"I am not a babysitter," she stubbornly spat.
Mac closed the file in front of him and looked at her. That eagle-eye focus was unnerving. "Yes, you are a woman. Yes, your assignment is an eight-year-old girl. You have waited for this chance and I chose to give it. I chose you. I could have pulled Jill from her current assignment but it would be unjust to her and her client. Or asked Penny to come back earlier from her honeymoon, but that would also be unfair. I am nothing but fair. I doubt an eight-year-old would be delighted to let a man like Zee or Evan watch over her. I have selected you for this … or should I have asked Juliette?"
Cade opened her mouth, then thought better of it. A photo was enclosed in the little girl's file. A curly-haired brunette with innocent brown eyes and a smattering of freckles on her pert nose smiled back at her. Having no siblings, cousins who she saw once every five to ten years, and aunts and uncles who were long gone, Cade had no experience with children. Even her own childhood seemed surreal. Being a military brat constantly travelling with her parents left her friendless and awkward at social gatherings. In the two years she had lived in Vancouver, a city of over half a million diverse people, she had managed to befriend only one person. No, Juliette was the one who befriended her. Her grandmother, pushing on eighty years, was the person she considered her best friend.
"I await your decision, Miss Williams." Mac's voice pulled her out of her trance.
She rubbed a finger over the little girl's face. "Yes, of course, I accept."
"Just as I thought. Here are the facts, Miss Williams. Zee will be guarding Mr. Jackson Clark. Since this is your first rodeo, you will be directly under his supervision." Cade lifted an eyebrow at the large man leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window. The man lifted a square chin at her, letting her know he would not accept anything less than perfect. Mac continued, "You are to start this afternoon. Go home, change into something appropriate, and you will be picked up at 1600 hours. Any other questions you may direct to Zee." Mac opened the file on his desk again without looking at either of his employees. It was understood that the meeting was over.
***
"You're not going to embarrass me, are you, Cade?" Zee asked as they sat in a black sedan, his large build swallowing the entire front passenger side of the car. Cade was sure he changed his clothes even though he was still dressed in a similar black suit as he wore before. Zee was a perfectionist. Every 't' crossed, every 'i' dotted. His peers considered him employee of the month even though no such thing existed in their workplace. He garnered everyone's trust and adoration, including Mac's. Cade should consider it a great opportunity to be working with the man, but Zee made her uneasy. Of the entire team, Zee had never warmed up to her. She felt he always kept an eye on her, waiting for her to screw up so he could immediately report to Mac, who would then terminate her without another word. She knew little of the man, could never read his face-not that she ever saw Zee show any other emotion than intimidation-much like Cade's own father. A thought that made her more wary of the man.
"Have I ever lacked in my work, Zee? I'm sure you've asked around the office. I'm thorough and a perfectionist like you." Her voice was level.
"I am nothing like you, kid." She thought she heard an almost laugh.
"Whatever you say, Zee, or should I address you as 'sir'?"
"Zee will do." He was definitely mocking her.
"Got it." And before a slight bravado left her, she said to the back of his head, "And don't ever call me kid again." This time she was sure she heard a low chuckle.
After a few more minutes, Cade found herself outside a recently erected, modern waterfront building. She walked in with Zee, watched him shake another man's hand and exchange a few words with him, then she followed him to the elevator banks. Zee inserted a key card into a panel on the wall and two seconds later the doors opened. Zee didn't have to press any buttons before Cade felt the elevation.
"You will get a card too once the client approves of you," Zee stated. Not once in the thirty minutes they had driven and been together did he look in her eyes.
"What do you mean, 'approve'?"
"Just what it sounds like. Mr. Clark has to okay you. I have worked with him before. He … doesn't say much. You don't need to impress him with words. I'll do all the talking."