“Nice. You’re a great cook.”
Frazier’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. How do you know he’s a great cook?”
Bean shrugged and a smirk played at the corner of her mouth. “Xan has made many meals for me. God knows, he was cooking for me long before you started to.”
He grinned at Frazier, happy to see his friend’s smarmy smile was gone.
Bean wasn’t wrong. They’d been friends and neighbors for years. They were both workaholics and often worked closely together. Bean also had the appetite and culinary skills of a twelve-year-old boy, so if he wanted any food of substance and nourishment, he was the one doing the cooking. “What do you suggest, B?”
Her lips pursed in thought. “You make a mean chicken parmesan.”
“You make chicken parmesan? Since when?” Frazier frowned and glanced at Wilson, who shrugged.
“Since forever, boss man,” Bean said, rolling her eyes. “It’s my favorite thing Xander makes.” She pointed her thumb at Frazier and gave Xander a can-you-believe-this-guy look.
Xander bit back a laugh and held up his hands in a timeout gesture. “I’ll take your advice, B, thank you. And if you ever want me to make you some chicken parm, just let me know. You know I’m always at your service.” He caught Frazier’s gaze, waggled his eyebrows, and then laughed when Frazier flipped him off. “I’m going to help Wilson with the search and rescue scenarios. Call me if you need me back before noon for that security detail meeting.”
“Will do.” Frazier grimaced. “Though this client may be more high maintenance than we want to deal with. Esme sent me some new intel, and the current issues the client is having with her security team have more to do with her own actions than with the actual security detail.”
Xander nodded. “Ah, let me guess. Another celebrity who thinks they know better than the security personnel they hire.”
Frazier tapped the tip of his nose. “Got it on one.”
“Well,” Wilson chimed in, “if you do end up taking the job, I’m pretty sure Team One is going to be busy.” He elbowed Xander in the side and then headed for the exit. “Right, Team One Leader?”
“Right.” Xander chuckled and lifted his chin at Frazier and Bean. “Catch you two later.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
After loading the grocery bags into the back of his SUV, Xander glanced at his watch. He had an hour before he had to pick Freya up from work. He swung by his house to drop off the groceries and then made his way to the Pacific View Resort. Entering the main lobby, he made his way to the reception desk.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Bonetti,” the man at the front desk said. “I’m Drew. We met briefly the other day. How can I help you?”
He appreciated that the other man recognized him. Not that Xander thought he was special enough to be recognized on sight, but rather because it boded well for the front desk. It was more than just greeting guests. Situational awareness and facial recognition were critical to the position. It not only would set them apart in terms of customer service, but also in security as the front-desk staff were the first line of defense. Hudson Security had recommended additional training for both the security and front-desk staff, which included tactics on reading body language.
“Hello, Drew. It’s good to see you again,” Xander said. “Is Sam Abbot from Hudson Security here?”
“Yes, sir. Miss Abbot is in the security office. Feel free to go on back.” Xander arched a brow, and the man rushed on as he placed an access card on the counter. “Mr. Kwon let us know that you have full access to the resort, sir.”
“Appreciate it,” Xander said with a nod. “Have a good day.”
Stepping away from the front desk, he made his way to the frosted glass door at the edge of the reception area. Before he could scan his access card, a discreet buzz sounded, unlocking the secure entrance to the resort’s management offices. He pulled the door open and stepped into a smaller reception area. This time, the desk sat unattended.
“What’s up, dude?” a voice called out from the office to his right.
“Hey, Abbot,” he said, stepping into the resort’s security room. It was a large room and was as frigid as a damn meat locker. His colleague was seated at a long desk with a slew of monitors in front of her, all showing various feeds from around the resort. How she kept track of everything, he had no clue. But given the resort’s setup was smaller than Abbot’s setup at Hudson Security, this was probably child’s play to her. He tilted his head toward the empty reception desk. “Isn’t that supposed to be manned?”
She spun in her chair to face him and rolled her eyes. “Ortiz’s assistant is allowed to step away from her desk to pee, you know.”
He held up his hands. “Hey, I’m just making sure.”
“Right. What brings you to the resort? In need of another haircut, Viking boy?”
“Holy shit,” he muttered, running a hand over his jaw.
“Hey, what can I say? Our office loves to gossip. You should probably stop cutting your own hair, because you always make it look like shit.” She grinned at him and made a circular motionwith her hand. “That haircut makes you look good. Still tough-looking and definitely more put together, but way less DIY.”
He furrowed his brow. “I don’t know what that means, so I’m just going to say thank you. I think. Anyway, as you probably already know, I’m picking up Freya?—”
