Protecting The Billionaire

by Christina Tetreault

  Allison flipped the card over to see if any other information was printed on the back. Perhaps if she called whoever delivered the bear, they’d tell her who ordered it. Except for flowers printed on the back of the card, it remained blank. “They’re from Derek.” Even as she repeated the words, a chill passed through her and she dropped the card. Later she’d call him and confirm he’d sent the present. He may deny it at first, but if she hounded him enough, like a good twin sister, he’d eventually tell her the truth.

  Pushing the bear and the chocolates into the far corner of her desk, she answered her final email and closed the Internet browser. Although she kept telling herself Derek sent the present, she didn’t grab it when she gathered up her things and left for the night.

  Traffic remained heavy through much of the city, and when she pulled into her driveway, she couldn’t wait to get inside, slip on some PJs, and call Derek to get some answers. Once she satisfied her curiosity, she’d try her sister-in-law, Addie. Rock should be calling any day now to finalize their plans for the weekend, and when he did, she wanted it all planned out. Since she didn’t know him well, she hoped his sister would provide her with some ideas for their date.

  Her entire townhouse remained in darkness until she used her keychain remote and switched on the lamp inside. Once the front hall was ablaze with light, she opened her car door. Inside, she punched in her alarm code, turning the system off, and then made sure she locked the front door behind her. She still didn’t understand how she’d forgotten to turn the alarm on the night Rock picked her up. Despite the little voice that kept telling her she hadn’t forgotten then either, logically she knew there was no other explanation.

  “Come on, answer the phone,” Allison said as she waited for her brother to pick up. She’d changed, popped a mini pizza in the oven, and decided to call Derek while she waited for the timer to go off.

  “Sorry I missed your call. Leave a message,” Derek’s recording said after a few rings.

  Figures. “Thanks for the chocolates. Call me when you get this.” He was good about returning her calls. Assuming it wasn’t too late when he checked his messages, he’d call her back tonight.

  With one call down and dinner not ready, she pulled up her sister-in-law’s number and hoped she answered.

  Like her first call, it rang a couple of times, but then Addie answered. “Allison, hang on a second,” she said.

  “Sure,” Allison said, although she wasn’t sure if Addie actually heard her or not. In the background, she heard noise as if her sister-in-law moved around. Then she came back on the line.

  “Sorry. I wanted to finish putting the groceries away before Trent gets home. He thinks I shouldn’t lift anything heavier than a pencil these days.”

  Allison heard the annoyance in Addie’s voice and smiled. “I’d take advantage of that while you can.”

  “Trust me, you wouldn’t. He’s driving me crazy. At first it was kind of sweet, but now, oh man.”

  “Not too much longer.” She had a feeling Trent would be fretting over his wife even after she had the baby, but she kept her suspicions to herself. “If you’re not busy, I need some help with something.”

  “Sure, I’m just waiting for Trent. We’re going out with Gray and Kiera tonight.”

  Sometime soon she needed to get up to Providence and visit her brother Gray and his fiancée. She’d spent some time with them earlier in the year when they’d first started dating, but had not seen them since they announced their engagement.

  “What type of things does your brother like? We’re supposed to go out Saturday night.”

  “He’s letting you plan the date?” Addie’s disbelief filtered over the phone.

  “I asked him, so it seems like I should plan the night. Do you think he’ll mind?”

  “Probably not, and I’m glad you asked him. Give me a second to think.”

  The oven timer buzzed, and Allison pulled out her dinner while she waited for some suggestions and tried to come up with a few ideas of her own.

  “He likes football, but the season is over.”

  Sports, she should have thought of that. “What about baseball?” She understood enough about baseball and could sit through a game.

  “The season doesn’t start until the beginning of April. You’d have to check the exact date.”

  Well, assuming their date this weekend went well, maybe a baseball game was something they could do next month together.

  “He likes hockey. The regular season ends sometime in April, so there might be some games Saturday.”

  She didn’t know the first thing about hockey other than the fact it was played on ice, but she’d give it a try. If there was a team in the area, she’d check and see if they had a home game this weekend. “I’ll look into it. Anything else? Does he like the theater?”

  “The only play I think he likes is A Christmas Carol. Again, wrong time of year. But maybe I’m wrong.”

  Planning this date was turning out to be more difficult than she anticipated. “What about music?” Numerous venues in the area featured live bands on the weekends.

  “He likes the big hair bands from the 80s or anything that sounds like that and classic hard rock similar to Trent.”

  Finding bands, which fit Addie’s description playing on Saturday, would be a breeze. “I’ll check for any hockey games first, and if there aren’t any, I’ll look for concerts. How about restaurants? Does he have a favorite type of food? Anything he absolutely hates?”

  While her sister-in-law listed Rock’s favorite types of foods, Allison did a search for professional hockey teams on her tablet. She vaguely remembered a team called either Virginia or DC home, but she had no idea of their name. The list of professional hockey teams was much shorter than she expected. Scrolling through the names, she found the link for the team based out of DC and clicked on it. Immediately, the team’s website popped up providing her with their entire schedule.

