Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
The heavy oak doors swung open a few minutes later, and Donavon stepped into the hallway.
“Come with me.”
He briskly walked down the hallway to the elevator doors, but I didn’t follow. He pressed the elevator button, then fixed his glare on me. I chuckled under my breath at the aggravation on his face.
“I’m supposed to show you and your team around,” he said.
“Oh.”
I stepped forward but hesitated, realizing Mr. Smith would be alone.
“Would you just come on?” he said. “No one is getting in this fucking building to kill his ass. The security system is top-notch, and no one can get past it.”
I didn’t like it, but I pushed myself off the wall and headed to the elevator as the doors slid open.
He didn’t bother to put forth the “ladies first” argument, and I was grateful.
I needed the people to see me as the head of security.
I didn’t need coddling, and I certainly didn’t need anyone thinking I was weak.
I stepped into the car after him, and he pressed the button for the fourth floor.
“So, why does someone want him dead?”
Donavon turned his sharp gaze to me. Damn, he was a good-looking man, too bad he didn’t give me butterflies in my stomach that traveled to my pussy, making it flutter.
That reaction was reserved for my boss, unfortunately.
No matter how much Mr. Smith got my blood boiling or made me squeeze my thighs together, I didn’t mix business with pleasure.
“You don’t know, do you?” he asked.
“No, I don’t. Other than what Dennis, one of my team members, mentioned, I’m in the dark.”
“I’ll tell you what I know.”
The elevator halted. I glanced up at the light and moved slightly in front of Donavon as the doors opened.
A wall of glass was directly in front of me.
Inside, my guys were all dressed in their tactical gear.
They looked like we were in a war zone instead of corporate America.
I needed to talk with them about the dress code.
The doors closed behind us. Dennis paced, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Everyone else was in various states of lounging, but they were just as antsy as Dennis.
“Follow me,” Donavon ordered as we walked down the hall to a vast conference room and entered.
Donavon walked to the head of the table and sat. He looked natural sitting at the head. He seemed like he could run a company himself.
“Why don’t you all take a seat?” I said to my team, settling in on Donavon’s right.
He glanced in my direction, giving me a nod. “I want to thank you for being patient. I know this hasn’t been the start of a typical morning.”
“Damn sure hasn’t,” Aaden Conrad, a former Marine, interrupted.
Strained chuckles went around the table, while Dennis fidgeted in his seat. He didn’t care to be here.
Donavon started, “First, let me explain why you are here.” He typed out something on his phone, then laid it on the table. “Numerous attempts have been made on Mr. Smith’s life. Some members of his security team were a part of the setup. Those people are no longer here,” he added.
I didn’t know if he meant no longer here, as in fired, from the company, or no longer here, as in they no longer were on this Earth. I didn’t know how to feel about that.
“What are we to do, exactly?” Jeremiah Jackson, our resident goofball, asked.
Donavon sat back in his chair, folding his arms. “I’m not going to sugarcoat any of this. I believe in transparency, especially when people’s lives are in danger.” Concern flashed across his face.
“Still doesn’t answer the question,” Alex Rivera pointed out. Out of anyone in this room, he had the most to lose, a precious little four-year-old son.
“You’re right, it doesn’t. All I know is whatever plan you come up with to keep his ass alive, you run through me,” he demanded, leaning forward, resting his elbows on the table.
“But I will say this, Mr. Smith doesn’t have a set schedule.
If he goes out of town, you travel with him.
When he checks into a hotel, you do recon. You stay in the hotel with him.”
“We’re doing extended trips now?” Dennis asked incredulously.
“We’ll do what we have to do,” I assured, pinning Dennis with a glare.
Donavon nodded. “Look, I think you are worth it. Mr. Smith has a lot of enemies, both in the corporate world and on the streets.”
He paused as the doors to the conference room opened. A tall woman in three-inch heels wearing a power suit and holding a briefcase entered, taking her place standing beside Donavon’s shoulders.
“I have the papers you wanted. Shall I sit?”
“Please.” Donavon stood, then motioned to the empty seat on the other side of him. “You’re just in time.”
My men’s eyes cut to mine, but I knew no more than they did.
Our gazes followed the woman as she placed the briefcase on top of the table and elegantly settled into her chair.
I’d never be that graceful sitting down.
