Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency) (16 page)

“We
can’t do this right now,” Noah said, his voice husky and low.

“Just
so long as we do eventually,” she replied. She stepped away, picked up their
plates and cups, rinsed them at the sink and put them in the dishwasher.

Noah
brushed his lips across the back of her neck. “You can count on that.”

She
smiled as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom. Long after she’d turned the
lights out, she lay snuggled up in her comforter watching the street lights
outside her window. She thought about Noah and the sweetness of his kiss and
the way her body flared into heat at his touch. She fell asleep remembering the
feel of his hands on her breasts and the warmth of his breath on his cheek.

Aiden
stood in the hallway outside the conference room. They’d just finished filming
the Valentine’s day show and he was wiped. It was barely 10:30 in the morning
and he was ready to go home. At least the show went off without a hitch. He
tried to keep his attention on what Lulu was saying, but he was too distracted
as he watched the man everyone called the Geek. He sat at the conference table,
bent over his laptop, a frown on his handsome face.

“Sweetie?”
Lulu snapped her fingers in Aiden’s face.

“What?”

“Lulu’s
talking here. Did you hear anything I said?”

“I’m
listening.” Well kind of.

The
Geek stood up for a moment, flexing his shoulders and raising his hands in the
air before bending over, stretching. Aiden couldn’t take his eyes away from the
tattoos that littered his arms or the tight leather pants that molded to his
ass like a glove. His long hair was pulled back into a pony tail and Aiden was
mesmerized.

Lulu
giggled. “If you like this guy, why don’t you talk to him?”

“He’s
a little rough around the edges.” Okay he was trying to talk himself out of
being attracted to him. He was so different from the men he tended to run with.

“I
like the whole Goth biker thing, and he’s very nice. You shouldn’t let his
looks worry you.”

“I
like his looks,” Aiden admitted, “that’s what bothers me. I never knew I was a
closet leather daddy.”

Lulu
chuckled. “Sweetie, there’s nothing wrong with a big macho man.”

“Speak
for yourself, sister.” The testosterone level had quadrupled since the
bodyguards had shown. They made all the boys in the office excited. “Which
makes me wonder how things are going for you and Mr. Callahan?”

She
didn’t say anything. But the look on her face said it all and Aiden felt a
twinge of sympathy. Lulu didn’t often come up against a brick wall she couldn’t
charm into falling down at her feet and be grateful.

Noah
Callahan was different from any man Lulu had ever shown interest in, the same
way Mark ‘The Geek’ was different from anyone Aiden had ever been attracted to.
He was a little uncomfortable around him. Aiden hated stepping out of his
comfort zone. He knew he tended to go for a certain type of man and the Geek
just didn’t fit Aiden’s list.

“You
should ask him out. I’ll bet he has fascinating stories.”

Aiden
arched his eyebrow. “I’ll bet Noah Callahan has fascinating stories.”

“I’m
trying to get to those stories. He is the most close-mouthed person I’ve ever
known. He’s so frustrating.”

She
looked like she intended to stamp her foot. Instead she looked at her watch. “I’ve
got to go. I have a fitting for my ball gown for the charity event.” She pushed
Aiden to the door. “Go, talk to him. Take him some lunch.”

“It’s
not noon yet.”

“It
is somewhere in the world. Just go down to the cafeteria and get a sandwich for
him and bring it back. I’ve never known you to be so shy.”

Aiden
wasn’t shy. He knew what he wanted and when he wanted it. Aiden liked men
similar to himself. Most of the men he’d dated had been in either the fashion
or the magazine industry. What the hell was he going to say to this guy? Mark was
just so beautiful. He was tall, muscular, and exotic. Maybe there was something
about these ‘rough around the edges’ guys.

Lulu
walked away and Aiden stood in the hallway watching him. Finally he walked into
the conference room and the Geek looked up.

For
a second Aiden was speechless. Think of something to say he told himself. “Hi.”

