A startled laugh fell from my lips, “You’re ridiculous.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
ROME
Icould admit, the entourage following Bec around was amusing. The five men that I had handpicked to be her newest bodyguards were all former soldiers I had worked with in the past. They were competent in what they did, and most importantly, they had no ties to Bly Enterprises. Their current employment wasn’t even through the company, but directly with Bec herself.
Keeping the new bodyguards separate from the company meant that the people within the company who were working against Bec, would have a harder time getting to the men to try to flip their loyalty. They had no ties to anyone at this company, besides me, and were being paidmorethan enough to keep them loyal to her. It was a foolproof plan to keep Bec protected. That and I had stashed a new bear spray in her purse. She had mentioned she typically carried it around, but lost it at some point.
I had also sewn a knife in the liner of her purse. It was a trick I had learned in the Army years ago. I had done the same with many of my clothes, though it made washing them a bitch.
Andi knocked on my open door, one of the towering men following her. “Is this really necessary?” She asked while white-knuckling today’s mail.
Andi wasn’t a fan of the new bodyguards. They were impeding her work, adding an extra level of difficulty to get through her tasks, so I could understand the frustration. Prior to their involvement, she’d held a level of control over Bec’s schedule that was no longer possible. Every meeting, appointment, and phone call was now monitored and approved by one of the men.
This level of security should have been given to Bec far earlier. With her position, her wealth, and her fame, Bec needed additional protection. For as long as I had known her, she was against any bodyguard. Hell, it took months for her to warm up to me. Hiring these men would have been one of the first tasks I completed when I’d started, if she had let me. I had given up on trying to convince her after only a few weeks.
It seems it took a kidnapping attempt to finally convince her.
I shrugged as Andi scowled, her arms crossed in front of her.
“I know they’re making things more difficult, but they’re imperative to not only Bec’s safety but the company’s as a whole. Including yourself,” I tried to placate.
“They went through my purse,” she complained and leaned forward. “They saw my tampons. It’s embarrassing.”
“Ma’am,” the bodyguard following her interjected, “I have a teenage daughter. I’ve dealt with my fair share of tampons.”
Andi scrunched her nose and dropped the mail on my desk before turning and leaving the office. She knocked into the guard on her way out, but her small stature made the action more amusing than anything else.
I chuckled, “Thanks, Fynn.”
He shrugged, clearly unperturbed. “I’m escorting mail. This is the easiest job I’ve ever had.”
He followed Andi out, closing the door behind him. While most of the floor had gotten used to the new bodyguards, many even befriending them, Andi was having the hardest adjustment by far. Well… besides Bec. She was putting on a brave face for me, but it was obvious she hated it. She wasn’t a people person, and I knew being around them all day was draining for her.
It had been a couple of weeks, and she was doing better each day. It helped that once the day was over and we were at home, they were nowhere to be seen. They were taking shifts staking out the house, and there were at least two within a quarter mile of her at all times, but… out of sight, out of mind.
I started rifling through the envelopes, looking for another letter that I could give my sisters when my door flew open, bouncing off the side wall from the force.
Livia was on the other side, breathing heavily. Her pink hair was a mess of a bun on the top of her head and her eyes wide. “Oh my God, I figured it out.”
“Hello to you too,” I remarked and motioned towards one of the spare seats on the other side of my desk. “Why don’t you take a seat? And maybe a breath?”
Livia closed the door behind her and then the blinds on the glass door… and then the window blinds. “Does this lock?” She asked while pointing at my office door.
I laughed lightly and nodded before fishing the key out of my pocket and handing it to her. She locked the door quickly and finally dropped into one of the seats in front of me.
“So…” I trailed off, “anything new you would like to share, or are you just dropping in for a casual visit?”
Livia rolled her eyes, cleared my desk, and finally dropped a stack of papers on top. It was financial records, William Bly Sr.’s records, to be exact. “Holy shit, how did you get these?”
“Your contact called the house. She sent them over,” Livia explained. “She couldn’t find anything fishy, but wanted to send them your way in case you could find anything.”
“So you decided to give it a stab?” I asked, a hint of amusement in my voice.
Livia waved me off, “I’m in between jobs and bored as hell. This is the most interesting thing to happen to me all week. Go to page three.”
I complied and flipped through the pages. I scanned it quickly, “He sold his stocks in Bly Enterprises?”