by Donna Alward
“I see.” He tapped his chin. “And yet, for someone who wants to be under the radar, you lead the public relations department. You are the face of Aurora in that way.”
“Only as the spokesperson. The idea is for me to focus the light on the company, not me personally.”
“The light’s going to be on you today,” he said, nodding at her. “That, Ms. Pemberton, is a serious plumage color.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked down at her plate, a little embarrassed. Still, she loved the shade of blue and she’d paired it with a favorite pair of neutral heels and her special diamond earrings.
And yet later, when she stepped out of the car and into the venue, she felt just a tiny bit empowered. It was odd how a few yards of bright fabric stitched together could make such a difference. For once, she wasn’t merely an extension of the company. She was her own woman. It seemed unbelievable that it was because a man she barely knew had a keen insight into her behavior.
She changed out of the dress later that afternoon, upon arriving back at the apartment. Jacob was in his room and she’d put on casual trousers and a sweater to think about dinner. Charlotte had had a great day, but the prospect of cooking a dinner only to go out again later seemed too daunting. Tonight’s party was a big deal, a celebrity-studded event at some converted warehouse in Brooklyn. If Jacob had been surprised at the guest list at the previous events, tonight he’d be overwhelmed. She was kind of looking forward to it, actually.
But not making dinner. So she grabbed her phone, found a bookmarked pizza place and put in an order. She’d go easy now, because she had a killer dress to fit into. And then when they got home, cold pizza would be the perfect snack.
She’d just placed the order when her phone rang, and she could see it was her mother. She hurried to hit the little green symbol on the screen. “Maman! Bonjour!”
“Bonjour, ma petite!” Aurora’s charming voice came over the phone. “I saw photos of you already today... I absolutely loved your dress.”
“Really? It’s not...me.”
“Oh, I think it is. You’re a beautiful bird, Charlotte, but you hide behind things. I was thrilled to see your colorful feathers today.”
“Why didn’t you say anything before? I was trying to fit with Aurora’s image, you know.”
Her mother’s rusty laugh came through the phone. “My darling, this company was not built by someone trying to fit in or hide. I brought the brazen attitude, and your father brought the class and elegance. You’ve got that same spirit, you know. Especially when it comes to the company. It’s time you stepped into your role here with your own personality. Today was a baby step, yes?”
She blinked back tears, realizing how relieved she was at the praise and support. “Yes, Maman, it was. I went to the store yesterday and bought straight off the rack.”
Again the rusty laugh came over the line. “Of course you did, and bravo. How are things otherwise? We didn’t get a chance to catch up on yesterday’s conference call.”
They chatted for a while until the doorman called up. “I’m sorry, Maman, I need to go. I ordered pizza for dinner. I couldn’t bear to make even a sandwich tonight with another party on the diary.”
“You’re feeding Mr. Wolfe as well, I assume.”
“Yes. I still don’t know why I need him, but he’s not so bad.” She hoped her voice didn’t betray her. She did far too much fantasizing about him and put too much weight in his opinion. It didn’t help that her mother had used the same comparison as he had—that she was a colorful bird.
“You go eat and check in with me soon. I’m missing New York, but you’re doing a fabulous job.”
“Je t’aime, Maman,” Charlotte said. “I’ll call you soon.” Then when she hung up, she called down the hall. “Jacob? I’m going to grab the pizza I ordered, okay?”
His door opened immediately, and he came out, still dressed in his suit trousers, shirt and tie. “I can go. I heard you on the phone and didn’t want to interrupt.”
When he returned, they sat at the kitchen counter yet again and ate. The pizza was perfect: the crust not too thick and not too thin, with a crispy bottom, spicy sauce, savory sausage, mushrooms, and just the right amount of mozzarella. Charlotte went to the fridge and got a big bottle of Perrier and poured them each a glass.
“I wish I didn’t have to go out tonight,” she admitted.
“You could always skip it,” he mused, taking another slice of pizza.
“Are you kidding? This is a huge deal. I just need to gear myself up. I’ve got a killer dress, too.” She grinned. “A little more risqué than I usually wear.”
Did he reach for his water a little too quickly? It was nice to think that she might be able to cause that kind of reaction in him when he was usually so placid and unshakeable.
“And will there be any exes to fend off?” He raised an eyebrow. “Just to be prepared.”
“Don’t worry. I doubt Mark will have an invitation to this one. And maybe it will surprise you to know that there aren’t many exes in my past.”
He hesitated and then said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been like that.”
“You were teasing. But maybe I wanted you to know anyway.”
That heavy, wonderful feeling settled around them again, that simple knowledge that they were two people who found each other attractive, but shouldn’t.
“Charlotte...”
She felt daring. “Mmm. I like it when you say my name like that.”
“Charlotte!” Harsher this time.
“Jacob!” she mocked.
He pushed back from the counter, the stool legs scraping against the floor. “Don’t.” His mouth set in a firm line. “Don’t flirt with me.”
