Page 12 of Bodyguard Daddy

“What is it?” Collin’s deep voice is soothing like a hot cocoa on a cold day.

I nudge my chin at the SUV in front of us.

“Who is that? Lilibet again?” He’s not her biggest fan and that’s reasonable. I barely like her.

“No, it’s Bjorn’s car.”

Collin nods and gets out of the car, telling me to wait as he goes to the driver and head of security for my father’s envoy. When he returns, Collin looks as irritated as I feel. “Senator Girard is inside reading excerpts from his upcoming memoir in hopes that his struggles as a single father sway voters to open up their hearts and wallets.”

“He’s such a fucking troll demon,” I blurt out. Collin hides a smirk and I can’t help but vent. “Why did he tell me to come if he was going to be here?”

One of the campaign volunteers approaches the car, which I’m still sitting inside with Collin standing at the door, waiting for me to decide if I’m getting out or not. They hand him two sheets of paper. As Collin reads it, his face reddens with anger.

“What is it?” I ask him as he hands it to me. I scan it before reading it out loud and I can’t believe my eyes. “You are formally released from Senator Bjorn Girard’s campaign effective immediately.”

I flip the page over and never in my wildest dreams did I think Bjorn could stoop so low.

“It’s an invoice,” I murmur.

“I see.”

“It’s an invoice for both my education and your services. Is he fucking kidding me?” I snarl and step out of the car. Collin backs up to give me room, but the minute he does, I charge inside the bookstore.

There’s security personnel all around and voters are clamoring to get closer to him. His cheesy smile and fake wave, haughty laugh, and commercial ad voice make me feel nothing but rage. The moment he sees me, Bjron leans over to his head of security and whispers something while pointing at us.

Two men in suits similar to Collin usher us into a back office where Bjorn meets us with a sense of urgency in his step. “Ah, Cory and Mr. Conyers. You two are relieved of duty effective immediately. I expect full remittance of the invoice within the next month. You don’t have to stay, but I encourage you to do so as it’s a great idea to keep up our family image.”

“Our family image?” I can hear my voice raising as I become irate with the man who pretends to care about being a father. “What image, Bjorn? Please tell me.”

“Now, don’t get excitable, Cory-”

Collin interrupts by standing between Bjorn and myself, his back to the man who’s supposed to be a father, but the only person I ever want to call Daddy is a man I’ve only met 24 hours ago.

“Let me handle this. You’re upset and it’s going to be okay,” Collin assures me as he grips me by the shoulders before turning around to face Bjorn. “Have your accountant send me your wire transfer. You’ll have your money in full by the end of the week.”

Without another word, Collin moves Bjorn to the side with a stiff arm, grabs the door, and holds it open for me to step out. The moment we do, there’s the woman from the luncheon. She’s sporting a fresh black eye and a busted lip.

Her finger trembles as she points at me, “You did this.”

“No, you did.”

“Not you, rich girl,” the woman snarls. She continues pointing and I glance over my shoulder to see Bjorn standing there with confusion riding his face.

“Welp, this has nothing to do with us,” I chuckle and continue to head out of the bookstore. Back inside the car, Collin gets me inside and hops behind the wheel. He’s already heading to my apartment, and I have too many thoughts bouncing around my head.

The time it takes to get back to my apartment building while unpacking Bjorn’s behavior has me moving in a daze. I’m still clutching the invoice and termination pages in my hand as Collin escorts me past the lobby security guards and upstairs.

Collin scopes out the floor before we go inside, and I’m staring at him, uncertain of what I’m supposed to do now.

“Sit down, Cory,” he commands. I listen and plop down on my small sofa. The mirrored door to the guest bathroom captures the exhaustion in my eyes nicely. I barely recognize myself. I don’t want to feel like this, like I’m being tossed away because I’m not sticking to the program.

Water spilling from the rainfall showerhead in my bathroom echoes around the apartment. Collin is moving about and it strikes me again that he knows his way around.

“How many times have you been inside my apartment?” I ask him.

Collin removes his suit jacket and unbuttons his shirt. He kneels in front of me to slip the high heels off my feet and his thick fingers grabbing the aching arches make me moan and close my eyes.

“That’s right, little girl. Let Daddy take care of you.”

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