Chapter 12 Sera #2
The sudden short-notice need for security is becoming clear. I’ve heard too many stories from Callum and Rhodes about their female clients who think sex on demand is part of the job description.
Her gaze goes to Finn, and she sighs happily. “I’ll take both.”
“No,” Finn says in a flat voice before walking away.
He brushes past me just as Keke giggles. “That’s okay. I’m sure this one will be enough.”
Liev’s gaze lands briefly to me, and his smile drops.
It’s nothing anyone else would notice, but I do. He doesn’t owe me anything. We kissed. Like he said, it was an experiment. It didn’t mean anything.
Biting my tongue, I turn back into the room before I can give myself away. I’m such an idiot. I told him a sob story, and he felt bad for me. He’s not interested. If he were, he would have taken it farther. Instead, he left.
Of course, he’d be interested in Keke. She’s perfect. Two ridiculously undamaged, hot people. It’s a no-brainer.
The lump in my throat is thick, and I’m grateful when Finn doesn’t say anything, just continues to click away at his computer.
I’m still staring blankly at the monitor a few minutes later when Vincent sticks his head in the door.
“Sera, we need you upstairs.”
The tension in the conference room is thick when Vincent and I enter. As we climbed the stairs, all Vincent would say was that no matter what was said, I needed to just smile and nod.
“No outbursts, Sera.” I open my mouth to retort, and he gives me a hard look, so I settle for a nod.
Brady sits on one side of the table, with Liev to his right. Elizabeth and Keke’s manager flank her on the other side.
One glance at my brother’s posture tells me he’s furious.
What could possibly have happened in the few minutes they’ve been up here that has him so mad?
Liev glances at me, his mouth curving into a slow, welcoming smile that sends a confusing rush through my chest. It’s not until I’ve taken the seat next to Liev that I realize Keke is glaring at me.
She doesn’t even try to conceal it.
Vincent clears his throat. “Sera, thanks for joining us.”
With his warning still in my head, I nod but stay silent.
“During the discussion of the assignment, it became clear that we need to make a change from our original plan.” He pauses. “For optics.”
“We’ve decided it’s best to have a female presence on the detail as well,” Elizabeth explains smoothly.
I blink. Elite has contracts with female operatives, but they are all on assignment right now. My brother’s anger suddenly makes sense. “You want me?”
But I’m not a field agent. I want to object, but I can feel Vincent’s eyes on me from where he’s standing.
“I don’t need the little girl to babysit me.” Keke’s eyes slide back to Liev. “I’m sure Liev is more than capable on his own.”
Elizabeth holds up her hands. “Keke, you can complain all you want, but this is going to happen. I am already fending off some of your corporate sponsors because of the comments you made about animal testing and the environment. Not to mention, your former personal assistant is selling stories to the press about your penchant for sleeping with anything in pants. Which wouldn’t be a problem except most of them work for you. ”
“Not just pants.” Keke pretends to yawn and then slides a sly look at me. “I dabble in skirts, too. Occasionally at the same time.”
Her manager flushes so hard I’m surprised steam doesn’t come off him. “Keke—”
My fingers curl against the edge of the table.
Brady shifts in his chair, jaw tightening. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth, this isn’t going to work.”
Keke rolls her eyes. “Oh my god. I’m joking. I won’t lay a finger on your little friends.”
“She knows she needs to be appropriate.” Elizabeth sends Brady a look across the table.
“No second chances.” Brady glowers at Keke. “If either of the operatives tells me you’ve gone over the line, we’re out.”
Keke waves her hand in the air dismissively. “Whatever.”
“Everyone take a beat,” Vincent interjects.
“The whole point of having two operatives on this job is to prevent any unnecessary speculation. This is a very simple, straightforward job.” Vincent looks pointedly at me.
“There are no real active threats to Ms. Novak. Your job will be primarily crowd control from vehicle to venue and to make sure she is secure in her hotel room at night.”
Okay, I can handle that.
I don’t realize my leg is bouncing until Liev’s large hand closes over my knee. When he gives it a gentle squeeze, I swear I feel an answering pulse in my core.
