Billionaire Bodyguard 1 : Billionaire Bodyguard(10)

"Cheers!" they echoed. Glasses clinked.

After taking a sip, he revealed a bold grin. "Now let's get this party started."

Laughter rose up. Conversations resumed.

Not before Allison caught plenty of stares directed her way.

Face hot, she broke from Logan's side and bee-lined to the nearest corner. This happened to be the busy private bar, offering camouflage so she could gather herself.

He knew he'd be the center of attention when he walked in, placing her at the mercy of his spotlight. Like unsuspecting Laoula in the French Opera L'étoile.

Despite his charm and sex appeal, and how his smile could make her feel like the only woman in the world, he could also be single-minded and self-absorbed. And he still made her knees weak. The jerk.

Clenching her hands, she turned to the bartender. "I need a Cosmo martini."

"What kind of vodka?" he asked.

"Strong."

The young man grinned. "You got it."

While waiting, she peered over her shoulder. Putting distance between her and Logan seemed to have warded off coworker scrutiny. People made a cocoon around him, drenching him in praise, peppering him with questions about the bright future of Stone Security. A future she'd never see.




 



She should be used to coming and going without making an impact. As a professional facilitator she was hired on short-term stints to train government and private sector employees, a passing figure, temporary. How it's supposed to be , she reminded herself. So at any moment she could quietly pick up and leave before she made a connection, before she developed friendships, before anyone considered her important enough to keep around. Or considered her a threat. Her ex-husband's volatility spread like a forest fire, consuming everything in his path. No one deserved to get sucked into the raging menace that continued to stalk her. She'd bear that burden alone. As long as she kept moving, she was safe. So was everyone she came in contact with, or came to care about. Like Logan .

Packing cool reserve around her wistful thoughts, she watched her colleagues smiling, laughing, discussing the success of the Elite System, the snowstorm outside, the cafeteria meatloaf, the trials of potty training two-year-olds. It was all so … normal.

Oh, God, what I would give to know normal . Instead, she was planning her next trip into obscurity, before her past caught up to her.

*

Across the room, Logan's head snapped up. He combed the crowd, eyes narrowed, searching for the cause of his distraction.

Despite an entourage of employees, he'd felt a chill. Scanning a moment, his eyes landed on Allison's gorgeous form folded in shadows near the bar.

He couldn't explain it, her sudden detachment, but he felt as if he'd stepped into a walk-in freezer. It bothered him, like something that was rightfully his had been taken away.

A whiny tone pierced his intrigue. "Don't you think we should broaden my territory to the upper Midwest?" Kurt Keegan inserted himself into the conversation, taking over the surrounding chatter.

Logan pulled himself into the moment. "Lance Briggs has Michigan and Wisconsin covered." He exhaled. "Didn't we have this discussion four weeks ago?"

A flush crept along Keegan's starched collar. "Sure, but you know, the orders are really pouring in, and I thought-"

"I gave you my answer." Logan stood firm. "A few drinks at a casual company function won't change my mind. Keep up with your own territory. Tonight, enjoy the party."

That's one thing he didn't like about company functions. Offer a relaxed setting with food and booze, and some people believed the line between friend and boss blurred.

His attention drifted back to Allison. Then again, sometimes those lines do blur .

A brusque nod ended his conversation with Keegan. He moved across the room. Allison stood tucked between the wall and the bar wearing a pensive frown, her eyes downcast. She looked sad, alone. Lost. He lengthened his strides. 

En route, he watched her take a sip of her martini and immediately shove it away, making a face like she'd bit into a lemon. Recently, he'd noticed something was different about her. An added glow in her cheeks. Maybe the change in weather, or-

"What the hell have you done?" Nostrils flaring, Rick stood in his path like a bull stamping the ground, prepared to charge.

"I've been making the rounds. You know, being social. That thing you hate. Now I'm getting a refill." Logan gestured to Rick's empty glass. "Want one?"

"I want you to quit obsessing over Allison."

"Whose obsession, exactly?"

Rick ignored the retort. "What were you thinking, walking into a packed room with her like she's your damn date?"

Logan set his chin at a hard angle. "Maybe she is."