I'll Never Stop, page 2
“They didn’t mean to hurt me,” I tossed back.
“No, but you wouldn’t have been hurt in the first place if you had someone to handle them.”
“You were there.”
“I’m not trained to keep unruly people back. I’m trained to make you money.”
“I’m fine. It’s just a little bruise.”
“You know the agency isn’t going to let this go, right? Not this time.”
“Dor, I don’t want to be some pampered diva,” I told him.
“Sorry, Eliza, comes with the territory. You might not be a diva, but you’re one of the agency’s top-earning models. Count yourself lucky you’ve gotten this far without all the extras. But you know they’ll assign someone to you when they hear about this. And I’m not going to argue.”
“Dor,” I started to whine.
He cut me off with the same authoritative stare he’d given me all those years ago.
“Fine, whatever,” I said, turning away with a pout.
“It’s for your own good.”
“As long as he doesn’t get in my way,” I said.
“He won’t.”
Famous last words, folks…famous last words.
Finn
“DO YOU UNDERSTAND the assignment?” Clark asked. He was my superior, but he was also my friend. If he hadn’t sounded so serious, I would have made some smart-ass comment.
Instead, I said, “Of course.”
“Good,” he said with a nod. “You’re meeting with the agency heads first.”
“You know this isn’t my first rodeo, right?” I asked.
“You know this is standard protocol, right?” he tossed back.
“Touché.”
“Alright, fine, asshole, get to it.”
“Yes, sir,” I said as I headed out.
It seemed like the only friends I had lately were the guys on the job. Came with the territory, I guess. Long hours and long assignments made it hard to stay in contact with the people you called friends. Not that I had all that many people from my past I wanted to stay in touch with. I had been an asshole, and my friends had been assholes. But shit happened in life sometimes that made you grow the fuck up. But that was a story for a different time.
I made my way over to the agency and talked the good talk with the heads, going over every detail.
“She’s our best model,” one of the guys said. “We don’t want anything to happen to her.” I almost cringed at the way they talked about her—as though she was a commodity and not a person—but I guess that was business. After all, she was just business to me too.
“One of the nicest too,” someone added as I looked over her file once more, not that I needed to. That got my attention for a good minute. I’d worked with a variety of people in my career, and I could tell you that rich, famous, and nice didn’t necessarily go together.
I didn’t respond to that comment and just kept my mouth shut.
“If that’s all, gentlemen,” I said, tipping my head. I walked out shortly after. I was meeting Eliza Smith in one of the conference rooms on a lower floor in just a few minutes. I absentmindedly flipped through the pages of her file again. It was short, just the basics, mainly about her career and associates. I didn’t need a history profile since it was just a standard protection detail. In fact, protecting her would be the easy part. She didn’t have any stalkers or crazy fans. She was just too popular for her own good. I was surprised she’d held off on having a bodyguard for this long. It worked out in my favor, though. Of course, it wasn’t about her, but this gig was the perfect setup.
I walked through the door of the conference room, thinking about my assignment when I stopped short. Not many things made a guy like me lose himself. After all, I’d been trained not to let anything get to my head, but the sight of Eliza in person was a thing of beauty. Of course, I knew who she was. She was one of the most famous models with long legs, pouty lips, and eyes that sparkled on camera. She was many a guys’ wet dream, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I thought she was hot. But here, in person, fresh-faced with no makeup and even a tad bit vulnerable, the real thing killed every image I’d ever seen before.
Eliza Smith wasn’t some photoshopped Barbie. She was the real deal. And I had to take a moment to get myself in check.
And that was when I noticed her face. It had paled so much so that I thought something had happened for a moment.
“Are you alright?” I asked, stepping closer to her.
“Finn,” she said, her voice a hoarse whisper.
“Oh, uh, yes, I’m Finn Bahan, your bodyguard,” I told her, confirming what she must have already guessed. I stretched out my hand to shake hers, but her eyes were still trained on mine. The longer she looked, the worse her face got. It actually looked like she was on the verge of nausea. Not exactly the reaction I was used to getting from girls.
