Page 48 of Caleb
“Good morning, Miss Murphy.”
“I need you in the car with me, Annette,” Ambassador Murphy replies coolly, scanning through the documents Annette just handed him a minute ago with a furrowed brow. “It’s best if you walk me through these before I sign them.”
“Of course. Whatever you need, Mr. Ambassador.” She smiles, but her eyes are telling. She’s annoyed at him. At the power he has over her. Annette’s allowing it by working here; she knows there’s no way around it, especially in public. But knowing about their dynamic makes it much more difficult not to want to punch his teeth out. And even if she’s annoyed, I know deep down she still loves him, so I’m sure it must be tough for her to deal with all this bullshit.
I walk around them and help Red inside the vehicle. Annette follows her because she’s not going to say no to her boss, and then Ambassador Murphy holds out his hand to greet me. “Good morning, Caleb.”
“Good morning, Ambassador.” I take his hand and grasp it firmly with mine.
“I’m going to need you to be extra vigilant with my daughter this weekend,” he whispers. “There will be a lot of international media coverage, and overall just a lot of people at the event tomorrow. Aaron’s the one who knows how to make her feel at ease. I don’t want her to feel overwhelmed with him being away.”
Right hook.
Aaron’s been looking after Red for years, and I know he was with her when her mother died, so I know they share a special bond. But Ambassador Murphy’s comment rubbed me the wrong way. It makes me want to tell him how close I am to his daughter. How muchIhave helped her feel better after losing her mother because he’s always too busy to care or even realize what it is she needs to “feel at ease.”
But I keep my mouth shut and swallow down the words and the foolish pride that’s inevitably stuck to them.
“Of course, Mr. Ambassador.” Calmly, I rest my hands in a loose fist in front of me.
“Good.” He nods with narrowed eyes filled with suspicion, giving me a quick once-over as if me watching his daughter all day bothers him, but he can’t complain about it because that’s precisely what he wants me to do—tough shit. And with the dirt I’ve got on him, he better not want to mess with my job.
“Don’t let her out of your sight,” he whispers, stepping inside the car.
“I’ll make sure of it, Mr. Ambassador.”
“Room 325, Miss Murphy,” the smiling bellhop announces with a French accent, opening her room door and rolling her suitcase inside. He then hands over the room’s keycard to her. Scott and I stand a safe distance away.
“Thank you so much.” She drops her purse on a blue velvet sofa chair. Her room has an ornate baby blue wallpaper that makes the interior design look traditionally French.
“Is there anything else you need,mademoiselle?” the bellhop asks, holding the door open.
“I’m good, thank you,” Red replies warmly. She’s walking toward the door, but the bellhop shuts it in her face, unaware of her approaching. A few seconds later, she opens the door just a tad, her head peeking out comically. “Um—” She looks down for a second and chuckles, her cheeks deliciously flushed in a peachy hue. “I was just going to tell you I’ll be meeting my father downstairs for lunch in twenty minutes. I’m going to get settled here, and I’ll see you guys in a bit, okay?”
“Of course, Miss Murphy,” I reply, stifling a smile. Scott’s cool, but he’s just third-wheeling here. I would’ve probably been standing closer to her door right now, laughing with her, if it were just the two of us, as the last few days have been with Aaron gone.
Back in Paris, Ambassador Murphy trusted me with his daughter, so I’ve been driving her around on my own. But now that we’re out of town, and it’s a big event, he doesn’t want to “take any risks.” And I get it. But I could’ve handled her security on my own for this weekend too.
“Are you guys on my floor?”
“324, Miss,” Scott replies in a deep timbre, his lips curving into a small smile.
“Oh.” She looks over my shoulder at the door behind me, a nervous smile twitching on her lips. “We’re neighbors then.” She looks at her hand holding the door open and licks her bottom lip. Does she feel it too? The awkwardness of having Scott around us when we’re so used to beingusall the time?
I’m sure she does.
She shakes her head once as if trying to shake her thoughts away and says, “I—I’ll see you guys in a bit.” She shuts the door, and Scott offers to go downstairs to retrieve our luggage so I can stay to keep an eye out outside Red’s room.
I nod and thank him.
He walks away, and my phone pings.
Red:Scott sucks.
I knew it. I smile at my screen.
Me:Are you being mean, Miss Murphy?
Red:I like him, but you know what I mean.
