Page 68 of Boss of the Year

Twenty minutes later,dishes left in the sink to soak, we approached the entrance to Ibirapuera, São Paulo’s sprawling central park that, to my surprise, was only a few blocks from our building. Even at this hour, there were people around—joggers winding around the grass and palms, couples on benches, families with small children just leaving a massive play structure. The air was warm and humid, filled with the sounds of the city softened by distance and greenery.

Even so, I peered at the beginning of one trail cautiously. “I don’t know if we should go into a park like this at night. I wouldn’t walk around Central Park at eight p.m.”

Lucas chuckled, a sound so foreign that I turned on my heel to make sure it actually came from him.

“Look ahead,” he directed.

I squinted in the direction he indicated, where a large man in a dark suit was walking about twenty feet in front of us, his posture alert despite his casual pace.

“Now, behind.”

I turned and spotted another man, equally large, following at a discreet distance.

“Bodyguards,” Lucas explained.

My gaze bounced between the two enormous men. “Have you always had them around?”

Lucas nodded. “Joe’s been with me for…I think going on fifteen years now. Barney’s newer, only five. But yeah, they pretty much go where I go.”

“Why didn’t I know this?” Honestly, it was embarrassing. I knew most of the Lyonses’ staff like they were family.

“When I’m at Prideview, they’re usually in the gatehouse with the other security. Most of the other staff there don’t know them either.”

“So they follow you everywhere?”

“Everywhere.” His tone was matter-of-fact, but underneath, he sounded resigned or maybe weary. “It’s the price of being—well—me.”

He didn’t have to explain any further. The Lyonses were some of the wealthiest people in the world. I didn’t know why I hadn’t considered it before, but of course, Lucas would be a target for scam artists, stalkers, or any of the other crazy people who wanted to take things that didn’t belong to them.

“Do your parents have security too?”

He nodded.

“Daniel?”

His eyes darkened a bit. He gave another nod before he shoved his hands deep into his pockets as we continued down the tree-lined path. “So, I suppose we both have our own reasons for being a little afraid of the world.”

As the observation hung between us, I felt something shift. Something that made me walk a little straighter beside him. Made me want to guide him the same way he had offered to guide me.

Though to where that might be, I hadn’t a clue.

As we walked, I was surprised to find myself genuinely enjoying his company as he chatted about his day. I learneda few more things about Lucas I hadn’t known before—and I thought I’d known all the Lyons family stories.

I learned that he wrestled in high school and still practiced Krav Maga most mornings with his trainer.

I learned that his favorite book wasBrave New World, not Machiavelli’sThe Prince, like most people joked.

I learned that he owned a property in Arizona that no one else in his family knew about, not even his brother.

“I stay there now when I visit my mother,” he said after describing the small ranch on the outskirts of Sedona, nestled among red rock monuments and alligator cypress trees. “I like to watch her paint.”

He didn’t talk much about the woman who gave birth to him—the woman who didn’t raise him, but with whom he had at least some contact.

“Why didn’t you live with her more when you were growing up?” I found myself asking. I didn’t want to pry, but I wondered if he wanted me to. Just a little.

“Why do you want to know?” Lucas glanced down at me.

“I…just curious, I suppose. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but it seems kind of important to how your life turned out. And you’ve mentioned her a few times.”