Page 11 of Bodyguard Daddy

“That doesn’t sound like a numerical amount with commas and a decimal point. How much, little girl?”

“I have to check, but it’s somewhere in the thirty-grand range.”

I nod and pull back into traffic.

“Collin? What are you planning to do?”

“I plan on taking care of Daddy’s little girl and that’s all you need to know.”

6

CORY

This is crazy, right?

Of course, it is.

I don’t have time to process that as I pull out my phone to get Bjorn on the line.

“Ahh, Cory. My darling and dutiful campaigner,” Bjorn answers the line, and all I can think about is how he refuses to acknowledge me as his daughter. He continues, “I received a heads up about that luncheon. We’re trying to get the numbers for donations. Do you have a ballpark to give the treasurer?”

“No,” I huff out. Collin’s focusing on the road and I see my building off in the distance. As much as I want to go home, there’s another stop I need to make. But I’m not going anywhere without some answers. “Bjorn, a woman tried to attack me because of that prison project you have going up.”

“There’s no prison going up, Cory. Don’t be ridiculous.” Bjorn chuckles and I have no idea what he’s talking about.

“The woman was pretty certain that it is and voiced her concerns very loudly before I could ask for the donations.”

Bjorn grumbles on the other end of the line, “This is why you charge per plate at those functions. I told you giving anything free to these animals was a bad idea.”

“Animals, Bjorn? Really?”

“Yes, really,” he grunts. “If you charged an entry fee to the damn thing like Arty told you to, no one’s going to pay to disrupt.”

“What about the prison, Bjorn? What do I tell the next voter who voices their concerns angrily at me?”

“The prison proposal was just a proposal to get the attention of a lobbyist, but now that I’ve got what I want, no need to follow through on that. We don’t actually need a prison out here but don’t tell voters yet. We’ve promised jobs that are no longer coming. Just keep it to kissing babies and promising a better economy in the coming years.”

“What if I need to stop campaigning?” I ask him before he can hurry me off the phone.

“Get Lilibet to cover your appearances and start fresh next week.”

“No, Bjorn. I mean, what if I want to quit the political arena altogether?”

There’s a brief silence before he speaks low. “Let me think about that. Head to the bookstore and I’ll get back to you.”

The call ends and I look up to see we’re in front of my building. I offer Collin a sympathetic smirk, “We have to head to the bookstore.”

He simply nods and heads back into traffic to get us to my next event. It doesn’t take long for us to arrive at the bookstore where I’m supposed to be reading to school children.

Collin’s silence is unnerving, but I guess he’s allowing me to sit alone with my thoughts or maybe he’s simply doing his job and securing things with his manly gaze. Ha. I still can’t believe I have to have a bodyguard, but I’m happy it’s him.

There’s something about Collin that gives me the strength to voice my opinion to Bjorn and just about anyone else we encounter. I like that feeling of someone having my back without expecting anything in return. Maybe he wants sex out of this, but that doesn’t seem right.

The connection erupting between us isn’t as shallow as him just trying to get into my pants. The car coming to a stop at the next venue brings me out of my thoughts and into the moment. There’s a few reporters standing outside and another dark-tinted SUV already sitting in front of us.

My stomach lurches as I know those government plates anywhere.

“Oh no,” I mutter.

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