Since I Fell For You(12)

“Are you going to be joining our R&D team?” a guy with thick-framed black glasses asked.

“No.” Roman looked to Suzanne, knowing it would be best if he let her field questions about his job title.

Her expression tightened for a split second before she smoothed it out and gave her employees a forced smile. Unlike her brother Alec, she didn’t have much of a poker face. Everything she was thinking and feeling seemed to be written there. Hopefully, her transparency would make this already difficult job a little easier.

“Roman works in security, but not digital. Personal.”

A blonde peeked her head out from around a gray cubicle wall. Her eyes were big as she asked, “You’re a bodyguard?” When he nodded, her eyes went even wider. “For who?” She turned to Suzanne. “Is your cousin Smith coming here today? His last movie was fabulous.”

Suzanne half laughed, half groaned. “No. Roman isn’t here to protect Smith.” She pressed her lips together as if she didn’t want to have to say it. “He’s here to protect me.”

“You?”

The word came from a chorus of voices, all similarly incredulous.

He expected Suzanne to say she agreed with them and that she most certainly did not need a bodyguard. Instead, she simply nodded. “Yes, Roman is here to work with me. It’s a long story, and I don’t want to bore everyone with it, but don’t worry. Everything’s fine. I’m fine.” Everyone looked from her to him, clearly wondering why he was standing there if she was truly fine. “I’ve got a meeting with the Mavericks in a few minutes, but I’m hoping to spend the rest of the day working on code, so I’ll be around if anyone needs me.”

With that, she continued down the hall and around the corner to the back of the building. “Good morning, Jeannie,” she said to a petite woman with red curls who was sitting behind a big computer screen. “This is Roman. He’s my bodyguard and will need complete access to the building. Could you please make him a badge?”

“Absolutely.” Suzanne’s assistant barely blinked at the request, nor did she react in any outward way to her boss’s outfit. “The Mavericks have confirmed they’re on for your meeting in ten minutes. There are several messages on your desk for you to take a look at before the meeting begins, and I’ve highlighted your highest priority emails in your inbox.” Jeannie paused before adding, “Nothing urgent or out of the ordinary.”

Relief flashed across Suzanne’s face. “Great, thank you.”

Roman wanted to understand more about what out of the ordinary looked like for Suzanne. But as she was about to head into a meeting—and he still wasn’t exactly sure where she now stood on the whole bodyguard thing—he figured it would be best to watch everything carefully for the time being.

Though her office wasn’t huge, it had a great view of Central Park. She had a big desk, a leather couch, and a glass table in the corner for one-on-one meetings. The big difference from other CEOs he had worked with was that more than a dozen computers, tablets, and phones were strewn throughout the room—on her desk, her coffee table, her glass tabletop, her shelves.

“I need to test my software on every possible device,” she said in answer to his unspoken question. “You’re not the first person to wonder why I’ve got enough in here to stock an electronics store. Plus,” she said as she ran her hand over one of the PCs, “computers are my drug of choice.”

“As far as drugs go, these seem like pretty good ones to get hooked on.”

“Can you please tell that to the last guy I dated? He took one look at my office and mentally committed me.”

“If he didn’t get it, he didn’t deserve you.”

Her hand stilled over the computer. “Do you?” She licked her lips. “Get it, I mean?”

Telling himself her question shouldn’t feel as weighted as it did, he nodded. “Of course I do.” She might be a puzzle, but she was an open book when it came to things she loved—the top two obviously being her family and computers.

The large screen directly across from her desk began to buzz. “My meeting is about to start. You can take a seat anywhere you’d like.”

“I’d prefer to stand.” Any bodyguard worth his salt could easily spend twelve hours a day on his feet without feeling it. You could react far more quickly to potential threats if you were already standing.

“Suit yourself,” she said with a shrug, “even though I can guarantee no one is going to come busting down my door with a machete.” With that, she sat in her leather office chair, kicked off her heels with what sounded like a moan of appreciation, then clicked on a remote to accept the video call. She smiled as four men appeared in four different frames on the screen. “Good morning. It’s an early one for those of you in California.”