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“YOU’RE WHAT?” GRIGGS asked.

“I’m letting you and the team go,” I said.

“Mr. Steele, we’ve worked with you for years. You’ve had protective detail on this house ever since you built it. My men and I have done good work.”

“I’m sorry Griggs. But it’s no longer good enough. We’ve had breaches on this property multiple times over the past couple of weeks.”

“And we’re working to figure out why. That isn’t a reflection of how well my team works, Mr. Steele. That’s a reflection of how good your adversary is,” he said.

“And now I’ve hired a team that is worthy of such an adversary. Look, Griggs. I understand the work you and your men have put in. What I’m offering you guys is more than fair, more than was outlined in your contract.”

“Does this company really have enough manpower to guard this house twenty-four seven? Like my men and I have ever since all of this started? Just think about this.”

“Mr. Griggs, I’m not speaking with you as a friend. I’m speaking with you as an employer. You have until the end of the day to notify your men of my decision,” I said.

The silence on the other end of the line was gut-wrenching. I didn’t make it a habit to befriend people I hired for professional purposes, but it was hard not to befriend Griggs. We thought a lot alike. He was rough around the edges and always went the extra mile when it was necessary. I had gotten to know him well over the years, and it hurt a part of me to do this to him and his team. But if I was going to fire them, even temporarily, I needed to make it look real.

Which meant bonuses, severance packages, and referrals. And if they were hired on by someone else before I could get them back, then that was a chance I had to take. While I knew Griggs’ skills, they were no longer cutting it for the threat that loomed over my head. A better team needed to come in and take care of this.

And that was the team Sam was assembling.

“You’ll regret this, Mr. Steele. I guarantee it,” Griggs said.

“I’m going to assume that wasn’t a threat and simply your concern over my decision. You and your men will have your bonuses, severance packages, and gleaming referrals from me by the end of the day today,” I said.

“I’ve worked very hard for you. I left the company I worked for so you could hire me on full-time. I brought the best staff I knew, and I told them to risk it all because the job you were hiring for was worth it. What am I supposed to tell them now?”

“To get better training and be more prepared next time,” I said.

“This will backfire. It always does.”

Griggs’ voice was gruffer than I enjoyed. I felt the predator looming inside of me stand to attention. I felt the hair on the back of my neck energize. I didn’t want to make enemies of them. I wanted to hire them back when this was all said and done. But Griggs was getting hostile, and it wasn’t making for a pleasant conversation.

“I will not say anything bad about your team. You’ve done good work. No one is arguing that. But this threat is greater than your team, and that greater threat requires greater skills. Take the time you have and train your team better. With my referrals and the more-than-generous money I’m throwing your way, you will find more work in no time,” I said.

“You’re making a very big mistake,” Griggs said. “And it’s a mistake that will cost you greatly.”

“If you and your people want the full package I’m offering, then you all will have to sign nondisclosure agreements. Anything less will result in immediate termination with nothing more than your current paycheck due to you at the end of the week,” I said.

“Fine,” he said. “If that’s what it takes.”

“I’ll send the paperwork over immediately. Sign and date, have your men do the same, and once they are returned to me, I will release all of your funds into your individual accounts. Have a good day, Mr. Griggs.”

“I’d say the same to you, but I wouldn’t mean it.”

The things he was saying was disturbing. I’d known Griggs to be a rough man but never an angry one. Anger was boiling over in his voice as Sam’s lilt crept to the forefront of my mind. Maybe there was something in Griggs I hadn’t seen that she already saw. Maybe my security team did have something to do with this. I thought Griggs would take this better. I thought things would be okay between us and that he would be able to respect the fact that his team could no longer keep me safe.

Apparently, I was wrong.

I hung up the phone without so much as a goodbye and prepared the paperwork to be sent. I double-checked the numbers and ran the figures through my head, making sure all the account numbers were right. I handed the paperwork off to John and told him to take it down to them, and he smiled while taking the papers from me.

I really hated that guy.

“Mr. Steele! So glad I found you. I wanted to go over your itinerary for your trip to Las Vegas.”

“Hello, Miss Emma,” I said as I turned around.

“I hope you don’t mind. You haven’t been to your office all day, and you always enjoy the itinerary being confirmed twenty-four hours in advance,” she said.

“Yes, yes. You’re fine, Miss Emma. Read it out to me.”

“Okay. So, first question. Is ... Samantha ... coming along still?”

“Yes, Sam will be with us,” I said.