Mark
looked him up and down and gave him a slow seductive smile as if he liked what
he saw. “Hello.”

Aiden
hitched his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m going down to the cafeteria to get a
sandwich and wondered if you wanted some lunch. I’d be happy to bring it up for
you.”

Mark
stuck out his hand. “Aiden, right?”

Aiden
shook the other man’s hand and felt a little spark that made him jerk back. “I’m
Lulu’s personal assistant.” Why did I say that, he thought? Of course this man
knew who Aiden was and what he did.

“I
know exactly who you are, Hector Benavidez from Norco, California.”

Aiden
drew back in surprise. “Oh my God!” His heart pounded in his chest.

“That’s
okay, nothing wrong with a little name change.” He leaned back on his desk.

“How
did you find out?” Aiden whispered trying not to hyperventilate. Only a few
people in New York knew who he used to be.

“I’ve
got my eye on you.” Mark winked. “I hear you’re the guy who knows everything
around here. You want to help me look at some surveillance tapes? I have some
people I have questions about, maybe you could help me.”

Aiden
resisted the urge to preen. “Well, I keep my nose to the grindstone. I have to
know what is going on around here. I’m happy to help.”
Double clutch my
pearls. Daddy’s got a live one
.
What an interesting start. Lulu was
right, I need to run with this.

“What
does a personal assistant do?” Mark pulled out the chair next to his.

What
a gentleman.
“Anything she needs me to do, from keeping track of her purse to where she
buries the bodies.” Aiden sat down and crossed his legs, he sat up straight
hoping everything was looking right.

Mark’s
eyebrows rose in surprise. “Where does she bury the bodies?”

He
rolled his eyes. “In that respect she’s pretty boring. She’d rather rehabilitate
you.”

“She’s
a fixer?”

“Lulu
is a great believer in karma. She would never willingly hurt someone no matter
what they’ve done. She had a P.A. just before me for two months. The girl just
wasn’t working. Lulu’s life is chaotic and a P.A.’s job is to keep it running
smoothly. When I was at a professional loose end, she found a better position
for the woman, moved her into it and the woman is as happy as pie, and then
Lulu hired me. I’ve worked for a couple of high-profile celebrities and trust
me, Lulu is very low maintenance. The hardest parts of my job with her is just
keeping up and keeping her organized.”

“Don’t
you want more?” Mark tilted his head and his long pony tail feathered over his
shoulder.

Aiden
ached to touch his beautiful long hair. “Do I want more?” Aiden mused. “Not
right now. Lulu pays very well and I love her. And she’s very generous. She
bought me a car, which I almost never drive. She also gave me an apartment in
one of her buildings. You do know Lulu’s grandmother was a deVries?”

“As
in, ‘we own half of the city’ deVries?” Mark said his words followed by a low
whistle.

“The
very ones. So I have a little chunk of their real estate.” The luckiest day of
his life was meeting Lulu.

“Did
you know my family worked high construction for the deVries?”

“We
have something in common,” Aiden said pleased.

He
slipped his finger under Aiden’s purple and white paisley tie. “Other than our
stunning fashion sense.”

“You
do wear the leather well.” Aiden ran an appreciative gaze over him.

“Does
that mean we’re going out on a date?” Mark asked with an almost sassy tone in
his voice.

Aiden
stared at him, stunned. This guy just cut to the chase. Aiden liked that he was
that interested. “I can’t date while Lulu’s in danger.”

“Between
you and me, we’re gonna figure this out. Right?” His eyebrows rose.

“All
right, let’s get figuring,” Aiden said.

“Yeah,
fine. After lunch. Figuring out puzzles makes me hungry.” Mark rose and
stretched. He headed for the door and then looked back at Aiden. “Are you
coming?”

Aiden
gave a wide smile. Oh boy, was he coming.

