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- Herausgeber: Elisa Press
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
When Mandy Hunter gets a last-minute assignment that disrupts her plans for a weekend away with her kids, she is in a tizzy. But she is professional, organized, and punctual in her job as a bodyguard. The exact opposite of her new client, Trevor Wilson, an executive at HK Design in New York. Although Trevor is the victim of an assault, he sees no point in having a bodyguard, and certainly not a female one.... But the threat proves to be real and thanks to the forced closeness, the two gradually drop their mutual prejudices. Will Mandy be able to resist the charm of this arrogant man?
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
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Vulnerable
Liz Levoy
Elisa Press
Copyright © 2021 by Liz Levoy
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.
First Edition: March 2021
Published by Elisa Press
Elisa Press is an imprint of Splendid Island, Ltd.
Scanbox 05927
Ehrenbergstrasse 16a
10245 Berlin – Deutschland
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Other Books by Liz Levoy
About the Author
Chapter 1
MONDAY 8:13 AM
Mandy Hunter knew something must be wrong, her boss never called this early. She picked up her cell phone and pined it to her ear with her shoulder, trying to keep her car in its lane. “Hello.”
“I’ve got a job for you.” John Miller never bothered with pleasantries.
“Yeah, what is it?”
“We’ve got a last-minute, one-person corporate protection contract that begins this morning? I’m going to give it to you?”
“Okay, when do I need to be there?”
“About two hours ago. It’s on Lexington Avenue, I’m texting you the address.”
Mandy changed lanes to make the exit ramp. “Who is my point of contact?”
“It’s a design firm. Your contact is an executive named Trevor Wilson. I’m emailing you the intel report right now.”
She checked her watch. “Understood. I’m about forty-five minutes out.”
“All right, I’ll let them know. Text me when you’re there.”
“Will do.” John hung up before she finished her sentence. He never bothered with goodbyes either. So, this was how today was going to go. Last minute changes and last-minute contracts were common in the bodyguard industry. However, jobs that made her late before she was even assigned them were rare. She would get there as fast as she could.
What a way to start the weak? A whole new assignment, which meant more intel, more reports, new client, who knows what for a schedule. Anything but this week. She had originally requested this Friday off to pick up her kids early for the weekend. It was her weekend to have the boys and she wasn’t going to lose it.
Usually, a contract that started this fast meant something happened quickly and the client had no plan in place. John said it was a design firm, corporate gig. It was probably an assault on someone, or a mysterious threat, stalking or domestic incident. She would have to wait for John to send the intel packet for more details. She checked her phone; nothing had been sent yet.
About five minutes later, she got the text from John that gave her the address. It did not include the name of the design firm. She copied and pasted the address with one hand and searched the address. Got it. H&K Design on Lexington Avenue. From the website it looked like a pretty big company. There were no names or pictures of executives on the ‘About Us’ page. No contact info either, just a blank email request form.
At 9:03 AM Mandy walked into the front door of H&K Design. She still had not received the intel packet from John. She had texted him back once and called twice. Mandy couldn’t get a hold of him or anyone else at the office. He must be engaged with something important. She didn’t like the idea of walking into a contract completely cold with no info. But she had no choice so she walked up to the young man at the tall reception desk. Behind him was a bright orange symbol of the letter H and K formed together in a futuristic, metallic font.
“Hi, I’m Mandy Hunter, here to see Trevor Wilson.”
The receptionist paused for a second. “Uh, Mister Wilson?”
“Yes.”
He typed a few keys on the keyboard. “Someone will be right down.”
“Thank you.” Mandy held her notebook and stood off to the side. The office was all modern, minimalist and glass. Which made sense since it was a design firm. From the website it looked like they did everything from websites to architecture. But whatever they designed, they needed to look legit and in-style. So far, they were doing that. Mandy had only been there a few moments but from the receptionist’s black-framed glasses to the full glass entrance door, she could tell this company meant business when it came to quality and style. Which also told her that an executive with the company would also be focused on quality and style.
Mandy was glad she was wearing her best, black pant suit and her Cole Haans. Good call this morning. She straightened her jacket and made sure her lapel pin was straight. Each executive protection agent who worked for John Miller’s Doxa International, wore the same silver pin. The pin was round with a raised cross with a roped boarder. The cross symbolized safety, similar to the red cross. She was proud to wear it. She became self-conscious of her hair and wanted to check her brunette bangs. No restroom was visible. She walked up to ask the receptionist to ask him and the lobby door opened. A tall blonde with a pencil skirt and heals extended her hand.
