Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency) (8 page)

“You
need those Valentino black stiletto’s we looked at earlier, but the shoulder
holster has to go,” Aiden said with an admiring glance at her slender legs. She
might be short, but she had the longest legs he’d seen on a woman her height.

“I
don’t do anything without my gun.” One hand caressed the butt of the gun.

He
fingered the AmEx in his pocket. “Lulu ordered me to dress you as my assistant,
that includes accessories and that’s not the right
˗˗
”

“I
don’t need Lulu’s money,” E.J. interrupted. “I have my own and I can afford
this dress.”

He
glanced up at her wondering how much money being a thief generated. “More money
for Aiden.” He thought about all the clothes he could manage to guilt out of Lulu.

“Do
you mean if you drop $20,000, Lulu won’t mind?” The look on her face was
priceless.

“Girlfriend,
number one, Lulu can afford it. Anything I buy isn’t going to make the tiniest
little dent in her trust fund. You have to look the part. Did you see the
fashion show going on in the office? And really it takes my mind off of all the
conflama going around here.”

“Conflama?”

“Conflict,
confusion and drama. It’s a queen word.”

“Okay,
I’ll add that to the lexicon.”

He
grinned. “Ginger, you may look like one of those tight-ass, born again Christian
girls, but you’re all right.”

A
look crossed her face and he immediately knew there was a story inside this
woman. He had to sniff it out. After they shopped.

“This
dress is for the plus pile,” he said with a gesture at the strapless leather
dress. “Tonight you wear this for Bono. You’ll look edgy and rock and roll, but
you won’t upstage Lulu.”

“Is
upstaging Lulu bad?”

“Not
in Lulu’s head, but it is in mine. She lets me pick out a lot of her clothes,
but she never lets me style her. You don’t know what a big treat shopping for
you is for me. I get to show off my fashionista skills.” When E.J. showed up at
the dinner, half the women in the room would have a stroke.

“With
a gray suit and a pink bow tie, I think you already do.”

“You
don’t like?” he said preening as he adjusted the pink tie.

“For
you, the look is perfect.” She turned and walked back into the dressing stall.

Alone,
his nerves started to eat at him. He forced himself not to chew his thumb nail.
He was a wreck. Lulu was his best friend and when she was almost hit by the
car, she’d spent an hour consoling him. Aiden had met Lulu at NYU when some
bully was picking on him. She marched right up to the kid, slapped him on the
side of his head with her gorgeous Prada bag, and made him leave. The jerk
scampered off then Lulu had given him an up and down look, took by the arm, and
marched him to the nearest coffee shop. In seconds she had him calmed down and
talking.

Lulu
had been a master interrogator and in seconds, had his whole life history. By
the time he finished his second cup of coffee; Lulu had been on the phone and
got him hired at Bennington’s in the mail room. After he graduated from NYU,
she got him a gig with a model friend of hers and somehow he ended up working
for the Evil-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, Naomi Campbell. When he quit Naomi, Lulu
gave him a job even though she didn’t need him. He loved his Lulu.

E.
J. walked back out of stall. She wore black pants, a gold colored silk blouse
and an olive green double breasted jacket. Aiden’s mouth fell open. “Girlfriend,
Frida Giannini had you in mind when she designed this suit.”

“Who
is Frida Giannini?” E.J. said with a sigh as she straightened the collar on the
jacket.

Shock
clutched him. “She’s the head designer for Gucci. When we head to fashion week
in Paris next month, I’ll introduce you. She’ll be falling all over herself to
give you free stuff. “

“I’m
not really made for designer clothes.”

This
woman was clueless. Thank the fashion gods she fell into his lap. He had a
project. “They were made for you. Go try on the next outfit. And when we get
back to the office, I’ll take you by the Closet to accessorize you.”

“The
Closet?” One eyebrow rose curiously.

“Swag
heaven. I always feel like a thief when I do my Christmas shopping there.” He
grimaced. “Maybe thief was the wrong word.”

