Snatched (Coronado Series Book 2)

by Hart, Lea

  Think what you want - doesn’t make it true. She finished with her make up and put her jewelry on and walked down the hall. “Bossy men don’t get breakfast. You can take me to out today. You’ve been so high handed this morning that I don’t feel like cooking.”

  He watched her pack her briefcase and admired how pretty she looked in her dress. “I would love to take you to breakfast -you don’t have to cook for me.”

  “I like to cook, but you’ve made me mad. So I’m not going to.”

  “I understand. Let’s go start our day - I want it to be over quickly. I want to get to the evening as soon as possible.” He leaned over and whispered in her ear what he wanted to do first when they got home. “That’s the first thing, I’m doing when we get back.” He felt her shiver as he took her hand and led her out.

  He was right, it was going to be a long day. Well two could play at this game. If she was going to suffer then so should he. As they settled into the car, Rory formulated a plan for the day. Yes indeed, Max was going to learn the power of her very creative mind. “You know that thing you said you wanted to do when we got home?”

  “Yes….”

  She leaned over and whispered in his ear what she thought she could do first. She leaned back in her seat, straightened her dress and waited for him to start the car. Finally, looking over she noticed a drop of sweat roll down the side of his face. “Are you feeling all right? You look flushed”

  “No, I’m fine. I’m not sure how I’m going to make it through breakfast, though. Your suggestion keeps playing out in my mind in Technicolor. In fact, that’s all I can see.”

  “Poor baby, I won’t make any more suggestions.” She mimed zipping her mouth shut and then started to laugh. “Don’t start something with me that you’re not willing to finish, Max Bishop.”

  “Oh, I intend to finish it. In fact we are going to finish it several times and when we’re done - you are not going to be able to speak….. or walk.”

  “Promises, promises.”

  He leaned over and kissed her hard, “You may not remember your name when I’m finished with you.”

  She kissed him back, “I can’t wait.”

  He pulled out of the driveway and they headed out, “Where do you want to eat?”

  “You choose.”

  “I choose you.”

  “Choose a breakfast place as well, because I’m hungry.” She grabbed his hand and held on to it. “I hope you don’t break my heart.”

  He pulled her hand up to his mouth and brushed his lips over her knuckles, “I’m not going to break anything. I consider it my most precious possession, and I plan on taking very good care of it for the rest of my life.”

  That was more information than her brain could process at the moment. She decided to focus on work instead. “Since I’m pretty much done with my work for the hotels, do you want me to get started on your office today?”

  “That would be great. Maybe you could help Sean set up the new division.”

  “I can try. I think I need to figure out how you do business first, though.”

  “Think of it as a new business. You can set it up however you want. I can set up a call with Rorke in the Virginia office. They have taken a lot of contracts for security in the Middle East. We have never taken contracts for outside the country, because none of the guys wanted to go back to the sand box.”

  “The sand box being the Middle East?”

  “Yes, that’s what we call it. The men that are working for me now spent too much time over there and don’t want to go back. Several of them are married and they want to stay home and keep their family a priority. It could change as we add people. Let’s assume it’s going to be a small division for now.”

  “Ok. It’s going to take me a while to figure out how I can be of benefit to your business.”

  “You are going to be a huge benefit - every company needs a COO. That’s going to be you.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Don’t you have someone who deserves a promotion?”

  “No, we don’t have anyone running the business except me. I can no longer do it all, plus it’s my least favorite part of my day. I’m going to hand it over to you. I have never liked the operations part of it.”

  “I will do my best to try to help.”

  “Thank you baby, I appreciate it. Your first job can be hiring an accountant and payroll person. Carol is leaving us in a month, her baby is due at the end of December.”

  I’m not an expert at personnel. I would choose Birdie as an accountant, but I don’t think she would do it. Maybe she can recommend someone, she knows lots of people from the firm she consults for.”

  “Sounds good to me. I trust you.”

  “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  “The thing I said earlier wasn’t as nice?”

  “No, this is nicer.”

  “I don’t understand, but I guess that’s ok.”

  They pulled into the restaurant and both got out. “Why haven’t you hired someone before to help you run the day to day?”

  He took her hand and led her to the restaurant. “Since I opened the doors two years ago, I’ve been playing catch up. “We were busy the first week, and it hasn’t slowed down for a moment.” They walked in and were led to a table. Max chose to sit next to Rory.

  “Why are you sitting next to me?”

  “I will always sit next to you if I can. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not used to it. So tell me what your company does and which service is in the most demand?”

