Page 14 of Impulse

A chuckle, then, “I’m listening.”

“At the right fee, I can stop any man, woman, or uh…” She couldn’t say child.That would be insensitive.Besides, she adored kids.“Or aliens from getting to you.”

This time, she got a laugh from him.“Aliens?”

“They’re around.We just don’t know it, or don’t want to admit it.Anyway, are you serious about this bodyguard thing?”

“Absolutely,” he said firmly.“It will take a lot of acting, blending in, and pretending to be something you’re not.”

Ah, that must be where her acting abilities are needed.The problem was she sucked at acting.Tried it and failed.She was better at escaping unscathed from mayhem, a stuntwoman.

“Then your safety will be my number one priority twenty-four seven.No one will know exactly what I am or see me coming.”She still wasn’t buying this.“Why me?There’re lots of security companies around with muscle-for-hire.”

“I thought we were discussing this over dinner?”

It was time to play it cool, not the desperate woman willing to make a quick buck to save her family’s business.“I have to make sure you’re legit before I agree to a dinner.”

“Your agent vouched for me.”

“My agent is intimidated by you.No, awed by your mere presence and your family.”She hoped she inferred she wasn’t.Actually, she was more than awed and intimidated by Lex Fitzgerald.It was a lot easier to talk to him when there were several cities between them than across a table.His ability to fluster her was a phenomenon she planned to analyze when she wasn’t listening to his sexy voice.

“So why me?”she asked again.

“I’ve tried hiring private security firms, but I’m dealing with a breed of threat that’s subtle and tenacious.”A creaking sound followed, and Jillian was sure it came from Greg’s chair.It tended to squeak when someone leaned forward.“You see, in my line of business, reputation is everything.Any hint of a scandal and my competitors get an edge on a bid or negotiations stall.”

“I see.”She sat on the edge of her bed.She still wasn’t sure he was serious.“Actually, I don’t.Where do I come in?”

“I’m talking about women, Jillian.I smile at one and they think it gives them the right to slip into my bedroom during a party, hide in the closet until my guests leave, or bribe the doorman.And my poor driver is never sure whether a woman is serious about him because they’re not above seducing him to get to me or distracting him while their friends slide in the back of my car.”

And he was complaining?Most men would just go with the flow.That said a lot about him.“Poor man.”

“Thank you,” Lex said.

“I meant your driver.”

“I don’t get any sympathy?”

Stop being so damn irresistible.“Why?You’re getting all the girls.”

He chuckled.“No, I’m not.I have to be polite, send them home, and put up with their husbands at the club.You have no idea how often I’ve stepped out of the shower to find a naked socialite in my bed.Or two.The last straw was the triplets.”

Jillian’s imagination had kicked into high gear the moment Lex mentioned walking out of the shower.Was he a terry robe man or a “towel wrapped around his waist, water droplets glistening on his chiseled, broad chest” man?

“Triplets?”Jillian whispered, her mind still enjoying the images in Naughty Land.

“Long story,” Lex said.“The bottom line is I need a female bodyguard to stop this kind of thing from happening.Someone who can make sure I’m not subjected to nude selfies on my phone, not accosted as I enter or leave a restaurant or my building, or served with frivolous lawsuits for alleged sexual misconduct.In other words, I need you, Jillian Finnegan.”

Geez, what a way to spoil a woman’s wicked imagination.“You get nude selfies?Lucky guy.”

He chuckled.“I’m not.My number is unlisted and is only known to family members.”

Then his family was trying to get him hitched.She was still not buying anything he said.“Sounds like you really need a bodyguard.”

“Twenty-four seven.How much do you charge?”

She’d never guarded anyone, but she needed three hundred and fifty large ones ASAP.One week’s pay, and her family problems would go bye-bye.The sum she was thinking was outrageous, but she figured if a sitcom actress could get a million per episode, fifty grand for several hours a day wasn’t bad.Plus she didn’t have a script.She had to improvise.

“How much, Jillian?”Lex asked impatiently.