Louie looked between us. Frustrated, he shook his head. He was wise enough not to argue and left the room.
I had to turn away from Jamie. If I got sucked into his rage filled eyes, I was going to lose my shit. I didn’t have time for that. I looked to Stefan and for the first time in probably my whole life, I tried to convey my need for backup with my eyes.
With what sounded like an annoyed sigh, he sat back down in his chair. “Jameson, wait outside.”
There was no argument, just the wall-shaking slam of the door as Jamie stormed out.
The stranger stood from his chair, eyes traveling from me to Stefan. “I think I’ll give you two a moment.” Up until this moment, I had ignored his presence entirely. There was more stressful shit steering my focus. Looking at him now… Damn. He was a beast. The muscles on him were huge, bulging, and very apparent as they stretched the fabric of his button-up blue dress shirt and black slacks. He reminded me of a hunky lumberjack or one of those really ripped Navy SEALs you saw on the cover of romance novels. He had the most stunning aquamarine eyes and tan skin that made them pop. His brown hair had a slight red tint and was cut short. The length of stubble along his jaw, chin, and lips was bordering on a beard. He had to be at least six and a half feet tall. By how bulky he was, I swore he could crush someone with a hug.
“Who’s Hercules?” I asked Stefan. The corner of the stranger’s mouth twitched, and his eyes squinted slightly.
“Your new security,” Stefan answered.
“Right.” I stepped closer and held out my hand. “Maura Quinn.”
My new goon stared down at my offered appendage before his big hand engulfed mine, making it look somewhat childlike in comparison. Jeez, he’s part giant. “I know,” he said, shaking my hand. “Asher King.”
I tilted my head slightly, mulling over his words. “I’m so glad Daddy Dearest was able to get someone who was part of the team he hired to spy on me for the past six years.”
Stefan sighed again, drawing both mine and Asher’s attention. “Is there an issue, daughter?”
“Not at all. Just making conversation. I’m sure he got to see a lot.” Understanding my meaning, Asher smirked. Yup, he’s definitely seen me naked. “When does he start?”
“As soon as we sign the contract. You said you wanted to meet him first. I was just about to call you, but you saved me the trouble by barging in here,” Stefan said in an admonishing tone.
Yeah, yeah, I won’t do it again. “May I see the contract?”
Stefan’s brow furrowed at my request. Scooping up a small pile of papers lying in front of him on his desk, he held them out to me. I took the contract and began reading it over. It entailed exactly what I'd assumed. It went over confidentiality, liability, and expectations. Asher was to take all directives from Stefan that had to do with protecting me. The last page went over contract term, which was a year, and it listed his pay.
Reading back over the confidentiality section, doubt had me chewing on my lip. “Are we sure we can trust him or this security firm?” I asked Stefan. When I first had requested outside security, I hadn't been aware of how far Stefan was going to pull me into his world. “It’s one thing to watch over a college girl. It’s another to bear witness to everything—”
“Aiden, Jameson’s uncle, is the founder of the security firm,” Stefan said, interrupting me.
Oh.
That explained a lot. Aiden was Jamie’s only other living blood relative. He was ex-military and had stayed at our house a few times to visit with Jamie. He was a recluse, yet a kind man. He and Jamie shared some familial features, like their eyes and stature. After Jamie’s mom had passed, he’d had a choice to stay here or go live with Aiden in New York. He, of course, had chosen to stay with us. Due to Aiden's long stints overseas in the military, Jamie barely knew his uncle. Aiden hadn't held Jamie’s decision against him. In fact, I'd thought he'd been relieved.
“Do you know why I wanted to hire you?” I asked Asher.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets, appearing lax. “I wondered. You have plenty of security already on the payroll.”
I nodded. “As you are aware, my family is…unconventional. I trust few among them. The security we already have are ambitious and eager to move up the ranks. As a woman and the only child of Stefan, I refuse to be used as a stepping stone to get in someone’s good graces, my father included. Which is why I’m willing to increase your pay by fifty percent if you sign a contract with me and not Stefan.”
“Maura!” Stefan roared, jumping to his feet again.
“You will suffocate me,” I snapped. He could get as mad as he wanted. I wouldn’t budge on this. “I can’t live my life if my security is constantly reporting my every move or my every word to you. I need some sort of privacy and people I can trust, who are on my side. Samuel, Conor, Rourke, Dylan, Jamie—everything they do doesn’t get reported to you, so why do you expect that of me?”
“I could freeze your trust fund,” he threatened.
Go ahead, old man. “I moved that money years ago,” I scoffed.
Stefan set his hand on the back of his chair, grasping onto it tightly as he stared down at his desk. “I’m not trying to suffocate you. I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“I know.” I understood his intentions. It didn’t change anything, though. He was still going about it the wrong way. “You still have Dean.”
Stefan frowned. “For now. How long will that last, I wonder?”
It took a lot of effort not to roll my eyes. He was unhappy I'd pulled one over on him. If we were to tally up the number of times he’d done something like this to me, he’d have no ground to stand on. “Do we have a deal, Mr. King?” I looked back at Asher, who had been quiet this whole time.
He pulled his phone from his pocket. “Fifty percent increase?” he asked. I nodded and he began tapping away on his phone. “My guy back at the home office is going to fix the contract and resend it. Anything else you want to change?”
Stefan was still pissed but didn’t protest. I sighed, shaking my head. The new contract was sent back to Asher’s phone within minutes, and we both signed it electronically.
“Perfect. Take a seat, Thor. This will be the best time to get you up to date on the clusterfuck we’re currently facing,” I said, taking a seat in the vacant chair next to him and crossing my bare legs.
As Asher sat, Dean walked in with Vincent. I gestured to the couch. “Take a seat, Vin. You might as well stick around too, Dean.” Dean nodded as he handed over Mark’s file. I passed it to Stefan, who stared at me expectantly as he opened it.
I went over everything from the money we'd found in Mark’s deceased brother’s bank account to Jamie and Louie showing up at Show 'n Tail, finding me with a gun held to my head and wearing nothing but my panties in Nicoli De Luca’s lap. By the tightness in Stefan’s jaw, I could tell he wasn’t particularly thrilled about my hour as an exotic dancer, but he made no comment about it. With a deep breath, I steeled myself for what I had to tell him next. The deal I'd made with Nicoli.
My body was stiff. I was expecting my impending doom by the time I was done telling him. The room had fallen mute as everyone processed. Stefan leaned back in his chair. With his thumb brushing his bottom lip, he stared absently at the painting over his hidden safe. Shockingly, he didn’t look mad. Which was freaking me out.