Page 41 of Spring Break with a Bodyguard
The door opens, and a group of hotel staff enters—housekeepers, maintenance workers, front desk personnel, all looking nervous but determined.
“What’s this?” one of the board members asks, clearly confused.
I move to the head of the table, confidence flowing through me that would have been unimaginable four months ago. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve invited representatives from every department to participate in today’s review. After all, they’re the ones implementing these changes daily. Their feedback is invaluable.”
Preston raises an eyebrow but doesn’t object as the staff take seats around the expanded table. In the subtle shift of his expression, I see grudging approval—and perhaps a touch of pride. Crystal gives me a subtle thumbs-up from her seat beside him, while Willy engages a maintenance worker in conversation about the new energy-efficient systems.
This is why the meeting had to be at The Sandpiper. Not for convenience or facilities, but for the symbolic importance of bringing leadership to where the work happens, rather than summoning workers to the executive ivory tower.
As the meeting begins, I feel Javi’s eyes on me from his position near the door. No longer my official bodyguard, he attends these sessions in his new role as Hollister Security’s Training Director. The program he’s developing parallels my own initiatives—creating advancement opportunities, implementing best practices, recognizing talent at all levels.
His smile—that rare, transformative smile that still makes my heart skip—carries a clear message—pride, support, and something deeper that’s grown steadily between us over these months.
We’ve found our rhythm, he and I. His bungalow has become as much my home as my townhouse is his. Weekends are spent on his secluded beach or entertaining his boisterous family when they visit from Miami.
Preston and Brogan have adjusted to our relationship with minimal drama. As Brogan put it dryly during a family dinner, “Anyone who can handle Teddy during a hotel theft investigation has earned hazard pay, not disapproval.” That made even Preston laugh, earning a surprised look from Crystal who was unaccustomed to hearing her serious boyfriend enjoy a joke at his family’s expense. Even Aunt Elaine chuckled.
The meeting proceeds smoothly, the staff gradually relaxing enough to contribute valuable insights. Seeing housekeepers and board members discussing linen inventory systems as equals fills me with a satisfaction deeper than any social media validation ever provided.
When we break for lunch, I slip away from the group temporarily, needing a moment to collect my thoughts before the afternoon session. Without consciously choosing a destination, I find myself on the third floor, standing in the familiar hallway where I once pushed Marilyn the cleaning cart.
“Feeling nostalgic?” Javi’s voice comes from behind me, warm with understanding.
I turn, finding him leaning against the wall in a stance that echoes our first days here—except the uniform is gone, replaced by the business casual attire of his new position, professional distance gone.
“A little,” I admit. “Everything changed in this hallway.”
He pushes off from the wall, moving to stand beside me. “Any regrets?”
I shake my head, smiling up at him. “Not a single one. Though I sometimes miss Marilyn.”
“The cart?” Javi laughs, the sound still rare enough to delight me every time. “I’m sure Carmen would let you take her for a spin, for old times’ sake.”
“Don’t tempt me,” I warn, bumping my shoulder against his. “I might just show up in disguise again, see if anyone recognizes me.”
His arm slips around my waist, drawing me closer. “I’d recognize you anywhere, Teddy Hollister. Glasses, uniform, whatever disguise you choose. I know you now.”
The simple truth of his words warms me from within. He does know me—not the socialite, not the heiress, not even Director of Staff Development Teddy, but the real me underneath all those roles.
“Lucky me,” I murmur, rising on tiptoes to brush a kiss across his lips.
He catches me before I can pull away, his hand gently cupping my face. The playfulness in his expression shifts to something more serious, more tender.
“I’ve been wanting to tell you something,” he says, his voice low and private in the empty hallway. “Something I’ve known for a while now, but I wanted to be sure.”
My heart beats faster as I recognize the intensity in his gaze. “Always the careful planner,” I tease gently, though my voice trembles.
“Not with you,” he says with a small smile. “With you, I’ve broken every rule, abandoned every protocol. And it’s been the best decision of my life.”
His thumb traces my cheekbone as he takes a breath. “I love you, Teddy. Not the socialite, not the housekeeper—just you. The woman who’s brave enough to scrub toilets to prove a point and smart enough to turn a PR disaster into an industry revolution.”
Tears prick at the corners of my eyes as happiness blooms in my chest. In my previous life, those words had been exchanged too easily, thrown around as casually as air kisses at society events. But from Javi, a man who weighs every word with military precision, they carry a weight that leaves me breathless.
His words carry the truth.
“I love you, too,” I whisper, my hands coming up to frame his face. “More than I thought possible when we started this crazy adventure.”
The smile that spreads across his face—unreserved, genuine, transformative—is worth every moment of uncertainty, every ache and pain, every challenge we’ve faced to get here.
