Chapter 4
Jamie
"I swear to God, Kayla, if you two don't leave right now, I'm going to start throwing things." I rip open a chocolate bar, then lean back in my chair, combat boots propped up on my desk.
Kayla hovers in the doorway, clutching her laptop bag in front of her. Dani is next to her, sporting a giant backpack filled with who-knows-what. She’s clearly stuffed it with everything she could possibly need for her first field assignment.
“I just want to make sure—" Kayla starts, flicking her long, dark hair back from her eyes.
"I can answer the phones,” I interrupt around a mouthful of chocolate. “It's not rocket surgery."
Kayla wrinkles her nose. “Just promise me you won't insult any potential clients, no matter what."
I roll my eyes. "Please. Give me some credit."
“Remember that time you told a client he was a whiny little bitch?”
Dani snickers. “Did you?” She hitches her backpack higher. It looks heavy, but her eyes are shining, her excitement to be leaving the office obvious.
She’s only just joined our security business.
For years, it’s been Scarlet, Kayla, and me, and I’ve always liked it that way.
But since Scarlet has gone galivanting overseas with Balthazar, we needed to recruit someone new.
So far, Dani has shown more enthusiasm than expertise, but I figure we’ll whip her into shape eventually.
“That guy deserved it,” I say. “Now, go. Don’t keep your client waiting.”
Dani turns to Kayla. “She’s right. We shouldn’t be late.” She’s bouncing on her toes, backpack and all, like an eager puppy.
Kayla flicks a glance at her and lets out a sigh before turning back to me. “First, promise you’ll be nice to anyone who calls or comes in.”
I make a crossing heart motion over my chest. “I’ll be as sweet as this chocolate bar.”
“And don't forget to log any calls in the?—"
"System. I know." I wave her off, determined not to show how much I hate being stuck with office duty.
“Okay.” Kayla gives in. “We'll bring you back coffee to make up for leaving you behind."
“And donuts,” I call after them as they leave.
The office door closes behind them, and I stuff the rest of the chocolate bar in my mouth and slouch lower in my chair.
Our new security office is large, well-appointed, and a whole lot nicer than our old one.
But it feels too new and unfamiliar to be comfortable, and it’s way too quiet without Kayla's fingers flying over her keyboard and Dani's chatter.
Also, I miss not having Scarlet to talk to. God, how I miss Scarlet. She's probably diving with dolphins in Fiji while I'm stuck here playing secretary.
Swallowing the last of the chocolate, I eye the stack of invoices Kayla left for me to sort. Then I look toward the training room. The door is open, and I can see the punching bag hanging invitingly. I’d much rather be working out than behind a desk.
Maybe I could squeeze in a quick workout while I wait for the phone to ring...
The bell above the door chimes.
Damn.
I swing my boots off the desk and stand up, ready to put on a smile and play nice. But my polite greeting dies in my throat when I see who just walked in.
It's him. The gorgeous guy from last night. The one who wasn't Enzo.
He fills the doorway with his height and presence, somehow managing to make our office feel small.
His suit is charcoal gray and perfectly tailored to his broad shoulders and lean waist. His dark hair is styled just so.
And in the light of day, I'm jolted all over again by how devastatingly handsome he is. Sharp jawline, light gray eyes, and hard lips that might look cruel if they didn’t quirk up slightly at one corner like he's secretly amused by a private joke.
My mind flashes back to the arrogant way he ran his hand down my back, and how my skin shivered in response.
My wrestling matches are never sexually charged—at least not once I’ve knocked both the wind and the hopes out of my opponent—but he gave me such a suggestive smirk, it was as though being underneath me was exactly what he wanted.
“Hello, Ms. Jennings. It's nice to see you without your mask.” His voice is exactly as seductive as I remember, deep and smooth as aged whiskey.
How the hell does he know my name? He hadn’t known it last night.
"What are you doing here?" I demand. For some reason my mouth has gone dry, and the words rasp from my throat.
"Looking for you." He moves further into the office. “Apparently you were supposed to train me for a boxing match.”
“What?” My spine stiffens as my mind races. Surely he can’t mean?—
"I'm Ethan Kane." He doesn't extend his hand, which is good because I might be tempted to break it. “We were supposed to meet yesterday morning. But last night's meeting was a whole lot more interesting."
The air leaves my lungs in a rush. This is the entitled prick who wasted my entire morning when he stood me up? The one whose assistant dismissed me like I was nothing?