“Okay,” Emma said with a sigh. “The plane will be in the air tomorrow by nine fifteen. Boarding on your jet begins at eight forty-five with breakfast being served on the plane.”

“Perfect. What happens when we land?” I asked.

“You check into your hotel with Samantha.”

“She prefers Sam,” I said.

I felt Emma’s eyes on me before she made the note on her clipboard.

“Sam,” Emma said. “You will check into The Palazzo. Two rooms next to one another with a door that joins them both.”

“But it’s two separate rooms, correct?”

“Yes, sir. As you requested. It also has a shared walk-in space. There’s a keycard to access the doors into the hotel rooms, then physical keys to get into the rooms themselves.”

“Perfect. What’s after that?”

“There’s nothing after that, and I haven’t scheduled anything. I figured you would want to rest after a plane ride. But, the meeting is set for nine in the morning the next day.”

“I want a list of names of the people who are supposed to be in that meeting,” I said.

“I can get you that. Once the meeting is over, you have another free evening. I thought you might like that,” she said with a giggle. “Then you sleep, and your jet is set to take off at five in the morning the next day so you can get back in time to start your workday.”

“Perfect. I don’t want to miss any more work than I have to for this pointless meeting,” I said. “The itinerary is confirmed. Make sure Sam gets a copy of it as well.”

“Sure. I can do that.”

It was the way Emma’s voice sounded that caused me to look at her. It had a flat tone to it like she was upset Sam was coming with me. I scanned her with my eyes, trying to read her as best as I could as she stood in my home. There was something in her eyes I couldn’t read, but her stance was familiar.

It was closed off yet fearful.

She thought her job was at risk. The rumors of my hiring another personal assistant were making Emma worried for her job. And even though we had our minor altercations in the past, a nice girl like her didn’t need that kind of worry on her shoulders. She had been good to me over the years, even with the little crush she struggled with there for a while.

I knew Sam would kill me for saying something, but it needed to be mentioned.

“Miss Emma, your job is not at risk,” I said. “Sam is not really doing PA work, but it’s easier if everyone believes she is.”

“If she’s not doing PA work, then what’s she doing?” Emma asked.

“That is above your pay grade. Either way, she’ll need my itinerary, so I still want you getting it to her. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Derek. I-I-I mean, Mr. Steele,” she said.

I narrowed my eyes at her as I drew in a deep breath.

“If I may say so, however, it’s probably not the best idea to bring a lover with you on a business trip,” Emma said.

“No, you may not say so,” I said. “I’m a busy man, Miss Emma. You know that better than anyone on my team. Sometimes, the only time I can find for such proclivities is on a trip like this, and it does not require your input. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” she said with a murmur.

I was annoyed at her presumption, and even more frustrated with the idea that she felt she held a position in my life to touch on it. But I was the one keeping everything quiet with what Sam was really doing here. I was the one keeping it under wraps from my company so as to not alert the media to anything. So, I had to deal with the backlash and the presumptions. My reputation preceded me in the business world, but it also did in the world of women as well. I had paraded many around throughout my quick rise to success, so it only made sense Emma would draw that conclusion.

But with that conclusion came the part of Emma’s personality both Sam and Jacob had nailed.

Emma still had a crush, and I wasn’t sure how to handle that yet.

I watched Emma walk toward the front door of my home as she continued to make a few notes. I released the breath I was holding, ready to head to my room to go pack. I wouldn’t need much on the trip. My laptop. My paperwork. A couple of suits and my toiletries. I needed to call my retainer pilot to make sure the jet was cleaned, gassed, and ready to go for the trip tomorrow morning.

Emma, however, turned around on the porch and caught my attention.

“This might get me fired, but I’ll take the chance,” she said. “Mr. Steele, you’re bred differently than Miss Samantha, and I felt it needed to be said. I’ve worked under your employ for four years, and there have been many women you’ve courted on your arm. But none of them were like Sam. You deserve better than she can give you.”

“You’re right,” I said. “None of them were like Sam. Sometimes, a change is nice. But I will warn you right now, Miss Emma. You are treading on thin ice with your position. There are many women—and men—who would kill for your job. I suggest you start remembering the boundaries we put forth a couple of years ago, so I don’t have to fire you too.”

I watched her face morph into something akin to shock before she turned on her heels. She walked, her back straight and her head bowed, to the cab she had come in. I watched the cab pull away from the front of my home just as John came walking up the driveway, the signed paperwork in his hand.

I knew I would have to eventually deal with Emma and this debacle later.

But right now, I had bigger issues on my plate.