safe, I’d imagine. And security measures for the upcoming event on Saturday.” She hid her wince at that, barely. He didn’t like the idea, she already knew that, but she needed him to back her up now. “Look, I know we have our differences of opinion about it, but—”
“Uh, yeah. I more than don’t like it. I don’t think you should go at all,” he said, the words hissing out like steam.
“Daddy?” Ashley called from the room. “What are you doing?”
“I’ll be right back, sweetpea. I just need to handle something real quick.” Clint took Tara’s arm and guided her down the hall to the kitchen, out of range of the Zoom meeting’s cameras. “I’m not going to lie about that, Tara.”
“I’m not asking you to lie,” she said, her voice cracking. Dammit. She didn’t want to cry about this, but she was feeling more than cornered here and she hated it. This was the most important cause in her life. She’d never forgive herself if she failed to give it her all. “Please, I’m just asking you to give me the benefit of the doubt. You said earlier we’d talk about it and I’m just asking you for that chance. That’s all. Please, Clint. Just give me a chance.”
Maybe her inner desperation showed in her face or maybe she’d pled her case well enough to sway him. Whatever it was, the rigid tension in his broad shoulders eased and he gave a defeated sigh. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
She led him over to the desk and they took a seat side by side in front of the camera. Tara’s heart was racing and the blood pumped so loudly in her ears that she could barely hear what was being said. All she could do was trust that Clint had her back here. Tara forced a smile she didn’t feel and introduced him. “This is Clint Buckman, the bodyguard I hired. Clint, this is the board of directors for Go Green Energy.”
Clint gave a curt nod at the screen as the board members greeted him. “Tara tells me that you all have concerns about the upcoming rally this Saturday. And I’m here to tell you that I do too.”
Her heart stumbled, then skipped a beat as her chest hollowed out. No. No, no, no. He could not be doing this to her. The bastard! She’d thought they’d agreed to keep his concerns to themselves until they could discuss this situation later. But then, he’d never really agreed to that, did he? Nope. He’d just told her enough to make her think they were on the same page. She wanted to hang her head in her hands and groan, storm off and rail against him, but she stayed frozen to her seat as Clint continued.
“But,” he said, “I believe Tara deserves a chance to be heard. She’s got an important message to get out about this climate change legislation and I’m willing and able to provide protection for her to ensure she’s safe. I believe the Saturday event appearance should go on as planned.”
For a moment, Tara just blinked at him. Had she really heard him say all of that? In the background, she heard the white noise of the board members discussing Clint’s assessment, but all she could focus on was him, defending her and her choices. It was a rare enough occurrence in her life that she wasn’t sure how to respond at first. Then a slow grin she couldn’t seem to contain broke out on her face and joy bubbled up inside her. It was all too much. So much that she nearly missed the board chairman saying, “Fine. As long as Mr. Buckman will take personal responsibility for your safety at the Saturday event, we’ll sign off on your appearance there, Ms. Crumb. Please keep us posted.”
“Uh, yes, sir. Of course, sir,” she said. Once the Zoom meeting was over, she just stared at Clint, who still looked less than pleased at what had transpired. “Thank you.”
He stood, then gave her a cautious glance. “Don’t thank me yet. I still need to check out the venue myself, get more information about this event. I might still end up saying it’s not safe. And if it’s not, then that’s it—you’re not going.” He must have seen that she was ready to argue because he held up a hand. “I know it’s important to you. I want you to be able to go. I won’t call it off