I am officially out of control.
Elizabeth takes over, sliding a folder across the table. “Keke is a brand ambassador for Atelier Florian. They are a high-end jewelry design house based out of New York. They are launching a new ruby line this year and have mapped out a miniature marketing tour ahead of the launch.”
“And that means?” Brady asks.
I’m doing my best to pay attention, but Liev’s hand is still on my knee, one fingertip drawing circles on the inside of my thigh, scrambling my thoughts.
This is such a bad idea. I should make him stop.
Instead, almost involuntarily, my thighs shift apart. For a split second, Liev’s hand stills, and then the finger resumes its circular motion.
“Public appearances at various events—their flagship store in New York, another store event in Chicago, then a photo shoot and dinner for their best clients in Dallas. There’s a stop in Vegas for a store opening, culminating in Los Angeles during fashion week where Atelier Florian is providing the jewels for one of the shows.
There are also some interviews that need to happen in the same time frame.
” Todd adds. “The store has secured a famous ruby parure—a matching set of jewels—from a museum in France for Keke to wear at each of these events to draw even more attention.”
“Vegas is going to be fun!” Keke exclaims. Elizabeth and Todd exchange a look.
I need to pay attention, but Liev’s maddeningly distracting finger drifts higher along the seam of my pants, making it impossible. I feel absolutely molten, and he’s barely touching me. The tingle in my core has turned into a sharp ache at the prolonged teasing, and I exhale too hard.
Brady frowns at me, and I stiffen.
Slowly, so that no one above the table can see his arm move, Liev removes his hand.
I want it back.
No, you don’t. You are sitting inches from your overprotective brother, who would go completely homicidal if he knew what was happening.
My pulse is pounding so hard I’m surprised the others at the table can’t hear it, and I know my cheeks are flushed. I force myself to listen to what Keke’s manager is saying. But really, I want these people to disappear so that I can climb on Liev’s lap and…
Elizabeth kicks me under the table and widens her eyes at me a little, which makes my brother glance between us with suspicion.
“The museum and Atelier Florian contracted a separate security company to accompany the jewels, so you don’t need to worry about that.” Todd explains. “They will wait for you at each event with the parure under guard.”
Elizabeth looks at Brady. “Elite’s job is just to be there as a deterrent. There is nothing to be concerned about, just some rude comments online about the posts Keke made. There might be people who show up who aren’t happy with her.”
“Who cares? I thought all publicity is good publicity?” Keke flicks her hair over her shoulder. “I made a joke about puppies. I don’t understand why everyone is so worked up. It’s not that deep.”
Poor Todd looks like he might have a stroke. “Jokes about animal testing and wearing puppies aren’t funny.”
“Babies.” Keke seems entirely unconcerned.
“There are a few groups…” Elizabeth interjects in a quelling tone. “Animal rights and some environmental groups who have taken issue with her comments, not just on social media, but in interviews lately. Nothing serious, but just in case…”
Keke turns her blue gaze on Elizabeth and deliberately strokes her hand down the front of the fur still draped around her.
“They asked what my favorite animal was, and I said the kind that makes the shiniest coats. It’s not my fault the bitch pushed it.
She wanted to know if I preferred dogs or cats. ”
“You said you thought puppies would make a soft coat,” Todd strangles out.
My eyes bulge, and even Liev stiffens at that. Holy crap! This chick is batshit.
Elizabeth’s face is flushed, but her voice is smooth. “She needs security in case—”
“Someone wants to throw paint at you?” Liev drawls.
Brady shoots him a look, but Keke beams.
“Exactly!”
When the meeting breaks up, and Keke and Todd have left, Brady doesn’t look at me when he says, “Sera, a word.”
I follow him down the short hall to his office, aware of Elizabeth watching us go, concern etched on her face. Brady closes the door behind us and leans back against his desk instead of sitting. His arms fold across his chest, the tension rolling off him in waves.
“I don’t like this,” he says flatly.
I cross my arms, mirroring him without meaning to. “I never would have guessed,” I drawl sarcastically. “Five minutes ago, you agreed to it.”
