Chapter 50

Three hours later

“I’m not gonna lie. This is impressive,” I said as I looked over one of the most impressive resumes I’d ever seen. It belonged to the second interviewee for the job of being my bodyguard, and read more like Jack Reacher fiction than an actual CV.

John Cartugent’s accomplishments included being a former Navy SEAL who graduated from Admiral Jonathan H. Anderson Naval Academy, performing several special operations to neutralize high-value targets, which was a five-dollar phrase to say he killed people. He retrieved high-value assets from hostile environments twice, which meant he rescued hostages, instructed a Navy SEAL program, had expertise in small unit tactics, experience with underwater demolitions, and experience with “unconventional warfare” – whatever that meant.

His decorations included the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with gold star for exceptional achievement. He was in the top three percent of his class in hand-to-hand combat and the top five percent in marksmanship. This was one of the most impressive thirty-four-year-olds I had ever met, and he wasn’t even old enough to run for President. It made me wonder what the hell I had done with my life so far.

Erin sat on the couch next to me, taking notes as John and I became more acquainted with one another. He seemed a bit stiff compared to the first candidate, whose name had also been John, but was slightly better qualified, judging by the resume. I wondered if a collection of accomplishments this intense came at the cost of having a personality.

“So, what do you do for fun?” I asked, looking for any chink in his armor.

“I visit the shooting range three times a week,” John said.

When he didn’t follow up with anything else, I looked up from his resume. He simply sat there watching me.

“And?”

“That’s it, sir.”

“You don’t have any friends that you hang out with? Guy’s poker night?”

“No sir.”

“Tap dancing lessons?”

“Closest thing to that would be martial arts. I train at my gym twice a week.”

“Girlfriend?”

“No current interest, sir.”

I took another stab, “Boyfriend?”

“No sir.”

Wow… this guy seemed like a lot of fun.

“So aside from everything on here,” I said as I dropped the resume on the arm of the couch next to me. I decided to lean into the interview trope. “What’s your greatest strength.”

“To be honest, I’m pretty boring, sir. I’m an only child and come from a small family. I suck at relationships and don’t have a lot of interest in them. I don’t have any hobbies besides training. When I’m not on duty, I like to keep up with world politics. That being the case, I am available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week as needed.”

“Gotcha,” I said. I glanced over at Erin, who was texting on her phone and giving me nothing to work with.

“Alright, John,” I said as I stood up. “I appreciate you coming in here today. My assistant will be in touch within twenty-four hours to notify you of the status of the opening.” I held out my hand. He stood and clasped it, his grip exactly the right amount of pressure to let me know he was strong, without being overbearing.

“I look forward to hearing from you, sir.”

He picked up his briefcase and looked at Erin. “Ma’am.”

Then he left without another word.

Erin was still texting.

“Well?”

Erin looked up from her phone, “Well?”

“John?”

“Oh,” She said, then looked back down at her phone, “He’s fine.”

“Fine? Have you seen this resume?”

“I did,” Erin said without looking up from her phone. “I picked him out.”

“Yet, you don’t seem terribly impressed with him.”

“No,” she said, “He’s impressive, alright. I just think he’s missing something.”

“Why can’t we just go with a firm?” I asked. “You said earlier that I would need a bunch of security. Why am I interviewing individuals?”

“Because,” Erin said as she went back to typing on her phone. “We’re looking for that one person who’s good as a personal bodyguard, but also clicks with you enough that you feel comfortable to have them around all the time. We need someone who gets to know you well enough to anticipate your needs, fulfill bodyguard duties, and be proactive without getting underfoot.” She looked up and gave me a smug smile, “Someone like me, but who knows how to shoot a gun.”

“I don’t need another you. One of you is more than enough.”

She stared at me for several seconds in complete silence, then slowly removed her glasses to give me the full force of her liquid brown eyes. She stepped toward me, her smug expression dropping into a soberer one as her eyes began to smolder. “Are you sure about that? Just imagine two of me working for you… catering to your every whim.” Closing the distance between us, she ran one hand up my chest, looking up at me through long, heavy lashes. “Can you picture it? Lying down on a bed while twin Erins kiss each other… your hands roaming all over our bodies?”

