Unexpected Guardian (Skyline Trilogy Book 3)

by Willow Summers

  Jenna looked up. “Josh, please, take a seat next to my dad. Erika and Jax, this is my dad, Bill Anderson. Erika, I believe you’ve met him before?”

  Bill, breaking his eyes away from his daughter, gave Erika a charming smile that looked as genuine as the anger had a moment before. “Erika, of course. So good to see you again.” Bill turned to Jax. “Jax, is it?”

  “Sergeant Jackson Banks, sir, at your service. You can call me Jack.”

  “Sergeant, yes, great to meet you.” Bill didn’t miss the formality.

  “My dad has heard about our problems. If you don’t already know, he works with wealthy men who have usually been accused of some pretty heinous crimes.”

  “Actually, Jenna, I’ve made a switch.” Bill sat back down. “It was a long time in the making, but I am now more focused on white-collar crimes.”

  “Still on the defense side?”

  “Yes.”

  Jenna sighed. “So you have no connections I might need.”

  “At present, no. I called in most of my favors to make a clean break from my previous line of work.”

  Jenna sighed again, hope leaving her expression. “What have you heard? Let’s start there.”

  “The guys are high up in the local crime community. They aren’t the mafia, but they do some business along similar lines. Your project took out some prime real estate on the drug market. It can be moved, it’s not a huge loss, but what I hear is that your boss, Don Jeffries, pulled a good few strings to get things his way. Seems like he pissed off the wrong people. People he had history with.”

  “Old news. What else do you have?”

  “Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you are okay.” It was an admission Bill hadn’t intended to make, Josh was sure of it. His mouth closed firmly and he leaned back, putting distance between himself and his daughter. It seemed that he’d realized, belatedly, he’d just given up a move on his chessboard.

  “You wanted to make sure I was okay,” Jenna repeated without inflection as she looked at her father. Everyone else in the room might have disappeared for all she noticed them. “Interesting. Why now, I wonder. Is it because I now have a name for myself, you want me back under the family umbrella? Or maybe I found myself a Southern debutant boyfriend, and you think you can capitalize on the connections?”

  “Debutantes are female.” Bill relinquished a small smile. “Can we do this over dinner, Jenna? We both have work to do.”

  “Work, yes, we do.” Jenna’s stare remained, fire and ice.

  Bill was expressionless as he looked back. He had met his match, and he probably knew it. Bill was probably realizing it for the first time. Josh had the impression Jenna couldn’t read her father as easily as Josh could read his.

  “Dinner is fine,” Jenna said. “Tonight. Have Lisa send me the time and place. Count on Josh joining us.”

  “Fine.” Bill got up without another word and left the office. Jenna quickly followed him out and stopped one of his assistants as she ran after him.

  “Come in here,” Jenna said in a tone that brooked no argument. She didn’t get one; the assistant was used to following that voice. It was just like Bill’s, only feminine. “Do you like working for my father?”

  “Uh…” The small woman, in her early twenties, with brown hair pulled back into a tight bun, looked around the office. She wanted a corner to hide in.

  “How much do you make?”

  “Um…” She blinked a few hundred times.

  “Quickly now. He’ll notice your absence.”

  “Twenty an hour.”

  “Twenty? I’ll pay you twenty-five.”

  “I’m pre-law.”

  “Fine. You can work for me for three months, and then I will make sure you’re transferred to our legal department. We have a team of great lawyers. It is a great foot in the door with room for advancement. Getting an internship here is hard enough. You’d be starting on the payroll. My father can’t offer you that. What do you think?”

  “Jenna?” Erika said hesitantly.

  “I don’t…” The girl looked around the room, large green eyes taking in everyone.

  “I am a much better boss,” Jenna said, closing in for the kill. “Trust me. I know what you deal with, and you won’t have to deal with that here. Plus, this company has branches all over the world. My father is solely based in New York. Think of the possibilities.”

  “Crissy,” Bill yelled down the hallway.

