on a pair of new, dry underwear. I find a plastic bag underneath Jenna’s bathroom vanity to use for my wet ones and stuff the bag in my purse.
Damn that man for turning me into a flustering idiot!
I come out of their bedroom and slam the door closed. I can’t hide the emotions that are playing on my face as I try to calm down. Anger and embarrassment course through me as I see Cal watching me with concern. I must look exactly like how I feel.
“Is everything all right, Layla?” he asks softly, handing me a glass of water. I nod my head thanks and down it in a couple of gulps. I place it on the kitchen counter top, take a deep breath, and look Cal straight in the eyes.
“I want you to fire Chase Wilson,” I demand.
He narrows his blue eyes and gives me a questioning smile. “And why should I do that?”
“Because he’s stalking and harassing me.” Cal’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise and I see a quick flash of anger appear in his stare before he replaces it back with his usual look of calmness.
“Can you give me some examples?”
“He’s showing up at places uninvited and he keeps texting me.”
“How did he get your phone number?” He gives me a quizzical look.
“Robert!” I say with such disgust that Cal’s lip twitches with a smile.
“And how many times has he shown up uninvited?”
‘Well, only once, but then he followed me home when I told him I didn’t need an escort!” I quickly say, trying to emphasize the point that he followed me home uninvited.
“Interesting,” Cal says slowly. “You mentioned he was harassing you. Has he been saying inappropriate things to you?”
Yes!
“No,” I answer.
“Has he been sexually harassing you?” Cal’s tone turns serious.
Technically, yes!
“N… No,” I stammer, but can’t hide the blush that creeps up on my cheeks from the memory of his words this morning. Cal, being the perceptive person that he is, studies my face and notices my new shade of color.
“Hmm,” he murmurs. “Very interesting.”
“Stop saying it’s ‘interesting,'” I growl, making air quotations with my fingers. “It isn’t interesting, Cal, it’s giving me anxiety. I don’t want this man in my personal life!”
He assesses me in silence as he sits down on one of the bar stools. “Okay, I will talk to him, but I can’t fire him yet. As of this morning, Mason is no longer with us and I need Chase to step in for him until a new bodyguard is secured.”
“Chase is nowhere near qualified to keep Jenna and Avery safe!” I exclaim in frustration, not even commenting on the departure of Mason. Not only is Chase not suitable for the job, but that means I would be seeing him more often.
“I first thought the same thing, but then I had him investigated. Do you know how a paparazzi - a good one, that is - finds their leads? Besides having the right connections and spies in place, they have to do an immense amount of research on their subject, as well as the detective work, especially scouring social media for any potential leads. This is very similar to what bodyguards have to do. They read every comment on social media, news articles, and blogs to see how people are talking about the people they are protecting. They have to be on the lookout of anyone voicing imminent threats. It’s all quite fascinating, really.”
“But what about physical training? Has he been to bodyguard bootcamp to do whatever they go through in order to learn how to protect people?” I question, as Chase doesn’t have the bodybuilding muscles that Mason has. Chase’s physique looks more like the statue David from Michelangelo - lean, sculpted and made for the runway.
“Funny enough, they do have bodyguard bootcamp, but while Chase has not been trained in the art of being a bodyguard, he does hold a black belt in Krav Maga training.” My mouth drops open in shock as Cal tilts his head and gives me a funny look. “Have you not done your own research on Chase yet?”
“Why would I need to?” Even though I haven’t yet, it doesn’t mean I haven’t been curious about his past and why he sought out the industry he chose to go into. Maybe I’m scared at what I will find. Maybe it will change my opinion of him. “Besides, what Google tells me is not the same as what a private investigator would tell me.”
“Maybe not, but