Chapter 4
Juliette
I yanked the belt of my robe tighter as I got to the door and forced a smile. “I got this. Thanks, Wes.”
He grinned. “No problem, babe.”
He was barely out of earshot when Pam leaned in. “I want all the dirt on the new hottie right now.”
I shook my head. “There isn’t anything to tell. He’s…a family friend.”
“I saw the police officer coming out of your house this morning. He said you’d had an argument with your boyfriend.”
Shit. This was why I didn’t lie. One led to two, and before long you were caught in a web of them.
But I really didn’t want Pam to think Wes was my boyfriend.
I considered her a friend, but she was a pretty big gossip, and we both worked in the entertainment industry.
“That was just Wes and his odd sense of humor. He got in late and didn’t want to wake me, so he crashed in his car. ”
Pam’s mouth curved to a grin. “So that sizzle stick is single?”
Her comment irked me. “I think he might have a girlfriend back home.”
She shrugged. “No ring means I’m still in the running.”
I had to work to hide my frown. “I should get back to sleep. I have an early day tomorrow. Were you just coming to check on me, or…”
“Oh! I almost forgot. I stopped over to ask you for a favor. My brain got a little frazzled by that six-pack.”
It’s more of an eight-pack. Trust me, I’ve counted. “What’s up?”
“Would you mind swinging by Brewer’s tomorrow night? I ordered finger sandwiches for book club, but I’m going to be cutting it close on time because I have a late-day meeting. I don’t want people showing up before I get home.”
Shoot. I forgot all about book club. “Umm… Yeah, sure. I can pick up the food from Brewer’s for you.”
Pam dug into her purse and pulled out a receipt. “Great. It’s all paid for.”
“Okay.”
“One more thing. Do you think you could go over to the house and set up, too? Put out the food and paper goods? Maybe set up the circle and stuff?”
“Sure.”
Pam hugged me. “You’re a lifesaver. The spare key is still under the flowerpot.”
I nodded. “Have a good night.”
“You too, honey. And good luck with that author tomorrow. I still think you should go for it and ask the man out.” She winked.
“Lord knows I would.” Pam cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled over my shoulder.
“You’re invited to book club, too, hot stuff!
You don’t have to read the book. Just come for the cocktails—and the cock! ”
I practically shoved her back and shut the door, praying Wes had gone to the bathroom and hadn’t heard any of that. But of course, I found him standing in the living room—still with his shirt off and now with his hands on his hips.
“What the hell was that last comment about? Does your book club have strippers or something?”
“No. The book they picked to read this month is a romance novel.”
He flashed a dirty grin. “Oh yeah? Is it steamy?”
“I wouldn’t know. I didn’t read it. To be honest, I don’t read half the books they pick. My job is reading and writing all day long, so I need to be in the right mood to read for pleasure these days. I pretty much go to the meetings for the cocktails and food.”
He shrugged. “I guess we’ll both be taking a back seat and sipping a cocktail during the discussion then.”
“Ummm... No. You will not be going.”
“Why not? I was invited.”
“Because I don’t want to have to answer a million questions about you, that’s why.”
“Probably be less questions if I’m sitting with you than there would be with me outside in the car watching the house.”
“You can just stay here. It’s right next door.”
He shook his head. “It’s not a secure location.”
“You left and ran errands while I was at my meeting this afternoon.”
“Because that building has tight security, and anyone who walks in has to go through metal detectors. And I also spoke to the guards before I left—both are ex-cops.”
“You went into the building where I was for my meeting?”
“I needed to determine how secure it was. Speaking of which, it would make my job a lot easier if you could give me the addresses of the places you’re going a day ahead of time so I can look into the security beforehand.”
I felt heat crawling up my neck. “I’ve worked very hard to create a new identity out here—one not associated with my father and his business. People are going to talk if you’re following me around, asking questions every place I go.”
“I’m discreet.”
I flailed my arms in the air. “Discreet? There is nothing discreet about you!”
Wes folded his arms across his chest, and my stupid eyes followed.
Damn, his forearms were veiny and sexy, too.
Pissed off for even thinking that, I shook my head and marched back to my room.
“You know what? I’m going back to bed. Don’t answer the door anymore.
And for God’s sake, put a damn shirt on! ”
Slam!
A half hour later, I was lying in bed in the dark, feeling too riled up to sleep.