"Get out.” I point at the door.
He doesn't move. "I came to apologize for leaving you waiting yesterday morning.”
"Apologize?" I bark out a laugh. “You’re a day too late.”
"You're right." His calm admission throws me off balance. "But I'm here to make it up to you by offering you a different job."
"Not interested."
He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a folded piece of paper. "Even if it involves a death threat?”
I hesitate. Despite myself, I'm curious. "What do you mean?”
"Someone's threatening me." He hands me the paper, which turns out to be thin cardboard. "I need security. That’s what you do, isn’t it?’
Unfolding the square piece of card, I scan the message written on it. Good thing it’s short, seeing as I’m not much of a reader. Actually, it’s a single sentence, and it sums up the way I was feeling about Ethan Kane yesterday while I waited for him. Honestly, I could have written it myself.
“Someone sent this to you?” I ask.
“They slid it under the door of my building. I’m about to demolish an apartment block, and I’m evicting the tenants. It was probably one of them.”
“You’re tearing down beloved apartments that people might have lived in all their lives?” I thrust the card back at him. “Want my advice? Don’t do it. Problem solved. Case closed. You can see yourself out now.”
He folds his arms, not reaching for the card I’m holding out. “The new building will be beautiful.” His voice is calm and even. “The existing decrepit pile of bricks is coming down soon. And in the meantime, apparently my life is at risk.”
I click my tongue. “What a shame. I’m devastated.”
“And I’m offering to employ you.”
“No thanks.” Seeing as he’s still not taking the card from me, I let it drop onto my desk.
He frowns. “Are you turning down a lucrative contract?”
I open my mouth to say yes, absolutely. Then I remember Kayla. Dammit, I promised to be nice and not insult any potential clients. And I need as much work as I can get if I’m going to replace the gym’s roof.
Ethan watches me hesitate. His stunning gray eyes study me with clear curiosity. He looks at me as though I’m fascinating.
“What exactly are you suggesting?” I ask reluctantly.
“The same thing my friend Balthazar employed your colleague to do when he was being threatened. She posed as his girlfriend so she could go to social events with him.”
My jaw loosens. “But… after that, Balthazar and Scarlet started dating. Now they’re engaged.”
“This isn’t a romantic proposal.” His tone hardens. “This is a business, isn’t it? You offer security, and that’s what I need. My usual team can handle most things, but they can’t stick close at fundraisers and galas.”
Ugh. Fundraisers and galas? Sounds like hell.
“Whatever your rate is, I’ll pay it,” he adds. “And I’m not used to needing to coax people to work for me.”
Typical.
He’s unbelievably arrogant.
Up until a few months ago, Scarlet, Kayla, and I were working and rooming together.
We might have been in a run-down building in a low-rent part of town, but it was fun.
Then Balthazar swept in and took Scarlet away from us.
He gave us a swanky new office and a nice apartment, but I would much rather have stayed in the old one and kept my friend.
Not that I begrudge Scarlet her happiness.
No, not at all. But I miss the hell out of her.
I liked my life just fine before Balthazar barged into it, making my best friend fall in love with him, and changing everything to suit himself.
And Ethan is just another entitled billionaire, throwing his money around to get whatever he wants.
“I don’t like you.” I fold my arms.
“For the record, I don’t care.”
Startled by his response, I let out a snort of derision. “I’m telling you that I’m not enthusiastic about saving you from a killer, and you’re saying you still want to hire me?”
His gaze is level on mine. “Are you a professional?”
“Of course I am.”
“Then you’re hired.”
I shake my head. “Not so fast, Demolition Man. You don’t even know how much we charge.”
His eyes narrow at the nickname, but he stands his ground. “How much do you charge?”
“A lot. We’re super expensive. And there are extra fees for this kind of thing. Big fees. Huge. Enough to replace the entire roof of a large building.”
He lifts his eyebrows, his interest clearly sparked. “I saw the buckets in the gym last night. Is that the roof you mean?”
I hadn’t expected him to figure that out. But when I don’t say anything, his eyes only gleam brighter.
“It’s your building then? Would you consider selling it?”
“What? No!” The thought is horrifying, especially because Uncle Vito has been talking about letting it go. “The building is absolutely not for sale.”
“Roofs are expensive, especially for an old building that’s likely to be full of asbestos. I’ll offer a generous price.”
