SASSY IN STILETTOS ARe version (12 page)

He glanced down at his feet. “I guess no one told
you.”

“No one told me what?”

“I’m up for the screen tests.”

“Bullshit”.

“Not shitting you. I have a stake in the
production company WST has running this little outfit, so I wanted to be
involved every step of the way.”

“But you’re a movie star. You don’t have time for
this.”

“I made time so I could see you.”

The room spun, and she wobbled in her heels. He
came forward to help steady her and clutched her elbow.

She stared down at his hand. Warmth enveloped her,
and nausea made her stomach roll. This could not be happening. First this
bullshit with her car and Caleb, now Jax was here in her office, about to be
working with her if she took this job.  She needed to get out of here. “Jax, look—”

“Simon.”

She frowned. “What?”

“You always called me Simon. Jax is what everyone
else calls me. I prefer Simon.”

“Look, Jax,” she said deliberately, “I have some
things to take care of right now. And we weren’t exactly going to do the Kumbaya,
sorry your wife tried to kill me thing. It’s still a century too soon for that.”

“Fine. I get it. I need to head to the first
screen test anyway. But I wanted to say this—even if you don’t believe me, I
really am sorry for everything. You meant the world to me. I should have—” He
cleared his throat. “I should have come back for you. I wish I had. I hope we
get to work together.”

She heard his footsteps move away and down the
hallway. One by one her muscles eventually relaxed. And her breathing finally
returned to normal. One thing was for sure; she was
not
going to work with Simon Jax. She’d rather be locked in another elevator.

Ryan poked his head in. “I know you’re having a
hell of a day. Sorry I wasn’t here to keep that guy out of your office. I was
getting you coffee. I added a double shot for fortification.”

“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver. What would I do
without you?”

Ryan grimaced. “Before you ask, there’s something
you should know.”

“Oh really? ‘Cause there’s no way this day could
possibly get worse.” She heard a murmur from down the hallway. The voice was
warm, silky. Made her insides melt from the sizzling heat.
Oh
no. No no no no
no.

Her stomach dropped as she watched Caleb’s
confident stride make his way toward her. So much for always looking her best.

“Micha?”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Uhm, that’s what I was trying to tell you,” Ryan
murmured, holding her purse out to her.

Caleb held her hand tight when she tried to take
it back. “What Ryan is trying to tell you is that I’m your new bodyguard.”

“Bullshit. Last I checked, I have to hire you to
be my bodyguard. You can’t swoop in and decide to take over my life. I don’t
need a bodyguard. I know how to take care of myself, thank you very much. The
last thing I need is you dogging my every step.” Like hell she’d allow this to
happen. Caleb of all people! Not to mention, she was going to do the whole
five-o thing, so she didn’t need him.

Caleb gave her a bemused smile. “Are you finished
yet?”

His nonchalance made her angrier. “Caleb, this
takes the cake! How dare you show up at my job and do this macho thing. I’m a
professional, for the love of God. I have—”

A smooth feminine voice interrupted her from
behind. “Actually, we called him.”

Micha whipped around to find Miranda standing
behind her, arms folded. “Say what? Why? Because some idiot sent me flowers? C’mon,
you get hate mail at least once a month for putting anorexic models on our
covers, but I don’t see you with Lurch by your side.” She could have sworn
Caleb scoffed behind her.

“Micha, I know you see this as an intrusion, but
it really is for the best. WST Entertainment and Adele have high hopes of you
being their new star. We don’t want anything to happen to you. Besides, Mr.
Atkins has promised that he and his team will be discreet.”

“His team?” Micha’s eyes bugged. “You understand
how ridiculous this is, right? I don’t need a team. I don’t need him.” She
jabbed a finger into Caleb’s chest. It was like poking a cement wall. Way to
find any excuse to touch him.
Idiot
.

“I’m afraid it’s already done. When Adele
Westhorpe calls, you listen. Suck it up, Micha. Until we find out what’s going
on, you have a babysitter.”

Seething, Micha turned to face Caleb. Too angry to
speak, she took a minute to smooth her blazer and pants. When she did speak,
she kept her voice low. “Adele Westhorpe is responsible for this?”

