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I busied myself with the pizza, making Alice's plate first. “And why would I know what your friend is up to?”
Sebastian cut me a glare.
Faith stood straight, reaching her full height. “You seem to have no problem keeping tabs on her midnight running sessions.”
“She hasn't done that in six nights.”
Faith looked like the cat who caught the canary. “Oh, really? Sixwholenights? And you know that because…”
I pretended to remove a piece of non-existent lint from my shoulder. “I own a billion-dollar bodyguard business. It's my duty to know these things.”
“Sure, you just happen to keep tabs on a woman who you aren't contractually obligated to protect.” She nodded. “That makes a whole lot of sense.” Sarcasm dripped from her lips like honey from a honeycomb.
“Can I eat?” Alice piped in.
Faith startled as if remembering there were little ears in the room. Her face softened as she turned to my daughter and asked her about school, making sure to throw me one final glance that promised we weren't done with this conversation.
I made plates for everyone. Sebastian and I ate standing up since we only had two barstools, and we'd offered them to our girls.
“How’s it going with Harrison Barnes?” I asked. Sebastian finally got the white whale of clients. Something he’d been working towards since he started Steele Cyber Security a dozen years ago.
Sometimes our work overlapped, which meant we often passed clients back and forth. Unlike my friend, I didn't care about the cache that comes with some of the wealthiest people in the world. No, I preferred to protect people who deserved protecting. To be fair, most people fall under this category. Luckily, I’ve made a great name for myself, which means I can cherry pick my clients.
“It’s fine. I have to fly back to London a couple of times and I’m trying to convince Faith to go with me. I think she’s onboard for one trip and then needs to be here for a few gallery meetings. Apparently they are going to set up another show with her and a couple of other artists and she wants to hold the meetings in person. It’s more professional that way.”
“She wants to be taken seriously given her last name. That makes sense.” Being a former socialite meant that a lot of people judged Faith based on her name alone.
Sebastian ran a hand through his scruff. “I was hoping you’d have someone watch over her while I’m gone. Just a few days.” He rattled off the dates. The first trip was just a few days away.
I nodded, already combing through my mental Rolodex to consider who I might be able to dispatch. “You sure as shit didn’t learn your lesson from last time?”
He shrugged. “I knew you’d figure something out.”
“My team has a full roster right now.” And Sebastian couldn’t be bothered to give me more of a heads up.
He grinned like he knew exactly what I was thinking. “You could always do it.”
I frowned. “Yes, I watched her before, but that was an unusual circumstance, and you know it. I come in, get the client comfortable, and do the soft handoff with my team. That’s how it works.”
Sebastian folded his arms across his wide chest. “We can just pretend anytime that Faith is involved is a special circumstance.”
A laugh burst from my chest. “You would ask for that.”
My friend’s face turned hard as steel. “For that woman, I’d ask anything.”
I loosed a sigh. “I’ll see what I can do, I promise. It gets complicated with Alice. I don’t like spending more than a night or two away from her.”
Sebastian shrugged. “Simple. Bring her with you.”
“That's not how this works.”
He shrugged again. “Think of it as house-sitting.”
I had a few choice words for my friend. None of which I'd vocalize in earshot of Alice.
“I'll consider it.” Knowing full damn well I’d say yes in the end.
CHAPTER16