I could imagine exactly that, and some of the activities from the previous night replayed in my head, only duplicate versions of Erin instead of one. I could feel myself getting turned on, and the last thing I wanted was to interview a bunch of ex-military guys while trying to covertly adjust a hard-on.

“Who were you texting?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

Not to be dissuaded, Erin traced a black-painted fingernail along the curvature of my neck and up behind my ear. She gave me a knowing little smile and whispered, “You know, I have a sister.”

Holy. Shit.

Then she stepped back, her seductress routine immediately replaced with professional Erin who donned her glasses once more and continued as if nothing happened.

“If you’re interested in possibly cutting this process short, Vikram may have found the next candidate for you to interview. He said he knows we have several others, but this may be the winner. Want to give it a shot?”

“Oh my god, Erin!”

She looked up from her phone as if she had no idea what the problem could be. “What?”

“You can’t do that! I’m about to do another interview and now look at me!” I gestured to the obvious lump in my pants.

Erin flashed me a delighted grin and nodded her head. “Hell yeah! I did that.”

“I hope you’re happy! I’m going to be like a dog in heat for the entire interview!”

She adopted an overly innocent, schoolgirl-like expression, her brown eyes big and watery. “I’m so sorry, sir. How can I make it up to you?”

“I can think of a few ways,” I growled.

Her expression melted into another grin, “I hold you to it. After you choose a bodyguard.”

I sighed and did my best to tamp down the burning embers of my libido. “Alright… but it can’t get more impressive than John.”

“Which John?”

“Either one,” I said.

Erin shrugged, “It’s ultimately your call. I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job of narrowing things down for you, so I’m sure any of them will do, but if Vikram has found ‘the one’…” she gestured a universal sign for ‘you draw the conclusion.

“Alright, but this guy will probably mind his own business, so I’m probably going with him,” I said and pointed to the resume still sitting on the arm of the couch.

“Don’t be too hasty,” Erin said. “You made a quick decision about the first whore you interviewed. She almost got my job.”

“Helen told you about that?”

Erin shook her head in mock disgust. “I can’t believe you almost hired Barely-Sentient Barbie to be your PA.”

“She spoke five languages!”

Erin shook her head again, “Basically a blow-up doll.”

I dropped back on the couch, not in the mood to do another interview. I wanted to lock the door and sink my dick into Erin again, but if Vikram and Erin thought I should still keep going…

Nearly fifteen minutes later, the door opened, and in stepped a woman in a pair of slacks, a white button-down, and a woman’s suit jacket. She wore her straight blonde hair just past shoulders in a simple style, stood about 5’5” tall, and appeared in her early thirties with eyes a shade of dark brown similar to Erin’s. With the jacket on, it was hard to distinguish her figure, but her pants fit well enough to show a narrow waist that flared into shapely hips and what might have been a nice ass. Her chest appeared to be a little larger than Erin’s… perhaps on par with Helen’s.

As she walked into the room, I detected the similar training and habits that the other two interviewees had. Her eyes scanned the room as soon as she entered, likely looking for exit points, improvised weapons, or whatever else trained killers were supposed to do. Despite that, her manner was relaxed as she approached me; she held out a hand and gave me a soft smile.

“Mr. Upton? I’m Chloe Tanner. I hear you’re looking for a bodyguard and head of security.”

I stood up as she entered and grasped her hand, glancing down at her left ring finger to gauge what to call her. “Miss Tanner. A pleasure.”

“Chloe, please,” the woman responded.

“Please sit down,” I indicated a chair and waited for her to sit. Once we were both comfortable, I continued. “How did you hear about the job?”

“Henry Psalter?” Chloe responded.

Not recognizing the name, I glanced at Erin.

“Mr. Psalter is the investigator we hired to look into the incident at your old apartment. He used to work for the same security firm that Colin Gerrard hired, so I think that’s where Helen knew him from. I hired him on her recommendation,” Erin said. “Vikram asked him if he had any suggestions for a bodyguard, and he gave us Chloe’s name. To quote Vikram directly,” she glanced at her phone, “He sang her praises.”