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Kayla wore her favorite black suit, combined with a pink blouse and her black pumps. She grabbed her purse from the hallway table and looked out of the peephole of her front door. She didn’t notice any unfamiliar sounds in the hallway other than the hustle and bustle of her neighbors preparing to start their day. The coast looked clear, as she expected it to be, but she couldn’t let her guard down. There was too much at stake.
Now that she’d felt like she had room to breathe, the flashbacks were coming at her in full force. Every night she lay awake and she would not only be scared for her life, but for the lives of others as well. But because she was so frozen with fright, she could only hope that history wouldn’t repeat itself. In the contact with her family, she never heard anything alarming, as she reassured herself each night.
After unlocking the door and stepping into the hallway, she swiftly locked her door again and turned toward the stairway when she was confident nobody was there. When Kayla reached the ground floor, she decided she needed a coffee to go. Coming through the doors of Danny’s Diner, she was greeted by a familiar voice. “Good heavens, dear Kayla, you look beautiful.” Her neighbor Miss Jackson was such a sweet woman and was always ready to give Kayla a compliment.
“Thank you, Miss Jackson. You’re so kind.”
Miss Jackson was having none of that. “I’m only stating the obvious, dear, and could you please start calling me Maureen, for heaven’s sake? You’re making me feel as if I’m eighty years old with your ‘Miss Jackson,’ and I am sure not a day over seventy-six.”
Kayla smiled and instantly used her first name in congratulations. “Happy birthday, Maureen. I’m so glad you asked me to join you and Caitlin tonight for a celebration.”
Maureen clapped her hands, looking rather pleased with herself. “I know the right place for us girls, and while we’re there, I can introduce you to a friend of mine and Cait’s.” Kayla raised an eyebrow at that little bit of information, and of course, Maureen didn’t miss a beat. “No, no matchmaking, Kayla. I promise you, this man is not for you.” Maureen laughed at her own statement.
Kayla released the breath she was holding. “Well, if you’re not setting me up on a blind date, I’ll gladly join you tonight. Do we meet each other here at Danny’s?”
Maureen nodded. “Yes, and we’ll leave at six thirty, so be there or be square.” That old phrase had Kayla smiling from ear to ear. “Okay, dear. See you later, alligator.”
Kayla chipped in with “After a while, crocodile,” and now it was Maureen who laughed wholeheartedly.
When Kayla arrived at work forty-five minutes later and dropped her purse in the same bottom drawer as Jenna did a few weeks ago, she noticed Donovan already sitting behind his desk. She was almost half an hour early; she was sure of it.
“Oh, good, you’re here already,” Donovan said.
“Good morning, Donovan. I can’t beat you in coming in first, can I?” Kayla chuckled.
Donovan had closed the distance between them and was now leaning one butt cheek on Kayla’s desk. He seemed relaxed, and she hoped to see this side of him more often.
“Good morning, Kayla. I’m here almost every day at 8:00 a.m., right after my run, but you don’t have to start this early. Starting your day at 9:00 a.m. is perfect.”
Kayla nodded and looked around the office building. She was positioned with the reception desk in front of Donovan’s office, and she had a great view of the comings and goings of the rest of the floor via the two elevators. She spied the three other doors with the blue-gray Mills Security logo, but the doors were closed, so she couldn’t see if her other colleagues were already in.
Kayla felt pretty welcomed by Donovan, and not once since she had started had his eyes lingered on her or had he made a pass at her. He treated her as her brothers always did, and it made her feel at home. Home. Oh, how she missed home.
“Everything all right, Kayla?” Donovan studied her with concern.
Kayla forced a smile. “I’m sorry, yes, everything is perfect. I just wanted to thank you again for making me feel at home.”
He looked surprised by her statement, but it was the truth. Mills Security felt like home already. Kayla was used to speaking her mind, and she was glad one terrible experience hadn’t taken that from her. She’d lost too much already, and she was determined to not let it change her personality.
Kayla had been introduced on her first workday to the three other employees of Mills Security—Jacob, Mike, and Jordan. The guys were friendly and took their time explaining what their duties entailed. When she made it clear to them that she was here to stay and was not to be compared to the previous assistant or the women Donovan entertained in his office, she knew she had earned their respect.
Jacob had chuckled and said, “I like her, Donovan. She’ll fit right in with us.”
Donovan was described by Mike as a hacker who could make anyone disappear in a blink of an eye, untraceable online and starting over somewhere with a brand-new identity. Kayla knew it probably wasn’t the best of ideas to tell her colleagues on her first day that she’d been on the run for over a month now and that she might need the services of Mills Security. But for now, she knew she was safe, and the fact that she had these four big guys as backup was definitely reassuring.
Her day passed quickly, scheduling appointments for Donovan, assisting Mike in an interview for a bodyguard job, answering several calls from the women’s shelter when Donovan was out, and assisting Jordan in sending out outstanding invoices.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Kayla. Thank you for your help today. I guess your suggestions from yesterday worked out real nice,” Donovan said, interrupting Kayla’s thoughts.
She looked up from her desk and answered, “No thanks needed, Donovan. That’s why you hired me.”
Donovan smiled at her words, and they said their goodbyes.
After arriving at her apartment, she was eager to get in the shower. She tilted her head under the spray and let the water pour over her face. For the first time in close to two months, she could really breathe and no longer felt like a person on the run.
She had a job with a great boss and three coworkers who acted like big brothers with their continuous banter. She had Maureen and Caitlin as lovely neighbors with whom she’d had coffee and now even celebration dates. Life could be a lot worse.
Then Duncan entered her mind and she smiled. He was just so bossy, arrogant, and a total jerk, but she’d realized over the past weeks when they’d talk over lunch that he also was one of the good guys—a real sexy, hot, panty-melting good guy.