I decided to download the audiobook my book club would be discussing tomorrow night and listen.
At least I’d know what the story was about, even if I didn’t make it through the entire thing.
I popped in my AirPods and settled back, hoping the narrators were good and the story would help me relax enough to drift off.
But it only took a few chapters to realize what I was listening to was not going to help me relax. It was going to do the exact opposite because the damn book was about a celebrity who had an affair with her bodyguard. Great. Just freaking great.
***
The following morning, I woke up thinking about a steamy scene between the heroine and her bodyguard, so I hoped to avoid Wes.
But of course, he was already up and making himself breakfast in the kitchen.
I guess I should’ve counted myself lucky—he at least had a shirt on.
The smell of bacon wafted through the air as I went to the coffeemaker.
“Morning, sunshine.” He smiled.
I rolled my eyes. “Morning.” Noticing the Erewhon label on the half-empty package of bacon on the counter, I tried to remember if I’d bought any. I didn’t think I had. “Is that mine?”
“Nope. Did a little food shopping earlier this morning.”
“You can’t leave me next door for my book club, but you can go downtown to food shop and leave me alone in the house?”
He lowered the flame on the two burners he had going and turned to face me. “I had the house covered for an hour by an associate of mine. I wanted to go get you new berries before you woke up. I also tossed my smelly chorizo and cleaned out the refrigerator to get rid of the smell.”
“Oh.”
He smirked. “It pisses you off when you don’t have anything to complain to me about, doesn’t it?”
I narrowed my eyes. “You enjoy pushing my buttons, don’t you?”
Wes chuckled and went back to cooking. “You want some breakfast, sunshine?”
I looked over at the sizzling bacon and scrambled eggs. “It’s okay. You made it for yourself.”
“There’s enough for two. Sit.”
My initial impulse was to argue, but then he lifted the bacon pan, and I got another delicious whiff, so I took a seat. I’d never admit it, but it was kind of nice to have someone make me breakfast in the morning. Lord knows it had been a while since any other man had stayed over.
Wes plated bacon and eggs for both of us and took the seat across from me. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?” he asked.
My mouth was already watering, so I picked up a slice of bacon and bit off a piece. “I have a meeting with an author whose book I’m turning into a script for a movie.”
“The author you’re supposed to ask out?”
I stopped chewing. “How did you know?”
“Your neighbor mentioned it yesterday.” Wes shrugged. “I overheard.”
Damn. I had completely forgotten about that, since Pam’s cock comment had taken center stage after she left. I wasn’t about to girl-talk with Wes about the crush I’d had for way too long. Instead, I changed the subject. “How did you get into bodyguarding?”
“I used to work for the NYPD.”
“Wow. Really?” My father normally wanted nothing to do with the police. “You were a cop?”
Wes nodded.
“Did you not like it?”
“I loved it.”
“So…why are you not working there anymore?”
Wes sighed. “Long story.”
I waited to see if he was going to share that long story, but he didn’t say anything more. And the way he was now avoiding eye contact told me it was a subject he didn’t want to discuss. Yet I sniffed around a bit more. “How long have you been working for my dad?”
“Two years.”
“Who are you related to?”
Wes looked up from his plate. “What do you mean?”
“Everyone in my father’s organization is either family, or the family of someone in his crooked inner circle. There aren’t any outsiders.”
Wes shrugged. “I’m not related to anyone.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He finished his food and leaned back in his chair. “How did you get into screenwriting?”
“Well, I was a movie junkie growing up. We had a small theater in the basement of our house, and I used to go there to escape the chaos upstairs. Whenever my dad was home, he was either barking at someone on a burner phone, or his buddies were over and he’d play super-loud music so they could talk in private, in case the feds were listening in. ”
Wes frowned. “That must’ve been hard.”
“It wasn’t your normal childhood, let’s just say that.
But at least it pushed me toward a field I love working in.
Anyway, I went to NYU and got a BFA and an MFA in dramatic writing.
While I was in school, I interned for one of the bigger production companies that has a bunch of in-house writers.
The internship turned into a full-time job, and I worked there for three years before I went out on my own. ”
“Do you write a specific genre of screenplays, or just whatever comes up? I’m not sure how it works.”
“I write in my two favorite genres: thriller and horror.”
Wes’s brows jumped. “No shit. Horror?”
“Why do you look so surprised?”