4
Getting along
Sawyer trailedLila out of the office, but not without turning back to issue a pretend salute to Rusty. Rusty waved back, in between fixing the arrangement of the office supplies on his desk.
Sawyer wasn’t sure how Rusty could live with Kaylin; she was a walking mess, even if she was a hot one. Sawyer didn’t understand how any amount of love could make people of such extreme opposites work as a couple. He also didn’t understand how love could bloom from that kind of starting point in the first place. But before his mind could wander down that path further, he jogged after Lila, mesmerized by the sway of her hips as she walked at a clip down the street. Sawyer bet she’d look killer in a plaid mini skirt.
Lila turned into a coffee shop, pausing at the door for Sawyer to catch up and follow her through the door.
“Would you like anything?” she asked, taking out her pocketbook.
“I’m not a cappuccino kind of guy,” he answered, crossing his arms, taking in the people around the room. He counted at least three designer purses and one suit, which he knew cost well over a grand.
“They have regular coffee,” Lila said.
Sawyer laughed. “I’m sure they do.”
Sawyer slid into a seat near the pickup counter. His favorite kind of coffee was the thick, Turkish coffee with grounds at the bottom of delicate cups. He’d loved sitting in a circle drinking it, with members of the American, British and Turkish military while deployed with NATO back in his days as an army Captain. He’d gone into the Marines right after high school, then college and officer candidate school. Traveling had been his favorite part of the job, though it had been lonely moving from place to place, with each assignment as a single man. Most of the other officers had families and lived in assigned housing with backyards and clothes lines. He’d always been put into a dorm room-style barrack. At least when he was in Afghanistan, he’d had company around the clock.
Not that he’d ever admit to anyone he was lonely. Lonely was only for people who couldn’t get dates, and Sawyer could always get a date whenever he wanted one. They just weren’t the type of girls he wanted to stick around the next day. It was better that way though, being an infantryman on multiple tours of deployment. He could have been killed at any time. He didn’t want to leave someone he loved a widow, especially not with kids. He’d grown up without his own father after a coal mine collapse, and knew what that was like. Sawyer’s mom had raised him and his older brother on a convenience store clerk’s salary and some life insurance money. Sawyer still sent her checks now, so she could retire. His brother had gone to work in coal too, but had been laid off as the mines started to close. He was strong and could have made a good bodyguard by sheer bulk alone, but Sawyer knew his brother didn’t have the focus or attention to detail required to keep a client alive. And at the end of the day, Sawyer had been right about the risk of death on the job. But still - taking a few bullets and missing many, were good precursors for going into private security, though.
Lila sat down next to him with her coffee and stirred in cream. “I don’t know how anyone is awake at this hour without caffeine.”
“That’s not just caffeine you got there,” he said, pointing at her cup, “Thatis an accessory.”
“Excuse me?”
What was wrong with the guy? It was barely three hours into their meeting, and he was making her uncomfortable. She’d try to put him in his place.
“Look at this precious cup,” Sawyer said, taking her gold foil-pressed bamboo cup and turning it to see the full art deco design. “This cup cost more than what’s in it.”
“Not true,” Lila countered. “It’s fair trade beans.” She pulled the cup away from him. Why was she even sitting next to this guy? He was being paid to make sure no boogeyman jumped out and attacked her, not to sit close enough for him to dole out insults at her.
“Maybe,” Sawyer replied with a smirk. “No breakfast? Those pastries look good.” He leaned to see the row of artisan Danishes in the case.
“I don’t eat breakfast,” Lila stood, capping her cup with a plastic lid. “No time.”
“They didn’t teach you it’s the most important meal of the day in your swank private school?” Sawyer didn’t know why he was antagonizing her. He didn’t normally try to provoke his clients, but the pink flush that came to her cheeks when she got visibly angry, made his pulse quicken. He craved her attention.
“Did you get a file on me?” Lila stopped by the door, blocking the way for people trying to get in. “How is that even relevant to this job?”
Sawyer swept her out of the way of the door with his arm, the fabric of her scrub top shrinking around her waist as he moved her. He felt the bone of her hip in the palm of his hand, and he only released it reluctantly. “No file,” he grinned. “I just know.”
“Because my father is a senator? Big stretch.” Lila wasn’t sure why she was mad. She didn’t like a man – or anyone – making assumptions about her based on her parent’s career. But he wasn’t wrong. His smile was so cheeky – flirtatious, even – that she had to fight herself to keep her face cold. He had a nice smile, the kind which seemed to bathe the recipient in warm light. The kind that seemed to shut out everyone else in the world except the person receiving it. “I’m not hungry till lunch.” She pushed the door open and stepped out onto the sidewalk.
“Doesn’t look like you pack your own meals,” Sawyer observed. “What’s your plan?”
“On Saturdays at the clinic, I go to a deli around the corner,” she said. “They make good soup.”
“Soup isn’t a real meal.”
“Any other life advice you’d like to impart?”
“That depends,” Sawyer said. “Anything else you’ve got upside down?”
Lila rolled her eyes and walked away from him.
Her previous bodyguards had been silent, especially the last one. He had preferred to text, whenever they needed to communicate. Others had also kept their distances, the type of distance typically needed for a bodyguard. But now she was stuck withthisone, who would never keep his opinions to himself. He was behaving like he was the boss, while she was just a mere schoolgirl he needed to watch after. The last thing a man that cocky needed was more reassurance. Best to stay distant, not even talk to him. Especially don’t acknowledge statements that were clearly meant to goad her.
She thought about complaining to Kaylin for a minute, but she didn’t want to get the guy fired. Then she’d feel bad. She resisted the urge to glance over her shoulder to see how close he was behind her, half expecting him to run up to her and apologize, if only because she was his client.
Sawyer strolled with his hands in his pockets and whistled, happily watching the swish of Lila’s red hair down her back. The side to side sway of her backside produced a rhythm which spurned some feelings in his loins. He knew he’d flirted with her and he knew that she knew, despite her visible irritation at what he had said. He’d bet she spent most of her life always getting anything she wanted, and girls like that liked it when somebody challenged them, even if they’d never admit it.
He probably needed to back off though, no matter how pretty she was behind that stony face and those glasses. Rusty had told him not to hit on a client, and a politician’s daughter with a death threat against her, definitely wasn’t the place to start. Even if she did like his attention (or so he thought), girls like her never went for guys like him. At least not beyond a one-night stand. He didn’t fit in well with her crowd, and he knew exactly what kind of crowd she was accustomed to.
Still, imagining what she wore under those baggy scrubs didn’t hurt anything.Probably Lace, he mused.
Yeah – he eyed her again. She was definitely a silk and lace girl. He felt heat flood his body and made himself stop thinking about this, before he could consider the color. He didn’t want to start having some mental sexual fantasies about her, especially when he felt that the feeling wasn’t mutual. He didn’t need all of Brooklyn to see how he felt about this girl.
