Protect Me Not ((Un)Professionally Yours 2)

“Do not leave this apartment while I’m gone,” he warned, and then sighed when he heard the harsh tone in his voice. Her sunny smile was completely gone now, and he hated that he was the reason for its disappearance. He softened his tone and added, “Please.”

She offered him a tentative smile and nodded. “I’m not going anywhere. Are you sure it’s okay? I don’t want to be a bother.”

“It’s fine. I won’t be gone long.”

She thanked him again, but he didn’t acknowledge her words. Instead, he spun on his heel and left. He needed space. It was one of the reasons he was happy to go on this errand. She was safe here, and he needed some respite.

A bother, she’d said. She didn’t want to be a bother.

If only she knew how much she truly bothered him. With her short skirts, and her bouncy curls, and her pretty smile.

Hot and bothered, that’s how she left him. In the past, it had been easy to dismiss the discomfort he felt around her as anger at her flagrant disregard for his basic rules.

Once she had started toeing the line more, so to speak, he’d told himself he was exasperated because she still did things like stop in the road to chat with street performers—or buskers, as they called them here—to praise them for their talent. She often chose the busiest times to do her shopping. And let’s not forget how she got fucking hammered and hit on by random guys on a girl’s night out with her bestie.

She had lingering conversations with any stranger who popped into her store, even though, ideally, it would be better if they were in and out as quickly as possible. And then there were the late nights, when the store was at its most vulnerable…when there was no Josh, or Linda, to act as a buffer between them. When there was only Vicki, and Ty had to watch her practically kill herself to finish an order before she dragged herself out of the store at some ungodly hour.

All of those times, he had told himself she exasperated him, because she refused to take better care of herself. Or to adhere to basic safety measures…When, truthfully, he liked watching the easy way she interacted with people. He liked how effortlessly she was able to laugh and joke with them. He did admire her work ethic as he’d told her earlier, but on those many late nights he had often found himself furling his hands into fists as he resisted the temptation to give her a neck rub or a shoulder massage when she’d rolled her head tiredly.

He had watched her. And he had learned her, and somewhere along the way, he had—unbeknownst to himself—started to like her.

Yes, he liked her. Even though he hated this assignment. Even though most days he literally wished he were anywhere else in the world…he liked her a lot.

She was sweet. And funny. And charming. And—while he hadn’t seen it initially, he was starting to notice it more and more—she was so fucking hot.

And he didn’t know what—if anything—to do about any of that.

In a few short weeks, he would be reassigned. His job here was almost done. These next couple of months were a mere formality. In fact, she was just a document away from being his former principal.

This was a gray area.

Ty disliked gray areas…things were murky in the gray. He liked the sharp, clearly delineated black and white spaces. There was too much margin for indiscretions and carelessness in the shadowy grays.

He couldn’t allow himself to falter. He had three basic, enduring rules when it came to this job…Do not get involved in any of his charges’ personal drama. Remain professional at all costs. Keep them safe but maintain an emotional distance.

They were easy rules to follow. Usually.

No…they were still easy rules to follow. He was being ridiculous.

Victoria Hollingsworth was cute, but she was hardly worth tossing his professionalism aside for. He was just at a strange crossroads in his life. And he was using her as an excuse to shift focus from where he needed it to be.

That was what this was about. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Ty needed to nut up and go back to focusing on the real, incontrovertible truth…he was unhappy and dissatisfied with his life.

Weaving fruitless erotic illusions about Vicki Hollingsworth was giving him an excuse not to think about the reality of quitting his job and losing the comfort of that safety net.

The chips were lukewarm by the time Ty returned with them, but Vicki happily gobbled down most of the salty, vinegary deliciousness. She offered morsels to her dour bodyguard, who turned up his nose at her generosity—as if she shared her chips with just anybody. She chose not to be offended by that—more chips for her—but worried that he hadn’t had enough to eat either.