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Protection was big business. Especially when those doing the protecting had as much training as my people had.
I employed the best, the brightest, the boldest. My clients paid well for that. Everyone from professional athletes, to pop singers, to elected officials. There were a few billionaire clients on the roster too, including my friends Sebastian Steele and Dominic Waters. I charged them double since they usually pushed the boundaries of our friendship and what was expected of bodyguards. Plus, they intentionally withheld information to fuck with me.
If they called, I answered. They might not have served with me overseas, but that didn't make them any less my brothers.
“Daddy, look,” my daughter shouted, pointing across the street. “Ice cream shop.”
She gave me the biggest eyes, silently pleading for me to reconsider.
“No.” I held firm, even though her smile fell. I'd give myself gold stars for sticking to my guns. Just then we came upon a pizzeria. The smell of yeast and melted cheese permeated onto the busy street.
My stomach grumbled. “Come on, Al. Let's eat.”
“Fiiine,” she said, full of sass, all the while beaming at me, the expression tugging on my heartstrings even more.
CHAPTER3
Luna
“Call if anything comes up.I appreciate you getting a handle on the procurement process.” I hung up on the new contractor leading my team, having fired Jordan and a few of his top guys.
It had only taken a few calls to realize why we didn't have the materials for the job site: Jordan never ordered them.
After that horrendous day at the job site, I'd called in the big guns. Having a cyber security expert as one of my best friends really came in clutch.
Within an hour, Sebastian tracked down all the ammunition I needed to fire Jordan's ass and not pay out the healthy sum he would have gotten if I’d breached the contract. As it was, he lucked out because I decidednotto sue him.
Though, the idea did tempt me.
Now that Parvati led the project, things were already turning around. She sent daily photo evidence of the progress, including images of the shipments, and the team working hard.
Thank goodness for that. Women get shit done. I should have known that from the beginning.
Thankfully, that pesky headache of mine hadn't returned. Having Parvati onboard significantly reduced my stress levels.
As long as I had a strong team around me, I could keep my businesses booming.
Speaking of businesses, I was due at Club Deux in thirty minutes.
Hair and makeup flawless, I put on a skin-tight blood-red bodysuit and a leather mini-skirt.
I was serving sex kitten, which felt ironic given that I’d been celibate for years now. As a club owner, it was exactly the look I was going for because, let’s face it, sex sells.
Then I paired it with some killer heels that would be swapped out for unicorn slippers once I made it safely behind my massive desk at Club Deux. The club was my headquarters—the place where I ran all of my business ventures.
While I didn't have meetings until later in the day, I wanted to catch up on paperwork. That's what Sundays were for. The boutique casino resort I’d fondly named The Chateau required an ungodly number of permits, and I was double checking everything with my lawyer before submitting them to the city.
Then I’d meet with the interior designer and go over her latest sketches for the club at the casino. My new friend Faith Waters lent me her design expertise to improve the plans, and now they were infinitely better.
One final check on my hallway mirror and I was out the door. I had just stepped out of my brownstone when someone swore.
Wait, I knew that voice.
The deep timber. Voice like gravel.
I knew that voice.Intimately.
I’d gone years without hearing it and now it seemed to be popping up in the most inconvenient times. Like now.