I’d known since before I hit puberty that girls appreciated my looks. It wasn’t hard to figure that out when I was getting hit on before my voice had even deepened. The older I got, the bolder the chicks got, and I one-hundred-percent took advantage of all that attention. I’d like to say it was because I was an asshole, but nah, I was just a horny teenager, and I’d probably do it all over again. I couldn’t deny the looks I got even now. I worked hard for my body, so I took the looks in stride. Plus, nowadays, women knew what they were getting with me. I didn’t lie, and I didn’t manipulate. But I sure as hell showed each one a good time.
Too bad this job made it hard to have said good times as often as my dick would have liked.
“No,” Eliza said finally. Her face was still as pale as a ghost, but her spine straightened a little.
“I’m sorry, I’m not following,” I told her.
“You’re not my bodyguard,” she announced, her voice clipped and full of attitude.
“I’m the best there is,” I responded haughtily.
“That may be, but you’re not going to be mine.”
“What the fuck?” I said, not giving a damn about my language. Little miss “one of the nicest too” was clearly pulling the wool over the exec’s heads. Because right now, she was nothing more than a spoiled diva not liking her new toy. And I was no one’s toy.
“What the fuck is right,” she said. “This is some cosmic fucking joke. And I’m not down with it.” She stormed out so quickly that I was still reeling from what transpired.
It took me a full minute to comprehend that the woman who looked like a mixture of innocence and sex just said “fuck” twice in a row. Damn if that wasn’t hot.
But damn if I wasn’t right about the rich and famous not being nice.
And here I thought watching her was going to be a piece of cake.
Eliza
“MY BODYGUARD IS Finn,” I said to Anna and Sam as I got on a three-way call with them the minute I’d made it into the staircase.
“Shut the front door,” Sam said, forcing a smile out of me.
“Hold up, you can’t mean Finn, right?” Anna said.
“That’s exactly who I mean,” I told my two best friends.
“Is he still hot?” Sam asked, and I wanted to punch her. “Wait, don’t tell me. He’s even hotter, huh?”
“Sam,” I whined.
“Sorry, sorry. My brain is fried.”
“What are you going to do?” Anna asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
“More importantly, are you okay?” Sam asked.
“No,” I answered without hesitation.
It took me a good moment to realize who was standing before me. He’d grown up, changed a bit. He was more rugged, more handsome, more dangerous. But then it hit me like a freight train. For a good minute, I couldn’t speak. Standing before me was the guy who had changed the course of my life. He’d been my first proper crush and my first true heartbreak. He’d been the asshole I vowed to hate forever, and he was supposed to protect me? He couldn’t protect my heart, and I was supposed to hand my body over to him? No way. I couldn’t trust him not to squash me like a bug, so I sure as hell couldn’t trust him to make sure no one else did.
“You’re not that person anymore,” Sam said.
“You’re beautiful, strong, confident,” Anna added. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“But he did,” I said. “All it took was one minute in his presence for me to be catapulted back in time. I was dorky Lizzy writing Finn’s name in my notebook, hoping he’d notice me. Instead, I was made the butt of a cruel joke that left me humiliated and in tears.”
“Our experiences shape our lives,” Anna said. “Think of it as if he and his shithead friends started you on this path. If it weren’t for them, you might have been content with your life. And it wasn’t a bad life, but it wasn’t the one you’re living now.”
“You’re saying I should thank him?” I asked, a little ticked off and a lot shocked.
“No way. He was an asshole who deserved to be kicked in the balls,” she said, and I heard Sam snort. “But the point is that he doesn’t control your destiny anymore. Maybe he did back then, but you took the reins and made it your own. So who cares about Finn now?”
“I do,” I admitted.
“Oh, Lizzy,” Sam said, and I could hear the pity in her voice. Only Sam, Anna, and my family still called me that.
