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“Working on sketches for a new line. Ivan, as much as I want to, I’m not keeping you on the phone any longer. You need to get some sleep, especially if it’s going to be another long day.”
“It is,” he agreed.
“I’m glad you called me,” she told him. “It’s great hearing your voice.”
“Yours, too. I’ll call you when I can,” he promised. “Stay out of trouble.”
“Like that’s going to be hard to do. You’re not here.”
They said goodbye and hung up the phone. Tiffany returned to her sketching, but it was difficult. Her mind kept wandering to Ivan. He sounded exhausted, and that worried her.
*
Ivan threw the papers he was reading across his bed and lay back on his pillows. He’d been in Venice for three days, and it looked as though his week-long assignment was going to turn into two weeks to accommodate a trip to Paris and London. He opened his eyes and glanced at
his watch. He had not spoken with Tiffany since the first night he called, but had communicated with her via text messages. His client was a night owl and enjoyed talking business over late dinners or canal rides under the stars with lady friends. There had been at least two other women holding his attention since Ivan’s team arrived.
Tonight had no different. His client and his entourage had dined at Naranzaria on the Grand Canal in the heart of the Rialto, followed by music and dancing under the stars and a moonlight stroll. Ivan had followed discreetly behind while other members of his team had been positioned ahead and behind him. His team had had rotations of two twelve-hour shifts. It had made for an extremely long day, but truthfully, Ivan was used to harsher conditions than protecting a wealthy media mogul.
Ivan received an alert in his earpiece about an irate woman approaching. He moved into position in front of his client while another man redirected the other group of partiers. Seconds later she advanced, screaming in Italian and flailing her arms. Ivan spoke to her in Italian to try to defuse the situation. She was having none of it. He tried to calm her down, but it wasn’t working. By then the men behind him had escorted their client and his companion into an awaiting limo. The woman tried to sidestep Ivan, but her efforts were futile. He blocked her path until the sedan sped off.
Livid at not achieving her goal, she took her wrath out on Ivan. She screamed obscenities at him for thwarting her ability to give her ex-lover a piece of her mind.
Ivan apologized and released her. She threw up her hand in an unladylike gesture and stomped off.
He kept his line of sight on her until she disappeared, before doubling back to rendezvous with his team. It was then he received word that their client was retiring for the evening. Gratefully, Ivan dismissed all but a select group and called it a night.
A few hours later, Ivan woke up from a troubled sleep. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand. It was four in the morning. He got off the bed and padded into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. He heard his phone chirping in the other room. He hurried to pick it up. “Mangum.”
“Are you busy?”
“Hey, Mike. No more than usual at this hour,” he said with humor. “What’s up?”
“Sorry for the delay, but I’ve got that number you were looking for.”
“Great. Send it to my phone.”
“No need,” he replied. “You already know it.”
When his buddy told him the name of the caller, Ivan swore under this breath.
“Thanks, Mike. I owe you one.”
He set his phone back on the table and then sat heavily on the bed. It would appear that Cole’s warning had come back to bite him in the ass, and he wasn’t happy about it at all, but he would have to deal with it when he got off assignment.
He placed a call to his assistant. He was not surprised that he picked up on the second ring. When he was in the field, Curtis always answered his phone in case Ivan needed administrative support.
“Hi, Curtis, I need you to call ahead and get Windmere ready for me, and book a flight from there to Madison for next week. No, I’m not staying. Book the return flight for an hour after I get there.”
“Of course, sir.”
He thanked him and hung up. After that he dialed Tiffany.
“Hey,” she said breathlessly. “How are you?”
“I’m well. Sorry I haven’t called in a few days.”
“It’s okay, Ivan. I understand. At least you’re able to text.”
