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“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m not happy with being watched every time I go in my backyard, but I understand why all the cameras should be there.” I drew a circle on the table with one finger. The security firm was ready to take over my life, but I didn’t want that. “I want to be as inconspicuous about all this as possible. Do you think you can blend in a bit with the college scene around here?”
He managed to sit up straighter. “Ma’am, when I’m on guard, it takes all of my attention.” He squinted one eye a bit. “But I can wear casual clothing.”
“Okay.” I didn’t know about him—he’d be broadcastingbodyguardeverywhere we went. However, I intended to limit how much time I spent protected.
He cleared his throat. “With my female clients, I’m upfront about one detail of my personal life. I’m gay. Disclosing that at the beginning is helpful, I’ve found.”
I blinked at him. “Is it because women come on to you and you’d rather avoid embarrassing them?”
His mouth moved a little at one corner. Was that his version of a smile? “Sometimes. I’m willing to share that about myself so we’re more comfortable.”
“All right. You’ll hear everything about me if we start working together—thank you for not making it totally one-sided.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Let’s walk over the property.”
I glanced at Hazel, and she flashed me a thumbs-up and a big smile. Holding my hands up, I made a perplexed face at her. She flexed one arm and patted her bicep—he had muscle, she seemed to be indicating. I rolled my eyes.
Tyrese went over every room, stopping to make notes and speak in a voice recorder. He wanted the gate and extra fencing up yesterday and muttered to himself a lot. When we were in the backyard, he nodded curtly to everyone and then stalked around the property perimeter taking measurements.
“He’s handsome,” said Kate, smoking a joint on the little patio by her bedroom’s French doors.
Antonio held up a spatula by his rotisserie barbecue. “He is gay.”
I stared at him. “How in the world did you know that?”
He tapped the side of his head. “I know things.”
Kate shrugged when I glanced at her. “It’s true. But annoying. Well, should Sally hire him then, Tonio?”
Antonio puckered his lips out and tapped his foot. “Yes, I think so. He will relax.”
Amber arrived in time to meet Tyrese. She had big, dark sunglasses and a down-turned expression that made my heart hurt. She slumped into a chair by the pool and pulled out her tablet.
I walked Tyrese to the door. “There’s a lot of work to do,” he said.
Barely suppressing a sigh, I nodded. “I’m ready. Let’s get started.”
He gave me a card with his personal contact info on it. “I’ll have the camera guys out here as soon as possible. Stay vigilant.”
With that less than warm goodbye, he marched off to his black SUV. I crossed my arms and leaned on the doorjamb.Just what I didn’t need, another hard-ass in my life lecturing me.
I poured Amber an iced tea then headed down to the pool. More people had arrived and were playing basketball or getting into the pool. The faces seemed like the football crowd for the most part. One of the guys standing with Forest and Layla was Marcus.
“One peach and basil iced tea,” I said, setting the glass on the table next to Amber. “To tide you over till I crack a bottle of rosé. Apparently, we’re having a party.”
Amber put a hand up in front of her face. “Isn’t that a little dangerous? Your stalker’s watching social media.”
I huffed. “I really hate that asshole.”
Layla walked over, her shoulders a little hunched. “Hey, Forest and I have been trying to figure out what’s going on. We didn’t invite everyone over.”
Blinking, I stared at her. “Really?”
“Yeah.” She cleared her throat, glancing around a little nervously. “I heard there was some kind of invite on Facebook—I’m going to go find it now.”