  The small woman jumped and cringed slightly. She looked at Jenna with rounded eyes as Bill filled the doorway. “Crissy, did you not hear me say we’re leaving?”

  Jenna looked closely at the woman, and then turned to her father. “She is hereby giving her resignation, effective immediately. She will start under me, also effective immediately. Thanks, Dad, great timing.”

  Bill looked at Jenna with something close to fury. Josh could read the man easily. “You chose the right one. Great worker, eager to learn.” Bill nodded and turned.

  “What have I just done?” Crissy asked as she stared after Bill.

  “Freed yourself from a tyrant. Dress is business casual and you answer to me. Take the rest of the day off. Come back tomorrow ready to get down to business. Oh, and I don’t mind someone giving me sass, so step up.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jenna watched her new hire walk away in bewilderment.

  “What the hell just happened, Jenna? Don’t you need approval to hire people?” Erika asked with wide eyes.

  “I didn’t think it would be that easy. She probably was about ready to quit. But Don won’t mind. Anyone my father hires is exceptional at what they do. He pays them rock-bottom wages and treats them like crap. They deal with it because he looks great on their résumé. As soon as we get her to stop cringing when someone says her name, Don will find a place for her when we’re finished. I just totally helped her out.”

  “Your father is a scary dude,” Jax said as he followed Erika out. “I want to be there when he finally meets the general. That will make for an explosive evening.”

  In the wake of the excitement, Jenna just stared at her desk. Dealing with her father had taken a lot out of her.

  Josh’s hands covered her shoulders before rubbing and kneading.

  “So…” She couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “So,” he answered softly.

  “That was my dad.”

  “A real piece of work.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Dinner won’t be much fun.”

  “Nope. I thought maybe he could help me. I didn’t realize he’d changed disciplines.”

  “It’s been a long time.”

  “I still feel like a little kid when he talks to me.” She heard Josh moving, and felt his lips against her neck.

  “He respects you,” Josh said.

  “You think?”

  “Yes.”

  Jenna couldn’t help but sigh. It shouldn’t matter. She’d never been a daddy’s girl. But for reasons unknown, it did. She tilted her head to the side to allow Josh more room to nibble and lick, feeling her skin heating and her desire building.

  “Stop, Josh, we still have to call about Jax’s house. I might as well get to it now that my mood is blown.”

  “That can wait,” Josh mumbled as his full lips slid around to her face and kissed her mouth.

  She backed up and pushed him away. “I can’t. I need to get things done or I won’t be able to concentrate.”

  Josh hesitated, made a sound of mock irritation, and moved away. “Killin’ me.” He took a seat in front of her desk.

  Jenna smiled. “I’ll make it up to you. Besides, we have to get Jax back for walking around naked.”

  Josh got a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Yes, we do, don’t we.”

  “Just so you know,” Jenna said, getting serious again, “three months is not a lot of time to build a house from ground up. They are going to hate me, which is why I am calling instead of you.”

 
“How long does it normally take?”

  “Closer to six months. Especially with my design. We might need to change contractors.”

  Jenna closed her office door, put her phone on speaker, and dialed.

  Josh sat back and made himself comfortable. Jenna had that look on her face that said she was ready for a fight. He felt a little sorry for Henry.

  “Ronson,” said a man on the other end.

  “Henry Ronson?” Jenna asked, looking up at Josh to make sure she was talking to the right person.

  “Yes. Who is asking?” His buddy Henry had a crisp and precise way of speaking. Josh had met him through Jax and developed a semblance of a friendship when he moved to Colorado. Josh wished they could have been tighter, but he hadn’t had an easy time making friends after he quit the military.

  “This is Jenna Anderson.”

  “Oh, well hello, Jenna. Great to finally hear your voice. Josh speaks highly of you, and I must say, the design for this house is exceptional. One of a kind.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Ronson.”

  “Please, call me Henry.”

