Wounded Angel (The Earth Angels) - By Stacy Gail Page 0,10

still hovering. She nodded in the direction of the offices and was pleased when they both backed off. “Email me the times when you’re available.”

* * *

Phoebe’s office reflected her personality to a T. One full wall was comprised of the smoked glass that looked out onto the gym’s vast reception area. Facing the glass wall was a desk that held every modern piece of technology known to man. On the wall behind it were pennants of the Chicago Cubs ranging back all the way to 1945, the year that Phoebe spoke of in hushed tones as the year of “the Curse.” Ella still wasn’t sure what that was but knowing Phoebe, she’d eventually have a pop quiz on it.

But worrying about pop quizzes on a sport in which she had no interest was the least of her worries at the moment. This mother-henning had to stop.

“Okay, let’s talk.” Determined to be calm, Ella did her best to leech the irritation out of her tone as the office door shut behind them. “Did you all enjoy the show?”

“I think I could take him.” Bristly head held high and hands folded behind his back, Jacob surveyed the room with eyes that were threatening to bulge. “Maybe. What do you think, Phoebe? I could take him, yes?”

Phoebe see-sawed her hand. “If you snuck up on him and had a handy baseball bat nearby, sure.”

“Holy freaking crap.” Ella looked from one to the other as the outrage built. “Do you realize you’re talking about ambushing a paying customer? A paying customer who’s done nothing wrong, I might add. What have you two been smoking?”

“Paying customer or not, this is our home. It’s always a good idea to know who’s wandered into our house.” Phoebe didn’t appear to be at all fazed at the violent turn in their conversation. “You were right when you called him a man-mountain, Jacob. I thought you might have been exaggerating, but I’m glad you brought him to my attention. She might as well try and take on a giant.”

Lovely. Now they were talking about her behind her back. “That’s why you came in so early this morning,” she muttered, shooting a dark glance at Jacob. “You had Phoebe look at when I had Nate scheduled, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did,” came the unrepentant reply. “He’s a huge, unknown man in top physical shape. I would struggle with him, Ella. I might even lose to him without some advantage. You would stand no chance against such an opponent.”

“Then I guess it’s a lucky thing he’s my client and not my opponent, isn’t it?”

“From now on you’ll schedule this Nate da Luca guy when both Jacob and I are on duty, so that we can keep an eye on things,” Phoebe added, ignoring her as she moved to take her official position behind her desk. “He seemed nice enough and I liked his smile—kind of like a little kid that’s up to no good. But don’t forget that looks can be deceiving. If he ever gets it into his head to try and be up to no good in a bad way, I don’t think anything short of an elephant gun would stop him.”

“Wait. Wait.” Ella looked from one to the other, hardly believing her ears. “We’ve had big guys come in here before. Remember those two who came in from the Chicago Bears? Talk about men who were mountains. Yet you guys didn’t hop on the paranoid train about those guys like you are with Nate.”

“Those men, they were plodding and slow, like...like beefy slugs. Easy to maneuver around.” Jacob sent a suspicious look out toward the reception area as if expecting Nate to be plastered against the two-way mirrored glass. “You saw that guy move, Ella. You saw his speed. That inherent fluidity is a sign of a natural-born fighter. Such speed makes him harder to avoid. Harder still to hit. And impossible to run from.”

For only a moment disquiet moved through her like a killing frost before she consciously shrugged it away. Fear would never again make her a victim. “He seems to be on the up and up, Jacob. He’s just another athlete who wants to reach his full potential.” And maybe reach out for her, but she wasn’t about to admit that now. “And in case you’ve forgotten, you are the one who’s lectured me time and again on how I must learn to take care of myself no matter what the circumstances are, and