19. Chapter 19
Chapter nineteen
— SOMETHING ABOUT HER BY STEPHEN SANCHEZ
“Okay, so we have all the exits covered. Let’s move on to the actual event ballroom,” I say as I flip the packet to the next page, Emerson, Kenner, Duncan, and Chris following suit.
Connie called me the other day to ask if I could start prepping a security plan for this big event that Bree is planning. When I asked her what event it was because I didn't see one on my calendar, she hung up on me, and thirty seconds later, I had an email in my inbox.
So, I got to work.
I still have to ask Bree about this, because if it was up to me, an event this size with the amount of publicity it will bring is way too dangerous. But I do what I’m told and try not to make much noise.
“Wait, so we’ll need every single person for this? Who’s going to watch the house while we’re all there?” Emerson asks me, voicing the concerns I’ve had since I got Connie’s email.
“Yeah. It’s an all-hands-on-deck occasion. I’m talking to Nico about having around the clock surveillance on the house while we’re at the event. He’s coming over later to talk about it.” Nico might push my buttons sometimes, but I love having him as a business partner. He may act like some pretty boy who wears suits and flirts with everyone, but he’s damn good at his job.
“Okay. That works.” Emerson nods at me.
Duncan keeps flipping pages and eyeing me, so I look at him. “Something on your mind?”
“The guest list. It has lots of recognizable names. This seems like a widely publicized event.”
“And?”
“And isn't our main job to keep Bree safe? This event doesn't feel like it’ll be safe. It feels like a giant arrow is pointing at Bree for Ralph to come and get her.”
I sigh heavily, having the same gut feeling that this is going to be a giant mistake. Thanks to rule number eleven, my gut is usually right, but Connie isn't one to listen to gut feelings, so when I brought it up to her, she spun it around to be good publicity instead of focusing on the bad.
I’m all for spinning the narrative, but when it comes to Bree’s safety, I’ll always worry about that over anything the press wants to say.
“Connie has assured me it will be a controlled event. Tickets assigned to only the people on the guest list, and only certain people have plus ones.” I sigh again, trying to run a hand through my curly hair, only for it to get stuck in the tangles. “Look, I voiced the same concerns to her, but I trained you guys, and I trust that all of us can make this event as safe as possible.”
The four of them look between one another, and I suddenly feel like there’s something they want to say, but are too afraid to. “Anything you want to add?”
They look between one another again before Emerson speaks. “Alex is still on the list.”
“And? Is there a problem with that?” I ask, wondering what they’re getting at .
“Haven't you seen all the news surrounding him and…” Duncan trails off, and I wish one of these guys would just say whatever they're alluding to.
“News about what? One of you just tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“The media has spotted Alex cheating on Bree,” Kenner spits out.
“More than once,” Chris adds.
Fucking hell. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“It’s been all over the place, Boss. How did you not see it?” Kenner asks.
“The internet is more Nico’s territory.” I assumed he would tell me if anything concerning Bree came up, and now I’m pissed at him for not letting me know. “How many?”
The four of them squirm in their seats, and I already know it’s not going to be a good number. Hell, anything other than zero is bad.
“Five, including the ex-girlfriend we ran into at the fashion show.”
I grab the sides of my chair with my fists, my knuckles turning white from how pissed off I am. This kid can barely handle a fake relationship without cheating on someone, and that someone being Bree is making me angrier. This entire thing has only caused her more stress, and she was doing Alex a favor by helping him clean up his image. He can’t clean it up if he keeps seeing other women on the side. Fuck, this is going to be a nightmare. I’m going to have to call Connie and discuss this at some point. If Alex is going to fuck around on Bree, I’m pretty sure that means he broke the contract. If I can get Bree out of this stupid fake relationship and lessen the stress she’s under, I’ll sleep a lot better at night. Well, I’ll sleep a lot better once I can actually sleep in my own bed and not in front of her door.
“I’ll talk to Connie and Bree about it, but if it was up to me, he wouldn't be on the list.”
“Is that all, boss?” Kenner asks, antsy to get back to his post.
A knock on the door interrupts what I’m about to say. “Come in.”
Bree’s face pokes around the door as she walks halfway into my makeshift office. “Am I interrupting? I can come back later if—”
“They were just leaving, Bree. Come on in.” I turn my attention back to the boys. “You’re dismissed. Keep an eye on your emails for updates.”
I hear a few murmurs as the four of them get up and leave, Bree smiling as she sits in front of me. I try to shift my attention to anything else—my laptop screen, the papers in front of me—but anytime Bree is near, it’s hard to pull focus from her.
She’s like a light in the dark, brightening every room she walks into. And even though she feels dim right now, she still shines.
I should tell her that. But I remain silent, knowing I would be crossing way too many lines.
“Vince?” I shake out of the haze I was in and look at her. “Did you hear what I said?”
“No. Sorry. What did you want to discuss?”
She smiles at me, but if she notices me staring at her, she doesn't say anything. “Connie told me she emailed you about the event I’m throwing, and I was wondering if you had any questions I could answer.”
I lean forward on my desk, silently wishing it wasn't in between us but thankful that it is. I’m slowly losing control, and the last thing I want to do is make her uncomfortable, especially since my job with her is a means to an end. She knows I’m leaving after it’s done, and I know I’ll walk away.
Rule number fucking six. When my job is done here, I’ll walk away like I always do.
But I’m personally attached to Bree. I know that already, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“Why now? Why is this event happening while he’s still out there? ”
“I’ve been wanting to throw an event for the Mental Health Foundation ever since…ever since it happened. It’s an important cause to me, and I think this event could raise a lot of money and publicity for them.”
God, does she even realize how great of a person she is? Despite going through this horrible time, she’s still thinking about other people instead of herself. “You’re a great person, Bree.”