Caleb’s response was smooth and, screw him,
bemused. “Yeah. She heard what happened with your car, and she called me last
night.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “If you ask me, this was a rather genius
move, considering her plans the other night. But that old lady is diabolical. And
opportunistic.”

“You mean to tell me Jaya did this to me?”

“I’ve had about enough,” Caleb said. Taking her by
her elbow, he dragged her into her office, seemingly unaware of the onlookers. Once
they were inside, he let her go as if his hand had been scorched. “I know this
isn’t what you wanted, but it’s happening, so deal with it however you need to.
But you and I need to establish some ground rules.”

Micha stared at him. “You’re kidding me. I still
haven’t accepted your help.”

“You heard your boss; it’s not like you have a
choice. Micha, someone is sending you dead rats and trashing your car. Now isn’t
the time to fuck around. You need to take your safety seriously.”

Her head snapped back as if she’d slapped her. She
took in the grim set of his mouth and the tight lines around his eyes. Caleb
was in serious mode. There was no joking and teasing lilt to his moss-green
eyes. She studied him more deliberately. His dark suit was exquisitely
tailored, but there was no disguising the bulge at his side. A gun. He wasn’t
here screwing around. He was in work mode.

Shit
. She wasn’t going
to get rid of him. She sank onto one of her leather Barcelona chairs in an
exhausted heap.

When she spoke, her tone was more modulated. “Caleb,
this seems like overkill for a couple of stupid teenage pranks.” But deep down
inside, she knew these weren’t pranks. It wasn’t the first time someone wanted
to scare her, and she didn’t know the outcome.

“Maybe, but I’d feel better if you went along with
it. I’ve already spoken to the police, and they’ve already interviewed everyone
in your office about the two sets of flowers you received.”

“Damn, already. It’s only eight. How long have you
been here?”

“Since six.” His voice softened. “I notice you
didn’t go for your usual run today.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You keeping tabs on me
now?” Had he been watching her movements as intently as she’d been watching
his?

“I don’t miss much. Not to mention, you’re
normally stretching in the courtyard every morning by five am. When you don’t,
I have to assume something’s up.”

“I, uh, overslept. Didn’t sleep very well.”

He nodded as if he understood. “Starting now,
either I or one of my guys will go running with you. If we can’t, then I’m
going to ask that you follow the rules and use the treadmill inside. Understood?”

“Really, Caleb? I’m training for the Rock and Roll
Marathon. I don’t want your guys slowing me down.”

He guffawed. “You realize that all the guys I hire
are ex-military and could probably run you into the ground, right?”

Micha gave him a smile that was all teeth. “Don’t
be sexist. I’m pretty fast.”

“I know. I’ve seen you run. Oh, and that’s another
thing. We’re going to vary your routines up.  I don’t want anyone being able to
guess your schedule.”

“How does this work? Am I getting a babysitter at
our place too?”
Our place? Stupid.
She cleared her
throat. “I mean my place.”

“Yeah. For now, I’ll mostly cover the apartment
until I can improve the security, starting with cameras in the parking garage. We’ll
also go ahead and change out your locks and make your place air tight.”

Caleb, in her place 24/7. This was a recipe for
disaster. No way they weren’t going to kill each other with lots of hot, dirty
sex. She shook her head to clear the image. “And at work?”

“The same. I’m going to put some cameras up. Do a
background check on all your employees. I’ll probably only have a detail on the
building for the time being. But you’ll have to consent to being driven
everywhere and no coming or going on your own.”

Micha stared at her shaking hands. The adrenaline
dump was finally kicking in. “This is really happening?”

“Yeah, it’s really happening.” His voice was soft
but determined.

***

As soon as Caleb gave her a minute by herself,
Micha stalked to her desk phone and dialed. Jaya picked up on the first ring. “Now,
Micha, before you start yelling at me, keep in mind that I don’t control Adele
or Caleb for that matter.”

“Jaya, how could you do this? I mean, come on.”
Even though no one could see her, she waved her hand in the air impatiently.

“What did I do, exactly? Call Caleb? I mean it’s
not like he wasn’t going to see your car for himself. And
I
didn’t call him. I told Alec, and he called Adele, then Caleb, and Caleb
had already seen the car.”

