Page 194 of Stand: Part One

“Is there anything else, then?” I asked him, hoping to be dismissed.

The look he gave me was not one of approval. “No. You both can go. I’ll see you at dinner.”

I nodded. “Okay, then,” I said gently, and walked out of his office with Camaro at my side and Sloane following close.

I had a new problem to figure out now. Trying to discern what kind of trouble Sloane would be for me. Was she the nosy type?

She seemed to be too straitlaced for that. She acted like more of a soldier compared to Clive and Owen. And the fact that she was soloing this job without a partner told me Darren must have really been impressed with her.

I was suddenly interested in what made her that impressive.

Making my way into my private gym, Sloane followed me in, and I stopped at my octagon.

“I don’t have a training partner today. Would you mind filling in for me?” I asked her.

“Of course,” she said with a professional nod. “What would you like to start with?”

“I thought maybe a little light sparring?”

She dipped her chin at me. “I will wait for you to change then,” she commented, noting I still wore my regular clothes.

“Oh, sometimes I like to practice in regular clothes since I’m rarely attacked in my workout clothes,” I answered with a wink, then pointed at the trunk against the far wall. “But I do have pairs of shorts that I usually slip on to avoid showing off my ass.”

I gave her a tight smile before I headed to the trunk and discreetly slipped on the shorts. My bare ass wouldn’t be the only thing exposed since the stupid string of pearls concealed absolutely nothing.

Sloane gave me a sly grin as she followed me. “You’ve been through multiple attacks, yes?” she asked as she removed her suit jacket and tie.

“More than I’d like. What about you? What kind of action have you been through?”

“I have been on many rescue missions for extraction in dangerous cities around the world. I have also been the head of many security details for multiple politicians, celebrities, and infamous drug lords and their families for several years. I’ve had my fair share of action.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, listening intently as I began to wrap my hand, making sure I left my rings on this time. “So what’s the real reason you want to give all that up just to babysit me full-time?”

Her lips curled as she began to roll up her sleeves. “I’d heard about you before. The rumors made you sound respectable and intriguing. When Scott reached out about possible recruitment, I decided it was a worthy opportunity.” She began to roll up her other sleeve and continued her explanation. “Most wives or daughters of my previous clients are spoiled until they’ve become rotten inside. Your background did not give me that impression.”

I raised my gaze to her. “No?”

What the hell gave her that impression?

“No,” she affirmed as she began to wrap her hands. “You seemed like a person worth protecting, deserving of such selfless devotion.”

I paused at her answer, surprised she felt the way she did without ever knowing or meeting me.

“You got all that just from pieces of paper?”

She stepped closer to me, her chin dipping low as she looked down at me. “No, I’ve actually been watching you for the past week. And your interactions confirmed my initial perception.”

I felt my lips folding into a tight line, wondering if I should tell her the truth about my recent personality switch.

“Interactions with who?” I asked tentatively.

Her brows knitted together. “Does it matter?”

“More than you could imagine.” If she had been basing her perceptions on my interactions with Darren, which were now entirely different from how they were almost a month ago, then she really had no clue who I was. Would she change her mind if she did? And then I suddenly paused, wondering why the hell I was seeking a stranger’s approval. “You know what? Never mind. Let’s just go to work.”

Sloane nodded in agreement. “Would you like to do drills first or get straight to the sparring?”

“We can spar,” I said, fastening my last glove in place.