A
knock sounded on Lulu’s office door startling Noah. Locked inside the room with
an angry woman had a way of doing that to a man, no matter how well he was
trained. Ted the mail clerk entered, carrying a large white flower box. “It’s Wednesday,
Lulu,” Ted said cheerfully, handing her the box.

Noah
jumped up to take the box from Ted. Ted hung on, refusing to relinquish the box
but Noah prevailed.

Lulu
walked up and swiped the box from Noah. “Will that man never get the hint?” She
dropped the box in the trash. “Thank you, Ted.”

Noah
stared at the box startled at her reaction. “Why throw the box away? Who’s
sending you flowers?”

Ted
scurried out of the office without even closing the door. Lulu stood at the
corner of her desk, hands on her hips. She looked like a vengeful angel in her
elegant red dress. She was frowning at him tapping the toe of her low heeled
black shoe.

He
looked at that shoe smiling. Her wearing it meant that he’d won a round. Of
course, she got a little revenge when she told her camera men not film those
shoes. She had conceded to wearing the shoes he’d chosen for her, so he was
okay with that.

“Did
you have to scare the wits out of my mail clerk?” Lulu said with a growl. “The
next thing I know you’re going to be handcuffing the cleaning staff and strip-searching
the secretaries.”

Noah
grabbed the box out of the trash and pulled the lid off, brushing off her words.
“Who sent you these flowers?”

Lulu
sighed studying the white roses nestled against the plain white interior of the
box. “Carlo Fiore. He’s wooing me.”

“Where
is Carlo Fiore and what does he do?”

“He’s
this horrid little banker in Rome. We met three years ago and he’s been
pursuing me since. I—” She stopped talking.

Noah
dumped the flowers on her desk and took out his cell phone. “I need you to run a
check on a Carlo Fiore, an Italian banker in Rome. Is sending Lulu flowers on a
regular basis.” He hung up and stuffed his phone in his pocket. “You forget to
tell me about him?”

Lulu
shuddered. “Trust me I have no intention of dating him. He knows I don’t want
to date him. I’ve told him over and over again in French, Italian and English. He’s
one of those men who believe his money will get him whatever he wants along
with the personality of a trashcan and a skinny wife. I’m a big girl who is
into fashion. If he were serious, he’d have sent handmade Italian shoes or
cannoli.”

Noah
tried not to laugh as he put that info in the back of his head. Lulu’s
dramatics were just too funny at times. “What’s wrong with him besides being
married?”

“I
can’t pinpoint what, but there is something just unsavory about him. He makes
my skin crawl.”

“I
thought women liked bad boys.”

“I
like naughty boys. I don’t like bad boys. Bad boys have friends like…I don’t
know…defense attorneys and bail bondsmen.”

The
door opened before he could answer and Gideon came in. Lulu looked relieved.

“Lulu,
Noah says some Italian has been sending you flowers. How long has this been
going on?”

She
shrugged. “For a couple years now.”

Noah
felt the urge to shake her. Why didn’t she think this was important?

Gideon
whipped out a notebook and pen. He flipped open the notebook. “What do you know
about him?”

Lulu
sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs. Noah found himself admiring the
sleek lines of her thighs.

He
braced himself against her desk.

She
tugged on the hem of her dress. “He’s a banker, he’s Italian, and totally
repulsive.”

Gideon
sat across from her. “How did you meet?”

Noah
watched as she worked through the answer. He could tell she was trying to come
with something diplomatic.

“Several
years ago I was in London for my Cupcake get-together.”

“Cupcake?”
Noah asked before he could stop himself.

She
licked her lips and rubbed her temples. “It’s a social club…thing.”

She
was being evasive. He didn’t like that. “Do you get together and eat cupcakes? Or
sell cupcakes, sort of like cupcake Girl Scouts?” Noah had a vision of her
going door-to-door with cupcakes in hand to sell in a little Girl Scout outfit
which he thought was perverted because it would be sexy on her.