  Perfect. They had a home game on Saturday. “Looks like we’re heading to a hockey game,” Allison said when Addie finished her sentence.

  “Rock will love that. Can I help with anything else?”

  “All set for now. Thanks for your help.”

  “Okay. Trent’s home now, so we’ll be going soon, but call later if you need me,” Addie said. “If you don’t mind, call me on Sunday. I’d like to hear how the night went.”

  After promising she would, Allison ended the call and turned her attention to eating dinner and planning out her and Rock’s date. The game started at seven o’clock according to the website. That should give them enough time to grab a quick dinner before the game if they ate at a nearby restaurant. Or should they eat after the game so they didn’t need to rush. How long was a hockey game anyway? With a search engine already open on her tablet, she typed the question in and right away a list of sites providing the answer came up.

  The average hockey game lasted two-and-half hours. If they stopped for dinner after the game, it’d be closer to nine or nine thirty before they ate. She’d prefer to eat earlier than that. When Rock called, she’d ask if he could pick her up around five so they could stop somewhere before the game. If he couldn’t, she’d plan for dinner after the game and make sure she had a snack before he picked her up.

  Speaking of snacks, she wished Derek would call her back soon. More than anything, she wanted to be right about the bear and chocolates being from him. Deep down, she couldn’t accept it. Only once had he sent her something without his name on it, and it had been so long ago. Why would he do it now?

  As if merely thinking of him conjured him up, Derek’s ringtone erupted from her phone. She loved talking to Derek but couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so happy he called her back.

  “How’s my little sister?” Derek asked once she answered the phone. Although only five minutes older than her, he loved reminding her he’d been born first.

  “You might be the older twin, but don’t forget I’m the smarter one.
” It had always irked Derek that she’d scored eight points higher on her SATs than him and had graduated college with a higher GPA.

  “Anyway, what’s up? I got your message. Did you say something about chocolates?”

  Another chill spread through her body, making tiny goose bumps appear on her arms. So he was denying he sent them. She’d expected that. “Knock it off, Derek. I know you sent the teddy bear and chocolates from Favre to the office today.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t send anything. Didn’t it come with a card?”

  The chill seeped deeper inside her, sinking into her bones. “The card wasn’t signed. It only said ‘Thought you’d like something sweet while you worked’ but I know you sent it. You know how much I love chocolate from Favre.”

  “Allison, honest, I didn’t send you anything.” The carefree tone he’d used when she answered the phone disappeared. “If you got something at work today, it was from someone else. Call the delivery company. Maybe they’ll tell you who ordered it?”

  Her scalp prickled as his words sank in. “I don’t know where it came from. There was no business information on the card, just the typed message.”

  “Did whoever delivered it have on a uniform or a nametag?”

  She should have thought of that. “I’ll check with the receptionist tomorrow. It was left with her.”

  “Call the police.”

  “And tell them what? Someone sent me a present? There’s not a law against sending gifts.” Perhaps there should be though. “And don’t tell anyone about this, especially Dad,” she said before her brother could offer any other advice. If he opened his big mouth and told their dad, he’d probably hire a bodyguard to sleep outside her bedroom door, and then he’d be on the first plane to Virginia. He hadn’t wanted her to move away from Providence in the first place. She loved her dad, but she didn’t need him going into overprotective father mode. “You know how he gets sometimes.”

  “Getting gifts from strangers isn’t normal, sis. I won’t tell him if you promise to call the police or consider hiring some security for a little while.”

  She didn’t want to do either, but she didn’t need Derek calling their dad either. “If it happens again, I’ll call the personal security firm we’ve used in the past.”

  “No good. Either do it now or I’ll do it for you, and then I’ll let Dad in on what’s happening.”

  Well, she could tell Derek what he needed to hear now and then do what she darn well pleased later. “Fine. I’ll call the police in the morning.” Derek was more likely to accept that answer from her than any other. He shared her sentiments when it came to having personal security around. “Happy?”

  “I’d prefer if you called a security firm too. The police can’t watch you twenty-four seven, but I know what a pain in the ass a bodyguard can be. Don’t know how Uncle Warren stands having a shadow all the time. Promise me, if you get anything else, you’ll get some personal security.”

  She didn’t want to think about getting any other gifts. “I will. Cross my heart.”

  Derek’s sigh came through the phone. “I don’t like it, but okay. Give the police a call right now and if you need me, call. I can be there in a few hours.”

  Allison promised Derek again she’d call the police once they finished their conversation and then hung up. Most of the pizza she’d made remained on her plate, but her appetite was gone. Finding out a stranger was sending you gifts had a way of doing that.

  So if Derek hadn’t sent the teddy bear and candy, who had? It wouldn’t be impossible to figure out where she worked. Her name and picture had been added to the Falmouth Foundation website, so a quick search of her name would bring up that information. But how would they know to send Favre chocolates? It certainly wasn’t a chocolate every store stocked. In fact, few people in the States had even heard of it yet. Had the sender made a lucky guess or was it someone she came in contact with on a regular basis? Or did she have a stalker out there? Someone who followed her around and watched where she went and what she bought.

