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She pressed her forehead to mine, her breath erratic as well.
“Wait, you have a helicopter?”
I had told the guys to meet me in the kitchen at noon. We still hadn’t decided who was going to stay with Sephie. She was still under the false impression that it was more like punishment to have to stay with her rather than go with me, and wanted to let them decide amongst themselves. She wasn’t expecting them to argue over who got to stay with her, but I was. I was expecting to have to break up a fight, honestly.
They all looked at me expectantly when I walked in the kitchen with Sephie. I looked at them as seriously as I could. “One of you must stay behind with Sephie. She won’t make a decision on who she wants to stay with her. She wants you to decide amongst yourselves who will stay.” I barely finished the sentence, and they were already arguing over who it should be.
Andrei was quickly eliminated, as he had stayed with her the day before. That left the other four. Misha made a solid argument that she had tried to kill him that morning, so he had earned being able to stay with her. Ivan argued that he was the most skilled in hand-to-hand combat and could, therefore, offer the best protection to her. Viktor used the fact that he was her favorite, so he should clearly get to stay. Stephen made the case that he was the most accurate shot out of all of them, so he should stay with her, as he could easily drop a threat from forty+ yards.
I looked at her as they argued, smirking. “I told you.”
“This did not go how I thought it would go,” she said, staring at grown men arguing over who got to babysit her. I kissed her temple and listened to the arguing for a few more minutes. When they still couldn’t come to a decision, I finally stepped in.
“Okay, enough! Misha will stay with her. My little gazelle did try to kill him this morning. He definitely earned it.”
Misha threw his hands up in victory while the other three looked quite disappointed at my decision. I wasn’t sure whether I should be proud they all wanted to protect her or offended they would rather stay with her than me. “Don’t worry, you’ll all get a chance eventually. We’ll have to set up a schedule or something so nobody gets their feelings hurt,” I said, overemphasizing “feelings” so they would know how silly it all looked. Although, I couldn’t blame them. I desperately wanted to stay with her as well. Just a few more days and I wouldn’t have to be so far apart from her during the day.
Our first stop was to the hotel where Mr. Turner worked the door. I knew Mr. Turner, as he had been working the door to this hotel for at least twenty years, maybe longer. He had seen me as a child with my father. He knew just about every important person in this city as they all frequented this hotel for various reasons.
We caught him as he was returning from his lunch break on his way back to the front of the hotel.
“Mr. Turner, if I may have a few moments?”
“Of course, sir. What can I do for you? How is Miss Sephie? Is she keeping you on your toes?” he asked, with the warm smile of a grandfather inquiring about his favorite granddaughter.
I gave him a half-smile. “Yes, sir. That’s actually what I wanted to speak with you about. Of sorts. She misses you and Ms. Jackson, but I don’t like the thought of her going back to that apartment.”
Mr. Turner nodded in agreement. “You know there were men that kicked her door in the day you left. Ms. Jackson told me about the whole fiasco.”
“I know this, which is why she’s still with me,” I glanced around us and nodded for him to move with me to a quiet nook in the lobby where our conversation couldn’t be overheard. “I would like to offer you an apartment in my building, just a few blocks from here. I have the penthouse, which would mean she would be somewhat of a neighbor to you again. I will take care of moving everything for you. In fact, everything will be taken care of. As a token of gratitude for being so good to her.”
He stared at me, completely stunned. “Sir, I can’t possibly. This is way too much.”
I waved my hand dismissively. “Please, Mr. Turner. She misses you and I would like to see her happy. I also don’t like that they know where her old apartment is. You could still be in danger there and I would never forgive myself if something happened to you and Ms. Jackson. You’re very important people to her and that’s all I need to know. Please tell me you’ll accept.”
He stammered for a moment, running his hand through his hair. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
“And could we keep this between us for now? I would like to surprise her with it once everything is settled.”
His warm grandfatherly smile came back. “Of course, sir. Mum’s the word.”
I extended my hand to him. “Thank you,” I said as he shook my hand. “She’s going to be very happy, which makes me very happy.”
“She deserves it. That girl is one of a kind,” he said.
I gave him a knowing look and took my leave. One down, one to go.
The afternoon was full of meetings and various matters to take care of. Before I knew it, it was time for the last stop. We pulled up to the small parking lot and parked next to Sephie’s car. As I stepped out of the vehicle, the curtains parted slightly in Ms. Jackson’s front window. I knew she had seen me, so I waved.
I didn’t even need to knock. Her door opened as I walked up.
“To what do I owe this pleasure? How is Sephie? Is she okay?” Ms. Jackson asked as she motioned for me to come in.
“Sephie is fine.” I exhaled and paused for a moment. “More than fine. She’s amazing.”
She nodded her head. “Does she know you’re in love with her yet?”
I raised an eyebrow and looked at her.
