Page 109 of The Bodyguard

“Ya know, if I had an ex who showed up uninvited, especially after a shitastic day, I’d be irritated as fuck.”

Paul flashed a megawatt smile. He’d go far in politics with that tool in his arsenal. “Angela and I have known each other since we were teenagers.”

“I’ll give you a tip. Knowing someone for an extended length of time means nothing if you don’t bother to learn a damn thing about them.”

Paul half laughed. “Man, what’s your problem?”

“No problems—unless you bother Angela again. Do you understand me?”

Paul seemed to consider his next move.

“Does the Senator know how to get a hold of you?” Sawyer asked.

Again, Paul made another face. “I’m her chief of staff.”

“Then why don’t you and I go get a cup of coffee in the cafeteria? She’ll find you when they’re done.”

He considered protesting but yielded. The guy wasn’t an idiot in all things.

Nearly an hour later, the Senator contacted Paul. They’d agreed to meet at the visitor’s entrance. Between Sawyer’s conversation with Paul and Angela’s with the Senator, progress had been made. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to deal with this guy or her mother’s political planning again.

Sawyer had made it halfway back to Angela’s room when he received a phone call from Boss Man.

“How’s she doing?” Jared asked.

“About as well as can be expected. She doesn’t want to be here but wouldn’t leave against the doctor’s advice.”

Jared grumbled as though he and federal investigators had had something to do with her doctor admitting her for observation. Sawyer couldn’t disagree with their sentiment. With guards posted outside her room in the secure wing of a hospital, Angela was safer than she’d been in years.

“I just received a phone call from the Senator,” Jared said.

That was fast. But Senator Sorenson wasn’t a mover and shaker on Capitol Hill for being slow to pull the trigger. “What’d she want?”

“To know more about you.”

Sawyer’s gut churned. He’d expected a complaint about the conversation with Paul. “Why’s that?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

Sawyer shrugged as he walked. “I was in the room when she arrived. Angela asked that I stay when her mother asked me to go.”

Jared snickered. “Bet that was a fun back-and-forth. Well, I told Samantha to kiss my ass. If she has questions about you, she can ask you to your face.”

Sawyer laughed, confident those had been damn near Boss Man’s exact words.

“She’ll probably do her own digging,” Jared warned.

Probably. Or she would tell Paul to do it. Either way, Sawyer didn’t care. There was nothing he had to hide. Boss Man let the conversation hang until Sawyer admitted, “Angela knows about Penny and William, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Not worried. Just making sure you have as much control over your personal narrative as possible.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Look, Sawyer. Angela’s mother is a pain in my ass. There’s something screwed up in that woman’s DNA. She’s half-robot, half-asshole, and one hundred percent bloodhound. The lengths she went through to find her daughter… But…” Jared waited for a beat and then continued, “If she has a concern about you and her daughter, we’re all going to hear about it.”

Sawyer grimaced. He didn’t want Samantha Sorenson inserting her nose into his relationship with Angela. “There’s nothing to be concerned about, Boss Man.” He stopped a few doors shy of Angela’s room. “Anything else?”

“Not a damn thing.”

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