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He rolled his eyes. “Let’s get her to the hotel as fast as we can.”
“My earpiece just said she needs to pee,” I said.
“I realize she wants the press, but this stunt is too risky.”
“I’m with you. I’d rather the client pee their pants than end up cornered by haters in a ladies’ room,” I said. “If she insists, get Ballard up here to clear the public toilets and go in with her.”
Ty tapped Liubov on the shoulder and spoke briskly. She gave a curt nod and let him brush past her to break path to the vehicle waiting for us. At her hotel, we took her in through the entrance reserved for kitchen staff and up a service elevator. Ballard and Jake checked out her room and gave the all-clear.
On the way back to the office, I removed my tie and rolled my shoulders to loosen the tension.
“I’m ready to be done with this day. I don’t have anything else on the calendar app until ten tomorrow. Anybody for a drink or five?” I asked.
“Can’t. Jasmine just messaged to see how it went with Liubov,” Ty said.
“Did she sense a disturbance when you very obviously paraphrased?” I asked.
“She is a bit of a Jedi,” Jake said.
“Well twenty bucks says she’s already seen a video of it and that’s why she messaged,” Ty said.
Jake was driving so I looked up coverage of the event and sure enough, found a TikTok already up featuring a loop of my brother translating as the smug dissident looked on.
“I’m just glad nobody asked her about Ukraine. Have you seen the footage from last month when she was on Graham Norton and stood up and grabbed her crotch and attempted to cuss out the Russian heads of state?” Ty added.
“No. But it sounds memorable. Maybe I’ll look it up.”
Ty’s phone lit up with a Facetime from Jasmine.
“Hey,” he said as he answered.
“Hey there. Just calling to let you know you’ve got another booking for Liubov. Two more events—a brunch at ten and an award ceremony at a global justice charity at the Willard at six. Her manager requested the same interpreter and four guards. I’m moving Keith to cover Jake’s eight o’clock downtown at the club opening so I can assign the three of you to Liubov for the entire day. And you can bet her publisher will be billed for nine a.m. to whenever you’re done. I want to keep Ballard with you tomorrow because you need a woman on detail for bathroom breaks and such.”
“Sounds perfect, thanks,” I said.
“I don’t know what we ever did without you, Jas, but we must’ve been lost,” Jake said.
“Keep your eyes on the road, big guy,” she quipped from Facetime and hung up.
3
JAKE
Opening my own security firm after getting more gig work at private security than I could handle had been my best idea. I had brought my brothers on board, each of them a remarkable asset in their own right, bringing the strengths of their own personalities and experiences to the table.
We had four full-time guards and twelve part timers currently, but it was time to add to the roster. I wanted to promote Ballard and Jenkins to full-time. They’d proven themselves and it would give us three full-time females in private security, which we needed. That put us with at least two vacancies for part-time private security guards.
I buzzed Jasmine and asked her to come to my office. She was through the door and seated before I figured out exactly what I wanted to say.
“What’s up, boss?” she inquired.
“I was looking over the calendar last night and we’re booked out solid for the next month and filling up for the six weeks past that.”
“I thought that was a good thing,” she said, sitting forward. “Is there a problem?”
“Only the good kind of problem to have, which is more work than we can handle responsibly with our staff. It’s time to bring a few more part-timers on board to fill in the gaps and cover if anybody has something come up,” I said.
“How many? Two more?”