“It hurt,” I told them. “Seeing him brought back all the pain and emotions. I don’t think I can just push that aside.”
“Then don’t,” Sam answered.
“How?”
“Go to your boss and tell him you need a new bodyguard.”
“I can’t just throw a tantrum because I don’t like the person I’m working with. If that was the case, half of Hollywood would never set foot on set.”
“No, no, Sam’s right,” Anna said. “You don’t have to tell them all the details, but you can tell them that you have a history, and it doesn’t feel right. Or something like that. The worst thing that can happen is they say no, but then at least you tried. At least you stuck up for yourself.”
“You know what? You’re right. And it’s my safety on the line. So they’ll have to listen to me.”
“Atta girl,” Sam said. “Now go show your boss who’s boss. That sounded better in my head,” she added, and we all chuckled.
“Thanks, guys,” I said before we hung up.
I arrived at the executive suites and was immediately ushered in to see our CEO.
After a few pleasantries, I got down to business.
“It’s about Finn,” I told him.
“Your new bodyguard?” he asked.
“Exactly. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to work with him.”
“Eliza, you know better than anyone how crazy it can sometimes get with the fans. There have been too many close encounters, and your name is only getting bigger. You need someone who can be by your side at all times to make sure you’re taken care of.”
“As sad as I am to say it, you’re right,” I acknowledged. I hadn’t even admitted it to myself, but the last encounter with the fans was a tad bit scary. Not that they meant any harm, but I got hurt, nonetheless.
“Then what’s the issue?” he asked.
“It’s Finn himself. I’d like to request a different bodyguard.”
“Impossible,” he responded immediately.
“Wait, what? Why?” I asked.
“He’s the best there is.”
“I’m sure there are others just as qualified out there.”
“Why do you want someone else?” he asked.
“We went to the same high school,” I told him.
“That’s great,” he said, clapping his hands. “A familiar face is probably even better, right?”
“We actually had some bad blood,” I told him, “which is why I don’t feel comfortable with him as my bodyguard.”
“Eliza,” he said, tilting his head so his salt-and-pepper hair was showcased. Mr. Lawry was a nice man and even reminded me a bit of a grandfather who spoiled his kids, so when he looked at me with pity, it made me want to crawl under the table. “That, my dear, was a long time ago. People grow up; they change. You can’t let a little tension from years ago dictate this man’s career. That’s a little unfair, don’t you think?”
Well, now I felt like a bitch. Was I doing to Finn what he’d done to me? Not literally, of course. But was I derailing his life? Hypocrisy at its finest, folks.
“You’re right,” I said, hating that the words were out of my mouth. “I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”
“And that, my dear, is why you’re one of our brightest stars. You’re understanding and compassionate. This business tends to change a lot of people. But not you,” he said, and I really wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
Not only had I just agreed to work with Finn in close quarters, on a daily freaking basis—when the asshole clearly didn’t even recognize me as the girl whose heart he broke—but I actually felt bad I had wanted to get him fired in the first place.
Good girls clearly finished last.
Finn
“WHAT THE HELL was that?” I asked Eliza after she made her way back to the conference room thirty minutes later.
After a moment of being completely shell-shocked, I went searching for her. I didn’t try too hard, considering I was pissed off. Plus, I knew she wasn’t getting out of this. Her bosses wanted it, and I was the one who would watch over her. Even if she ran, I’d find her.
I headed back to the conference room and waited. I hadn’t expected her to be gone that long, truthfully. Whatever the princess had in mind, I thought she’d go have a bit of a hissy fit and storm back in. Instead, she walked in looking defeated. A better person would have been easier on her, seeing as how it looked like someone had kicked her puppy, but I wasn’t having it.
She’d taken one look at me, made a judgment call, and ran off. What the fuck was that about? She didn’t know me, didn’t know shit about me. There was absolutely no reason for her not to want me as her bodyguard.
Spoiled. That was why.