“Hi Mandy, I’m Gloria.”
Mandy shook hands. “Mandy Hunter, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you. Please come in.” Gloria smiled. “Mr. Wilson will see you right away.” Mandy followed Gloria, who most likely was Mr. Wilson’s executive assistant. This was the second time an employee referred to him as Mr. Wilson, not Trevor Wilson. Mandy made a mental note.
They walked into a shiny, stainless steel elevator. Gloria pressed the button for the top, fourteenth floor. “Thank you so much for coming on such short notice.” Gloria combed a hair back into place behind her ear.
Mandy needed to get as much information as she could before they got to the top. “Yes, we’re glad you reached out. Did you speak to Mr. Miller?”
“No, that was Mr. Wilson himself. He just told me you would be coming by.”
“Oh. How long have you been with H and K?”
“About six months now.”
Mandy nodded. “Do you work directly with Mr. Wilson?”
“Yes, I’m his executive assistant.”
“Great, I would love to sit down with you as soon as we have time. Mr. Wilson may have some schedule changes.”
Gloria looked puzzled then let out a small laugh. “Ah, Mr. Wilson has a very busy schedule. He is always on the go.”
Mandy was just about ready to ask a follow up with the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Gloria led her into an upscale office space with polished concrete floors and glass walls. She passed a couple of offices and Mandy noticed the men staring at her. Not for looks, but clearly for curiosity. The interest on their faces told Mandy they knew a bodyguard was arriving, but they weren’t expecting a woman. For whatever reason Mr. Wilson needed a bodyguard, it was clear that everyone on this floor knew about it, except for Mandy.
They stopped in front of a corner office. Gloria nodded, assuring Mandy it was okay to walk in. Mr. Wilson was talking into his cell phone, standing behind his desk looking out the window.
“Yes, we’ll need it by then.” He turned and motioned for Mandy to come in.
Mandy walked in and stood by one of the chairs. She checked her phone again to see if John’s intel email had come in yet. Nothing. Mr. Wilson’s office was impeccably clean. The furniture was gray, white and minimal. The only things on his desk were a sleek laptop and a cell phone charger. A small, barren bookcase stood against one wall. It contained a green potted plant and a couple of glass awards. No books, no pictures of family. This guy looked all business.
Gloria walked over and typed something on her phone. She held out it for Mr. Wilson to see. While listening to the person on the phone, he read the message, looked at Mandy, smiled and gave an okay sign. Gloria must have told him that she was the bodyguard.
“He’s expecting you.” Gloria walked past. “He’ll be off that call in the minute.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, that’s not going to work.” The tone of his voice told Mandy this wasn’t a pleasant conversation. “Thursday, by end of day is the deadline. It can’t be pushed back you know that.” He paced a few steps. It was clear by his body language that he didn’t like what he was hearing. “I don’t know what to tell you. We have to have it by Thursday. A deadline is a deadline.” His voice was curt but not agitated. “Yes, we’ll expect it then. Thank you.” He hung up without a proper goodbye. Who knows who he was talking on the other end of the line, but Mandy was glad it wasn’t her.
She didn’t know why but, Mr. Wilson sounded like the name of an individual who would be older. She wasn’t expecting someone her age, or maybe he was even younger than her. Mr. Wilson was tall with a styled head of black hair. He had a perfectly symmetrical and athletic body that radiated the impression he was in charge. Like one of those guys who was a natural athlete, a sport’s star in high school, maybe even college. She would put money on that he was the starting quarterback on the varsity team. He wore a pair of gray slacks and a white dress shirt with the top two buttons undone.
The only other item on his desk was a white open can of a Monster energy drink. Zero Ultra flavor. She noticed two empty cans of the same flavor in his small trash can.
He sighed and dropped the phone on his desk. “Sorry about that. This week’s activities have sure caused a stir around here.” He reached out to shake hands. “Trevor Wilson.”
“Mandy Hunter, nice to meet you.” He hesitated just a little bit too long. “Let me guess, you weren’t expecting a woman, right?”
“Oh, no, not at all, it’s fine. Please, have a seat.” He pointed to one of the guest chairs and sat himself behind the desk. He leaned back and rested both hands behind his head. “I spoke with John earlier, we’re grateful for you getting here on such short notice.”
Mandy crossed her legs and flung her hair out of her face. “Yes, we’re happy to be of service. This is a beautiful office.”
“Thank you, we at H and K designed it ourselves. We moved in just about a year ago.”
