Benji grinned. ‘Oh yeah.’
‘Poor kid got an education, that’s for sure,’ Jordyn commented. Turning to Mav, she asked, ‘What was she? Like sixty? Sixty-one?’
Maverick didn’t reply, but his lips fought a smile.Marciehad been a handful. Harmless. But a handful. And while it had been José who had found her, it had been Mav who had made sure theverydrunk, very upset divorcée had made it back to her cabin safely – and fully clothed. Marcie was all right. She was just single for the first time in forty years. And upset. Add one too many margaritas to the mix and you had a dangerous combo.
But despite the awkward situation, she had come in to apologize the very next morning.
Mav had taken her riding and listened while she’d cried and talked about her ex-husband, a man who she’d loved for two-thirds of her life, a man who’d conveniently fallen in love with a woman thirty years younger and left Marcie in the dust with her broken heart.
Still, wanting to avoid any more talk of Marcie, he pointedly refocused his attention on the printed sheet.
There weren’t any more guests listed. Only the names, lodges, and special notes for the fifteen Sierra had already mentioned.
‘That’s only fifteen.’ Benji spoke Mav’s thoughts.
‘I’mgetting there,’ Sierra said slowly.
The room fell quiet as the tension ratcheted up a notch.
Benji didn’t snap back as he once would have. He didn’t say anything, only tipped his baseball cap over his eyes and looked back down at his printed notes.
‘The sixteenth isn’t listed for a reason,’ Sierra continued. ‘She’s coming here to recuperate.’ Mav’s interest piqued at his sister’s cautious tone. ‘She’s well known. I have NDAs for each of you to pass along to your staff.’
‘Why NDAs?’ Jordyn asked, frowning. She waved one hand in the air. ‘We have celebrities come out all the time to get away from the public, and we haven’t had any problems before.’
‘This doesn’t go beyond this office,’ Sierra reiterated, looking at each of them in turn. ‘If your staff have questions about the NDAs or refuse to sign them, then take them off the work schedule for the next month.’
A collective hush settled through the room.
Mav pondered the unusual request. Despite Jordyn’s question, it wasn’tunheardof for them to have to sign NDAs. Hunt Ranch was one of the few luxury guest ranches in California. They were located on two thousand acres in beautiful Santa Barbara County, less than three hours from Los Angeles. So, they had their fair share of photoshoots and film location bookings.
Their prices reflected the value of the amenities, which, at least in Mav’s mind, included the guests’ privacy. But the NDAs were usually only for those staff who would be directly working with the celebrity guests, not the entire staff, which included over one hundred full- and part-time employees.
‘While we are not expecting any trouble, I need you to be aware of everyone coming and going while she’s here.’
‘Why?’ Lucas, their event planner, asked.
‘She was assaulted in her home last week.’
Lucas raised both brows. ‘Well … shit.’
‘I don’t know much,’ Sierra continued, ‘but according to her agent, the police haven’t identified her attacker yet. They suspect he might have been a stalker. Or just plain crazy. Probably both.
‘If any of you feel uncomfortable with the situation, I need you to say so now. Otherwise, from the moment she arrives to the moment she leaves, you’re all deaf and dumb.’
‘We need to be able to tell the wranglers.’ Benji didn’t even bother addressing Sierra. He spoke to Mav. ‘They’re always armed. They know this land. And no city nutjob could one-up any of them.’
‘This is not a protection detail,’ Sierra argued instantly. ‘We’re only guaranteeing her privacy while she’s here. Everything else, including security, is up to her—’
‘Before you two start,’ Jordyn interjected, ‘could you wrap this up for the rest of us?’
Sierra didn’t even bother denying it. She passed out the wads of printed NDAs. ‘I need these back by tomorrow, prior to check-in. If any staff are off and coming in later in the week, get them to sign them the moment they step foot on the property.’
‘Now I’m super curious,’ Deb, Lucas’s assistant, commented. ‘Who is it?’
Sierra smiled. ‘Nina Keller.’
Confused by the stunned silence that followed, Mav looked over his shoulder, and seeing the awestruck expressions on nearly everyone’s faces, spoke for the first time since the meeting had started. ‘What?’ When no response was forthcoming, he added, ‘Who is she?’
