“This isn’t going to be easy if she fights my guy the whole way,” Hunter finally says. “He’s one of the best I’ve got. If anyone can keep her safe, it’s him.”
I don’t talk for the rest of the meeting. My head spins with all the things we need to do, but it’s all muddled with the fact she was pissed I was the one going with her. If my memory serves me right, the last time she sat in my car and made me drive around for five hours, she said we should go out sometime. I will be the first to admit that maybe not answering didn’t help, but what the hell was I supposed to do? Pull the car over and drag her over to my side of the car and kiss the ever-loving fuck out of her? Negative.
“I just told my secretary to have everything sent over to you,” Tommy says, getting up. Hunter and I do the same as the other men in the room. They didn’t say a word, and I wonder why they were even here. We walk out of the conference room, and Tommy walks with us to the elevator. “Gentlemen,” he says when the ding of the elevator sounds, “I have no doubt she’ll be safe with you.”
I shake his hand and then so does Hunter. We step into the elevator, and Hunter looks over at me. “You sure you’re okay with this?”
I lean back against the elevator wall and look over at him. “Have I ever given you a reason to ask me that?”
He shakes his head right away. “No.” Putting his hands in his pockets, he says, “But then again, you’ve never wanted a client before.”
“I don’t want her,” I say, and now I’m a little pissed. “What have I done to make you think I want her?”
“The look on your face when Tommy touched her hand,” he points out, and I want to kick myself because I thought I had it locked down. “I mean, I’ve never seen the tic of your vein on your forehead.” The elevator dings, and I look up to see we have reached the lobby. “We will meet tomorrow with everyone and go over the list.” I nod to him and walk out, making my way to my car while Hunter goes to his.
I get into my Audi and start it. My finger taps against the steering wheel, already knowing what I want to do. Driving down the street, I make my way through the traffic and then the hills. I pull up to the wrought-iron gate and press the little white button on the speaker. A man’s staticky voice answers.
“What can I do for you?” he asks, and I look up to find a video camera also.
“Hey, I have some papers to deliver to Kellie Hudson from the office of Tommy Surray.”
“I don’t have you on the list.” He comes back on.
“Yeah, I know. I was in a meeting with him, and he asked me if I could swing by and deliver it. Like I wanted to come all the way out to the hills in rush hour!” I laugh. “I mean, if you want to come and get the papers and deliver them, you can.”
“Nah,” he says, and the next thing you know, I hear the creaking of the gates opening. I shake my head and make my way down the gated street. I park on the street and walk up to Kellie’s gate, noticing her huge white mansion. The gate is sturdy, and there is no way I can break through it. I look at the side and see that the shrubs have a little space for someone to fit through. Walking over, I squeeze through to the other side of the gate and let out a curse.
I walk over to the house and ring the doorbell. I don’t even know if she’s home, but I took a chance. The air needs to be cleared, and this is the only time I’m doing this. I hear footsteps coming closer to the door, the locks clinking, and then the door opens. Except it’s not Kellie; it’s the girl Cori.
“Hey,” I say from the outside. “I was wondering if Kellie was home.”
She smiles big and nods. “Yeah, she’s in the shower.” She steps to the side and lets me in. She closes the door behind me and locks it. “You can wait in the kitchen,” she says to me, and I follow her into the house, taking in the high ceilings in the foyer. I scan the pictures on the walls of her during her awards shows. Her face still looks the same as when she started. “Can I get you something to drink?” the woman asks when we get into the kitchen and I see papers all over the island.
“I’ll have a bottle of water if you have one.” I walk over to a stool and sit down on it. She comes back and hands me the water bottle.
Leaning her hip against the counter, she faces me. “You going to tell me why you’re really here?” I take the cap off my water and take a sip. “I hope you know that isn’t liquid courage in that bottle; it’s just H2O.”
Her snarky comment makes me put my head back and laugh. She comes over and sits on her stool in front of her computer, but I don’t have a chance to answer her because Kellie enters the room.
“Hey, look who dropped by,” Cori says with a smile plastered on her face, leaning back in her chair.
“I was in the neighborhood.” I smile at her and take in her appearance. She is wearing loose joggers and a shirt that goes off the shoulder. Her bare feet expose her hot pink toenails.
“You were in the neighborhood?” she asks and walks into the kitchen. “I find that really hard to believe.” Grabbing a plate from one of the cupboards and then opening the oven, she plates her own dinner of chicken and veggies. She looks at Cori. “Do you want some?”
“No,” Cori says, grabbing all the papers in front of her. “I think I’m going to head out and work at home.”
“You don’t have to do that just because I’m here.” I look over at her, and she stops mid cleanup. “I mean, you will be with her on the tour, so it’s better for all of us if we are on the same page.”
Cori doesn’t know what to do, so she just sits back down. Kellie grabs her plate and comes over to sit on the stool next to me. “Let’s get this over with,” she says, cutting her chicken and biting a piece.
I start from the top, not sugarcoating anything. “Are either one of you interested in how I got to your front door?” I ask them, and then Cori looks up at me. “I told the guy I had papers for you from Tommy, and he let me in.”
“Well, he knows Tommy,” Kellie says between bites, “so it’s not a stretch.”
“Knowing Tommy and making sure crazy people don’t come to your door are two separate things.”
“So you admit you’re crazy?” Kellie says. “I mean, that’s a good start.”
“Don’t make a joke about this. I could have been a madman.” My fingers start to drum on the island nervously.
“You are a madman who just admitted you’re crazy,” Kellie mumbles while she chews. “Seriously, it’s one of my last free nights, and I don’t want to spend it hearing a lecture, so just get on with it.” A lecture … did she just say that?
“You need to be smarter and safer,” I point out, and she stops with her fork halfway to her mouth. “I can’t do my job if you throw yourself in harm’s way.”
“Explain to me please”—she throws her fork down, and it clatters on the white plate—“how me being in my home is throwing myself in harm’s way?” She shakes her head, grabbing her water bottle and drinking. “This isn’t going to work if the only thing that comes out of your mouth is shit.”