“Mr. Wilson, I. . .”
“It’s just Trevor.” All of the previous signals were making it clear it was ‘Mr. Wilson.’ His smile put her at ease, complete with dimples on the cheeks. His hair didn’t move. His face was right out of the charming and handsome prince category from a fairy tale. The only thing he lacked was a classic beaming star-shaped sparkle from his teeth.
She still had very little information on this whole situation but she didn’t want to give away the fact she was unprepared. “Trevor, yes. We usually start with a basic client interview.” She opened up her note pad and clicked her pen open. “Would you be able to tell me what made you call us?”
He brought his hands down and rocked forward in his chair. “I was under the impression that Mr. Miller communicated to you all of the details.”
She didn’t like his tone. Mandy was good at thinking on her feet, but she had to be careful here. “Yes, John gave me an overview of the case but I was hoping to get more specifics from you directly. It’s always helpful for me to hear directly from the client. I hope you don’t mind.”
He paused for a moment. Almost as if he was trying to make up his mind about something. “No, it’s quite all right. I uh, well I called last night after the attack.”
Mandy’s senses perked up. No one said anything about an actual assault. She tried to contain her surprise. “Yes, when was the attack again?” She pretended like she knew about the attack.
“It was at about 10:15 PM.”
He had no black eye or visible injuries. “And where were you exactly?”
“I was in the parking garage walking out to my car.”
“Could you tell me what happened?”
“Yes, I left the office a little after 10:00. By that time, there aren’t very many people left. The janitor saw me leave. I got down to the lobby, hit the restroom and then walked out into the parking garage. I was walking through level one like always. I had my cell phone and my laptop and then all of a sudden I saw this guy, coming at me, from the left.” He stood and looked down and began acting out the actions of his story. “He basically tackled me and shoved me up against the pillar. He had his arm up against my throat and my collar all twisted up like this. He punched me so hard in the stomach I dropped my laptop bag.” He was an animated man and knew how to tell a story. He walked closer and pulled down the collar of his shirt to reveal a red scratch that looked like if came from a finger nail.
“What did this man look like?”
“He was a big guy. Fifty or sixty pounds larger than me, taller than me too.”
“Did you see his face?”
“No, he had one of those black masks stretched over his face, or at least over his nose and the bottom half of his face. I told this all to the police. He had buzzed, light-colored hair.”
“Were you able to see the color of his eyes?”
“No, it all happened so fast, he just shoved me up there so fast. I just didn’t know what was going on until he punched me. That kind of threw me off. I tried to punch him back but he was just too strong.”
“After he punched you, what happened?”
Trevor sighed. “He told me ‘Don’t get too excited about the meeting. Make the price go down or you’ll be sorry. You’ve got six days.’”
“What meeting?”
“I assume it is our annual meeting this Saturday. It’s our biggest event of the year. And as of yesterday, it is six days away.”
“And there has been no communication of any kind related to this in the past? No phone calls, no emails, no letters? No disgruntled employees, recent firings, that sort of thing?”
Trevor shook his head. “No.”
“Okay.” Mandy nodded. “How did he sound? What was his voice like?”
Trevor stared at the floor to think. “Um, he had a deep voice, I guess. He was just really mean.” He paused trying to find a word. His lip quivered a bit. This was obviously bothering him way more than he was showing. He was trying to stay tough in front of Mandy. “Yeah, he was aggressive that was for sure. It really shook me.” That was all she was going to get. There was more behind this, but she was going to have to wait in order to pry further.
“And did he give you a specific threat like, ‘Stop the meeting or else I’ll kill you.’ That sort of thing?”
“His exact words were ‘Don’t get too excited about the meeting. Make the price go down or you’ll be sorry. You’ve got six days.’ That sounds pretty generic doesn’t it?”
Mandy nodded in deliberation. “Well, yes and no. The phrase is not technically a specific threat. But the threatening nature of ‘or else you’ll be sorry’ is what we would call a specific category of an implied threat.”
“An implied threat?”
“Yes, he was clearly threatening you, but it is more implied by his actions and tone than by his actual words.”
“That makes sense.”
“And may I ask, how would you make the price go down? Was he referring to the stock price?”
Trevor shrugged. “I assume so. But I have no power to make the price go down.”
Mandy tapped her pen on her chin. “I appreciate you sharing all of this. I’m sorry that you had to experience that, those can be very difficult situations to go through. You did the right thing by calling us. What did the police have to say?”
