"Bay, please." Flanagan sighed. "This is a unique opportunity for you and for the company."
"You mean he's paying you a lot of money." She stood abruptly. "We had an agreement. Is money and a big client so important to you that you'd break your promises to me?" She felt the hitch in her voice on those last words and hoped the men hadn't noticed. She'd made her way in a man's world by being strong and not acting like a crybaby every time something went wrong. She'd be damned if she would break down now. "You'll have to find someone else," she demanded, "because I will quit first."
"Wait, what agreement?" Everett asked, looking back and forth between them.
"The condition of my continued employment was that he would never use me or my status to promote the company," Bailey explained.
Everett scratched at the stubble on his jaw. "I don't understand."
Bailey rolled her eyes, certain he was playing her just to get what he wanted. She turned to face him and crossed her arms over her chest. "You mean to tell me you don't know who I am?" Her sarcasm would have made anyone else back down. But not this man.
Without hesitation, he said, "No. Does it matter?"
Bailey dropped her arms. "Yes, it matters."
"Why don't you explain it to me, and we can work within your previous agreement?" Everett gestured to the chair she had vacated.
Reluctantly, Bailey lowered herself back into the seat. Flanagan had been nothing but courteous and respectful to her in the last year. She didn't want to lose her job if something could be resolved. He was a nice guy, and she was sure he could use the extra money and publicity a client like Parker would bring. He had a kid who would be heading to college in a couple of years.
"You don't follow politics much, do you?" she asked Parker.
He shrugged. "Not the details. Half the time I can't even find time to vote."
Mentally, Bailey rolled her eyes. It figured he would be one of those people. "A year and a half ago my sister was running for congressional office. I had just returned from Afghanistan. Unfortunately, she decided to parade me around as a war hero because of my injury. Our names and faces were all over the news for weeks. I'm surprised you don't recognize me." The feelings of anger and betrayal surged through her still at what her sister had done. Her family, her best friend, her goddamn identical twin. She knew she would eventually forgive Lexie, but she wasn't ready to do it quite yet.
"Well, I don't. What does this have to do with working for me?"
To Bay's relief, Flanagan picked up where she left off. "Her contract stipulates no publicity. Even being your personal bodyguard is pushing that limit."
Everett leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "Like I said, this trip has to be kept quiet. There shouldn't be publicity at all. I wouldn't even use a bodyguard if people didn't get so worked up over a damn movie. But I can't take chances that my family might get hurt. This trip is too important for anything to happen." He ran his hands through his long hair and scrubbed at the back of his head. "Look, the only people we have to convince of our so-called relationship would be my parents, and that would only be so you could stay in the house. No one else would have to know, and there will be no publicity."
Options swirled through Bailey's head. Would it really be that easy? A simple trip with a regular guy? Could she trust him? She shook her head to clear it. There were too many variables. As a soldier, she knew that better than anyone did. Even if Parker were telling the truth as he saw it, there were no guarantees in life. Lee and his death had taught her that.
"Is that a no?" Everett asked.
"I don't think it's possible to do what you're suggesting."
Sitting up straight in his chair, he glanced at Flanagan, and the wicked grin returned to his face as he spoke to Bay. "What if I tripled your pay?"
"Money isn't the issue," Bailey protested.
"Then what is the issue?"
Bailey paused and thought. Was the truth the best thing in this situation, or should she be more circumspect and say something politically correct? Her head started to throb, and she rubbed at her temples. Screw it. She was too tired to play games anymore-his, her sister's, or anyone else's. "Trust." She stood, determined to put this man behind her for good. "What makes you think I can trust you? I can't even trust my own twin sister. And the last person I trusted with my life got himself killed because he trusted me. Why in hell do you think you can trust me to protect you?" Her voice had risen as she spoke, but she didn't care. She walked stiffly to the door.
"What if I told you the real reason for my trip?" she heard from behind her.
Bailey paused but made no move to reach for the doorknob. Would the details matter to her? Did he really think he could change her mind? She owed it to Flanagan though to consider all the options. He'd kept every promise he made to her in the past year. The least she could do was give him the benefit of the doubt. "I'm listening," she replied, her back still turned to the men.
"Look, my baby sister is getting married." His voice was closer now, and Bailey knew he must have stood and moved toward her. "I made a promise to her that I would do everything in my power to make the day perfect for her. Her version of perfect. And what she wants is a quiet hometown wedding with a few family and friends, including her big brother-not a celebrity with a horde of security and a trail of paparazzi." Bay felt herself softening. Damn, she hated feeling emotions for people she didn't even know. He was weakening her resolve in spite of her own determination to do everything in her power to stay under the radar. She turned back towards the room and found him only a few feet away. Everett spread his hands out in supplication. "Unfortunately, I don't have control over the movie production schedule. I couldn't postpone the release until after her wedding." From his closeness, she could see the tightness around his blue eyes and knew this was something serious to him. "Please," he begged. "I need this to work."
Bay felt torn. Dammit, he had found her weak spot. Until Lexie had done the unthinkable, loyalty to family had been her biggest strength. It was the reason-well, one reason anyway-she had joined the Army. To make her dad proud. Now this man stood in front of her and revealed a part of himself that the rest of the world wasn't privileged to. The one thing that was obviously important to him. His family. How could she ignore that? How could she walk away when he needed her help? She rubbed at the tension building in the back of her neck.
Seeing her hesitation, Everett pressed on. "I can't guarantee you won't be outed. There are no guarantees in life, right? However, I can promise you anything else you want that's within my power. You want money? It's yours. You want a house, a car? You'll get it. Name your price."
That last bit pissed Bailey off. She wouldn't be bought.
Chapter 4
‡
With a scowl on her face, Bailey stalked to Everett until her face was inches from his broad chest. She poked a finger into that firm flesh. "All right, I'll do it, but not for you. I'll do it for your sister. And I don't want anything extra from you." Bailey resisted a grimace at turning down his offer. Damn, she really did need the money. She'd been living pretty much bare bones since the incident with her sister. Even with her paycheck from Halvard, it was hard to make much of a living in Chicago. But she had her principles, and she wouldn't abandon them now just because some gorgeous man with a nice smile offered her money.
Speaking of nice smiles, Everett's returned upon her acceptance of his offer. "I'd give you a hug, but that finger is pretty intimidating," he offered.
"I've got another I can show you if you prefer."
"I bet you do. I bet there's a lot of things you could show me."
Bailey's scowl deepened. "Let's get something else straight while we're at it. This relationship," she used finger quotes as she said the last word, "is only for your sister's wedding. It will not, under any circumstances, go beyond that. Do we have a deal?"
Everett took a step back and gave her a slight bow. "Whatever you need, princess. I'm all yours."
Bailey turned on her heel and strode back towards the door.
"We need to leave in three hours," his voice called out brightly from behind her. "Where should I pick you up?"