  “We offer corporate security analysis, which includes the physical location, the people and information management. That is probably the largest and most profitable part of the company right now. It’s interesting because it’s true for all the offices across the country. It’s something that is easy for us to do and we are completely successful with it. We provide personal security for executives and political figures - the Los Angeles office does personal security for some celebrities. I can have you speak with Tom who runs the LA office if you have any questions. In fact, he wants to open an office in San Francisco, because he’s always sending people up there. He hasn’t had time to work on it, so maybe you can help him. One of our most requested services is recovering people who have been kidnapped. There are not many people who have our set of skills, and unfortunately, kidnapping is becoming more popular. We seem to be the most effective choice if you want to find someone. Those are probably the ones that are our biggest focus right now.”

  “Does each office operate independently?”

  “Yes and no. We try to share resources, but the day to day decisions are left to the managing partner. I have partners in four of the offices, and the other two are satellites of the bigger offices. When someone retires from the teams, they are welcome to join us in whatever capacity they choose. I never have to interview anyone. I pretty much know everything I need to know before I ever speak with them.”

  “This is the most unique business that exists. You couldn’t replicate this with any other circumstances. What’s going to happen when you add people from other branches of the military? Will it work the same way?”

  “That’s an interesting question. I guess we will have to wait and see. If Sean wants to add people that he knows then, I’m fine with that. I trust whatever decisions he makes.”

  “Because he is your brother or because of what he does?”

  “Both. You do not become a member of a Special Force’s team in any of the branches without possessing a unique personality, set of skills and dedication. If you make it through and succeed, then you are a person who is willing to put your life on the line for others. You have signed a check to the United States government with an amount of up to and/or including your life. That’s a person who I want working with the team.

  “How big do you see the business getting?”

  “I never thought about it. If someone wants to come join us, then we find t
he right place for them. If we have the people, then we have the business. You can probably give me some good ideas about the potential.”

  Why do you think that I’m qualified for this? I think you need someone with more experience.”

  “I think you are the perfect person to do this. If you don’t know how - then hire someone to help you. You have overseen the operations for ten hotels for five years. That involves a lot more moving parts than a security company. I trust you and we are going to be married - that makes you the perfect person.”

  “We are not getting married. I don’t want a boyfriend.”

  “Yes, we are.”

  She decided to ignore his last statement and enjoy her breakfast. They were going to have to agree to disagree.

  He knew she wasn’t ready to face what was happening between them. That was fine for now. Some things are simple, when you know, you know. There was no question that he was going to spend the rest of his life with her. He just had to wait until she was ready to embrace the idea.

  ***

  Max set Rory up in the office next to accounting and told her to help herself to whatever she needed. She decided to meet with Carol, the accountant, first. She felt it would give her the most complete picture of Max’s business.

  She became so engrossed in her research that she didn’t realize how late it was, until Max came in and brought her lunch. “Thanks, I didn’t even feel hungry.”

  “I don’t want you to accuse me of not taking care of you.” Come into my office and let’s eat. We can relax on the couch and you can tell me what you think so far.”

  “I have a little more work here. I’m just going to eat here and see if I can finish my notes.”

  “Ok, I will come get you in a couple of hours and we can go to the gun range.”

  “Did my license come today? Can I pick out a cute gun?”

  “Yes and Yes! I have a couple on hold. You can choose which one you want.” He watched her get up and come around the desk, she wrapped him in a hug and laid her head against his chest.

  “Thank you for helping me with this. I know you think it’s silly. Your faith means the world to me.”

  “I think you are capable of anything. Just let me help you out every once in a while.”

  “All right, you can make the bed, be in charge of general security matters and also taking out the trash. Oh… if there are any ugly bugs they’re all yours. Also you make really good coffee, so keep doing that. I’ll be in charge of cooking and organizational matters and entertaining.”

  “Ok, sounds good to me.” Dropping a kiss on her head, he hugged her back and then released her. I’m going back to my office so we can get out of here. I have big plans for this evening and I want to get started.” He winked at her as he left her office and headed into the computer room. He wanted to see if they had gotten any more info about her stalker. He needed to solve this so she would be free of the worry. He sat down with Derick and went through the information and tried to cross reference it with the info they pulled on the people who Max thought were suspects.

  ***

  Rory was talking a mile a minute as they drove to the gun range. She had a million ideas for his business and wanted to share every single one of them with him. He looked over at her and felt his heart flip over and thump against his chest. He knew his feelings were running deep for this woman, but now he was adding respect to the mix. She had a sharp analytical mind, and there was no way she wasn’t going to be a huge asset to the business. “I’ve not been this excited in such a long time - I love the idea of consulting with your company. I love putting systems into place. I haven’t thought about my stalker all day. This is the first day in a very long time that I’m not worried. I hadn’t realized how much this had weighed me down.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, “Thank you.”

  He squeezed it back, “Thank you for bringing all of your happy light into my life.” He saw a tear roll down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away and looked out the window. He held on tight to her hand and sent her his silent love. He figured that is all she could handle right now. “Ready to try shooting again?”

  “Yes, I’m going to keep my eyes open the whole time. Do they have guns with those pretty handles?”