“You mean to tell me you didn’t know Adele was
going to meddle in my life?”

“C’mon, you know how she likes to interfere. It’s
no big deal. She’ll get bored eventually. Tell her you’re fine, and she’ll move
on to another pet project.”

Micha frowned. Was it possible that Jaya really
didn’t know? “No, Jai, I mean sic’ing Caleb on me as a body guard. Adele made a
call to SDM, and they have now hired Caleb and his team as my protection until
we sort this whole mess out.”

There was a beat of silence. “What? Are you
serious?”

“Trust me, this is not a joke. I tried getting rid
of him, but he gave me the broody eyes. He’s not messing around.” Granted that
was kind of hot, but she wasn’t going to tell Jaya that.

“This is extreme, even for Adele. I mean, someone
vandalized your car. The police should have been there this morning to get a
statement. This shouldn’t trigger her overprotective drive. Do you think she
knows about your past?”

Micha chewed her bottom lip. “I wouldn’t put it
past her. But this has nothing to do with that. I’ll deal with it, and I’ll
talk to my boss. See if I can’t call off the dogs.”

“Shit. I’m sorry. Do you want me to talk to Adele
and tell her to back off?”

“No. She’ll only dig her heels in.” Not to mention
the old lady would clue Jaya into her past and stir up a shit storm. She held
her phone to her ear and tapped her foot impatiently. “Besides, this is
probably some asshole playing a prank, that’s all. It’ll blow over.” She hoped.

“I certainly hope so. One way or another, I’m
happy Caleb will be looking out for you. I can’t have my maid of honor hurt
before my wedding. It would ruin my day.”

Micha smirked. “There you go making this all about
you and shit. I gotta go, but you’re not forgiven. I’m not happy.”

“Tough,” Jaya said. “This is temporarily your new
reality, so deal with it. And even though I think it’s overkill and will all
blow over, if you try to shake Caleb, you know he’ll put so many men on you
that it’ll be like a protective bubble, and you won’t be able to do so much as
pee on your own. So I’d do as he tells you. Who knows what Adele will do if she
thinks there’s a risk to your wellbeing.”

Micha rubbed her forehead. “I don’t get it. What
business is it of hers anyway? I don’t like meddling.” This was still her life,
and some crazy old bat wasn’t going to hinder her movements.

Jaya tsked. “Micha, when are you going to get it? Like
it or not, because of me, you’re a Westhorpe now. Adele Westhorpe looks after
hers.”

***

Caleb kept a sharp eye on Micha as she spoke to
her boss. Honestly, he didn’t need to be in the office, but he wanted to check
on her. The night on the elevator shook him.  He’d never seen her like that. She
was always so strong and confident. Very take charge, ‘I don’t need anything
from anybody.’ He’d always found it sexy. But then, there she was crying in his
arms, and it had awakened possessive parts of him he hadn’t known existed. And
as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t take advantage of her. Though his body
still ached because of that decision.

She was talking about her latest assignment, and
she was setting her terms. Just like Micha to set terms and announce what she
would and would not be doing.

When Miranda reminded her of a term of her own,
Micha turned and glowered at him. He waved loose fingers at her. That earned
him narrowed eyes. He wanted to grin, but that wasn’t professional. Hell, half
the things running through his head about her weren’t professional. And he’d
get a handle on that. He’d have his best watching her, and if all his men were
unavailable, he’d do it himself. He didn’t particularly trust anyone but
himself anyway.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he moved out
of earshot to take the call. “Atkins.”

“Ah, Caleb, always so terse.”

“What do you want, Sabine?”

“Oh, relax. Look I only wanted to set new transfer
arrangements. It’s taking me a while longer to get back. I ran into a
complication or two.”

From his vantage point, he eyed the entrance as
SDM employees bustled in and out. “Yeah, about that. I have a complication of
my own, so now isn’t the best time.”

“Listen, I need you to keep the girl for another
couple of days.”

Caleb ground his teeth. Changing the terms of
their deal didn’t bode well for him. It meant she was having trouble keeping
her end of the bargain, which meant trouble for all of them. “You want to tell
me why?”