Protecting The Boss. Beverly Long
this is Rico Metez and his soon-to-be wedded wife, Laura Collins, who is incredibly nice and defies all those wives’ tales about redheads and their tempers.”
“Good of you to come tonight,” Rico said.
“Nice of you to extend the invite,” Megan said.
“Rico was just telling me about your assignment, Seth,” Laura said, her green eyes bright. “I’m a little jealous,” she added, turning to Megan. “Your boutiques sound very exciting.”
“I understand you’ve got some excitement of your own in the near future,” Megan said.
Laura smiled. “We’re grateful that Seth will be back in time for the wedding. Awkward when one of the best men is absent.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Seth said. “You two planning to honeymoon in Colorado at the cabin?”
“Of course,” Laura said. “Hannah is coming along but Jennie and Paddie, friends of Rico’s since he was a child,” she added for Megan’s benefit, “have offered to keep her for a few days to give us some adult time.”
“Good plan,” he said. “We’ll catch you later.”
He led Megan down the hallway and used his key to open his now-dark office. He turned on a lamp and soft light filled the room. He left the door partially open. “I need just a minute away from the noise,” he said. “And I wanted to make sure we got our schedules coordinated for tomorrow before the night gets too late.”
“I’m still getting used to the idea that I need to coordinate with you,” she said. “I hope you don’t think I’m rude but I’m really not confident that security is necessary.”
“That’s the funny thing about security. You really don’t want an event to occur just so that you can prove you’re getting your money’s worth.”
“I suppose not,” she said. “I’m curious as to what kind of threat you might be anticipating.”
“I’ll be ready for anything.”
“That sounds rather...”
“Confident,” he supplied.
“I was thinking smug.”
He couldn’t help it—he laughed.
“I’m planning on leaving late afternoon. A rental car is getting dropped off at the boutique for me,” she said.
“A rental? How did you get here from Carmel?”
“Abigail drove her car. But she’s staying on in Vegas for the next two weeks. Thus, the rental.”
“Can you give me the contact number? I’m going to want to be added as a driver.”
“I’m driving. So that won’t be necessary.”
He’d hit a hot button. It was rather fun to rattle her cage. Her perfect chin got a little sharper and her nose went into the air ever so slightly.
“It only makes sense that both of us be able to drive. I mapped out the best routes today between the various cities.”
“I’ve already done that.”
“Okay. Then you know that there are many days that we’ll have a couple hundred miles to cover. It’s a lot of driving for one person.”
“I’m driving,” she repeated.
He let out a loud sigh.
“Oh, fine.” She opened her purse, pulled out her phone and scanned through her contacts. Then turned slightly to lean over his desk to write the number down on a notepad, giving him a truly excellent look at her backside.
Yep. Perfect, coming and going.
When she finished writing down the information, she turned, but not before her eye caught the photo on the credenza behind Seth’s desk. Him, younger and in a flight suit, standing next to a plane. Her throat felt suddenly tight. “I didn’t realize you were a pilot,” she said.
“Air force for eight years. That’s where I met Royce, Trey and Rico. Flew an F-16.”
“They’re all pilots, too.” She felt suddenly sick.
“Nope. Royce worked security, Trey was a plane mechanic and Rico was tactical communications.”
“Do you fly still?”
“Is the pope Catholic?”
Probably because she showed no reaction, he added, “Yes. I have a Beechcraft Bonanza housed at the North Vegas airport.”
“I’m not terribly familiar with airplanes. Is that a nice one?”
He smiled. “Nice enough that I’ll need to keep working for a while in order to pay for it. But on a nice day, cruising along at 175 knots, I can barely remember that.”
“Right.” They needed to talk about something else.
“You know, I never wanted to be a pilot,” he said.
Okay. That didn’t make sense. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“My dad was an air force pilot. Killed when I was two.”
That sucked the oxygen out of her lungs. “In combat?”
He shook his head. “Training exercise. That doesn’t make it any easier.”
“Of course it doesn’t,” she said quickly, irritated that he’d think she thought that. She would be the last person to ever think that. But that was none of his business, either. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
He nodded but said nothing, as if he might be waiting for her to say something else. But really, she knew that words meant little, gave little respite. It dawned on her that he might already know about her parents—after all, his partner Trey had undoubtedly heard the story from Kellie.
But she didn’t talk about it.
Ever.
“Listen, I’m not sure how this...um...security assignment works,” she said. “What you will be doing, I mean.”
“What I won’t do is try to stand out in any way. The best security is one that is there but not too obvious.”
“Well, if fitting in is your goal, you probably need to know that there is one black-tie event.”
“Really.” He paused. “I was hoping I could pack my tux.”
She knew sarcasm when she heard it. But the idea of him in a tux was a nice one. Sometime this afternoon, he’d changed out of his wrinkled shirt and pants into nicely pressed gray silk trousers and a blue-and-gray button-down long-sleeved shirt. He looked really good.
“We...uh...should probably rejoin the party,” she said.
He immediately pushed the door wide open. “Of course.”
People were filling plates from the lavish buffet that had been set up in one corner of the lobby. They sat with Abigail at one of the high-topped tables. The food was delicious, and then it was present time for Kellie and Trey and for Laura and Rico. Both Seth’s bears and the scotch seemed to be big hits.
It was really fun. Certainly not how she’d intended to spend the night in a city where she knew no one. But once people had settled in for an after-dinner drink, she stood up. “It’s getting late,” she said to her sister. “I’ll share a cab with you.”
“No need,” Abigail said. “Evan is flying in tonight and he’s going to pick me up on his way from the airport. I just got a text from him. He should be here