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1
KAYLA
Guarding a rich heiress who is studying business at a fancy university should be a really comfortable job. One of those gigs that most bodyguards dream of landing. Because what’s the worst that could happen? That they need to scare off some drunk frat boy who got a little too handsy at a party? That’s probably the case for most assignments like this. But unfortunately for my bodyguards, they didn’t get a normal client. They got me. And I have no intention of being guarded.
Music pulses out into the dark night from the open window above me. Holding on to the windowsill, I pull myself up until I can manage to swing one leg up onto the small ledge. I glance down at the bushes below. It’s not exactly the first time I’ve climbed into an upstairs window, but I would still like to avoid falling into those bushes if I can. They’re the scratchy kind. Not the soft kind.
Clenching my jaw, I heave myself up onto the windowsill.
“Uhm…” a guy says from inside the room. “Do you need some help with that?”
“I’m fine,” I reply as I straighten on the small ledge before shifting my attention to the inside of the room. “I just need to…” Trailing off, I glare down at the mass of potted plants that takes up the entire windowsill inside the room. I groan. “Oh, come on.”
A soft laugh sounds.
Looking up from the inconveniently placed plants, I find a guy standing just a step away. He has brown hair that has been slicked back in a stylish way, and gray eyes that glitter with both confusion and amusement as he watches me. He’s a bit on the slim side, but objectively still very attractive. I wink at him as I start trying to climb over the potted plants.
“You do know that there’s a front door downstairs, right?” the guys says, still watching me with a bemused smile on his lips.
I push aside a snake plant with my foot. “I’m aware.”
“You’re not a burglar, are you?”
“No.” I nod towards the rest of the room behind him. “Would be kind of stupid to try to rob a place in the middle of a party when there’s like a hundred witnesses, wouldn’t it?”
He glances over his shoulder.
This is some kind of entertainment room or something like that. There’s a large TV on the wall to my right, though it’s not turned on. The people occupying the massive gray couch in the corner are too busy making out to watch anything. On the other side of the large room, four people are playing beer pong on a table that looks to be meant for table tennis. Another group is standing by the wall closer to the door, red plastic cups in their hands as they drink and talk.
The guy in front of me returns his attention to me right as I step over a plant with yellow flowers. “True. But it could also be the greatest tactic in the world. Reverse psychology. No one would think to rob the place during a party, which is why it’s the best plan.”
I roll my eyes at him before I turn around and grip the window frame for support. “Nah. I’m just trying to escape someone who doesn’t understand the meaning of privacy.” After swinging my other leg over the army of plants, I release my grip on the window frame. “It’s?—”
My words are cut off by a hiss as my foot slips off the edge of the windowsill. Flailing my arms, I try to get my balance back. But it’s too late. My stomach lurches as I fall backwards into the room.
A huff sounds.
I brace myself for the impact. But I don’t hit the floorboards. Instead, I land on top of something soft. And hard.
Blinking, I sit up and scramble around so that I’m no longer facing the window and the disgruntled house plants that are still glaring at me from the windowsill.
Another huff sounds.
I finish spinning around. And come face to face with the brown-haired guy I was talking to. The guy that I collided with when I fell. The guy that I’m now straddling on the floor.
“Wow,” he says, and then chuckles as he raises an eyebrow at me. “At least buy me dinner first.”
Clearing my throat, I lift my hands from where I was bracing them on his chest and instead push my long red hair back behind my ears before flashing him a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”
He laughs again. “You sure know how to make a memorable first impression at least.”
“That’s what they say.” I wink at him again before holding out my hand. “I’m Kayla.”
Since he’s still lying on the floor underneath me, it takes some maneuvering for him to reach up and take my hand. “Lionel.” He smiles and shakes my hand. “Henderson.”
“I’m—”
“Ms. Ashford,” a stern voice snaps from the doorway. “What have I said about sneaking off like that? I can’t do my job when you run off every chance you get.”