“I’m not throwing it just to get some good karma. I actually care about bringing more awareness to mental health.”
“I know that. Anyone who knows you, understands that, Bree. I’m just worried. You were shot at a few weeks ago. Remember? Ralph is enlisting other people to do his dirty work for him, and I’m nervous with all the publicity that this won't be safe for you.”
Her shoulders tense up. “But you and your team will be working the event.”
“That’s right.”
“So, I’ll be safe.” She smiles at me, her eyes locking with mine.
My heart starts to beat faster, but I disregard that for now. “As safe as you can be.”
“As long as you're around, I’ll always feel safe.”
Her voice is just above a whisper, almost as if she didn't want me to hear it, but I did. Does she really mean that? I knew she felt safe with me because it’s my job to protect her, but the way she said it makes me think there’s another meaning behind it. I want to change the subject because we’re floating into dangerous territory, so I do.
“I didn't see your parents on the list of attendees. Do I need to correct that mistake?”
Bree rolls her eyes when I mention them. “It wasn't a mistake. I haven't spoken to them in almost a year.”
“Oh. I’m sorry for bringing it up.”
She just shakes her head. “It’s okay. I cut them off around the same time Liv did. ”
“Neither of you talk to your parents anymore?” I stifle the urge to smile. I was never a fan of them, but I kept my opinions to myself, knowing it wasn't my business.
“Long story short, Liv cut them off because they ruined her relationship with Tristan. They meddled in her life after ignoring her for twenty years.”
What the actual fuck is wrong with them? “Why did they do that?”
“Because they could. They never really gave her a real reason, which is ridiculous.”
“Very ridiculous.” Bree laughs when I agree with her. “And why do you not speak to them?”
Her face falls immediately. “Lots of reasons. You remember they kept the house Ralph hurt me in, but that wasn't the only reason why I decided to cut ties with them.”
“We don't have to get into it if you don't want to.” I reach to grab a pen on my desk, wanting to distract myself from how fast my heart is beating. When I think about what happened before I was here, before I was protecting her, I can’t breathe. It physically pains me that I couldn't protect Bree, even when I didn't know she existed.
But now she exists, and she and her safety cloud my mind twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
I feel a hand come down onto mine, and when I look up, Bree’s eyes meet mine, and she starts to move her hand back and forth. “It’s okay, Vince. We can talk about this another time. I really came in here to talk about the event.”
My heartbeat slows like it always does when her skin comes into contact with mine. “I have an uncomfortable question to ask you.”
“Oh. Well, go ahead.” She detaches her hand from mine, and I miss the contact but shove that feeling down.
“The boys brought something to my attention earlier. Did you know Alex has been spotted in public with other women? ”
To that she smirks. “I’m an internet personality, Vince. Of course I know about it. Ellie sent me some articles last week. I think she was trying to be nice by showing me, but there’s another part of me that thinks she wants to be one of those girls on his arm.”
“Yeah, I’ve never really liked Ellie. She’s almost too friendly with everyone, and I don't think her motives are clear.”
“Wow. I never thought I’d see the day when Vince Evans talked poorly about one of my friends to my face. I should write this down on my calendar.”
I stifle a laugh again because, for some reason, Bree makes me laugh more than anyone else I know. “I’m just saying. She makes it seem like she’s everyone’s friend, but most people like that always have ulterior motives of some sort. Just be careful, okay?”
“I’ll be careful, Vince. I know if I somehow fall back into old patterns of letting people walk all over me, you’ll be there to catch me.”
“I’ll always catch you, angel.”
“I know,” she whispers, tucking a loose hair behind her ear. God, I wish I did that instead of her .
“Special delivery!” Nico announces as he waltzes into my office, throwing a stack of something on my desk.
I look at what he’s just dropped, and when I see my face on the cover of one of them, I pick it up immediately. “What the fuck is this?”
Bree snatches the magazine from my hand before I can stop her.
“Oh my God!” she squeals as she turns it around to show me. “It’s your first cover feature!”
Nico laughs as Bree hands it to him. “Who is the elusive bodyguard, Vince Evans? Here’s all you need to know about the company he founded alongside partner Nico Wilder. Aw, they gave me a shoutout on your cover story.”
“If you want a shoutout, why don't you just take the cover and tell them to leave me off it?”
“Them, Vince? I can’t control the paparazzi. God, Bree, I thought you were teaching him about all this shit?” Nico leans against the back of Bree’s chair, and she continues giggling as she flips through another magazine.
“He’s practically a lost cause, Nico.” She reaches up and pats one of his hands where it rests against her chair. That small touch between them drives me crazy, but I reign that in before I do something stupid. “Five facts about Vince Evans you can't find anywhere else!”
“Wow, Vincey, did you give them the exclusive?” Nico asks.
“Are you both done now? I’d like to get back to work on these security plans.”
“I think we pissed him off, princess.”
Bree only continues to laugh, and I could get drunk off that sound. It's been far and few between lately, and whenever she laughs, I want to bottle it up and store it somewhere for later. I prefer hearing those than the screams and sobs.
“He knows we’re kidding, Nico, but we should let him get back to work,” Bree says, a hint of mischief in her tone as she scoops up the magazines. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Nico’s brow raises at her, and I’m already pre-annoyed at whatever these two are planning. “I’m two steps ahead of you. Shall we?”
“We shall.”
“What are you both up to?” I ask.
“We’re definitely not going to flip through these and figure out a hundred new ways to push your buttons, that’s for sure!” Nico salutes me.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Nico plays nice.” Bree waves as she heads out of my office and for the rest of the time I’m working, I hear her laughter float through the house a few different times, and it has me smiling at my desk the entire afternoon.
And damn, if that isn't the best sound I’ve ever heard.