There was something behind his eyes just then that made her cease. It wasn’t his words, but something more. A flicker of anger, of pain perhaps. It occurred to her that she didn’t know him at all beyond the fact that he was former military and now a bodyguard. Did he have a family? Was he in love with someone? Where did he live? She knew none of those things. It surprised her that she wanted to.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I was flirting. But not trying to play with you. There’s a difference. It won’t happen again.”
She’d swiveled on the stool and faced him. Now his gaze delved into hers and for a breathless moment she thought he was going to kiss her. He stared at her lips for a prolonged second and then back up into her eyes, and she saw regret mixed with the other emotions on his face.
“I can’t. I won’t. You understand that, right?”
She nodded quickly. The way he said it, everything about this moment, told her he wanted to. How quickly it had escalated from a tiny bit of teasing to desire.
She desired him. There was no denying it, not to herself.
“I understand,” she whispered. “I never considered that there might be someone else. I don’t even know much about you. It was inconsiderate of me.”
“There’s no one else,” he said harshly. “No one.”
He turned and walked away, leaving her there with a half-full pizza box and the dirty dishes. And she didn’t mind a bit. Because today she’d felt more alive than she’d felt in years, and it was all because of Jacob Wolfe. The way he’d said there was no one else, so sharp and edged with pain? That told her that there had been, once. And she suspected that his heartbreak might have been more devastating than hers.
She cleaned up the mess and decided to do a quick email check before dressing for the party. It was no time at all and her laptop was booting up on the countertop. She hummed a little as she logged in and then clicked on the email icon. Her inbox popped up and she waited for messages to download.
There were twelve, and one stood out and made her heart stop.
Fingers shaking, she used the trackpad to scroll to the line in her
inbox and tapped to open it.
HOW DARE YOU? BITCH.
She right-clicked on a tiny icon to download the picture, and then stepped back from the computer in shock.
There’d never been a picture before. And this one was so very personal.
“Jacob?” Her throat closed over and she called out again, the sound strangled. “Jacob?”
* * *
Jacob heard her calling from his room, and something in her voice put him on alert. He’d been sitting on the end of his bed, trying to sort through his thoughts and emotions after what just had—and hadn’t—happened in the kitchen. But her tone... Something was wrong. He got up and immediately went to her.
She was standing four feet away from her laptop, but even before he got to her he could see what was on her screen. A photo from today, her beautiful blue dress, and slash marks cut across it. And one right across her face.
He saw the words, too, as he moved closer. “‘How dare you?’ How dare you what?” He turned around to face her. The color had leached out of her face and she was shaking. “This is definitely an escalation from the other letters.”
“You think?” Her voice shook, but he sensed it was a small part fear and another part anger. “How dare I what? This is crazy.”
“But to add the slash marks... Whoever is sending the messages is furious with you, Charlotte. And this is the first time violence has been implied.”
“I know. I know.” She stood back and clenched her fists. “The original photo is on the internet, so it doesn’t mean whoever is behind it is here in New York.”
“It doesn’t mean they aren’t, either,” he reasoned. “But more than that for now, are you okay?”
She turned to him, her eyes blazing. “Oh, I’m fine. Now I’m not just annoyed, I’m angry.”
He chuckled a little, admiring her feistiness. “Just don’t let your anger make you foolish.”
“I won’t.”
“I need to send this off to your IT people.”
Her gaze snapped to his. “I’d rather my mother not know. She fusses enough as it is.”
He shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with that request. “I report to your mother.”
“Then I’m asking you to wait. Tell her at the end of the assignment, in whatever sort of debrief you have.” She gave a shrug.
He sighed. “That’s not the deal.”
“Please, Jacob. She’ll get upset and tell me to come home and this... This is my chance to really make a mark. Besides, I have you, right? I’ll be fine. After all, there’s no actual threat in the email.”
“You are a stubborn, stubborn woman.” He understood where she was coming from, but he had a job to do. “Listen, if you don’t want me to send it to your IT people, will you let me send it to mine?” He’d been hired only as private security, but he had his own people. Besides, he seriously doubted the Aurora IT department had the same skill set as his cybersecurity team.
She hesitated, which he took as a good sign. “You’ll send it there and keep Aurora out of it?”
He didn’t like lying to her, so he prevaricated a little. “Your team doesn’t need to know. And I’m sticking to you like glue from now on,” he added.
Which was just lovely, wasn’t it? Because he wanted to be close to her more than was proper. His thoughts had left proper behind ages ago.
“Then you’d better go get dressed. It’s a tuxedo night. We need to leave in an hour.”
He stared at her. “You can’t mean you’re still going to this party.”
“Of course I am.” She shut the lid on the laptop and put her hands on her hips. “I refuse to be intimidated. This is the biggest party of the week, far bigger than Aurora’s tomorrow night. I’m not missing it, even if I am tired.”
He shook his head. “Charlotte...”