“Nothing much really, they took my report. But all they had to go on was this vague description. I didn’t get a good look at his face. I didn’t see a vehicle; I didn’t even see which way he left. They took all my information, filed the report, gave me a case number and told me they would contact me if they found anything. The lead guy was a Detective Bremmer, I’ll get you his info. To be honest, they didn’t seem that interested. I was hoping they would do more.”
Mandy had watched many people tell their stories of being the victim of an attack. Trevor’s behavior seemed consistent with what she had seen before. However, he appeared like he was trying to not show weakness. Typical man.
“Now that you’ve had time to think about it. Is there anyone that comes to mind who would have done this? Anyone who doesn’t like you, someone you might have got in a disagreement with? Someone you fired?”
Trevor shook his head. “That’s the thing, I have absolutely no idea why anyone would have something against me. I don’t have any enemies.”
Mandy knew there was always more to a story but she would have to wait and build up more rapport with him before probing further. “And just a few more questions, if you don’t mind. You’re title here at H and K is?”
“Vice President of Strategic Development.”
“Ah, I see. So, about this annual meeting this Saturday.”
“Yes.”
“How big is it?”
“We’re a public company so, any of our shareholders can attend. We usually have quite a crowd. Each years our numbers have been rising just like our stock price.” He checked his phone again. “One thousand sixty-four bucks per share today. Last year we had the meeting at the uptown Hilton. It’s one of the largest rooms. But this year, with the expected turnout, it is being held at the Mancald Center. I’d have to check with Gloria, she would know the most recent figures, but we’re expecting around four to five thousand people to show up.”
She wrote that down. “Oh, okay.” She knew where the Mancald Center was. She had driven by its dozens of times but had never been inside. She would have to find some time to advance the place before this weekend. “And this will be the first time at the Mancald Center?”
“Yes.”
“And who is in charge of the logistics of the meeting?” Mandy asked.
“Uh, that is going to be Cindy Beckwith. She’s with operations. I’ll have Gloria get you her information. Cindy will be able to get you any details you need.”
“Good, that will be great.” Mandy stood up. “I’ll let you get back to work. Thank you for your time. And don’t worry about this. My job is to help take your mind off of the threat. I’ll take care of it.”
“Well, you picked a busy week. With this Saturday and all of the other meetings, this week is just mad.” He looked at his computer screen. “I am going to be running all over town trying to wrap things up.”
“No problem, I can help with your schedule.” Mandy stood. “Are any of these meetings off sight?”
“Yeah, almost all of them.”
“Around town or are you flying anywhere?”
“They’re all around here.”
“I can help you with that. Being on the same page with your schedule is one of the most critical things we can do to ensure your safety. If you are going somewhere that is not secure, it’s always good for me to know in advance.”
“For what?”
His voice had a little bit of an attitude. “Just for safety purposes. So I know what environment I’ll be walking into with you?”
“With me? What do you mean?”
“With you, I’ll be traveling with you to these meetings and I’ll be with you on Saturday.”
“Why?” His voice began to sound like the curt person that she heard talking into the phone earlier. Did he not know? Maybe he didn’t know what she was here to do. After all, she had not gotten her intel packet yet from John. Maybe Trevor didn’t get the specifics from his boss?
Mandy paused and cocked her head. “Um, what exactly did John or your boss tell you about my role?” She had better make sure they were starting off on the right foot.
“That you would be here this week investigating the threat and keeping me safe, by catching the thug who slugged me.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Wilson, er, Trevor. I work as an executive protection agent. I’m assigned to be your bodyguard for now. It is my job to keep you safe. But until we know more about this threat, I will need to be with you. Especially, until this Saturday. I am your bodyguard.”
His face went blank. This was clearly new to him. “Bodyguard?”
“I’m sorry, is this not what you spoke with my boss, John Miller about?”
“No, I uh.” Trevor scratched the back of his head and rubbed his neck. “He said that he was going to have one of his agents here. I just thought you were investigating. I didn’t know you would be with me all of the time. Actually, it was Sam and Gloria who set up all the details. To be honest, I was just filled in recently.”
“I’m sorry for any confusion.” Mandy gripped her notepad with both hands. “I will definitely be investigating the threat, but I will do that on the move. My primary job is to be with you and keep you from harm. I’ll only be here in the office when you’re here. It’s pretty clear in the contract.”
“No, no, it’s okay. That will be fine. It’s just I have a busy week. I have a lot to do, it’s just going to be, uh, busy.” He forced a smile. He didn’t like it and she could tell.
