Seals and Bounty: The Protector

Bryan

As he headed to his car, he couldn’t believe how much she had changed. She was not only beautiful, but she was intelligent, had a good head on her shoulders and by the looks of the designs she showed him on her phone, very talented.

He knew that the guys and especially Carol, were going to be all over him when he walked back into the office wanting to hear all about the meeting. And even though he will not be taking the job, the conversation ended a lot better than it had started.

When he walked in, it was just like he thought, they were all there but Wyatt who was on assignment tonight at the casino, so he had already left to head home to relax with his wife, Mari, before heading out.

“Well there he is! We were beginning to wonder if we needed to go look for you!” Kadon said with a laugh.

“I was thinking we needed to grab the dogs and have them start checking the woods!” Derrick laughed back harder.

Bryan looked at Terry and Carol and said, “Okay, what do you two have to say?”

Both of them shook their heads and Terry replied, “We are just waiting to hear how it went? Is she the hardhead that you can’t deal with or doe she still hate you?”

“Well in all honesty it started out really rough. But I apologized for my actions in high school, she accepted and then we talked about what we have been up to the last twenty years. We also decided that if her father was persistent about her getting a bodyguard whether she wanted one or not, it would not be me. She doesn’t trust me right now and I get it. But she will make sure her father uses the firm,” he told them.

“Wow, that just shows you should always watch how you treat people. But at least she doesn’t hate you anymore,” Terry said.

“You’re right. Now I am going to go into my office and get some other work done,” Bryan said to the group.

When he went into his office and closed the door, he was still thinking about her. He tried to do some paperwork and he just couldn’t concentrate. There was something about her that he really liked and it wasn’t just her body and good looks. Finally, he just got up and headed home to try and watch some TV and relax with a few beers.

Carol and Derrick were the only ones still in the office when he walked out.

“Okay you two, I am heading home for a beer and some TV,” Bryan said to them.

“Okay, good night. We will see you in the morning,” Derrick said.

Carol walked up and gave him a hug and said, “No matter what, I love you and I know you are not that same mean person!”

“Really Carol! Great! I love you too,” Bryan said as he pulled away and headed out the door.

As soon as he got in the house, his phone rang. The number came up private, but in his line of work that wasn’t unusual.

He answered, “Hello, this is Bryan Shaw.”

“Hey Bryan,” a female voice on the other end said that sounded vaguely familiar. Then she continued, “It’s Katie. Hope you don’t mind the after hours call, but I spoke with my father and before he calls you, I wanted to.”

“Hey Katie! It’s not a problem at all. How did he take the news that I wouldn’t be taking the job?” Bryan responded.

“Not all that great actually. He is adamant that it is you or a Secret Service officer. Bryan I can’t deal with those stiffs around all the time. They can’t blend in for anything. So, I am suggesting that in public, you pose as my date so that you don’t look like my bodyguard, in private, you can ignore me and I can ignore you,” she told him.

“Wait, you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend in public. Like how much pretending?” he asked.

“Look I don’t like this either, but it is the solution that seems to work. And just some hand holding and no kissing on the mouth, or if we just have to, only a peck, no tongue,” she replied.

“Okay and when does this charade start?” He asked.

“Tomorrow morning,” she replied.

He thought about for a minute. He figured he could do that. He rationalized that it couldn’t hurt anything because neither of them had feelings for the other.

He responded by saying, “Okay, but what about you trusting me? If I see something out of the ordinary are you going to trust my gut and do as I say so that I can make sure you are safe?”

“I promise you that I will work on it every day to trust you more,” she answered.

“Okay them. What’s your address so that I can pick you in the morning?” he asked.

“You need to come to my house?” she asked.

“Personal Protection Detail, need I say more?” he responded.

“Okay, I will text it to you. See you at 6:30 in the morning,” she said.

“Okay, and don’t have me get your address from your daddy! See you in the morning,” he laughed.

She giggled and said, “Goodnight Bryan.”

“Goodnight Katie,” he said.

About five minutes after they hung up her father called and they went over the details. Then he sent a group text, that he took the assignment and would explain later. They all sent back laughing emoji’s.