“Don’t Charlotte me. Intimidating me is exactly what this person wants. Well, I’m not so easily intimidated. I’m going to go in there, put on my killer dress, and we’re going.” She reached out and put her hand on his arm, and he tried not to stiffen even though his body was saying danger! “Whoever is doing this? I don’t think they’re going to be at this party tonight. It’s very exclusive. And tomorrow there’ll be pictures and whoever it is can choke on them for all I care.”
She sounded brave and a bit reckless, but he’d also seen her face when he’d arrived in the kitchen. She wasn’t brushing it off. She was scared and she was being defiant. As long as she wasn’t stupid, there was no reason why they couldn’t go. After all, his job was protecting people who had enemies, who had to be in public situations.
“But if I say go, we go,” he said, moving his arm away from her touch. It felt far too good.
“If you say go, we go,” she parroted, nodding. “Go get ready, Jacob.”
“As soon as I forward that email on to my guy.” He gave a curt nod toward her laptop. “I could hack my way in, but if you’ll bring up your email, it’ll be faster.”
He enjoyed the way her eyes widened with surprise and then appreciation. In moments she’d lifted the top again and logged in. “Go ahead. I trust you. See you when I’m ready.”
She trusted him. She shouldn’t. Because maybe he wasn’t going to send the email to her IT team, but he was going to report what had happened to Aurora. It was his job, and despite his growing feelings, it was the one thing that kept him anchored. This was a job. That’s all.
When he was done forwarding the email, he went to his room and got the tux out of the garment bag. Even though it was tailored perfectly to his frame, he never quite got used to the feel of formal wear. It took three separate tries to get the bow tie mostly right. His shoes were so shiny that the light reflected off them. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed... It was time for a cut again, wasn’t it? Was it too long now on the top?
Why was he being so critical of himself?
He was ready before she was, so he opened up his own laptop. The kind of messages that Charlotte was receiving weren’t random, and while he was, on paper, just the hired protection, he had skills and resources. Including personnel files from Aurora. This felt to him like someone bearing a grudge. Someone who maybe worked for the company at one time. It wouldn’t hurt to go through the team’s files again and see if anything popped out.
Charlotte emerged twenty minutes later, and when Jacob turned around, he forgot about the file open on his laptop, forgot about his lopsided bow tie, forgot about everything.
Charlotte Pemberton was stunning.
Her dress was black, but looked like it had something underneath that was light beige, so the “feathers” of black fabric appeared to be over skin. The neckline plunged nearly to her waist, a deep V of creamy skin and shadows of cleavage that turned his mouth dry and his body hard. The “skirt” was more feathers of black, but then others that were iridescent, green and blue, like a peacock’s feathers. It was daring and beautiful and unique. Just like her.
“Wow,” he said, feeling like he should have been able to come up with a better word. “You weren’t joking when you said you had a killer dress.”
“You like it?” She turned in a circle, and the iridescent feathers shimmered. To his surprise, the back dipped nearly as low as the front.
He wanted to say he liked the woman inside it better, but held back. “It’s beautiful.”
She blushed a little. “Thank you. I hope you have your party shoes on, Jacob. I know I said I was tired, but the email fired me up. Now I want to dance out of spite.”
“The best revenge is living well,” he replied, “though I’m not sure you want me to dance.”
“Hmm. We’ll see.”
She grabbed a soft wrap and their driver headed through the darkness toward Brooklyn and the A-list party. Jacob considered it a bad thing when he realized he felt like he was on a date rather than an assignment. He’d h
ave to watch that through the night, but it was hard when the assignment was keeping his eyes on her and remaining glued to her side.
One thing he knew for sure... No one was going to hurt her. Not on his watch.
CHAPTER SEVEN
WEDNESDAY MORNING PROMISED a dawn that was crisp and clear. Charlotte was already up and doing battle with the nerves in her stomach. The Aurora show was at 10:00 a.m. and Amelie had left her messages last night with updates from the team, a few of them a little panicked. When Charlotte messaged back to apologize for the late reply but that she’d been out, Amelie had responded that she didn’t realize Charlotte was going out. She should have; the party was on the itinerary for the week and hadn’t changed.
“I’ll meet you at eight thirty,” Amelie had said, but Charlotte knew that things would be underway long before then. She trusted her team, but she also had the burning urge to make sure everything was going to plan. Which was why she’d been up for over an hour, had convinced Jacob to skip his workout, and they were ready to leave for Tribeca before 7:00 a.m.
Manhattan was already buzzing with traffic, the early morning energy palpable as they reached the venue. A security guard required ID before letting them through, and Charlotte took a moment to breathe in and absorb the moment, the quiet of the runway before the crowds entered and the music started.
Racks of clothing waited in the large, quiet room, and Charlotte paused inside the door, taking in the last moments of peace before everything went crazy. There was nothing like the energy before a big show. Now Aurora’s best hung before her, waiting to be showcased by world-class models in one of the biggest shows in the world.
She stepped in, then hesitated. Something felt wrong. A scratch sounded close by, like a foot sliding against the floor. Jacob’s hand touched her shoulder—he’d heard it, too.
She squinted and took a closer look at the nearest rack of clothes, and then her body ran cold.