“No problem.” Mandy backed up. “I’m going to go find Gloria and Cindy and get some of those details. Just let me know if I can help with anything today.”
“Okay. Thank you.” Mandy couldn’t decide if the expression on Trevor’s face was puzzlement or frustration. So much for getting off on the right foot.
Chapter 2
MONDAY 10:34 AM
A bodyguard? How was this supposed to work? The only thing that surprised Trevor more than the fact that his bodyguard was a woman, was how hot she was. He definitely was not expecting that. Trevor sat back at his desk and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, a break from questions. He checked his inbox. He had about a dozen new emails that had come in this morning. He didn’t feel like reading any of them.
Who was this Mandy Hunter anyway? Who did she think she was? He had a lot to do this week and he couldn’t just stop everything and bring her along everywhere he went. He had his part of the annual meeting to do. And since it was only Monday morning, he knew a bunch of other things were going to come up before then. Mandy had asked him about his schedule multiple times. That was the one thing he didn’t like bothering with. Hopefully, Gloria would get her all of that. He really hoped this Mandy wasn’t going to be reminding him of every meeting in his schedule. He didn’t need a babysitter.
He was going to look up the firm H and K had hired Mandy from but he realized he didn’t even ask the name of her employer. Maybe she worked by herself, as a contractor? He pulled up an email to Gloria. ‘What’s the name of the company Mandy works for?’ he typed in the subject line. Maybe he could look Mandy up and she would have a resume or something.
Not that there couldn’t be female bodyguards. Women can do that job. He had to sort out the bias in his head. Not because he didn’t think a woman couldn’t protect him, he just had not thought about it that’s all.
He scrolled back through his inbox that was already filling up with unanswered emails. He found the contract that Sam had sent him this morning. On his laptop he could read it better compared to his phone this morning in the car. She scanned through it a little bit more intentional this time. Sure enough, there it was in black and white. ‘H&K Design Inc. agrees to hire one executive protection agent for full time security for Mr. Trevor Wilson.’ He guessed since the term ‘bodyguard’ wasn’t used, he didn’t pick up on it. Executive protection must be some fancy word for bodyguard now. He continued reading. ‘Services are to include but not limited to physical protection of Mr. Trevor Wilson. Executive Protection Agent (Hereby referred to as Agent) will need to be in close proximity to Mr. Wilson at all times within reason. H&K Design Inc. agrees to give Agent all appropriate access to physical locations, offices, work spaces, home, vehicle, work and travel schedule information as necessary to ensure Mr. Wilson and H&K Design Inc. remains safe and secure. Agent agrees to not unnecessarily disrupt the work schedule of Mr. Wilson or H&K Design inc.’
Wait, what? Home? Vehicle? What did that mean? Was she going home with him? What the hell was this? Sam Frederick, the CEO and Trevor’s boss was the one who finalized the details about this. He needed more specifics. On his laptop he saw the green flag by Sam’s name, indicating he was in his office. He clicked on the CEO’s contact info on his screen. His computer called Sam’s office and the sound linked to his cell, he held it to his ear. He was part of the executive team and he was good friends with Sam but he would have appreciated a little more notice about something like this.
“Hello.” Sam Frederick answered.
“Sam, it’s Trevor. You got a minute?”
“Yes.” Trevor could tell Sam was on speaker phone.
“About this John Miller, the security company we hired?”
“Yes. What about it?”
“A smoking hot chick just walked in and told me she is going to be my bodyguard for the week.”
“Yes, I. . .”
“Sam.” Trevor interrupted and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t need a bodyguard. She’s about five foot nothing and like one twenty soaking wet. What is she going to protect me from?”
“Trevor Relax, we talked about his.” Sam chuckled. “Mr. Miller sent one of his very best agents.”
“We talked about someone helping the police find out who attacked me. We didn’t talk about hiring me a babysitter.”
“Miss Hunter is no babysitter, Trevor. It was all in the contract, I sent it over to you this morning. You signed it and everything.”
Damn. He remembered now. He did glance over that PDF contract that Sam had sent him when he was driving in this morning. He signed it but he didn’t really read it. He let out an audible sigh into the phone. “I guess I just wasn’t expecting this that’s all. I mean, I don’t have time this week to drag someone around with me all day.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that.” Sam said. His voice was more forceful now. “The company is taking this threat serious and I want you to do the same. Miss Hunter will do just fine this week with you and she’ll stay out of your way. I suggest you get used to it because she is your new best friend. And if you don’t mind, I’ve got some other more important things get finalized for Saturday.
