8. The Perfect Candidate
CHAPTER 8
THE PERFECT CANDIDATE
I sabella
“I have to go, you insufferable man,” I growl. “I need to pick up my final transcripts from the registrar’s office at NYU.” I’m about a second away from stomping my foot like a child with a tantrum. Not even a week with my new guard, and I’m ready to throw him off the balcony.
Worse, Serena is leaving in three days, and I haven’t seen her once since Raffaele started working for me. I concocted this idea of meeting up on campus with her. She’s throwing herself a massive going away party tomorrow night, and I’d hoped if my insane bodyguard met her today, he’d warm up to the idea.
Because I’m going with or without him. I don’t care if I have to sneak out of the penthouse alone. I won’t miss my cousin’s big bon voyage party that I should have been the one to host.
He glares down at me, his arms pinned to the tight black tee stretched across his massive chest. “I don’t understand why they simply cannot email the paperwork to you?”
“It needs to be an official copy,” I hiss. Sounds legit, right?
At this rate, I may just request to start medical school in the summer if only to escape Raf’s overbearing clutches.
Soft footsteps round the corner, and Mom creeps into the kitchen, a lopsided smile already tilting the corners of her lips. She’s been enjoying my torture way too much. “I think it would be a good idea for Isabella to get out of the penthouse for a few hours.” She pretends to arrange the crystal vase filled with cala lilies as she watches us.
Thank Dio .
“See?” I cock a dark brow at the obstinate man dead set on ruining my life.
“But Signora Valentino, I have yet to surveil the campus and assess any threats prior to our visit.”
“Isabella has attended NYU for the past four years, and there has never been an incident. It’ll be a quick visit, right, sweetie?”
My head bounces up and down, and I try my hardest not to cringe at the sweetie . Sometimes I’m certain my parents still think I’m ten years old. It’s this whole living at home thing. As soon as things settle with my new bodyguard, I’m having the talk with my parents. It’s time for me to get my own place. I don’t care if Papà sends a whole damned battalion of Kings to guard me, I need my independence or I’m going to lose my mind.
“Great, let’s get going then, Raf.” I tick my head at the door, and the big brute literally winces.
“Before we go, we need to go over the safety protocols for?—”
I lift my hand up, cutting him off as I reach for my tote and throw it over my shoulder. “I’m very familiar with the rules. You’ve made me read and re-read them dozens of times. I promise I’ll be the perfect principal.”
“Somehow, I doubt that,” he mutters under his breath.
I blow my mom a kiss and mouth a quick thank you as Rick holds the front door open for us.
“Have fun, you two!” she calls out.
Raf couldn’t possibly look more miserable as he trudges out beside me, and I can’t help the swirl of satisfaction that scowl brings with it.
My surly guardian jabs his finger into the elevator button, his jaw so tense it could crack diamonds, a silent testament to the storm brewing within. Ignoring him, I shoot off a quick text message to Serena.
She’s going to stage a coincidental walk by right next to our favorite café. The trap is set, and I only hope my overprotective bodyguard doesn’t ruin my perfectly laid out plans.
Our driver, Johnny, pulls over the Escalade right in front of the NYU administration building. But he can’t park there which will force him to meet us around the corner right by the café where Serena will be waiting.
“Meet you at Think Coffee ?” Johnny twists his head to the back seat.
“Sounds perf?—”
“No. You can circle until we’re ready. I’ll call you on the com when we’re walking out.” Raf presses his finger to the sleek device permanently embedded in his ear.
Are you fucking kidding me?
“But I usually just park and meet Isabella?—”
“Did I ask you what you usually do, Johnny?” Raf barks, cutting him off. “You shouldn’t usually be doing anything. That leads to sloppiness and predictability. If anyone is trailing the signorina they’ll know exactly what to expect. Had I known we were going out today, I would have sent you the new protocols.”
“Sure, whatever you say, Ferrara.”
“No!” I finally squeal, whirling on the overbearing man beside me. “It’s not whatever you say. I always grab a latte from Think Coffee on my way out. Johnny can meet us there.”
“I never approved a stop on this little adventure. You said the registrar and that was it.”
“I didn’t think a coffee was such a significant detour!”
He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out the damned dictionary of lists and procedures. “Did you forget about rule number twelve? All outings must be approved ahead of time so that I have the necessary intel beforehand. I need a team to sweep the location before you go in.”
“This is crazy! You are absolutely insane!” I shout. “It’s just a café. We’re not in the middle of a war zone. And besides, Serena is already there. I’m sure it’s perfectly safe.” I reach for the door handle, but he snatches my wrist.
“So you planned this?” he snarls. “You didn’t have to come to campus at all?”
“Let go of me.” I try to wriggle free of his hold, but his fingers are like a steel trap.
“How can I trust you to be out in public if you act like this?”
“Like this ?”
“Like a disobedient child!”
“Maybe if you gave me an inch of freedom I wouldn’t have to.” I slam my free hand into his chest, and it’s like crashing into a solid wall of muscle.
“Everything okay back there?” Johnny unbuckles his seatbelt and pivots to face us.
“No, it’s not.”
“Everything’s under control, Johnny,” Raf grits out as he attempts to physically restrain me. He’s a damned animal, pinning me down with the hard planes of his torso. The scent of musk and amber, sensual and warm invades my nostrils. I do not breathe him in because that would make me as insane as the man trapping me to the leather seat.
“If you don’t let go of me, I’m going to scream.”