  “Henry, we are having some problems in New York and we’ll be heading toward your neck of the woods a lot sooner than expected. It means I have to turn up the heat on that project.”

  “Oh. Well, what time frame are we looking at?”

  “Three months from now, I need that house done.”

  Silence. Instead of filling it, Jenna waited patiently. This was clearly not the first time she had asked for the impossible. Not a big surprise, that.

  “I am sorry to disappoint you, Miss Anderson, but it can’t be done.”

  Jenna looked up at Josh with an apologetic look. “Mr. Ronson, Henry, unfortunately, that is unacceptable. There is a TV program that builds houses in a week. Three months is not that farfetched.”

  “That TV show has a giant crew of specialized employees. What you are asking is impossible for the crew we have.” Henry’s tone was still calm, but there was slight edge to it now.

  “Henry, I am not asking for a week, I am asking for three months. Hire more people. Better people. I realize this will increase your cost estimate, and that is expected, within reason. Get me another proposal and I will look it over.”

  “Look, Jenna,” Henry said with the edges of his voice frazzling in impatience. “We could hire more people, but the outfit you’re working with can’t handle managing those people. What you are asking requires multiple things happening at once. It requires an advanced level of organization that this outfit simply does not possess.”

  “I understand,” Jenna responded, sitting down patiently. Josh grinned. She was about to bust some balls. “Is the contractor around? I would like to speak with him.”

  Silence. Then, “Please hold.”

  Jenna hit a button on the phone. “I’m sorry, Josh. He won’t like me very much after this.”

  Josh couldn’t help but smile wider. Before he could say anything, a loud, gruff voice filled the phone. “Benny Wilkins here.” He had a thick Boston accent.

  “Benny, where are you from?” Jenna asked quickly.

  “Boston. Southie.”

  Jenna smiled and relaxed. “Done any work in the Boston area?”

  “That’s where I started, yeah. Worked there for twenty-odd years. Moved out here for a change of pace. The wife wanted to get out of the rat race. So she said.”

  “And how is that going for you? Being out of the rat race.”

  “I’ll tell ya what, I’m bored as all hell.”

  Jenna laughed and leaned onto the desk. “Good, Benny, ’cause I’m about to turn up the heat. Things aren’t going well in New York and I need that house done. Soon. I need know-how.”

  “New York, huh? Yeah, I heard you was some sort of big-time architect or something. Well, bad news is, I got a bunch of retards working for me. Work them any faster and they’ll pull the house down rather than put it up, know what I mean?”

  “I do. Here’s the thing, Benny: that’s not my problem.” Jenna’s voice was brusque and authoritative. “My problem is that I need that house done in three months, inside and out. Now, I don’t want you to think I’m insensitive—”

  Benny snorted.

  “—but I am either working with you to meet that goal, or I am finding someone who will do the job.”

  The phone rustled, presumably as Benny shifted it to his other ear. “Huh. Well, I’m gunna need to hire more guys. Better, too. That means the asking price goes up. But three months for what you got us doin’ is breakneck. Could be it ain’t worth the hassle for a couple more bucks.” By the sound of it, Benny had worked with his share of pushy bosses.

  Jenna shifted in her seat. “Have you heard of the Esher Building, Benny?”

  “Yeah, o’course. Got all them problems and battles for the land and whatnot. Supposed to be some state-of-the-art thing.”

  “Correct. That is the building I am designing. The pictures you see in the paper, if your papers are doing a story on it, are me looking out at you. You will now have my name on your résumé. My name ties you to the Esher Building. Think what that can do for your business, Benny. You think that is worth the hassle?”

  There was a long pause. Jenna met Josh’s eyes and winked. She had it in the bag.

  “Three months, huh? Hell. Yeah, I can get it done. You’ll pay for it, no way around that, but I can get it done. Might fly out some of my guys from Southie. They know how to work. Could be they can finish this up.”

  “Great, Benny. Thanks. Get me that proposal, but don’t wait. Get them working now. Oh, and smooth over Henry. I think I offended him.”

