Page 20 of Daddy’s Protection (The Daddy Guard #3)

Isaiah smiled warmly as the woman approached.

Extending his hand, he said, “Ms. Bloom? So nice to meet you. I’m Isaiah Colton. These are my associates, Jack Kimble and Ace Riggs. Thank you for agreeing to meet with us.”

They were standing on the twelfth floor of a high-rise in downtown L.A. The sunlight was shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows that formed a glass wall to his right. The view of the city was quite impressive from up there.

“Of course. Anything for my niece. I’m so glad you caught me in the office, too. I don’t always work Saturdays, but we’re gearing up for a big launch so I’m putting in some extra time. Please, follow me.”

They left the lobby, went down a long hall that had lots of glass-walled offices, and entered the biggest one at the end.

“Please. Have a seat.” The woman motioned at the couch and chair that surrounded a coffee table.

Ther were only two visitors’ chairs in front of her sleek, modern, white desk, so Isaiah figured she found the sitting area better—though it would be a tight fit for all three muscular men to sit shoulder to shoulder on the couch.

They squeezed in and made it work.

Once she was seated in the chair, Isaiah said, “Thank you for meeting with us, Ms. Bloom.”

“Please, call me Camille.”

He nodded. “Is Cami named after you?”

She smiled. “Yep. Well, sort of. She’s really just Cami. No i- l-l-e for her. But my sister—Cami’s mom—and I were very close.” A serious look shaded her face. “Is she okay?”

“Just fine, ma’am,” Isaiah said. “She gave us your info as we’re working for her.

It seems someone is harassing her and we’re trying to talk to folks she knows to gain a fuller picture.

” He instantly realized how that might have sounded and added, “Not as suspects. Just as people who can give us some background info.”

The woman sat up straighter.

She looked very dignified in her tailored, light-blue, double-breasted suit set and white blouse. The overhead light shimmered off the thin gold anklet she wore just above the tan pump on her right foot. “Someone is harassing my niece?”

“In her home. Yes.”

She looked shocked and then angry. “Did they hurt her? Why didn’t she call?”

It was Ace who responded. “She’s fine, ma’am. Not hurt at all. Just shaken.”

Jack nodded. “In all our years on the LAPD, we’ve never seen a case this odd.”

“You’re cops then?” she asked.

“Used to be,” Jack stated.

“So, private investigators?”

“Yes,” Jack said.

That wasn’t technically true. They weren’t licensed, Isaiah mused silently. But they were in the private sector now and they were investigating something. Besides, it was easier than explaining what the Daddy Guard was.

“But she’s not hurt?”

Isaiah shook his head. “She’s just fine.”

“Okay. Good.” She settled back in the chair a bit.

“What do you do here?” Isaiah asked after looking around.

Maybe some chit-chat would deescalate the fear and tension Camille seemed to be feeling.

The smile tugging at her lips told him the tactic was working.

“I own a makeup company,” she said proudly.

“That’s pretty cool. You mentioned a new product.”

Her eyes lit up even more. “A whole new lipstick line. We have some pretty heavy hitters endorsing it. I’m not trying to brag, but you might have seen some billboards around town.”

Isaiah thought back and indeed remembered seeing one around Auntie Athena’s down in West Hollywood. “Lune de Camille. That’s you.”

“Yes!” she said proudly. “Aww. That makes me happy that you’ve noticed.”

Isaiah wondered why Cami didn’t work for her aunt’s big company. It wasn’t any of his business. But one would think there would be something she could do for the corporation.

Perhaps Cami wanted to follow her heart and focus on her art. He made a note to ask her about it later.

“You must be very proud of what you’ve built,” Isaiah said. He inched closer toward the edge of the sofa. “Cami gave us your name because we are looking for people who might provide us more backstory. She told us she inherited the house from her grandmother.”

“That’s right,” Camille said. “My attorneys set it all up for Mom and Cami.”

Isaiah nodded. “She told us she owns it, but beyond that, she doesn’t really know anything about the place’s history.

Or about her grandmother’s personal life.

We’re working from a theory that the person—or people—behind this might not be targeting Cami, per se.

But maybe this is some sort of grudge that predates her owning the home. ”

Camille seemed to be considering it. After a full minute passed, she shook her head. “No. My mom wouldn’t hurt a fly. She had no enemies.”

Isaiah sat back. “What about Cami’s parents?”

Camille was even quicker to shake her head now. “My sister was a saint. So was Cami’s dad. Unfortunately, they both passed several years ago.”

Isaiah already knew the story, as Cami had told him that morning when he’d sat down to take some notes before starting the day’s investigation. But he listened as Camille explained anyway.

“Melanie died two years ago. Cancer.” She shook her head.

“Then poor Steve went only six months later. Car accident.” She looked rather uncomfortable, shifting in her chair and tugging on her pants.

“He started drinking a little more after Melanie’s death and…

I’m not sure… but I assume that led to the crash. ”

Isaiah nodded. His heart broke for his Little girl.

“Poor Cami was in her early twenties and already lost both parents. That’s why mom left her that house.”

Isaiah wanted to tread cautiously with his next question. It was a delicate dance, but he didn’t want to make Camille think she was a suspect.

Nothing shut an interview down faster than that.

“She mentioned no one contested the will,” he stated casually.

“Oh, yeah. Me and my brother love that kid so much. We were happy to see her get the house.”

Cami had mentioned an uncle, but stated he lived in New York.

“Your brother is in finance, right?”

“Yep. And very successful. Owns his own brokerage firm in Manhattan. You think this office is nice, you should see his!”

“Ma’am,” Jack chimed in, “can you think of anyone who might want that property? A historic home in Angeleno Heights has to be worth some money.”

Camille’s piercing, shrewd eyes studied the men for a minute. Isaiah could see how she was very effective at negotiating in the business world. “That’s why someone is harassing my niece? They want her property? Are you kidding me?”

The anger was clearly boiling within her.

“I can hire some security. Hell, I’ll send my own guys.”

“Thank you. And we’ll pass that on. But we’re watching over her,” Isaiah reassured.

A tense moment passed. Finally, Camille said, “I need to call her tonight. I’ve been so busy with the product launch that it’s been weeks since I’ve spoken to her. Shit, I’m such a bad aunt.”

“Not at all,” Isaiah answered with a kind smile.

“She spoke very highly of you this morning,” Ace added.

Camille still had a faraway look in her eyes, as if she only half heard. “I’ve got to call her. I need to do better.”

A moment later, she straightened her posture again and said, “If you’re investigating a property angle, I’d look at Mr. McConnell, the asshole who lives across the street from her.

He gave my grandmother crap for years. Gets in everyone’s business.

Thinks he’s the boss of the neighborhood or something.

” She leaned in a little. “And he’s tried to buy up several properties on the street.

Gave mom so many offers. Lowballed her every time, of course.

Cheap bastard. But he got away with some.

Swindled two houses on that street and one on the block behind them away from their owners. ”

“That’s something Cami didn’t know about,” Isaiah said, grinning as he stood. “That’s the type of history we needed.”

She smiled in satisfaction as she stood, too. “You think that’ll help?”

Isaiah offered his hand.

“It’s a lot more than we had before we came in here.”