Her
face perked up. “It’s a good word. I like it. It fits me.”

“I
know.”

She
disappeared into the stall.

“Tell
me about being a thief. How did you get into it?”

“I
rebelled against my youth.”

Aiden
grinned. Now he had to know the story. “Do tell.”

“I
don’t dwell on the past.”

Oh,
you will, girlfriend, you will, he thought. “Fair enough.”

She
came out again wearing grey pants, a purple silk blouse and a matching silk
cardigan. The holster was barely a bump against the silk. He realized except,
for the strapless leather dress, she’d chosen clothes that effectively hid her
gun.

“I
really don’t need a whole wardrobe of designer duds.”

He
gave the thumbs up sign and she went back in the dressing room. “I bet you
spent a lot of money on that gun you’re wearing. I’ll bet you spend a lot of
money for your job as a bodyguard.”

“Tax
deductible.”

“The
way you look reflects on Lulu and I will not have anyone reflecting badly on Lulu.
That means this is the same concept as your gun, which means it’s tax
deductible, too. Hello.” He threw out his arms as though he just solved all the
ills of the world. “If you have a problem with that, I’ll take you to see Moe
Edelstein.”

“Who
is he?”

“The
god of all accountants. Moe can get a bathroom remodel as a tax deduction and
the IRS will say thank you.”

She
stepped out of the dressing room in Gucci black riding pants and a flame
colored wrap sweater. “I have to meet him.”

Damn
he was good. She was all hotness in that number. “You will.”

He
eyed her up and down. “Hold that thought. I saw a blouse that will go with
those pants, too. You’ll have a few other options.” He hopped up and walked
determinedly toward the display of silk charmeuse blouses.

“Aiden,”
came a voice behind him, “Darling, how are you?”

Aiden
saw Jeffry Kaiser prancing down the aisle with an armload of clothes. “Who was
the gorgeous redhead I just saw you with?”

Jeffry
Kaiser was tall and willowy with artfully styled blond hair and not an ounce of
personal style. Aiden tried to avoid him, but he worked for actress Bethany
Forrester. A.K.A. cheap boyfriend stealing bitch.

“E.
J?”

“Did
you finally dump the fatty and find yourself someone decent to work for?”
Jeffry said cattily.

Aiden
retracted his claws. Making a scene at the Bergdorf’s would not be good. Besides
Jeffry had applied to Big Girl Productions three times and Aiden made sure his
application ended up in the ‘not interested’ file every time. “E. J. is my personal
assistant. E.J. was my Christmas present and Lulu’s treating us to a little
shopping spree for a job well done. How’s Bethie?”

Jeffry
bristled. “The usual, all kinds of crazy. You know, that girl can’t buy her own
underwear. She always claims she doesn’t know what size she is.”

“Still
having a little touch of the bulimia?”

Jeffry
rolled his eyes. “If she’s not a size zero, there’s hell to pay. She has been
acting a lot more crazy than normal lately.”

Well
color me so surprised, Aiden thought. He knew she’d pop sooner or later. God in
heaven let someone with a camera be there. “Do tell?”

Jeffry
leaned toward Aiden, his voice dropping a notch, “She’s got this little commando
type on the side. As hard as she campaigned to steal Jake from Lulu, you’d
think she’d be happy. God knows if I woke up every morning with Jake O’Malley across
the breakfast table, I’d be smiling. “

Note
to self, Aiden thought, let Lulu know that Jake O’Malley may be on the market again.
Not that Lulu would care. That man was stale water under her bridge. Besides,
from the vibes she was giving off around Noah Callahan that man was going to be
doing some extra-curricular activity on the job soon. The way Callahan watched
Lulu, oh yeah. Somehow, he had to foster that relationship. But for the moment,
he’d put that thought on the back burner. “Doesn’t Lulu have a lunch coming up
with Bethie in a couple days?”

“Seriously,
what is that all about?” Jeffry said.