The woman pulled from the briefcase several manila folders.
Each with our names on them. She closed the case, then slid a folder to each of us.
“This is Miss Green,” Donavon said. “She is one of Transient’s lawyers.”
The woman dipped her head in greeting. We opened the folders, curious as to what was in them.
“The papers are your non-disclosure agreements,” Donavon said. “Please continue, Miss Green.”
Miss Green cleared her throat, then ran her hand over the ponytail gently lying across her left shoulder. “As Mr. Brown stated, I’m Miss Green, a part of Mr. Smith’s legal team.”
The rest of her introduction I didn’t hear as I scanned the document in front of me. A few lines in, and I understood this job would be hazardous to my health and my team’s.
What the fuck? Any illegal activity witnessed.
“Does anyone have any questions?”
What the hell was Smith involved in?
My eyes scanned my friends. They had a look of disbelief, the same as I did.
“I don’t like this,” Dennis announced, tapping the paper in front of him.
I blew out a breath. It was time to tell them the real reason they were pulled into this assignment even though Mr. Smith only asked for me.
“Can you give us a moment to talk this over, Donavon?”
“We were instructed to give you a day to think it over,” Miss Green said.
A day wasn’t nearly enough time, but what choice did we have? This meeting confirmed for me Mr. Smith liked things his way. His relenting control over his safety to me earlier today was a game to him. In the end, he expected me to fold.
“Very well, I’ll be just down the hall in the lobby area,” Donavon said.
He and Miss Green dismissed themselves, whispering as they filed out of the room and closed the door behind them.
“I kept something from you guys, and I want to apologize first before I tell you anything else.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Tisha?” Jeremiah asked.
His tone was different. It almost had me scared to say anything. I wasn’t used to this Jeremiah. He was always making jokes.
I pushed my chair back to release some of the tension and anxiety building up in me. I walked over to the windows and looked out over the Chicago River. Everyone coming and going down the Mile was visible. A great strategic spot.
“Tisha.” Dennis’s deep bravado pulled me back.
I exhaled.
Just say it. It will be like ripping the wax off quickly.
“Chatman threatened to fire you guys if I didn’t agree to take this job.”
Unexpected silence filled the room. I thought they would be upset, especially Alex. He had a kid to think about. I faced them.
“Well, aren’t you guys going to say something?”
“Tell us what happened?” Aaden’s voice was quiet and soothing. The stress from this situation was slowly leaving me. I needed his voice of reasoning. It was why he was on my team.
And he is a great fucking shot.
I plopped back into my seat, trying to get control of my breathing. The shrink I used to see taught me the technique to try to combat the nightmare.
“I took this job because of you guys. I was going to turn it down because Mr. Smith only asked for me. I wasn’t going without you all. Chatman threatened you with losing your jobs if I didn’t. That’s why I took it.” I shrugged my shoulders.
“That son of a bitch,” Alex muttered.
“I would’ve never thought,” Jeremiah chimed in.
“Shit, me either,” I agreed, “but I couldn’t let that happen.”
“But you shouldn’t have to compromise your morals and ethics for us or a fucking job,” Aaden gritted out.
“I agree, but I love every one of you, and I would do whatever to make sure you are safe,” I stated.
Everyone nodded. I knew they would do the same for me. Alex picked up the folder that held the non-disclosure form. “The question is, what are we going to do about this?” he asked.
I opened my folder, staring at the legal jargon, and sighed. “The question before we get to that is what do you guys want to do?” I asked. “I can do this alone. We can tell Chatman you are on the job, and he wouldn’t know the wiser.”
“Then what would you tell Donavon and Smith?” Dennis asked. “He’s expecting a full security team?”
“Not if we don’t sign this bullshit.” I held up the folder, and the papers haphazardly fell to the table.
“If we don’t sign, we’re out of a job,” Jeremiah said. “Let’s just go over the paperwork and decide from there.”
I didn’t see any way we were getting around any of this with everyone’s livelihoods intact, but I didn’t voice my opinion. It was their jobs on the line, and I wanted them to make their own decision. I would go with whatever they decided.
After thirty minutes of silence, I was the last to sign my non-disclosure form. A sinking feeling lodged in the pit of my stomach as I did. I hoped it wasn’t a warning of what lay ahead for us.