Billionaire Bodyguard

1

From across the nightclub, April’s eyes met those of the handsome stranger’s again. And once again, she quickly returned her attention to the pink cocktail in front of her.

It was bad enough that she had had to tell her fiancé that she was working late just to spend some time with the girls, now she found herself swapping glances with a stranger across a club that she should have outgrown years ago.

The man sat surrounded by what she imagined were his business associates, along with their partners: tall, spindly women who looked like they had stepped straight off the catwalk of a high-end fashion show. The man himself sat alone, a part of the happenings at his table, but somewhat aloof to them, distracted, lost in his own thoughts and stolen glances in her direction.

She glanced up to see him smiling at her and felt her lips mirroring his. His fingers were wrapped around a glass of whiskey on the rocks, but he barely seemed to touch the drink. The ice had all but melted and the condensation trickled down the outside of the glass, moistening his fingers. He seemed completely oblivious to this.

“You’re totally checking out the guy in the suit, aren’t you?” said Marisa.

“What? No!” said April, but Marisa seemed to have the uncanny ability to read her mind, so denying it was pointless. “He is cute though, isn’t he?”

“He must like you, he’s been looking over at you all evening. You should talk to him.”

“You must be joking,” said April. “I already had to practically sneak out just to be able to come out with you and Tracy tonight. Can you imagine what Brian would say if he found out I was here talking to other guys?”

“No offense, sugar, but that man of yours needs to get over himself. What’s the big deal about coming out with us once in a while? We never get to see you anymore.”

April toyed with her drink, studiously avoiding Marisa’s piercing gaze. “I know. He never used to be this way. I don’t know, he’s changed lately.”

“Changed? Or maybe you never saw his jealous side until he put that ring on your finger.”

“He’s not that bad, Marisa. I still love him.”

“Oh really? Tell me again about how he won’t let you go out jogging until you put long tracksuit pants on. You’ve never given him any reason to be jealous, but he treats you like you’re out prowling for other men or something.”

April thought about the last time she had told him she was having a ladies’ night. He had totally freaked out, called her all sorts of terrible names until she had had to cancel because her make-up had been ruined by the tears of rage and frustration she had felt. She had come close to leaving him then, but promised him one more chance.

“I don’t mean to interfere, April, I really don’t, but this isn’t healthy. You need get out of there. If he can’t handle being in a relationship with a beautiful woman like you, he doesn’t deserve you.”

“I don’t know, Marisa. He can be really sweet as well. He’s just had a hard time at work lately. Things will settle down and he’ll be back to normal again soon, I’m sure of it.”

“Whatever’s going on with him, you have to let him know that it’s not okay to treat you this way.”

April knew Marisa was right. Marisa was a six foot tall, drop dead gorgeous, half Puerto Rican, half African American woman whose mere presence demanded a man’s full attention and respect. She knew a thing or two about what made men tick, yet deep down inside, April held onto the hope that Brian was just going through a rough stage.

“He deserves one more chance, Marisa. After everything he and I have been through.”

Marisa opened her mouth to say something, but then her eyes drifted across April’s face and settled on a spot over April’s shoulder.

“Oh shoot,” said Marisa. “Don’t look now, but Brian just walked in. Speak of the devil.”

“What?” April felt tendrils of anxiety twisting in her belly. They seemed to have taken up a permanent residence in there ever since Brian had started acting so strangely. April strained to keep her eyes on Marisa and away from the entrance, while Marisa hid behind her hand.

“Seriously, April, that dude is psycho.”

“What’s he doing?” asked April.

“He’s looking around. Damn it, I think he saw us. Here he comes.”

The trouble had started about two months ago, a whole six weeks into their engagement. She kept looking for signs that the old Brian was still lurking in there somewhere. He had to be, yet all she saw was the scheming, paranoid, insecure shell of a man that he had become. What had happened to change him? Though she had wracked her brain for something that she might have done to have justified his change of character, she could think of nothing. Instead what kept coming popping up at the back of her mind was that black hole of time when he’d gone away with his college buddies for the weekend, those long, painful two days when he had disappeared with no contact and returned a different man altogether. He hadn’t even spoken about his trip. They were supposed have gone fly fishing in Maine, yet his outdoor clothing had come back folded and dry in his backpack and his shirts had smelled as if they’d been washed with a brand of fabric softener she’d never used before.

She’d asked him about it casually, but his only response was a vague reply about the poor weather and bad service at the laundry. She wondered if maybe his paranoia had begun rubbing off on her for her to suspect anything strange about that particular weekend. Maybe she was thinking too much about it. Maybe Marisa was right, he’d just kept this side of himself under wraps until then.

Marisa cleared her throat nervously as a hand landed on April’s shoulder. April consciously fought the urge to flinch under his touch.

“Why’d you have to lie to me, April?” came Brian’s brusque and commanding voice.

“Are you following me?” she asked. “How did you know we were here?”

Brian ignored the question. “Why the hell are you dressed like that?”

“Leave her alone, Brian,” said Marisa. “She doesn’t belong to you.”

“Stay out of this,” snapped Brian.

April turned in her seat to face him. His eyes were bloodshot with alcohol and his shirt and hair were in equal states of disarray. “Brian,” said April. “You’re drunk, leave us alone. I’m a grown woman for crying out loud.”

“You’re coming home with me,” said Brian.

“No,” said April. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you stop behaving like a jealous teenager.”

Brian yanked the back of the chair on which April was sitting and she felt it teetering onto two legs. Before she had a chance to react, a man’s body had wedged itself between her and Brian, stabilizing the chair before it spilled her onto the floor.

“Is there a problem here,” said the man to Brian. It was the handsome stranger who had been stealing glances at her.

“Yeah,” said Brian. “It looks like you’re the problem, buddy.”

Brian shoved the man’s shoulder, but the momentum was quickly redirected as the man sidestepped and Brian stumbled forward.

“I’m going to ask you to leave,” said the man.

Brian laughed. “Are you going to make me?”

“I’d rather not have to, but you don’t seem to be giving me much choice.”

Brian reached out once more and gripped the collar of the man’s jacket. The man’s eyes remained calm and focused and in one swift movement, he gripped Brian’s fingers and twisted his arm behind his back. Without a further backwards glance, he led Brian towards the door.

“April!” shouted Brian. “Tell this clown to…” But his voice quickly faded as they marched away. From behind, they looked like a pair of old pals, one helping the other through the crowd after too many beers.

Marisa’s wide eyes locked onto April’s. “What the heck was that? That guy was like a ninja, did you see that?”

“How do you think Brian knew we were here?” asked April, but before Marisa could answer, the guy in the suit was returning, looking unfazed.

April and Marisa watched stunned as he walked casually over to them. April gawked at the tall stranger as he came to stand at their table.

“Hi,” he said. “Are you okay?”

At that moment, April and Marisa’s friend, Tracey, returned from the bar with a fresh round of drinks. “Hey, guys,” she said, looking the handsome stranger up and down. “Did I miss anything?”