“He wasn’t supposed to have that. I pulled the file and locked it so no one could view it again. Sorry about that.”
“What I’m more concerned about is the ad. Why the fuck was the voiceover a private moment between Ava and me?”
“First, nothing said in that room is private. If you read the contract, you would have seen that for everyone’s safety, there are audio recording devices set up so that once someone enters the room, they go off. I don’t ever want to be accused of any impropriety by any client. One client tried that shit a long time ago, but they weren’t aware that my wife was my assistant—a mistake they learned the hard way. I left the rest of your conversation out of it. Trust me when I say that I wish I could have used more. You two have to be my favorite couple. The images were natural and perfect. I’m sorry if you were offended.”
“No, I just should have read the documents. Normally, I’m more careful.”
“Yes, especially since you provide my security, and you had the audio set up as well.” I had been in such a rush to handle my family’s mistake, I made my own crucial one. Still, Claude had been stand-up about it and only used what he thought was necessary to make the ad shine.
“Don’t ruin your relationship with that woman. She appears to bring out the messy side of you, and that can only be for the best.”
“You’re right, and I sure as hell won’t. Thanks again. Take care.” I ended the call and had to make a very important one to check on Ava’s trip to work. As much as I wanted to stalk and harass her, I decided it was best to give her a little space. Soon, we’d have all our mornings together, so I called her driver.
“How was her dropoff this morning?” I asked Ronald.
“Um…for the most part…good.”
“What do you mean, the most part?”
“Well, she looked like she’d been crying and that she was about to cry again. I managed to get her some breakfast, and that stopped the tears. Apparently she likes the bagel spot you like, sir.”
“That’s a good thing, but she didn’t say why?”
“I didn’t ask. It wasn’t my place, and I have sisters. If you ask why they’re crying, they just cry more. It’s not a good thing.”
“Oh. Thanks for handling it. Did you notice anyone lurking around?”
“No, sir. The street seemed mostly empty.” I nodded as though he could see me. I wanted to crush the person who hurt her. Ava was my world and was everything to me, so her pain was mine. Heaven help my brother if it was him who hurt my woman.
My phone rang, and it was a number I didn’t recognize. Still, I answered it because only clients had this number. “James Keaton.”
“Yes, this is Dr. Kelly, Ava’s father. I want you to leave my daughter alone.” I did my best not to laugh over the phone at his ridiculous request.
“Not going to happen, Mr. Kelly.”
“It’s Doctor, and clearly she could do better than someone like you. Besides, she already has a fiancé here. You’ve disgraced her, and you’re lucky that her fiancé has already forgiven that video with the acknowledgment that it’s just a commercial.”
“I’ll give you a polite ‘mind your own fucking business.’ Ava isn’t engaged to anyone else but me, so you can go take that attitude somewhere else. How dare you say she’s been disgraced, you disrespectful son of a bitch. I don’t care if you’re her father or not—you don’t ever say something awful about her. If you’re the reason that she was crying this morning, then doctor or not, you’re going to need to find another way to work with your hands because I’m going to break them. Do you understand me?”
“So you’re a thug?” My fist needed to meet his smug face. How could he raise such an angel?
I pulled the stress ball from my desk that Elizabeth gave me as a gift last year and squeezed it like it was his neck. “No, I’m a man who protects his woman.”
“And I’m a man who would never hurt his children.” The lying sack of shit already proved to be wrong on that point.
“So stay away from my woman and hopefully any children we’re blessed with.” I hung up the phone and called Ava’s detail. “Where is she?”
“She’s at her desk, as far as I know, but we’re not allowed near the building. It has security.”
“Good. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Make sure no one goes near her unless it’s one of her coworkers, and make sure as hell that they don’t touch her or insult her or anything. Make it happen. I don’t care what her boss says. It’s not like she’ll be working there much longer.” The vehement tone in my voice leftno way to mistake my message. I was on a warpath, and nothing but her happiness would satisfy me.
“Of course, Mr. Keaton.” I was out of the office and in my vehicle before anyone interrupted my rampage. The door to the passenger side opened up, and there was Elizabeth.
“I’m coming with you so you don’t do something stupid and end up in jail.”
“Smart. That’s why you’re an amazing assistant.”
“I know.” She winked and buckled up as I flew out of the parking spot and out onto the city streets. It didn’t take us long to reach the warehouse office building. There was more security than there should be, and I immediately recognized the LLC before I pulled up to the lot. Motherfucker wasn’t just a tow company. I chuckled to myself because today was Ava’s last day whether she liked it or not, or I’d drop the fucker as a client.