“Forget it.”
His expression doesn’t change. His lips are still a straight line, except for that quirk in the corner that makes them alluring rather than hard.
“Do you have any idea how much a new roof would cost?” he asks.
I swallow, feeling a little ill. I was hoping it wouldn’t be too much, but his tone suggests I’ve seriously underestimated it. “Not yet,” I admit.
“Well. Let’s just say that you should be the one holding a charity boxing match.”
It’s clearly a throwaway comment. But the instant he says the words, they light up my brain. When I was a kid, Uncle Vito used to hold boxing matches at the gym. I saw some big-name fighters there, and I’ll never forget those bouts.
I stare at him, dumbfounded. “That’s… not an entirely stupid idea.”
“My God, stop with the compliments, you’re embarrassing me.” Ethan leans back against Scarlet’s—I mean Dani’s—desk and crosses one leg over the other.
“A boxing match,” I muse, half to myself.
“We could stage it in the gym, and use it not just to make money, but to showcase all the good things my uncle does for disadvantaged kids. If we set up chairs around the ring, we could probably squeeze in maybe… a hundred? No, maybe a hundred and fifty people. And charge, say, a hundred bucks a ticket.”
He grunts. “Make it two hundred dollars.”
“At that price, if we could sell all the tickets, we’d make…” I hesitate, trying to figure out how many zeros the total would have.
“Thirty thousand dollars,” he supplies.
“Thirty thousand!” If Kayla or Dani were here, I’d high-five them. Instead, I punch one fist into the palm of my other hand. That would go a long way to replacing the roof. And we could raise awareness. Remind everyone what an asset the gym is for the community.
“Now I’ve given you a way to replace your roof,” Ethan says, “let’s settle the details about you working for me.”
“Sure.” I shoot him a challenging look. “I’ll work for you if you fight in the boxing match.”
His lips part, and he stares at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “Absolutely not.”
“But you’re a big shot, right? You agreed to be in that other charity boxing match. And if they wanted you, that means you must be someone who can draw a crowd.”
He shakes his head. “I’m busy. I don’t have time to train for a fight.”
“That’s the only way this will work. I’ll take your job if you do the boxing match. I mean, you were going to do one anyway, right? And to sweeten the deal, I’ll train you for free.”
He cocks his head to the side. His steel gray eyes are beautiful. They study me with a predatory gleam of interest, as though my face holds the answers to a test he didn’t study for.
“I’d have to learn how to box,” he says. “I’ve never done it before.”
A rush of hope surges inside me, making my heart beat faster. He’s actually considering my proposal. He’s clearly a smart guy, and if he’s not dismissing this whole boxing match idea as ridiculous, then maybe it really could work.
“Like I said, I’ll teach you.” My voice sounds too eager, and I take a breath, trying not to show how excited I am. Thirty thousand dollars. The number repeats in my head like a prayer.
“And my opponent?” he demands. “Who would I fight?”
“Uncle Vito trains some up-and-coming fighters. Any of them would be happy to go a few rounds with you.”
He shakes his head, frowning. “I’m not fighting a professional. It’d have to be someone in my weight class who’s close to my skill level.”
“That’s fair. I’ll find you someone who hasn’t fought before.”
He pushes off the desk, standing up straight. “In return, you’ll be my undercover bodyguard, and you’ll work with my security team to find the person who left the death threat.”
It sounds like I’ll need to spend a lot of time with him. But if I can make thirty thousand dollars, it’ll be worth it. And besides, at least this way I can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t approach my uncle with an offer to buy the building.
“Okay.” I hold out my hand. “We have a deal.”
He wraps his large hand around my small one. His fingers are long, warm and firm. His gray eyes are so beautiful, they’re hypnotic, and his touch sends an electric charge down my spine… though that’s probably just excitement at the prospect of making all that money.
“A deal,” he echoes. He holds my hand for a few seconds longer than I’m expecting, and I stare into his face, mesmerized by the sharp edges of his cheekbones and the quirk of his lips.
"You should know,” he says as he finally releases my hand, “that protecting me could be a dangerous job. I’ve made enemies, so you’ll need to be on your guard.”
A thrill runs through me at the thought I might get to see some action. Maybe this job won’t be so bad after all.
I grin at him, showing teeth. “I’ve already said yes,” I tell him. “You don’t need to keep sweetening the deal.”