“That was in front of a client,” he snaps, then exhales and reins himself in.
“You’ve never worked in the field. And as much as Elizabeth is trying to sell this as a cakewalk, you never know when things could go sideways.
This client is clearly going to be a handful.
You’ll have to keep your temper in check and your mouth shut, regardless of the provocation. ”
“It’s a low-risk detail. Mostly logistics and crowd control. It’s babysitting. I’m an adult. I can handle an oversexed model.”
His mouth tightens. “Babysitting turns into something else when people get careless.”
“I won’t,” I say, stung that’s what he thinks of me.
“I know. I’m just…” Brady pushes off the desk and starts pacing. “You’re my baby sister. It’s hard for me to…” He lets out a heavy sigh. “I know you want to prove you can do this. I get that. After everything—”
Anger and embarrassment flush through me. “I’ve been doing this job for years.”
“Behind a screen,” he counters. “Planning routes. Doing research. Watching cameras. You’re good at that. You’re great at that. This is different.”
I open my mouth, then close it again. I don’t want to admit that he’s voicing the exact fears I shoved down the moment Vincent told me to smile and nod. But hearing them voiced out loud makes my spine stiffen.
“I can handle it. And it’s not like I’ll be alone. Liev will be there, too. He is a pretty big deterrent and more than capable of taking care of something if it goes wrong.”
The words are out before I can stop them, my attempt at humor to lighten the mood clearly backfiring when Brady’s face clouds and he points an accusatory finger at me.”
“That’s the other problem?”
I frown. “What?”
He throws his hands up. “Don’t do that. Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
“Know what? You aren’t making any sense right now.”
“You like him,” my brother says bluntly. “You’ve been interested in him from the second you saw him last summer. You can’t even sit beside him without turning red, for fuck’s sake.”
If only you knew…
My face heats. “That’s not—”
“Sera,” he cuts in, voice softening. “Look, I know you, and I know what you look like when you like a boy. Don’t forget I was there for your first crush. And the one after that. But Liev Kovalyov is nothing like the boys you’ve dated.”
I fight the shiver that threatens to run through my body.
Liev is definitely not a boy.
“I’m your big brother,” Brady says, “and I’m worried that with a man like him, what he’s used to…”
“You think I’m not sexy enough?” I ask, intentionally pushing his buttons.
Brady’s face turns purple and contorts with horror. “Never, ever say that to me again.” He fake gags. “I’m scarred for life. Fuck, Sera. Gross.”
My arms tighten across my chest, and I glare hotly at him.
“I only meant you’re vulnerable, and he could take advantage of someone like you. He wouldn’t think twice about it.’
His words land like a slap.
“I am not vulnerable.” Anger, frustration, shame, and embarrassment all vie for supremacy inside me. “I’m a grown woman who can make her own choices.”
Brady’s expression crumples. “That didn’t come out the way I meant it. I worry about you. I always will.”
I bite back the sharp retort on my tongue and force my shoulders to relax. Continuing this fight won’t help either of us.
“I hear you,” I say instead. “But I’m doing this. And I’m not going to screw it up. If something happens between Liev and me, that will be my decision, too.”
He studies me for a long moment, then dips his chin. “Fine. But you’re meeting with Vincent every day this week. Extra training.”
“That’s fair.”
“You leave next Monday,” he adds. “We’ll send you travel details and wardrobe requirements.” He gives a half smile. “Which is usually your job.”
My lips lift before it occurs to me that because I handle the travel for the operatives, I know the protocols. Liev and I will have to share a room.
It must not have occurred to Brady yet, and I’m definitely not going to remind him.
Brady finally sits, the tension easing out of his posture. “For what it’s worth,” he says, quieter now, “I know you can handle this. I just wish it wasn’t with him.”
Something in my chest loosens.
“It’s going to be fine, Brady. Promise.”
My brother grunts to cover the emotion on his face and pretends to busy himself with the papers on his desk.
“Yeah, yeah. Go find Vincent and ask Finn if he knows anyone who can cover for you.”
I close the door and pause with my hand on the knob.
I’m going to be sharing a room with Liev.