  “Let’s see what we can find.” They pulled in and he was happy to see that she was ready to start working with him. This was the first step in starting their lives together.

  “I was thinking…. after we’re done here - we can go down to Hotel Valencia and have dinner. It was Bob’s first hotel and the restaurant has beautiful ocean views. I’m only going to be employed for another week and I think we should enjoy it before I leave the company. I can see if I can get a room for us - if you want?”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  “After this, let’s go home and grab a bag, and that way we can go directly to the office in the morning.”

  “Sounds good to me. I think I can do all of the things I was planning in a hotel as easily as I can do it at home. I hope the walls are sound proof, because I’m planning on making you scream.”

  “I’m not a screamer. I am a lady.”

  “Well tonight you are going to be a lady who screams my name.”

  “We’ll see.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Sitting in the lounge of the hotel enjoying a martini next to a handsome man while looking at the sunset was not how she thought her week was going to end. Yet here she was - it felt like a stolen moment in what was turning out to be a crazy month. She had survived living with Max and didn’t feel like killing him. He was surprisingly easy to get along with. Even though he was over protective, controlling and a little overbearing - he was terribly charming. Which she knew made no sense at all.

  “I think this is the finest property that Bob owns. He spent a lot of time updating it and making it perfect, and I think it shows. The man was a gifted hotelier, and I hope the properties he leaves will remain a proud legacy.”

  “I’ve never heard you speak with such admiration about him. I didn’t get the impression that you respected him very much.”

  “I have enormous respect for him. I allowed myself to forget how talented he was, because he’s not been involved very much in the last couple of years. I had allowed my dealings with Jackson to color my perception and that wasn’t fair. It all seems to make sense now; the diagnosis must have given him some peace. I know my Mom feels better now that she knows what she’s dealing with and they have a plan. She told me that they’re going to travel as much as they can in the next several years. She wants him to be happy for whatever time he has left.”

  “I never thought about what it took to create a memorable experience for a hotel guest. It starts from the moment a guest’s car enters the property and doesn’t stop until the guest leaves. There are a 1000 moving parts and each one has to work together for the guest to have the experience that you want them to have. The security business is going to be a breeze for you.”

  “I don’t think so. Your business has a lot of moving parts as well, they’re just different. Enough about work, let’s talk about food. Would you like to eat in the restaurant or have room service?”

  “I would like to have room service - I want you all to myself.”

  “I had a feeling that’s what you were going to say. Let me go put our order in for dinner, I’ll be right back.”

  Sitting back he watched her go into one of the doors next to the bar and noticed all of the appreciative glances she got. He thought about saying something to the men that felt so comfortable looking at his girlfriend. He was about to get up, but caught sight of Jackson moving through the lobby. Great …. what is the guy up to now?

  Max stood up and watched as Jackson approached, “What brings you here?”

  “I could ask the same of you?”

  “We’re enjoying an evening at your Father’s beautiful hotel before Rory leaves the company.” He noticed Jackson was high on something - he was jittery and sweating and looking around
for someone or something. He wondered if his problems were because of the drugs or if the drugs helped him deal with his problems. It didn’t really matter as long as he kept far away from Rory. He knew the guy was going to self-implode, and he didn’t want Rory anywhere near him when it happened.

  “This will all soon be mine anyways. Dad is going to retire and leave it all to me. Rory made a foolish decision in leaving, but it’s her loss.”

  Max didn’t reply, he was going to let Jackson run his mouth as long as he wanted. It didn’t matter to him unless it affected Rory. “I’m sure everything is going to work out for the best.” He watched Jackson fidget and wondered how long he was going to last before he bottomed out. From the looks of it, it wasn’t going to be long. He saw Rory come out of the doors and excused himself. “Take care. Hope you get everything you want.”

  “What is Jackson doing here? Did he say any more nasty things?”

  “No, its fine. I don’t want to waste our time thinking about him.” Taking her hand he led her towards the elevators, “I’m ready to start our evening.”

  Looking over her shoulder, she studied Jackson for a moment and almost felt sorry for him. The feeling passed quickly as she remembered all the times that he’d given her a hard time. He could dig himself out…. or not. “Do you think that by coming here we are making our first experience together too big of a deal? I’m starting to feel nervous. Maybe we should just go home.”

  “No, we’re here and we are going to enjoy ourselves. We could go back to the truck and do it in the back seat if you want. That would definitely take the pressure off - we could act like teenagers.”

  “No, you’re too old for that. You may throw your back out and then where would we be?”

  “You realize we have to go down stairs now and try it in the truck. You’ve thrown down the gauntlet and I have to show you that I’m perfectly able to get at you in the back seat.”

  “Ok, then I’m too old. I want to see you in all of your naked glory stretched out on a king size bed. There are not many times in my life when I’m going to be with a man as good looking as you. I’d better take advantage of it while I can.”