I shook my head. “You need to wear a shirt in this house.”
He stalked toward me. “It’s hot as Hades in here. Does your air conditioner even work?”
“I don’t like it too cold. I freeze easily.”
“I guess that’s what happens to people who are already cold enough.”
As he stood there with his hands on his hips, I did feel oddly warm, actually. And it had nothing to do with the air-conditioner setting.
He smirked. A chill ran down my spine.
Fuck. Those dimples.
I’m going to kill my father for hiring this guy.
CHAPTER 3
Wes
That afternoon, the business phone rang while I was parked across the street from the building where Juliette had gone to work, waiting for her to get out of a meeting.
I had two phones, and whenever the first one rang, I knew I had to brace myself. Because it could only be one person.
I picked up. “Hey, Vince.”
“How’s it going over there?”
“Do we need to talk about pizza or…?”
“No,” he said. “We’re good.”
“Okay.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Everything is going well, actually. But your daughter runs a tight ship.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that she’s very regimented. Everything has to be a certain way.”
“Well, good. She probably gets that from me.” He paused. “Anyway, you’renot there to make friends.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
“No funny business. You get what I’m saying? I’m not stupid. I know my daughter is a very attractive woman.”
I had to laugh at that. Not because Juliette wasn’t attractive, because she sure as hell was. But Juliette wouldn’t let me near her with a ten-foot pole. I chuckled under my breath. “She doesn’t seem to like me very much.”
“Good. Keep it that way. Your job is not to make her like you. It’s to protect her.”
“Understood.” I tugged at my hair. “I take my job very seriously, sir.”
“Juliette and I got off to a rough start in our relationship,” he said. “But she’s the most precious thing to me. I’ve done a lot of things wrong, but Juliette is something good that’s come from my life.”
I had to smile at the rare moment of softness coming from a man who was normally tough as nails. It didn’t last long, of course.
“So, if anything happens to her, you won’t see the light of day,” he added.
“Nothing’s going to happen to her,” I assured him.And if it does, it will be because her stubborn ass can’t get out of her own way.
“Well, glad to hear you’re confident in your abilities. Don’t let your guard down. And keep me apprised of anything suspicious.”
