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That was then. Perry of today hardly did anything for himself. He was too consumed in PJS. A curse for him meant a blessing for me at not having to witness him bring women home. As his bodyguard, I was there when he went out. No matter what, I had his back.
Except today, because my mind kept drifting so far from Perry, I couldn’t tell which way was up.
Greer came over to stand in front of me. An inch taller than me, he was a force to be reckoned with. His hair was longer than mine on top, with his sides and back shaved. He had tattoos and his nipples were pierced. I had none of that. “Pey, what is it?”
I had stopped the game we were playing, too lost in thought. “Remember when we used to throw snowballs at each other? The game changed once Perry realized what he had to do to win.”
“We had a lot of fun together.”
“When did things get so complicated?” I pulled out a chair at the table and dropped into it. Greer followed suit.
“When Perry’s dad took control of our futures. It made us grow up fast.”
“Do you regret it? Following what he asked of us?”
He shook his head. “Not for one second. I wouldn’t have been able to afford college and wouldn’t want to put that debt on Mom. You wouldn’t have gotten into the gym you did and learned to fight. Same with me.”
“I stopped living for me.”
“You did that the moment you knew Perry existed. Doyouregretthat?”
“No.” There wasn’t a shadow of a doubt in my mind. “I regret not doing things for myself though.”
“What’s this really about? You’ve been off since you came home Thursday night.”
“You saw that, did you?” Of course, he did. With the cameras all over Perry’s penthouse, a fly couldn’t rub his evil little legs together without Greer being made aware of it.
“You don’t have to tell me, but it might help if you do.”
I didn’t keep secrets from Greer. He knew how much I loved Perry. Knew I’d dedicate the rest of my life to protecting him. At what cost though? I lived without love from a partner. From a man I so desperately wanted. It hadn’t occurred to me that one day I’d want more, since none of the nameless hookups ever tempted me. Then there was Dominic.
“Where’s Perry?”
“Last time I checked, he was in his office on the phone with Pam.” She was the CFO of PJS. It didn’t surprise me he was speaking with her. Perry ran a tight ship. One of the reasons it was easy for Perry to stay here was because he had a full office space to work in if he needed to.
Greer pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times and sat it on the table between us, letting me see the live feed of Perry in his office. We didn’t spy on him; the sound was off. There was a camera in there because of the work conducted to ensure if someone ever got in, we’d know if they were in Perry’s office. Greer was easing my worries that Perry wouldn’t pop up and hear our conversation.
“You’ve been to Untouchable,” I began.
“Is that a trick question?” He grinned. Greer went there at least once a month, if not more, when he could get away and needed to decompress.
“You’ve seen Ocean then.”
“I have. Was that where you were Thursday night? Finally got to dip your toes into the water?” He waggled his eyebrows.
A tennis ball sat on the table. I picked it up and threw it at him without any real force. He dodged it, laughing at my pathetic attempt.
“Anyway,” I continued. “Yes, I went there Thursday night. I’ve been feeling… unsettled. Perry’s stressed about something and it’s bleeding over to me.”
“Perry’s always stressed. That’s not new.”
“It’s different. I can’t put my finger on it, but something has him worked up more than usual. I had to blow off some steam or I was going to be worse than him, growling at everyone.”
“So, you went to Untouchable.”
“I did and ran into Dexen.”
“Makes sense. He knows everyone who comes in and out of those doors.”