He tips his head closer, warm breath skating over the shell of my ear. “Go for it, principessa .” His lethal whisper sends goosebumps spilling down my bare arms. “No one will be able to hear you through the bulletproof glass.”
Two quick knocks send my guard’s gaze swiveling to the tinted window. I blow out a breath as I make out the familiar blonde through the glass.
“Thank God,” I murmur and finally succeed in shoving him off.
“It’s Miss Serena Valentino,” Johnny announces. “Should I unlock the door, Ferrara?”
“Of course you should,” I shout at my traitorous driver. As soon as the click resounds across the vehicle, I jerk the handle and nearly leap out of the car. A steel band laces around my torso, and I’m stuck dangling in mid-air.
Serena watches, a flicker of amusement in those bright blue eyes we share as I’m hauled back into the back seat. “So this is what was taking you so long?”
“Let go of me, Raf!” I rasp out.
“I apologize if we kept you waiting, Miss Valentino, but your cousin did not inform me of the real plan today. As I was trying to explain to her, there are certain protocols that must be met?—”
“If you say the word protocols one more damn time, I’m going to shoot you in the face.” I make a move for his gun, but he twists his hips, and I nearly brush his crotch instead. Merda . Jerking my hand back, heat races up my neck, blanketing my cheeks.
I can feel his smirk without looking up. Oh, Dio , kill me now. Serena, on the other hand, is grinning like mad, flashing those perfect teeth.
“Don’t just stand there laughing, you jerk. Help me out.”
“Oh, come on, Raffy, let the poor girl get her caffeine fix. I guarantee she’ll be much easier to manage after the coffee.” Serena leans against the open door, eyes twinkling in mirth. Raf’s arm is still laced around me like a seatbelt made of flesh and blood. In a second, I’m going to claw that perfectly tanned and tattooed flesh.
And no, I’m not staring at the ink painting his skin in a gloriously dark and twisted pattern.
“If it’s any consolation,” Serena offers, “both Isabella and Matteo have frequented the café for years, which means their respective guards have cleared the location on numerous occasions.”
“It hasn’t been cleared by me .”
“And Dio knows Raffaele Ferrara is a bodyguard god, the only one capable of properly securing any location.” I roll my eyes so hard I hope only the whites show.
“Fine,” he grits out, “but if anything goes wrong and your father kills me for it, I promise to come back to haunt you until the end of your days.”
“Well, that certainly would be the worst punishment in the world,” I counter, “to have to deal with you in this life and the next.”
“Out of the car, principessa ,” he whispers the hated nickname before forcefully helping me out of the Escalade. “It won’t be long so don’t go far, Johnny.” He barks the command before slamming the door shut behind us.
The familiar sounds of campus immersed in the chaos of the city surround me, and I heave in a breath. Until my shadow moves into step beside me, his looming presence stealing the moment of false independence.
“Now I understand why I haven’t seen you all week.” Serena casts a glance over my head at the broody Italian marching next to me.
“And I’m not sure I’ll be seeing you tomorrow night,” I whisper.
“You have to, Bella. I won’t take no for an answer.”
“Well, good luck convincing this guy.” I jerk my thumb over my shoulder.
“Convincing me of what?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I grumble. No point in poking the bear until I’ve had my latte.
As we walk the short block to the café, I can practically feel the tension radiating from the hulking beast beside me. His eyes never stop moving, a constant scrutiny of every sound, every soul that walks by. It must be exhausting.
Once we make it inside Think Coffee , the savory scent of roasted coffee beans fills my nostrils, and the rage begins to dwindle. Maybe Serena was right about my caffeine fix. As we wait in line, Serena chatters on about her big move, and I can’t help the twinge of jealousy and sadness from sneaking in. I’m going to miss my best friend like crazy, and I am so envious that she’s going to have this amazing experience without me.
As I sink into a pity party for one, I feel my guard twitch beside me. A hand lands on my shoulder, the touch lasting only an instant before it’s ripped off and a scream ricochets across the café.
I whirl around to find my bodyguard’s massive frame trapping a guy beneath him. Again. A wave of gasps echoes around us, and embarrassment steamrolls over me as I make out the wriggling form beneath. “What the hell, Raf? That’s my Genetics professor!”
Pools of pure black stare up at me as he twists Professor Dykeman’s arm behind his back. “He touched you.”
“As normal people often do.” I crouch down on the floor, muttering apologies as I haul the overprotective asshole off the ground.
Thankfully the crowd begins to disburse, more interested in their morning coffee than my family drama. Serena watches the whole scene like it’s the funniest thing in the world that my bodyguard just assaulted one of my instructors.
“I’m so sorry, professor.” I throw Raf a scathing glare as my teacher from last semester rubs his wrist. “Are you okay?”
“Barely. Your boyfriend over here almost snapped my wrist.”
I choke on a laugh. “He is not my boyfriend. This is my new bodyguard,” I offer sheepishly. “He’s a little overzealous. Again, I’m so sorry.” Most of the staff are well aware of my situation. Though most think I have men in suits trailing me because of my father’s legitimate business, few know the dark truth.
“Clearly,” he mumbles. “I saw you as I walked in and wanted to share an exciting opportunity that I thought you would be perfect for.” His light eyes bounce between Raf and me. “But perhaps, I was mistaken.”
“No, please, what is it?”
“A colleague of mine from Policlinico Gemelli just informed me of a summer internship available to pre-med students with outstanding potential. One of the students dropped out last minute, leaving a spot open. The position is in Rome, and I figured with your Italian background, you’d be the perfect candidate.”