man-candy. He’d only met Mia and her husband once so far, along with Nevaeh and Braxton, and that had been the week before, but Elliot had been all about Barrick ever since.
It had been three weeks since Elliot had started working for me, and I already wanted to give him a raise. Not only did he take care of my work schedule, but my personal one as well. I’d even arrived on time more often than not, and for that alone, I thought he deserved a bonus at the least.
Thankfully, during that time, there hadn’t been any other issues with the stalker. Which was a huge relief after the near miss with the video Mieke was able to keep from going viral. But with that near miss, I’d also given in and let Jordan get me a personal bodyguard.
I didn’t like the guy constantly following me around, but he gave Jordan peace of mind when he couldn’t be with me, and I had to admit, Samuel did tend to keep the paps back when they tried to get too close. Elliot wasn’t too impressed with him, though, and tended to ignore him.
Samuel was the complete opposite of Elliot. Where my personal assistant was slender and beautiful, my bodyguard was barrel-shaped, and his face looked like it was forever frozen in a half snarl that was nothing less than terrifying if you happened to be on the other end of his chilly gaze. He made me feel safe, and that was all that mattered.
“You didn’t mention to Jordan or Taylor that I have a doctor’s appointment, did you?” I asked as we reached the SUV Jordan had chosen to me. It was built to withstand bullets and chemical warfare—which was ridiculous, but it had made my man grunt his approval when he bought the damn thing. But I knew Jordan was only trying to protect me, so I hadn’t put up a fight when he demanded I use the SUV instead of my beloved little car.
Samuel opened the back door for me, and I climbed in. The big man waited until Elliot was in beside me before closing the door and moving around the back of the vehicle to get behind the wheel.
“Girl, you know I don’t tell those two shit about fuck if you ask me not to.”
“I adore you.” Blowing him a kiss, I placed my coffee in the cupholder in front of me.
I’d been having Elliot order me decaf lately, and he’d only grumbled, “You’re going to turn into a cranky bitch, but whatevs.”
So far, he’d been right. I was cranky without my caffeine, but it looked like I was going to have to go without it for a while.
“How could you possibly not?” he gushed, and like always when he was close by, I couldn’t fight my smile.
My hair appointment took all of twenty minutes since all I needed was a simple trim. The stop for the doctor’s was longer—and definitely more invasive. I’d missed my period, but I hadn’t even realized it until the week before. My doctor hadn’t had an opening until this week, and I’d been waiting for this appointment before I told Jordan.
I’d made the appointment myself, then told Elliot it was a regular checkup when I had him add it to my calendar. I might adore him, but there was no way I was going to tell anyone but Jordan first.
While I was in the doctor’s office, Elliot and Samuel stayed in the vehicle. Over an hour later, I walked out with my purse full of expectant mommy items that I couldn’t wait to show Jordan later. But the appointment had taken longer than expected, and I was late for my lunch date with Nevaeh and Mia.
Elliot and Samuel both joined me as I entered the restaurant. I wasn’t the only one of the three of us with a bodyguard. Both Mia and my sister had one that drove them around whenever their husbands weren’t available to go with them. It annoyed Nevaeh, but Mia was used to it since she’d had one shadowing her from the time she was five.
“Figured you would be late,” Mia said as she stood and embraced me. Her adorable baby bump was hard to miss, and I found myself rubbing my hand over it before she could pull away, while mentally squealing that this was going to be me in only a few short months. “So we ordered drinks and apps.”