Driven to Protect, page 23
After introductions, they followed Dr Sarah Amdst to the koala enclosure. “Koalas sleep a lot, so I can’t promise that you’ll have the opportunity to hold one.”
“It’s fine. Cohen isn’t the type of brash American to demand you wake the animals.”
“And yourself?”
“I’m just here because my bodyguard wants to do this.”
Dr Amdst’s eyes widened slightly. “Do you often take your staff on adventures?”
“I’m rich, young, and famous.” As if that were any type of answer, and yet it was the only explanation Paulo needed to give because people accepted that he didn’t need to explain himself.
“I see.” Dr Amdst’s voice conveyed disapproval, but she lifted her chin with a shallow breath outward. “We would love to have a photo of you for our website.” Money talked.
Paulo nodded. “I did promise that. With or without a cuddly little bear.”
“Koalas are not bears. They are marsupials.”
“Okay.” Paulo frowned a little at the veterinarian.
“This way.” Dr Amdst opened a door and they both walked through. Dr Amdst collected a large camera from a shelf in the small corridor, before leading them through a door that opened into an enclosure filled with a large group of sprawling tree branches. “Oh, look Kylie is awake. Come this way.” They dutifully followed the veterinarian under some of the branches towards a lump of grey fur sitting in the nook where two branches met. Cohen hadn’t spotted the animal until Dr Amdst reached up towards it. The koala gave her a bored stare, before allowing itself to be collected off the branch it was sitting on. The koala snuggled into her shoulder, and she cooed at it. It always amused Cohen how some people were so soft with animals and so abrupt with people, he low-key loved to see it, because people could be tricky.
“Okay, stand here. It’s the best light for photos.”
“You first.” Paulo gave Cohen a little push and he grinned.
“I suppose it was my idea.”
“The ultimate tourist thing to do in Australia!” Paulo pulled his phone out of his pocket and stood over to the side, ready to take some pictures. Dr Amdst moved Cohen’s body and gently placed Kylie the koala in his arms with gentle instructions about how best to hold the animal.
“She is heavy.”
“Yes. People often say that.” Dr Amdst stood to the side, just out of shot. “You can take as many photos as you want now.” She grabbed some leaves and held them up for Kylie who munched on them casually.
“This is amazing. Thank you.” He stroked the soft fur, paying attention to the long claws, just as Dr Amdst had indicated. Eventually, the veterinarian took the animal off him, and indicated that Paulo should come over. The whole process was repeated, with the only difference being that Dr Amdst took a whole lot of photos of Paulo with instructions on his hand placement and smiling and whatnot. She was obviously well versed in how to best present her koalas for the camera and her social media. Cohen took a few photos on Paulo’s phone.
“Shall I send some to Melati?”
“Yes. I forgot to tell her we were doing this. She’ll love it. I’ll send her a bunch of photos and stuff and she can upload them when she wakes up. It’s close to midnight in England.”
“Excuse me?” Dr Amdst asked. “What are you planning to do with the photos?
“Melati, my social media manager, lives in England. She will upload photos to my socials for me with all the right tags and stuff. If you email me, I’ll forward it all to her with the information you want shared.”
“I thought you’d do it yourself.”
“No. I don’t like to read the comments, and with over a million fans and followers, it’s too distracting and time consuming. Melati manages all my social media, and for several other people in our racing team. She’s amazing at it and it allows me to focus on my job, on driving well, not on everyone in the world’s opinion of me.” Paulo allowed Dr Amdst to take Kylie from his arms, and the koala was gently placed back on the branch. It grabbed some leaves and ate, apparently unconcerned at the interruption to its day.
“I’d be happy to email everything to you.” Dr Amdst smiled, for the first time that day. “I’m sorry if I was a little gruff. It’s hard for the koalas to do this outside their routine and I worry so much about them, but I also understand the need for promotion and getting a big audience to help get us donations to keep going. We have a valuable collection of koalas here who are disease free, and they are part of a wider study being shared between several sanctuaries like this one.”
“That’s awesome. I hope my photo helps a bit.”
“It will. A million followers?”
Paulo shrugged. “Something like that. S1 is a very popular sport, especially in Europe.”
“You have a British accent?”
Paulo nodded. “I was born in Brazil, but did all my schooling in England, so yeah, that’s where the accent comes from.”
“Would you like to see any of our other animals?” Dr Amdst asked. She’d relaxed a lot since Paulo had mentioned his social media following, and the realisation for what Paulo offered—more than just being an influencer or whatever—seemed to have helped Dr Amdst relax around them both. She indicated that they should leave the enclosure, and they walked back through the door into the corridor, then out into the main part of the zoo.
“I’d love to.” He glanced at Paulo who shrugged one shoulder. A few people were looking their way, mostly groups of parents with toddlers which made sense since it was midday on a Monday.
“Sure.”
“Most people like to see the kangaroos and wallabies. What do you think?”
Cohen didn’t really care, he wanted to hang out with Paulo and see him enjoy life. “Why don’t you show us some of your favourites? I’m American. I’m pretty sure all of your wildlife is going to kill me, so...”
