Nathan
WHEN I STEP OUT INTO THE COOL Atlanta weather, my phone vibrates. I pull the device from my pocket and look at the screen.
Asher calling.
I hit Accept and bring the phone to my ear.
“Reines.”
“Where are you?” he demands by way of greeting.
I used to work for Asher Knight as one of his security guards. Since opening my own business two years ago, I’ve picked him up as a client. We’ve also become friends.
“Heading to the office,” I answer. “What’s wrong?”
“I found Larry asleep in the control room,” he growls. “He’s headed back to your office with a few less teeth and a couple of black eyes. And he better be grateful I didn’t do more. Luckily, Samuel was with him and noticed when the guy came out of the shadows after my wife. Get rid of him, Nathan, or I will.”
“Fuck,” I snarl, anger locking my body tight. “How’s Poppy?”
“The guy shoved her, and she hit her head. She says she’s fine.” I hear soft murmuring on Asher’s end. “But I’m taking her to the hospital anyway,” he finishes louder, like he’s not only telling me, but Poppy as well.
Larry is a very lucky man to still be walking around. One thing you don’t do is fuck with Asher Knight’s wife. The man is completely obsessed with her. As in he watched her for a year, broke into her house at night to watch her, put cameras in each room, had a tracking device on her car, and controlled the dating site she was signed up for. He even went as far as disposing of a man who had dirty plans for Poppy. The only reason I know all this is because when I took him on as a client he explained to me the lengths he would go to protect Poppy and keep her happy. His words were, “She’s the most important thing. She’s to be protected at any and all costs, above anything else.”
So yeah, had the damage been worse than a bump on the head, I’m sure Larry would’ve been carried out of Silver Technologies, versus him walking out on his own two feet.
“I’ll take care of it.”
Anger spikes as I think about Larry and what I would like “taking care of it” to mean. Self-loathing slides in beside the anger. I hired him against my better judgement. I had a feeling during the interview that the guy couldn’t hack what was required for this type of job. I don’t run a mediocre business. We aren’t rent-a-cops you see in shopping centers. Each person I hire goes through an extensive background check. Each person must have the capability and willingness to take down a threat, even at the expense of their own well-being. Danger is part of the job, but you still do it knowing that danger. The companies my men work with are big corporations with rich and powerful men. My men don’t have to like every client they work with, but they better fucking protect them with their life.
Asher uses my company because I made him believe it was worth the risk of switching from who he used before. Larry not doing his job, which could have ended a hell of a lot worse for Poppy, makes me look incompetent. I’m not fucking incompetent, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let someone make me and Reines Security look as such.
“I’ll have someone new sent to your office within the hour,” I tell Asher as I make my way down the street. My car’s parked around the corner down an alley.
“You do that. And make sure this one isn’t a fuckup.”
I bite back a retort, not liking his tone, but knowing he’s right. It was my fuckup to hire Larry in the first place. Reines is my company and it’s my job to ensure the clients are satisfied. There’s no room for mistakes.
“Done.”
I hang up and pocket my phone. I’m just getting ready to turn the corner just past my apartment building, when I look across the street. I stop and slowly turn. A woman, the woman, is walking down the street. She has her head bent as she looks down at her phone. She’s wearing a pair of black dress slacks, a gray silk shirt, and her blonde hair is pulled back on the sides with two clips, the rest flowing down her back. Her steps are slow, like she’s distracted by what she’s looking at on her phone.
She’s passing by me, and before I realize it, my feet are moving to keep up with her. I’ve never seen her outside of her apartment, and now that I have, I’m enthralled even more. The closest I’ve allowed myself to her is from my apartment to hers. I’ve purposely not pursued her, because I’m not the type to chase anyone. But now that she’s here, in the flesh, just feet from me….
There’s four lanes of traffic between her and me. Horns blare and people yell, but she keeps her head down, focused. I should be on my way to the office to take care of the Larry situation, but I still follow her.
She turns down a street and walks inside a coffee shop. Leaning against a brick wall, I pull my phone out and check the time. I’ve got a meeting in an hour. Putting the phone back, I snag the pack of cigarettes from my jacket pocket, and light one up as I wait. It’s a habit I indulge in occasionally, and right now, I fucking indulge.
It’s not long before she’s walking back out of the coffee shop and restarts her trek. A couple blocks later, she stops again. This time for no apparent reason. She just stops and looks up and down the street, before bringing her phone to her ear. I look at the buildings on either side of her. A clothing store, a law office, and a sandwich shop.
