15. Beck
CHAPTER 15
Beck
“I can deploy two of my guys. Just tell me when and where. Let me add my assistant to the call so we can get the details jotted down correctly.” I seamlessly added my assistant Miles to the call so he could make sure I didn't fuck up any of the numbers.
That happened from time to time but now we had strict protocols in place to make sure contact information was collected correctly so that I didn’t send my security team out to the wrong address. The dyslexia friendly font helped, but it wasn’t fool proof.
I'd just set down my phone when a text came through.
Sebastian
We’re in the city and Faith wants us to grab dinner tonight. You free?
I glanced at the oversized clock above the door of my office. “Shit.”
It was almost time to pick up Alice. Mrs. Corbett picks her up most days, but I always picked her up on Fridays. It was our evening to watch movies and spend time together. That hadn't really happened yet in the new house since we were still unpacking. Well, Alice's room was all set up, it was the rest of the house that required my attention.
Beck
I can't. It's pizza and movie night with Alice.
Sebastian
Faith says she loves pizza. Why don't we come over and join you?
Alice loved Sebastian. She found his grumpiness hysterical. Yet we hadn’t spent a lot of time together, just the two of us. With all of these changes she’d been a little grumpier than normal. Just this morning she’d decided to give maximum-level sass before school, refusing to get dressed, eat, or brush her teeth. Everything was a battle, and it was on my to-do list to ask why.
Perhaps I should explore getting her back into therapy, just to help smooth out these transition periods. I decided I’d call them immediately to reestablish visits and tomorrow would be a daddy daughter day.
That still left the matter of pizza tonight.
Beck
Let me check with Alice first. Make sure she's okay with it.
Faith
Oh, please, I want to meet Alice. I haven't had a chance to meet her yet. Pretty pretty please.
Faith
I promise I'll be good. I'll bring the pizza and get some local ice cream too. It's on me. You don't have to do a thing.
Sebastian
I think we're coming over, whether you want us to or not.
I sighed but was secretly happy that my friend and his partner wanted to come over. Usually it was me dragging Sebastian out to get some adult time.
Beck
I figured it was a losing battle as soon as Faith got involved.
Sebastian
You’re a wise man. Sometimes.
Beck
Don’t be a dick.
I darted out to pick Alice up from school. When I told her the plan, she squealed at the idea of visitors. My extroverted kid wasn’t bummed at all that we weren’t going to have the evening to ourselves. I tried not to let that bother me.
“And I get to meet Uncle Sebastian’s girlfriend?” she asked.
I nodded. “You do.”
She damn near skipped all the way home.
I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen an hour later when I heard a knock on the door.
“They're here!” Alice screamed, in her high-pitched voice. It sounded like a stampede tramping through my hallways as she vaulted toward the door. Alice flung it open to let my friends in without bothering to look through the peephole, not that she could reach it. I quickly followed behind her, grabbing the door before it slammed into the drywall.
Faith beamed and even Sebastian looked amused to find my daughter greeting him.
Alice tugged Faith’s hand, trying to tow her in an acrobatic move that would impress a Cirque du Soleil performer, Faith passed the boxes of pizza to Sebastian without spilling a slice.
Then Willow burst through the door following Faith and my daughter. The lovable lab enjoyed bouncing between the city and the country house.
Thankfully, I was a dog guy.
Sebastian's normally grumpy demeanor cracked. And, for a second, I thought I saw a sense of longing in his gaze as he watched Faith and Alice walking away together.
Had he and Faith talked about children yet?
I’ll be damned. Sebastian Steele had found the woman for him and that brick facade was crumbling bit by bit.
My gaze slid to the wall between my house and Luna’s. For a brief second I considered what it might be like if she were here, greeting our friends together .
Then I chuckled. Maybe in an alternative universe.
I clapped my friend on the back and headed to the kitchen where Alice was rattling off her favorite pizza combinations to Faith. The women stared at my daughter, completely enamored. Alice had that effect on people.
There was mischief in Faith's eyes as I poured the adults glasses of sparkling water and milk for Alice.