Dr Amdst laughed. “And yet you happily cuddled a drop bear.”
“A what?” Paulo asked.
“It’s a mythical creature based on the koala. Drops out of trees in the middle of the night and lands on unsuspecting people. Some people draw them with fangs or whatever. It’s hilarious.”
“As if Australia didn’t already have enough dangerous creatures, you have to make up some as well?” Paulo was grinning. “I like Cohen’s idea. Why don’t you show us your favourite?”
“They are all my favourites.”
“Really? Because I definitely have a favourite car.”
Cohen frowned. “You do?”
“It’s this year’s one, the GR-S390.”
He scoffed. “I should’ve known it would be the fastest car you’ve driven.”
“I’m sorry, but I was told by the front desk that you were famous. I’m confused.”
Paulo stuck out his hand. “Paulo Sanchez. I drive Series One cars for Gamble Racing.”
“Neat. I assume you were here for the Grand Prix this weekend, then?”
“Yes.” Paulo shook his head.
He winked. “Don’t ask him about the race.”
“Oh, why not?”
“Paulo was tapped out by the rookie Letherbarrow and it was a tough day at work. We are here to relax before heading to the next race.”
“And you are?”
“Cohen Wright. Paulo’s personal security.” The crowd of people had slowly grown into a decent sized group.
Dr Amdst frowned. “I don’t think that’s necessary around here.”
“Are you sure?” He indicated subtly to the group of people gathering.
“Oh. I didn’t notice. Shall we head to the platypus? It’s nice and quiet in there, and we can go into the staff only section, if you’d like.”
He nodded. “Good plan. Paulo, did you want to sign a few things first?”
“Sure. It’s always like this after a race weekend.” Paulo walked towards the group of people and Cohen stalked beside him, scanning each person. It took half an hour to chat to everyone who was interested, and take selfies, and sign things, before they’d run out of people and were able to carry on with the tour.
“Sorry about that.”
“No, it’s fine. Hopefully it’ll be good publicity for the sanctuary and we can raise some much needed funds.”
“Do you need much?” Paulo asked.
“Always and ongoing. Feeding animals is expensive, and that’s without the cost of their health needs, and everything else. We only break even most years.”
“I’ll make a donation on the way out.”
“You don’t have to do that. You are already doing enough by being here. We don’t get many famous visitors.”
Paulo glanced at Cohen and he knew, from that one glance, that Paulo was only donating to Dr Amdst’s sanctuary because holding the koala had made him smile. He almost missed the toddler who launched himself at Paulo’s legs, but quickly picked up the child before Paulo was touched.
“I’m so sorry.” A blonde white woman rushed over and grabbed the child.
“It’s fine.” It wasn’t, but the situation diffused quickly when the woman rushed away holding her child’s hand and Cohen let out an uneasy breath. Stopping a toddler from grabbing Paulo was easy on the scale of things.
“Who knew being a famous person’s security guard meant fighting off rambunctious toddlers?” Dr Amdst laughed.
“We have had a couple of instances where people have tried to use their children as an excuse to get close to Paulo. It’s usually easy resolved.”
“Cohen’s job allows me to focus on mine. And I appreciate his presence.” Paulo’s simple words hinted at much deeper feelings; in public with a random stranger. It meant more to him than agreeing to change their flights so they could be tourists for the day.
Chapter 26
Paulo leaned back in another ride share as they left the koala sanctuary and headed into the city to grab lunch. Dr Amdst had recommended a place down a laneway that was quintessentially Melbourne; whatever that meant. His phone buzzed with an alert from the S1 app. “Sanchez Shipping, sponsors of Gamble Racing and owned by the father of driver Paulo Sanchez, has signed a three-year contract with S1 for all the logistical transportation for every team.”
“Typical.”
“What’s that?” Cohen leaned over and Paulo showed him the headline.
“I can’t believe I’m the last one to know. I should ring Senior and congratulate him.”
Cohen pulled out his phone and tapped something. “It’s midnight in Brazil, so maybe not now.”
“How do you know?”
“I have a time zone app. It helps me work out when to call Lilly-Anne, wherever I am in the world.”
The simple pragmatism once again reinforced why employing Cohen had been a good idea. Paulo was so often caught up in how much he loved Cohen that he took for granted how competent he was at all the different facets of his job. He really needed to pay more attention.
“That’s really cool. Could you please remind me to call him when he’s going to be awake.”
“Why not send him a text?” Cohen’s suggestion made sense, so he quickly typed out a congratulations message and hit send before he could second guess himself.
“Done. Now for some lunch.”
The car drove down a tight laneway and stopped outside a grey concrete building. Ten people stood in a line outside the building.
“Thanks, driver.” Cohen jumped out and Paulo followed. He kept his head low and his new koala sanctuary branded cap pulled down over his forehead. They joined the line of people waiting. They stood beside each other like equals, rather than like a famous guy and his security detail, not just because it was strategic and less likely that people would recognise Paulo, but simply because he believed Cohen was his partner and his equal. He needed to get better at showing it.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Cohen’s expression mirrored the uncertainty inside Paulo.
