Ignoring it seemed easiest, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be effective in the long run. The draw to Angela would just continue to grow.
The drive back to the mansion was quiet, with Angela staring out the window at the snow-covered landscape. Jude found himself stealing glances at her profile, noting the way her hair caught the winter light filtering through the windshield.
"Thank you," she said suddenly, breaking the silence. "For being patient with me today."
"I learned from training Annie, Elizabeth, and Benji that being patient is the best approach. This is important, so I’ll do whatever is necessary to equip you to take care of yourself."
“Will Kiara and I have bodyguards like Annie has Dawn?”
“Yes.” Jude wasn’t sure who would have the job permanently yet, but they had enough staff to cover them temporarily.
“Do you bodyguard?”
“Not so much anymore,” he said. “Before I became head of security, I was part of Duncan’s security entourage. I was the leader of that team for about a year before he promoted me to head of all security. The only time I travel with him now is when he goes to certain parts of the world. For safety's sake, a bigger security team travels with him, and I’m usually part of that.”
“He must really trust you.”
“Yes.” There was no doubt of that, since Jude knew that Duncan would never put someone in charge of his family’s safety that he didn’t trust completely. “And I don’t take that trust for granted. He’s been very good to me.”
“Did you ever want to work somewhere else?”
“Nope. I saw my dad’s love for his job, first as a cop and then working for Duncan. I wanted that same passion for whatever I did, and I’ve found that here.”
Kiara had been quiet for the drive to the house, and when Jude glanced back at her, he saw she was focused on her phone.
Jude swung the UTV around so that the ladies could exit closest to the back door of the house.
“Thanks for the lesson,” Kiara said as she slipped from the UTV. “It was a lot of fun.”
Flashing him a quick smile, she headed for the door while Angela moved more slowly.
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as she stood outside the UTV.
“Yes. You will.”
He wanted to ask her how she planned to spend the rest of her day, but he held his tongue. It was none of his business, he reminded himself.
Duncan had outlined what his responsibility was when it came to Angela, and it had nothing to do with chitchatting with her about what she was doing with her time. He had to remember that.
Her expression was serious as she gave him a little wave, then turned and headed for the back door. She didn’t look back before disappearing inside the house.
Jude stared at the closed door for a long moment before turning the wheel of the UTV and heading for the security building.
Back in his office a few minutes later, Jude tried to focus on his work, but it was nearly impossible. His mind was caught upin Angela, and he couldn’t figure out what it was exactly that drew him to her.
It wasn’t a physical thing. Because if it was a physical draw, he would have been attracted to Annie, and that had never, ever been the case.
He’d never dwelt on what kind of woman might be his type, so he didn’t have a checklist to hold up against Angela.
Maybe if she hadn’t been his employer’s daughter. Maybe if she hadn’t been over a decade his junior. Maybe if she hadn’t been in the middle of a huge upheaval in her life.
Maybe then he might have considered seeing where things might go because he had a feeling that she had some sort of draw to him as well.
But it was all irrelevant because she was all of those things, and nothing could change them.
He had to stay focused on his job, regardless of how drawn he felt to her. He was responsible for keeping her safe and equipping her with the skills that her father demanded she have in order to survive in his world.
Nothing more.