“How’s my bestie doing?” she asked.
I winked. “I’m doing great. Thanks for asking.”
She narrowed her eyes like she knew exactly what I was doing. “Love that you think you’re my bestie, we should talk about that. I was referring to…” She pointed at the wall separating my place from Luna’s.
Alice’s head whipped toward the wall and then back at me as if trying to puzzle things together. “You know Luna?”
Faith’s mouth twisted like the damn Cheshire Cat. “I do.”
Alice lit up. “So do I. She’s so nice. Do you know she babysat me? Although she didn’t think Hawaiian pizza is a good pizza. She’s wrong about that. Otherwise, she’s cool.”
Faith nodded sagely. “She is very cool. She's one of my best friends.” Then she turned to me. “So how is my best friend doing?”
I busied myself with the pizza, making Alice's plate first. “And why would I know what your friend is up to?”
Sebastian cut me a glare.
Faith stood straight, reaching her full height. “You seem to have no problem keeping tabs on her midnight running sessions.”
“She hasn't done that in six nights.”
Faith looked like the cat who caught the canary. “Oh, really? Six whole nights? And you know that because…”
I pretended to remove a piece of non-existent lint from my shoulder. “I own a billion-dollar bodyguard business. It's my duty to know these things.”
“Sure, you just happen to keep tabs on a woman who you aren't contractually obligated to protect.” She nodded. “That makes a whole lot of sense.” Sarcasm dripped from her lips like honey from a honeycomb.
“Can I eat?” Alice piped in.
Faith startled as if remembering there were little ears in the room. Her face softened as she turned to my daughter and asked her about school, making sure to throw me one final glance that promised we weren't done with this conversation.
I made plates for everyone. Sebastian and I ate standing up since we only had two barstools, and we'd offered them to our girls.
“How’s it going with Harrison Barnes?” I asked. Sebastian finally got the white whale of clients. Something he’d been working towards since he started Steele Cyber Security a dozen years ago.
Sometimes our work overlapped, which meant we often passed clients back and forth. Unlike my friend, I didn't care about the cache that comes with some of the wealthiest people in the world. No, I preferred to protect people who deserved protecting. To be fair, most people fall under this category. Luckily, I’ve made a great name for myself, which means I can cherry pick my clients.
“It’s fine. I have to fly back to London a couple of times and I’m trying to convince Faith to go with me. I think she’s onboard for one trip and then needs to be here for a few gallery meetings. Apparently they are going to set up another show with her and a couple of other artists and she wants to hold the meetings in person. It’s more professional that way.”
“She wants to be taken seriously given her last name. That makes sense.” Being a former socialite meant that a lot of people judged Faith based on her name alone.
Sebastian ran a hand through his scruff. “I was hoping you’d have someone watch over her while I’m gone. Just a few days.” He rattled off the dates. The first trip was just a few days away.
I nodded, already combing through my mental Rolodex to consider who I might be able to dispatch. “You sure as shit didn’t learn your lesson from last time?”
He shrugged. “I knew you’d figure something out.”
“My team has a full roster right now.” And Sebastian couldn’t be bothered to give me more of a heads up.
He grinned like he knew exactly what I was thinking. “You could always do it.”
I frowned. “Yes, I watched her before, but that was an unusual circumstance, and you know it. I come in, get the client comfortable, and do the soft handoff with my team. That’s how it works.”
Sebastian folded his arms across his wide chest. “We can just pretend anytime that Faith is involved is a special circumstance.”
A laugh burst from my chest. “You would ask for that.”
My friend’s face turned hard as steel. “For that woman, I’d ask anything.”
I loosed a sigh. “I’ll see what I can do, I promise. It gets complicated with Alice. I don’t like spending more than a night or two away from her.”
Sebastian shrugged. “Simple. Bring her with you.”
“That's not how this works.”
He shrugged again. “Think of it as house-sitting.”
I had a few choice words for my friend. None of which I'd vocalize in earshot of Alice.
“I'll consider it.” Knowing full damn well I’d say yes in the end.