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A small smile formed on his face. “I’m glad that you did, though. You came to the right place, and I promise you’ll stay safe.”
“Thank you,” I murmured. Then, the silence stretched between us, and I didn’t want things to get awkward. So, I asked, “Do you like it?”
“Like what?” he countered.
“Where you work,” I clarified. “Do you like working at Harper Security?”
His grin grew. “I love it. It’s meaningful work, and it keeps me active and on my toes.”
“Is my situation something you typically deal with?” I questioned him, belatedly noticing that the nerves I’d been feeling were slowly fading away.
“For me personally, sort of,” he answered.
My brows pulled together. “How so?”
Something warmed in Jesse’s expression as he rested his forearms on the table and allowed his eyes to search my face. With a contented look on his face, he explained, “Harper Security Ops has different teams with the company. Each team is responsible for handling different types of tasks. We’ve got a private investigation team, a kidnap and ransom team, a bodyguard and private security team, and a self-defense and tactical training team. Royce, the boss and owner of the company, is working on some new ideas, but for now, that’s how it’s all broken down.”
“So, which particular team are you on?” I asked.
“I work in the bodyguard and private security unit,” he answered.
While I had known that Jesse worked at Harper Security Ops, I hadn’t known the extent of the work he did. I didn’t even know that the company had the different units where each employee worked.
Knowing that he worked as a bodyguard, I guess I now understood why he reacted the way he did when I’d explained the situation I’d found myself in. He hadn’t intended to let me out of his sight. Something told me that even if I’d not been okay with that, Jesse wouldn’t care. He was probably so good at his job that he could keep himself at a distance and still have his eyes on me.
“Am I to assume that you’re officially going to be my bodyguard now?” I questioned him.
He shrugged. “You can assume whatever you want, but I wouldn’t say this is official or anything like that. I’m doing it, but it’s not something you’ll be paying for.”
I didn’t know how he could do that. If he was with me all the time, and he didn’t plan on having me pay for the services he would provide, I wasn’t quite sure how he’d be able to make his own living.
“How is that going to work? Aren’t you going to get into trouble with your boss?”
Jesse let out a laugh and sat back in his seat. “No. Honestly, don’t worry about any of that.”
I nodded my agreement, because the truth was that I didn’t think it would matter if I tried to argue. Jesse had made up his mind, and I’d only put additional stress and tension between us for no reason if I pushed it. Not only that, but I had one other problem that would have affected my ability to pay whatever the cost of hiring someone like Jesse was. I didn’t have a job.
“How long do you think I’ll need to stay here?” I asked him.
There was a long pause before he replied, “As long as it takes to make sure you aren’t under any threat. I’d guess a few weeks as your best-case scenario, but it’s possible it could be longer than that. Why do you ask? Are you planning to go back to Maryland?”
Being here with him right now, I’d have stayed here forever if I thought that there would ever be a chance of something more happening between us. Hell, I’d probably stay even if I thought he’d only be able to be friends with me.
“I mean, it’s where I’ve been living for years now,” I noted.
Disappointment washed over him, but no sooner did I see it when it was gone. Then he returned, “I can understand that. You’ve got a whole new life there. New friends, a job, and probably a boyfriend, right?”
I shook my head. “There’s no boyfriend, and I’m technically out of a job right now, so that’s a problem.”
Relief swept through him as the tension I hadn’t noticed he’d been holding in his shoulders vanished. “Maybe this is all a sign,” he suggested.
Confused by that, I asked, “What do you mean?”
He tossed one hand out in my direction as he explained, “You’re back here for the first time in years, and you’re out of a job. Instead of holding out until things settle with your other situation and then heading back to Maryland, perhaps you can find a job here and start over.”
I’d have loved nothing more. But that was going to be impossible.
“Do you know anyone that’s hiring? Is there any chance there’s someone that would be willing to hire me?”
