tea so we can discuss more of your family history? Or do you think we can get to it, hmm?” Don was looking at Maurice steadily and mutely. The larger man fell silent.
Don turned back to Josh and Jax. “Now, as I was saying. Who’s taking point?”
“I will,” Josh volunteered. “I’ve got the experience.”
Don nodded as though he’d expected it. “Good. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, Rover, but Maurice, make sure you do everything Cliché says. Cliché, don’t embarrass me.”
“Understood.”
“All right, get to it.”
As they broke up, Josh asked, “Rover?”
Jax gave Don a wicked glare. “Dude says I follow Erika around like a dog.”
Josh interrupted the silence with loud guffaws. He had to turn away and focus on controlling himself before he could get the laughter to subside.
“Not funny, man,” Jax said sullenly.
Josh laughed even harder.
Jenna had never actually seen the company executives up close, and she felt another wave of nervousness as she realized how important this project was to their bank books. If she messed this up, she could be worse off than Lewis.
Freaking karma.
Brian came up with his expensive smile and perfect hair. The heat didn’t seem to touch him as he got their people in order—powerful people in front, less so in the back. Don was off to one side, keyed up and constantly slipping into his ghetto roots, while Mike and Erika were off to the other side, nearest the crowd.
Brian plucked Jenna out of the lineup and stationed her close to the podium, right next to the CEO in his top-dollar tailored suit. His haircut, perfect, with every hair in place, probably cost four hundred dollars.
When everything was set, the CEO turned to her. He had hard gray eyes and deep lines etched his face. “Miss Anderson?” Her name rasped out like sandpaper, like he’d been smoking three packs a day for years.
Hello, Philip Morris? This one of yours?
“Yes.” Jenna threw him her winning smile. It was all show, but she assumed he neither knew nor cared.
“Hello. John Peterson.” He stuck out his hand. “I love your work. I have been a huge backer from the beginning. I’m glad we were able to make it to this point.”
“Thank you, sir. It means a lot. We—my team and I—will do you proud.”
He smiled and turned away, clearly caring more about his speech than talking to an underling.
Brian approached the podium and called the crowd to attention. He rattled off some snippets of information about the project, and then introduced Mr. Peterson. The CEO took the podium as though it had previously only been on loan, and started an inspirational speech about neighborhood friends and holding hands with the community.
That was when the first angry mutters rumbled through the crowd. Jenna noticed Jax and Josh suddenly on point, standing off to the side in their form-fitting black Armani suits with silver ties. They both looked good, and barely showed how uncomfortable they were in tailored suits in this heat.
John kept speaking as though he hadn’t heard the murmurs, now talking about knocking down older buildings to replace them with modern, state-of-the-art establishments that everyone would enjoy. A couple of shouts erupted from a crowd of people with worn or overly baggy clothes. It was obvious by their overall appearance, and the anger etched on their faces, that they weren’t there to buy a place for their business; they were here because they were about to lose the neighborhood as they knew it.
Jenna stopped herself from shuffling or smoothing her suit. Showing weakness would do her no favors.
John rattled on, seemingly oblivious to the heckling. Judging by his slight turn to the section of better-dressed people with note-taking devices, he knew who his audience was, and he was now talking directly to his prospective customers.
Josh glanced at Jax, and then made some sort of hand gesture. Jax started toward the upset crowd and then moved around, while remaining on the outskirts.
Josh glanced at her, and then slowly wandered toward the line of employees.
Maurice was left standing on his own, looking around in confusion.
Jenna heard her name and smiled as she walked to John, shaking his hand for everyone to see. She felt his hand on her back, subtly shifting her to the podium. The podium was out on loan again.
Chapter Seventeen
“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for braving the heat to come out and join us today,” Jenna said soon after taking the podium. Josh couldn’t help glancing up at her. Her voice, thick with feminine resonance, hinted at a smoky sultriness that tingled Josh in private places. Her grace and charisma radiated out, trapping his attention even as the crowd settled down around them.
Add spe
llcasting to her list of talents. She knew how to enchant a crowd.
“My name is Jenna Anderson, and I…”
With effort, Josh let the words ebb and flow around him as he took in the scene. The business owners were no threat. They were staring at Jenna with stilled pens and notebooks. Soon they would remember that they should have been taking notes.
Josh looked past the socialites, not expecting a threat there, either. As he was about to look back at the angry mob, though, a few men caught his eye. Everything about them was expensive—suits, watches, shoes. But there was something off. There was a predatory look in their eyes that didn’t match up. They didn’t push paper, they pushed people, and roughly at that.
Don glanced at them a second later, and the older man stiffened.
Josh made a mental note to check up on it. He didn’t like surprises.
Jenna was now speaking on the architect’s inspiration for the design. She talked passionately about the type of building she wanted to enhance New York’s skyline, and her pride in this beautiful city’s ability to accept change with grace.
Judging by the fierce and frantic scribbling of the business owners, she was going to make the company some serious dough selling plots. Judging by the sudden restlessness in the poor section of the crowd, she wasn’t quite on the mark about them accepting change gracefully.
With a single look and subtle head movement, Josh directed Jax to the part of the crowd that was getting the most restless. A man stood amongst three women, licking his lips. His ruddy, veined face and slightly shaking hands made him look like an alcoholic setting up shop at the rock-bottom end of life. Josh bet that his home was the last thing he had left, and this building would take it down. The money had probably already been drunk away.
A hand graced his arm before one of the women leaned her braless breast against him. She said something toward his ear with a frown and downturned lips. A woman on his other side leaned in too, with the same sort of body language as the first.
They were clearly pressuring the man to their agenda, no doubt using elements of Jenna’s speech and applying their own spin.
Unexpected Guardian (Skyline Trilogy Book 3) Page 13