“It’s the one Dr Amdst put into the ride share app.” He tried not to stare forlornly at the commercial rubbish bins across from the small doorway where the line ended. A couple of plants in pots were a futile attempt to make it look welcoming. Almost. If they weren’t standing outside an industrial building with no indication that it contained cleanliness, let alone quote the best coffee in Melbourne unquote, or whatever Dr Amdst had said.
“The food better be as good as promised.” Cohen shrugged. “But I guess the people waiting to go in is some sort of indication?”
“If you’ve come here for food, you’ve been misled.” The white man in the line in front of Cohen turned around. He had a long beard and thick rimmed glasses, paired with a brightly coloured shirt and loose jeans. He had a dark grey jacket slung over his arm.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s coffee only. There’s no seating inside. That’s why the line moves so quickly, just order your ... you look like an almond milk latte type actually; but order whatever you like ... and then move through to the other door. A few people stick around and sit on the milk crates outside if the weather is nice like today, but it’s Melbourne, so.”
“So, what?” Cohen asked.
“Classic Melbourne, you know, four seasons in one day. I hope you brought a jacket.” The man indicated his own coat.
“Thank you for the advice.”
“You American or something?”
“Yes.” Cohen answered sharply, and Paulo was glad he didn’t have to say anything. His mostly British accent was bound to result in far too many questions from this overly friendly person who dished out advice without being prompted.
“You are in for a treat then, mate. I heard Americans have dreadful coffee. You’ll get the best coffee in Melbourne here, so it’ll be better than anything you’ve ever had before.”
“Okay.”
Paulo touched Cohen on the elbow. He really didn’t want to take food recommendations from this rather enthusiastic person with a very interesting taste in fashion. “Shall we get coffee, then walk until we find something for lunch?” He kept his voice pitched low, but the man responded on Cohen’s behalf, so it was a wasted effort.
“Oh, mate. Yeah. At the end of the laneway, and down to your right is a little Vietnamese place that does the best pho. If you want burgers or something more like familiar to an American palate, go left instead and there’s a burger joint that’s pretty good. It’s next to the pie place. Now that place is awesome. They do a different flavour every week.”
Paulo listened to the man babble on about different food options. He would hate to stereotype this guy as not being into sports, but there didn’t seem to be a big risk that he’d be recognised by him. He didn’t have to guess as the man kept talking.
“You know what I love about this place. It’s so carbon friendly. They use paper straws and recyclable cups.” The man was about to get dangerously close to having a negative opinion on his sport. People still thought car racing was a climate disaster, with ignorant opinions about it, instead of understanding that S1 engineers had created the most efficient engines in the world, and this flowed into the everyday car with improvements in efficiency too.
“Thanks.” Cohen was typically understated in his response. He had a patient expression on his face, like he was waiting for the man to stop talking.
“What’s an American doing in Melbourne anyway? You here for long?”
“Only a few days.”
“That’s a shame. There’s so much to see around here. Where are you going next?”
“Italy.”
“Seriously. I thought you were going to say Sydney. Like they are all a bunch of financial wankers up there, just care about money and stuff, but Italy. That’s cool, man.”
Paulo bit the inside of his cheek to prevent a laugh, and thankfully the man stepped inside the grey metal door, leaving them outside. More people had lined up behind them, so Paulo didn’t risk saying anything in case the rest of the locals were so opinionated.
“I’d heard that Australians are friendly, but wow, that was a lot,” Cohen said.
“I’m just happy he didn’t—” He wanted to say recognise him, but there were other people in the line behind him now and he really didn’t want to mention that he was someone who might be recognisable.
“Yeah. At least we have some food options now.”
Paulo chuckled. “Is American coffee really as bad as the reputation?”
“Well, it’s not a monolith. Some places are good, others ordinary, like anywhere, really. I’m so not getting an almond latte though!”
“I think it’s our turn, then we can go for a walk and check out those different food options.” He opened the door for Cohen, who raised one eyebrow at him. “Yes, I know that’s your job, but we are tourists today, not working.”
“I’m always working when you are in public.” Cohen whispered, his breath a gentle breeze against Paulo’s ear. Cohen’s suggestion that they hang out today had been a good one, and he couldn’t wait until they were back in their hotel room so he could kiss him thoroughly.
Several hours later, Paulo collapsed on the couch in their hotel room. They’d spent the afternoon walking, occasionally hiding in small shops during rain showers—the weather was as erratic as promised by the man at the coffee shop—and had enjoyed dinner together in the city, before heading back here. He closed his eyes, happy to just rest for a bit.
“Wake up. You are trending.”
“Sanchez? It’s probably the new logistics contract.”
Cohen shook his head, his lips pinched. “No. There’s a photo of us holding hands and a bunch of different tags.”
“Good or bad?”
“You aren’t freaking out?”
He needed a drink of water. “I think I might be?”