Aiden
knew to keep things shallow with Jeffery. The more he pretended he didn’t care,
the more info he could get out of him. “Some charity they’re working on.”

E.
J. walked up to Aiden. “I’m done. The saleswoman is totaling everything, she’ll
be there for an hour.”

“Aiden,”
Jeffry said, “do introduce me.”

“E.J.,
this is Jeffry Kaiser. He’s the personal assistant to a friend of Lulu’s.”

Jeffry
held a hand out, his fingers limped. Aiden may be gay, but he knew how to shake
a woman’s hand more firmly. E.J. grasped his hand and he winced.

Jeffry
yanked his hand back. “Got to go.” Jeffry waved. “Keep in touch, Aiden.”

Aiden
nodded as Jeffry strutted away toward a hovering saleswoman.

“What
was that all about?” E.J. said as Aiden led her in the opposite direction. “From
what I overheard, you don’t like him much.”

“Girlfriend,
we are classic frenemies. Think you could shank him for me?”

 “You
know what shank means?”

“I
watched Prison Break. Hot, gorgeous men behind bars turning to each other for
comfort. Who didn’t have that fantasy?”

E.J.
chuckled. “Not me.”

“You
know I’m going to know all your fantasies by the end of next week.”

She
laughed again. “You’re so gay.”

“And
proud of it. Now,” he waved his hand, “on to the men’s department. Let me show
you how shopping is really done.”

“We
really should get back to the office.”

“There
are some Stefano Ricci ties with my name all over them. I cannot deny them a
home. Afterward we’ll head up to the seventh floor for a little R&R at the
restaurant. Stop worrying about Lulu. She’ll be fine. She has that fine Mr.
Callahan to look after her.”

“Is
it my imagination or am I sensing a bit of chemistry between Lulu and Noah?”

Aiden
took a breath. “I thought it was just me. I’m thinking yeah. Would it be a tad
unprofessional if they…well…you know.”

“I
love Noah to death and would love to see him happy. So what goes on goes on. I
know nothing.”

He
would be good for Lulu. Aiden liked Noah even though he was bit rough around
the edges. He was all man. “What can we do to help it along?”

“Frankly,
nature doesn’t need any help.” E.J. shook her head as he led the way through
the crowded store to the elevator.

Wilder
fought to control the stutter that plagued his childhood. The stutter had left
him feeling shy and often left out. The other children didn’t want to be
bothered waiting for him to spit out his words.

“Wilder,”
Lulu said firmly. “Stop talking, right now. Just be silent.” She stood with her
hands on her hips, watching him.

He
sighed struggling to contain the facial contortions and spasms that accompanied
his stuttering. He took deep breaths, concentrating on the flow of air through
his lungs.

“I
know this frustrates you,” Lulu continued in a calm voice, “but stuttering is a
part of you and that’s all right. I know you don’t like people seeing you like
this, but not one person out in the other room is going to judge you. I just
want you to take a moment and relax. I understand how stressful this whole
situation is.” She gestured at the magazine on the desk.

Wilder
forced his throat to relax. He tried hard to not let the other children see him
hurt, but the childhood cruelty still existed in his head. By the time he was
ten he’d started to stutter less and one therapist discovered that he loved to
sing. From that moment the therapist handed Wilder his first guitar, the
stuttering stopped for the most part. Now it only showed up when he was under
severe stress, and seeing his sister’s photo on the cover of a magazine with a
target surrounding her definitely fell under the heading of severe stress.

“Sweetie,”
Lulu said, “you are Wilder Bennington. One of the richest men in the world. Trust
me, no one judges you and if they do, you can fire them.”

Wilder
wanted laugh.

“God
knows you own everything,” Lulu said. “You are gorgeous, charming, occasionally
when you want something, you’re impeccably groomed, you have elegant manners,
and are considered one of the world most eligible bachelors ...’” her voice
trailed off softly as she listed all the strengths she saw in him.