Indigo rolled her eyes. She even looked beautiful doing that. “Wow, great response.”
Wilt snapped the lid of his laptop shut, collected it under his arm, and stood. “If there’s nothing else, I’ve got work to do. And plans to make to keep you safe while you swan around taking photos.”
Damn, it was lucky Steve wasn’t still in the room, because he would chew his ass out if he’d heard what he said to Indigo. She was a client, and it didn’t matter what she said or did, her needs and protection were his and Power Security’s priority.
He should apologize. Tell her he was having a bad day, but somehow the words remained lodged in his throat.
Indigo stood as well, and met him at the door. She looked down her nose at him. “Do whatever you have to do to make yourself feel good about not being good enough to be considered for whatever other tasks your colleagues are doing.”
With that, she walked out the door leaving him alone. Unaware her words were a direct hit.
Hewasn’tgood enough to join his friends. Instead, he had an injured shoulder that wasn’t getting any better, and he had to babysit her.
Chapter
Three
Indigo punched the bag in front of her, imagining it was Wilt Thurston’s face instead of a leather bag filled with sand and other textiles. It had been two days since she first laid eyes on him, and thinking about him still riled her up. The hotel’s gym had seemed like the right place to deal with her annoyance.
His emails to her about the trip had been curt and to the point. She conceded he had that sexy nerd vibe going on, so maybe his people skills weren’t anything to write home about. They certainly hadn’t been stellar during their brief conversation the other day.
“Okay, enough. I’m not the one being punched, but I’m going to be covered in bruises holding this bag for you.” Zara’s head popped around the side of it, a huge grin on her face. “Do you feel better now?”
Indigo laid one more punch, before dropping her arms, her breath coming out in loud, harsh gasps. “I do, thank you.”
“Want to tell me what’s going on? Why you’re so angry? You’ve been off kilter since we left Power Security’s office days ago. Have you started getting messages again?” Zara came up to stand beside her, concern lighting her green eyes.
A shudder coursed through Indigo at the mention of a scary time in her career. For a few months the previous year, she’d received numerous taunting DMs on her social media, along with weird packages being sent to Zara’s office. Things had taken a turn for the worse when harmful threats were made against her and Zara. The police had gotten involved and had found the person responsible. He’d gotten obsessed with Indigo after seeing her walk in a fashion show, and had decided they were soulmates and destined to be together forever. As she’d never met or even spoken to the guy, the feelings had been one-sided.
Fortunately, he was now getting the treatment he needed, and she’d received no messages or parcels since he’d been caught and charged.
Indigo stepped back, shaking her arms to release the tension in them. She swiped her arm across her forehead. “No, I’ve not received any messages or anything. It’s just…”
Why was she letting Wilt get to her?
They had to spend a grand total of four weeks together. After that he’d go back to doing whatever he did, and so would she. Zara probably already had another job lined up. Or at least was putting feelers out to get her another gig.
“Just what? You know you can tell me anything.”
“I know.” She looked at her friend, the one whose dream it was to also be a model, but things hadn’t turned out that way for her, and it had been Indigo who’d had the success Zara had wanted. But she’d found her calling as an agent, and along with Indigo, had amassed a number of people to represent and had built a successful agency.
Did Indigo get special treatment because she was Zara’s friend and first client?
On occasion, but it wasn’t as though Zara ignored the other people she represented. She just didn’t spend time outside of working hours with them like she did with Indigo.
“Have I ever told you how much I appreciate all you do, and how much I love you?” There were times, like now, when guilt walked alongside Indigo.
“And how many times have I told you not to feel guilty?”
Of course, Zara picked up on what she was feeling. That was how close they were. “A lot, but still, I meant what I said.”
Zara grabbed her hands and squeezed them. “I know you do, and I love you back. You know I’m happy doing what I’m doing. If I’m truthful, I’m glad things didn’t work out the way I wanted them to. I still get to go to fabulous places and do amazing things, but I don’t have to watch what I eat or drink. Nor do I have to worry how I’m perceived in mainstream media.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Indigo laughed. She didn’t go out much and preferred the tranquility of her apartment in Sydney, so she didn’t have to worry too much about getting in the crosshairs of the media.
“You may have tried to put me off, but you know you never succeed. Tell me, what’s going on? Why you were hitting that bag as if it had insulted you continually?”
Her friend was too smart not to know, or see a topic diversion, no matter how subtle Indigo tried to be. “I had words with my security detail before we left the office the other day.”
