“Ms. Bly!” Andi called, but skidded to a stop in front of me as she looked between each of the men with a look of both awe and confusion. “...annnd entourage.”
I laughed lightly, “Hi, Andi. Give me the rundown.”
She swallowed hard and threw a glance at Rome, her cheeks blazing from one look alone. I was starting to understand why she made Rome so uncomfortable. I really need to have a discussion with her.
Rome kissed my cheek, “I’ll be in my office if you need me.” He turned to Andi, “Will you send all of Bec’s mail directly to me going forward, not just the notes?”
Andi nodded, her cheeks flushed.
Rome smiled and made his way to his office. He stopped at the threshold before glancing over his shoulder. Then he shot me a wink and disappeared into the office.
I heard a squeal come from Andi and turned to her with a raised brow. She cleared her throat as she regained her composure, “Umm… oh yeah, your day. You have a meeting with Melissa this afternoon and then a conference call afterward. I left your morning empty so you could take some time to get caught up, but Alexandra slipped into your office before I could tell her to stop.” She glanced at me, “Sorry.”
I waved her off and walked to my office, “Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to see her.” I stopped in front of my doors and turned to my new guards, “You five stay out here.”
One of them actually saluted with a smirk. Then the one who laughed in the elevator, Fynn, spoke up, “Will do. We’ll approve any visitors for you as well.”
“Oh no,” Andi began to protest, “I’m perfectly capable…”
“We aren’t questioning your skills,” he interrupted, “but we have explicit orders to ensure the safety of Ms. Bly. All visitors will be cleared by our team going forward. Please print us a copy of her schedule so we can begin coordinating.”
Andi shot me a look, seeming almost angry. “Are you sure?” Her voice strained.
I nodded, “After the recent events, it’s necessary they’re here. The order came from Rome.” It was low to use her crush to my advantage, but I figured she wouldn’t argue if it came from him.
Andi took a steadying breath, but didn’t argue any further, and then reached for my purse. On a typical day, she would take my coat and purse in the morning, but today it was intercepted by Fynn. “We can hold onto this for you. You focus on your work.”
Andi looked to me for help, her eyes wide. “It’s fine,” I placated, “they’re just being cautious. I’ll let you know if I need you. With them running interference, you can focus more on higher-level duties. Think of this as a promotion.”
I turned and entered my office, the voices of Andi and the security guards disappearing as the door closed behind me. Ileaned against the door and took a deep breath, happy to be back in a place I knew. A part of the control that I desperately needed was finally back.
“Oh, thank God!” Alexandra cried as she stood from her chair and threw her arms around me. “I’ve been so worried about you!” She exclaimed and pulled back. She looked me over, as if trying to ensure I wasn’t hurt. “You’re okay now? I kept calling, but Andi said you were in Oregon, recovering, and refused to give me a forwarding number. I was minutes away from flying out there to check on you myself if I didn’t get to talk to you.”
I smiled at my friend, “I’m okay. The concussion’s healed.” I pulled back my hair, revealing the small scar on my temple, “Other than this, I’m good as new.”
Alexandra scrunched her nose, “That doesn’t look fun. What happened? I saw the news articles and pried as much information from your assistant as I could, but I have a feeling there is far more to the story.”
I sighed and walked to my office chair, where I all but collapsed into the supple leather. “Some punks tried to snatch me off the street. Unfortunately for them, Rome was right there and got to me before anything too bad could happen.”
Alexandra smirked, “I‘ve spent a good amount of time staring at some of the photos that were captured during his mad dash to get to you. He is plastered in every magazine.”
“What?” I asked in surprise.
She nodded, rifled through her purse, and handed me a paper. There was Rome on the cover. It was a good shot of him on that fateful day. He was on the motorcycle, flying down the streets of New York City.
I flipped through the pages and found the article. There was a description of the incident and an in-depth look at Rome and his time in the service. They had included his official personnelphoto with Bly Enterprises, where he had his usual smirk, and a few candids of the two of us from the last couple of months.
“Damn,” I mumbled, “at least he looks good.”
Alexandra chuckled, “I thought the same thing. However, not every article is as positive as that one.”
Shit.
“It’s bad,” Melissa explained as she paced the length of my office.
After Alexandra explained there was negative press, she had left, and I called Melissa and Rome in immediately. Melissa would be able to explain the situation we were in, and Rome deserved to be here as the stories were about him—the many stories, as Melissa explained. While I had been in blissful ignorance as I recovered, she had been fighting a losing battle with the press. The tabloids praised Rome and his heroic actions, but the more serious publications criticized his actions and behavior. They were describing him as reckless, impulsive, and hot-headed. The photos and videos of him breaking through the roof of the car didn’t help his case.
Rome looked like he wanted to puke from his spot in the chair. He hadn’t spoken a word since Melissa came in, but I could see the stress in his body grow with each word said.