I wasn’t prim enough for her taste. Or refined enough.
Well, fuck that. I was rough around the edges, sure, but I was damn good at my job.
Eliza was probably used to the finer things in life, and the spoiled little rich model took one look at me and didn’t find me fitting.
Fuck that. And fuck her.
She probably got a good reprimand by the big guys, which made her come back into the room with her tail tucked between her legs. Good. She wasn’t getting any sympathy from me.
She looked up at my harsh tone, tilting her head to the side as though studying me. Her somber look slowly transformed into one of disdain. Right back at you, princess.
I sneered as she continued to examine me, clearly trying to read me. She’d never read me. I was trained not to let anything about me be known unless I let it be. I quirked my eyebrow. “Like what you see, princess?” I asked.
“I bet women fall at your feet,” she countered.
“More like their panties do,” I responded with a shrug.
She curled her lips in disgust. “Typical.”
“Most women like looking at me. And they like how I make them feel even more.”
“I’m not most women.”
“Not everyone can be perfect.”
“Ugh,” she said, throwing her hands up. If I wasn’t so pissed off, I’d chuckle at her antics. She was quite amusing when you looked at it from the outside. “I came in here to apologize,” she said, surprising me.
“Oh?”
“I realized after some thought that it would reflect poorly on your job if I asked you to be removed as my bodyguard. Whatever issues I have with you, I’m not the type of person to deliberately sabotage your career.”
“Well, shit…wait, what issues do you have with me?” I asked. I had already guessed them but hearing her admit she had a problem with me was something else.
She waved her hand, dismissing my question. “Clearly, I had it right the first time around. You’re an asshole.”
“And you’re a bitch,” I told her.
She gasped at my words.
“What? You can dish it out, but you can’t take it?”
“You bring the bitch out in me.”
“You could say the same thing about me being an asshole then, princess.”
“Somehow, I highly doubt that. And stop calling me princess.”
“If the shoe fits,” I said with a shrug.
“Ugh. I hate you,” she said. I chuckled in response. I’d had worse things thrown at me. “Okay, listen,” she started. “I admit I need a bodyguard, and clearly, you’re it.”
“Clearly,” I stated dryly.
She rolled her eyes in response. “The point is, whether I like it or not, we’re stuck together. Let’s try not to make each other hate our lives, shall we?”
“Not a problem for me,” I told her.
“So you’re saying it’s my fault?”
“Let’s not forget who was civil in our first encounter and who wasn’t. If you don’t like my attitude now, you shouldn’t have started it.”
“I didn’t,” she said with such force behind her tone that I didn’t want to argue with her.
“Whatever, princess. Let’s just try not to kill each other, yeah?”
“Yeah, asshole.”
“Asshole?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.
“You call me princess; I call you asshole. What? You can dish it out, but you can’t take it?”
“Touché.”
“Okay, well, then…let’s go. I have an interview in forty minutes. And I guess you’re driving.”
“After you,” I said, watching her turn in a huff. My eyes zeroed in on her ass as it swayed back and forth with each step. Though I hated her as much as she hated me, I was still a man with a thinking dick. And he didn’t discriminate.
Working with a hot-ass diva who hated me? This would be a fun assignment.
Eliza
ALTHOUGH HE MOST certainly didn’t deserve it, the years had been kind to Finn. On the thirty-minute drive to the radio station where I had a ten-minute set, I inconspicuously checked out Finn. Whereas he’d had a boyish charm in high school, he’d gotten more handsome and rugged with something a little edgy about him. I’d thought he was a man back then, but I’d clearly had a different perspective. The Finn I knew was nothing but a child. Yet this version sitting beside me? He was a man. His tousled hair was shorter, which actually worked to emphasize his sculpted face. He’d had a damn good body back then, but his body now put that one to shame. The way his T-shirt fit made it easy to see the hard ridges he had hidden underneath. I bet the guy didn’t have an ounce of body fat.
