AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thanks, Mom,” Daisy’s dad said. “But I want you safe too. Let’s think about it and talk again tomorrow, okay?”
Daisy left her parents more irritated than scared about the threat. She was taking this trip—with or without her parents’ blessing. No stupid online hack was going to keep her from winning this award.
CHAPTER FOUR
Noah hung up with the company he’d pitched for last week. Deal, sealed.
Most of their current work came from contracts for traffic control at road construction sites. But this new one was for a security assessment on a large warehouse outside of New Bern. This aligned better with what he had in mind when he started the business. If the city hall jobs were his bread and butter, these consulting gigs were the jam.
“Janet,” he yelled to his assistant in the other room. “We got it!”
Janet pushed open his door. “Hey, boss. That’s great news. Congratulations.”
“They want us to start next month, but first they want me to present a proposed course of action to the full board. I have two weeks to get my shit together and make a plan.”
“I can’t believe how far you’ve come in just six months.”
Neither could he. First, moving out of his spare bedroom to a bona fide office. Then hiring an assistant to do all the stuff he hated, like talking to people. She was the extrovert to his introvert.
“Guess I can keep you on a little longer,” he said.
“Aren’t you a barrel of laughs?” The best part about Janet was that she accepted his dry humor and didn’t give him a hard time about not winning any personality awards.
The phone at her desk rang, and she left to answer it, only to return a minute later.
“It was Edward Parker,” she said. “He’d like to see you. ASAP.”
“The mayor?” Noah said, already standing and preparing to leave. Since the majority of his business came from city hall, this was a connection he couldn’t afford to mess up. “That’s weird. I usually deal with the city manager. Wonder what the big man wants.”
Janet shrugged. “Guess you’ll find out soon enough.”
Noah arrived at city hall within half an hour and was immediately shown to the mayor’s personal office. Usually, when he came here, it was for meetings held in a conference room with several other city employees. Today, it was just the mayor in his office. And he’d shut the door. Noah’s curiosity piqued. Was this good news or bad? He would treat the summons as a potential interview.
“Thanks for coming, Noah,” Edward said, ushering him in. “Please, have a seat.”
“Everything okay with our contracts?” Noah asked, sitting in one of two leather chairs.
“Oh, yes.” Edward waved his hand. “I’m sorry. I forgot to mention, this isn’t about work. Well, not the city’s work. I need security, but not the kind you might think.”
“You mean personal security? Like a bodyguard?” Noah asked. “What’s up?”
“Yes, but not for me,” Edward said. “One of my daughters might be in trouble, and I’d like to hire you to protect her.”
“Oh.” That was not what he’d expected. “What’s happened?”
“She’s up for some sort of award. Two of the other contestants up and quit after being blackmailed. One died under dubious circumstances, and now Daisy is receiving threats.”
“What kind of threats?”
“It started yesterday with a vague, ‘drop out, or you’re next,’ but escalated quickly overnight,” Edward explained. “My daughter Emma called this morning to tell me about it. The award ceremony is in New York City. The new threats say, ‘I’ll make sure you never make it to New York. Show up and die. I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty.’ Stuff like that. I contacted Captain Baker at the PD, but he says this stuff happens all the time, and without specifics there’s not much they can do.”
Noah had met Edward on several occasions and considered him a friend—not a close friend, but someone he respected and admired. He thought perhaps the mayor was overreacting, but wasn’t about to suggest that. The captain was right. Stuff like this happened online all the time. Everybody was a tough guy behind a keyboard. “And you think it’s serious?”
“I think whoever is trying to get the other nominees to quit has shown they lack scruples. And I’d rather be safe than sorry. The banquet is the Saturday after next. I’m looking for twenty-four-hour coverage until then.”
“How does someone quit being a nominee?”
“It’s a people’s choice kind of thing. Each contestant tries to get their fans to vote for them, and the one with the most votes wins. If someone tells their followers not to vote or doesn’t mention the contest at all, they presumably wouldn’t get enough votes to win.”