  “Yeah, he don’t look too pleased. Pain in the ass, that guy. He’s good, don’t get me wrong, but he knows all the tricks I like to use. Keepin’ me honest, the rat.”

  Jenna laughed. “All right, Benny, my guy Josh will be checking in with you. Three months. If you get it done faster, there is a bonus in it for you.”

  Benny snorted again and clicked off. Jenna leaned back and rubbed her eyes. “Your friend is going to hate me,” she said again.

  Josh just laughed. He was in a feisty mood and would have loved a good, hard screw, but knew Jenna wanted to get back to work. He decided he might go smile at Erika for a while so she would beat the crap out of Jax. It was a good game they came up with. Fun to watch—especially since Jax forgot to play most of the time, and was surprised each time Erika decked him. That little woman did not pull any punches. Fuckin’ hysterical.

  The night came in a daze of hours as Josh impatiently waited for Jenna to close up shop. They’d been told to head to some classy restaurant or other, and Jenna was trying to hide her nervousness. It would be another showdown, but this time, there wouldn’t be an audience. Except for Josh, and he was nervous himself.

  They were walking out of the building, heading to Jenna’s apartment, Jenna muttering to herself about some work he had practically torn her away from, when suddenly she slowed to a stop. “Josh?”

  Josh spared her a glance as he surveyed their surroundings. That was the thing about this city: there was constant activity. It was nearly impossible to stand out in any way. Not even the teeny-bopper punk kids managed it, and they went to extremes.

  One look at Jenna put him on edge and had him wrapping himself around her despite her protests. It was her danger face. That sixth sense of hers was pretty potent, and damned useful.

  “Where?” he asked gruffly.

  Jenna slowly swung to her left, the twilight cutting down visibility. Josh followed her gaze, seeing half a dozen businessmen and women hurrying from her large building. A hot dog vendor was taking down his cart, putting things away, tucking a large yellow canvas sign into a pouch. There were a couple of people lounging on the steps, and another couple that looked like tourists passing by. Josh didn’t see anyone that looked out of place.

  Jenna was looking at the hot dog vendor. She shook her head. “I want to stay away from that guy as much as possible. I know he do
esn’t look dangerous, but…if I was on my own, I would steer clear.”

  Josh looked at the man. He was calm, at ease. Middle-aged, balding, dark brown hair. His face was turned away, intent on what he was doing. He got the sign into the pouch, and started folding down the awning.

  The cart wasn’t new—old, actually—and the vendor’s clothes looked worn. Either it was a secondhand cart, or this guy had been in this business for a while. If it was the latter, closing up shop would be effortless and mind-numbing.

  This guy was familiar with the equipment, but he wasn’t on autopilot. The longer Josh watched, the more he noticed the subtle differences. The man half forced the awning down, and then stuffed hot dog buns into a bag with purpose. Once done, he looked for a spot to put them.

  As the cart was organized, the vendor would know where everything went. He would be thinking about other things as he went through the motions of putting everything away for the night. Jenna was right—something was not right about that man.

  “Let’s go.” Josh let his gaze slide away, moving them into a pack of businesspeople on their way home. Josh would scout it out tomorrow. He didn’t want to spook the guy. That hot dog cart had been there all week, and it was safe to assume it would be there tomorrow. He was either getting Jenna’s schedule together—the comings and goings—or he was new at the profession and was still getting his bearings with unfamiliar equipment.

  If the former, Josh would make sure that cart disappeared before he had her marked.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  They arrived at the restaurant right on time. Jenna was dressed in a conservative, though stylish, evening gown. Josh wore a black Armani suit, his wide shoulders and thin waist perfectly displayed. Jenna gave her name to the hostess, trying to keep the nervous tremor from her voice, and was immediately led to the table. It was a marvel her father had been able to secure a table here at such short notice. It was one of the best restaurants in the world, the waiting list constant and lengthy. As in six months lengthy.