I slip the sunglasses I have in my pocket over my eyes and wait with her. People mill about; some walk in front of her and some behind her. Time ticks by, and I know I’m taking a chance of being late for my appointment. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I know it’s Willow calling to find out where I am. I ignore it and just watch the woman.
Several minutes later, a dark-blue newer model car pulls up to the curb. The smile that spreads across the woman’s face as she walks over to it is stunning. Whoever it is, she’s happy to see them.
She opens the door, but right before she gets inside, her head lifts and her eyes lock with mine. I don’t look away, and I don’t move a muscle. My glasses shield my eyes, but I have no doubt she knows I’m looking at her. Her brow wrinkles as her gaze stays connected with mine. I still can’t quite tell the color of them, but they’re light.
I start walking back the way I came from, knowing damn good and well I just made a huge mistake. I’ve been able to keep my curiosity at bay, but that shit’s out the window now. Seeing her through the lenses of my binoculars and seeing her in person are two different things. From my apartment, in my mind at least, she was still unattainable, almost not real, just a fantasy. But she is real. She’s very fucking real. And the real-life woman is so much more than the fantasy one who gets herself off in front of me through a window. So real, that I walk back to the alley where my car is parked with a dick as hard as steel.
***
I STAND AND SHAKE THE MAN’S HAND. “We’re glad to have you on board, Mr. Holder. I’ll have my secretary send over the necessary paperwork this afternoon.”
I walk the newest client of Reines Security out of my office and to the bank of elevators. As I pass by Willow’s desk, her smile is big, having overheard Mr. Holder’s acceptance of my offer. I keep my expression neutral, but fuck if it doesn’t feel good. Mr. Holder owns quite a few lucrative businesses and will be a big asset for Reines Security.
At the elevators, Mr. Holder turns back to me. “I’ve got a trip out west in a few weeks.”
I nod. “Send over your schedule, and I’ll have a couple of guys set up to go with you.”
“Very good, Nathan.”
We shake hands again, then he walks into the elevator and the doors close behind him.
When I turn back to Willow, her grin has grown. She claps twice and bounces in her seat. The woman is fucking crazy, but I’m glad she enjoys her job so much she gets excited about new clients. I’m also glad she never let what happened between her, Tegan, and me make things awkward. We don’t have the typical boss and employee relationship. I’ve had my dick in her mouth and she’s watched me come across my belly. While that’s only happened once, and I don’t see Tegan letting it happen again, I have watched the two of them together several times. I could tell those first few days at work after the first time were weird for her, but it didn’t last long. Tegan found the perfect woman that day when he helped her with her flat tire.
“I’ll start right away on the contract and have it sent over immediately,” she says, already typing away at her computer.
“Thanks,” I grunt and walk back to my office.
I take a seat and gather all the paperwork on my desk from my meeting with Mr. Holder. When I started this business two years ago, I started fresh, with no clients at all. The only thing I had was a location. I worked my ass off those first few months getting shit together. It was three months before I had my first client, and two months after that I had my second. Including Mr. Holder, we now have thirteen. For eight years I’ve wanted to open my own security firm, and now that I have, that shit feels real fucking good.
I stand and walk to the window. The building that houses Reines Security is small. Big enough to fit what I need at the moment, but small enough that if things keep going like I want, I’ll need a bigger space. We’re on the third floor, so I look down at the people walking about doing whatever people do. My eyes flick back and forth, from person to person. Even at a young age, I was a people watcher. I don’t watch them because I’m curious about their lives. I watch them to observe. I like to see what they do, their mannerisms, their facial expressions, their reactions to what’s going on around them. Reading people comes easy for me.
It’s different when I watch people have sex though. It’s their faces I watch the most when they’re receiving pleasure. I like to know what brings on that pleasure and how intense it is for them. I like to see the flush on their skin and the sweat coating their bodies.
My eyes stop on a couple across the street, hidden in a small alcove. They have their arms wrapped around each other and their lips locked together. The kiss is slow and languid. There’s nothing erotic about the embrace. It’s a very sweet encounter between two lovers, but it still sends blood to my cock. I’m a fucked-up motherfucker for turning something so innocent into something so carnal in my mind. I give not one fuck though. Those people don’t know me, and they’ll never know that I’m imagining the guy shoving the girl around, yanking up her dress, and sinking balls-deep into her pussy.
With my dick half-hard, I turn back around and retake my seat. The couple from the street is forgotten only seconds later.