  She tried to push the last thought out of her mind. Unfortunately, the idea of a stalker brought back the memory of how her house security system hadn’t been on Sunday night when she and Rock returned.

  “I’m overreacting.” She checked the lock on the kitchen door before tossing the cold pizza in the trash and heading out of the room.

  She’d switched on the television and the lights in every room, yet she remained restless as she read articles about hockey on the Internet. If she and Rock were going to a game Saturday, she wanted to at least understand some of the basics. Unfortunately, her focus kept straying away from the information, and every time she heard even the tiniest of sounds, she jumped half a mile out of her chair.

  Since she’d moved to Virginia, she’d been a little on edge. More than once she’d been out and gotten the feeling someone watched her. Each time it happened, she told herself it was her imagination. She’d almost completely convinced herself of that until her car accident. She hadn’t been far from Jake’s house when she spotted the headlights behind her. At first she’d thought it was just someone heading in a similar direction. Then they’d gotten much closer and stayed right on her bumper for a good ten minutes. Unsure if the car was following her or not, she turned so she could return to her cousin’s. Like a shadow, the car had done the same. Shaken up, she started checking her rearview mirror more and more the closer she got to Jake’s neighborhood. Caught up in what was going on behind her, she hadn’t seen the other car skid on the slick roads and plow though the intersection and into her car. If she’d been paying attention, she might have been able to stop or swerve out of the way. Thankfully, the worst of her injuries had been a broken leg, and the driver of the other car had only needed some stitches.

  She hadn’t told anyone about the car behind her that night. Instead, she’d convinced herself it had been a coincidence. The little bear and candy at the office had her reconsidering her belief. From now on, she’d need to be extra vigilant while out alone.

  Unable to focus on anything, she gave up reading about hockey and the responsibilities of each player. The game wasn’t until Saturday. She had Thursday and Friday night to learn more about the rules. Picking up the remote, she flipped through the stations until she found the popular new sitcom she’d started watching in the fall. The show didn’t require much brainpower and always made her laugh. It was the kind of show she needed tonight.

  ***

  The specifics of their date still eluded him. How could he plan an evening out when they had zilch in common? Regardless, he’d promised he’d call, and he never backed out of a promise. Rock dropped his wallet and keys on the counter and brought up Allison’s number on his smartphone. He’d stored it in his contact list the night he’d joined her, Trent, and Addie for dinner but hadn’t thought he’d need it. The phone rang several times and he expected her voicemail to pick up soon. When it did, he’d leave her a message, and if she was still interested in going out, she could call him back. If she’d changed her mind, he would have fulfilled his promise.

  Her voicemail never picked up. Instead, her sultry voice greeted him. “Hello.”

  “Allison, it’s Rock.”

  “Rock, hi.” The hint of uncertainty he’d detected in her voice when she first answered disappeared. “I’m glad you called. I’ve been planning our night out.”

  Having a woman plan an evening out was a first for him. He only hoped whatever she had in mind didn’t include the ballet or some equally ridiculous event. Once he’d been forced to attend the ballet as part of a school fieldtrip. He’d fallen asleep a quarter of the way through and stayed that way until his teacher rudely woke him up with a boney finger to the shoulder.

  He had no desire to see guys running around in tights again and nothing except perhaps a 9mm pistol pressed up against his back would get him back to the ballet.

  “I already ordered tickets for the hockey game. It sta
rts at seven. There’s a great barbecue restaurant not far from here. I thought we could have dinner there before we head into DC. Or we can stop somewhere after the game. Up to you. Either works for me.”

  The words hockey and Allison Sherbrooke didn’t belong in the same sentence. She struck him as the refined, theater-going, opera-loving, socialite portrayed in the movies. No movie he’d ever watched showed a woman like Allison drinking beer and cheering at a hockey game. “Sounds good.” If she’d ordered them already, he’d keep his mouth shut and be damn happy she hadn’t bought tickets to the ballet instead. “When do you want me to pick ya up?”

  “How does around five sound?”

  “That works.”

  “Great. I’ll see you Saturday night,” Allison said, sounding as eager as he felt.

  “See ya.” Rock hung up and ran a hand down his neck. The woman kept throwing him. He’d pegged Allison as your typical socialite, similar to those in the media, the kind of woman who liked lots of attention and only the best of everything. Her actions blew that theory out of the water. In fact, if he hadn’t known who lurked on her family tree, he would’ve assumed she was just any other woman. A woman who’d planned what he’d consider a perfect night out. He could accept that she liked barbecue. Lots of people did, but hockey? He didn’t buy that one. They talked about a lot of things the night he escorted her to the fundraiser, but not sports. While hockey had its loyal fans, it wasn’t as popular as football or baseball. The only way she would’ve known he enjoyed the game was if she’d asked his sister. Would she have bothered calling Addie? A few months ago, he would’ve said hell no. Why would she go out of her way, when men probably bent over backward for her all the time? Tonight, however, it was the only explanation, which meant his sister was going to love telling him she’d been right.