I redial Michael’s number, and he picks up on the second ring. “Kitsuwon, I’ve got some crummy news,” he says in a matter-of-fact voice.
My fingers clench tighter around the cell. “You can’t make it.”
“Not on tomorrow’s plane. Something came up. But I’ll be out there this weekend. You can count on it.”
Not good. Not horrible.
“Alright, thanks for the update, Michael.”
He laughs dryly. “Gonna have to get used to that.”
“Used to what?”
“Being called Michael. Everyone out here calls me Moretti.”
I can’t call him that. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it,” I say. “Send me your flight information when you’ve got it. I’ll send someone out there to pick you up from the airport.” Probably Thatcher.
He harbors less resentment towards his dad.
Michael says a quick thanks and we end the call.
I circle back to the Jeep, and my gaze cuts to the gas station. Through the glass windows, I see a plastic bag around Banks’ arm like they’ve checked out. But they loiter inside while Sulli stacks gummy worms on a donut.
They talk but I can’t hear what they say—she laughs more than once. I watch as Sulli lifts the gummy worm donut up to his lips. He bends his head a little. I think…she’s telling him to shut his eyes.
He closes them.
Sulli feeds him the donut—why are you watching this, Nine?
My chest falls.
I turn my head away, but I look back. I’m a glutton for punishment. For pain, because I’m standing alone beside a Jeep, the gas done pumping, and I’m watching my two friends flirt.
It’s okay.
It’s okay.
I try to remind myself that my life has changed. It changed the moment I signed the papers to create my own security firm. I’ve had lawyers all tell me the same thing: you should quit being a full-time bodyguard. Even Connor Cobalt, my mentor, told me that I was going to overwork myself if I’m not careful.
That conversation was a hard one.
Connor has given me business advice since I joined his detail.
I was nineteen. Ambitious. He was my first client in security—at a time when I was a full-time bodyguard and struggling to keep my new gym afloat. I put my dad’s life insurance money into the gym, and if it failed, it felt like I was failing him.
I needed everything to work out. And I would’ve taken any advice, from anywhere, but it just so happened that I had access to the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company, who’s graced Forbes more than once in his lifetime.
Sometimes I joke that I graduated from the University of Connor Cobalt with a Master’s in Business. He taught me how to rely on people that I trust, that I need. That the best hire the best, and the best lead the best, and I can’t do everything myself.
After two years protecting Connor, I was transferred to his oldest son’s detail. The fact that I couldn’t cut it protecting Charlie—it bruised my ego. Because I thought I’d proven myself.
So I fought harder to be better.
For an entire year and a half, I was the bodyguard to Tom Cobalt, and then I was transferred to the position—the one that told the rest of security, I’m good enough to be here.
For the security team, that’s always a Meadows detail.
For me, that was always going to be Sulli’s. The girl that was bound for the Olympics. The one with enough drive and passion to light the world on fire.
She’s what I wanted.
She’s what I got.
But I’ve known that I can’t have her forever, it’s just that I didn’t think my time would be cut short this soon. Connor told me, “As long as your gym and your security firm keep growing, you’re going to have to make a decision one day. And that day is coming soon, Akara. Be a full-time bodyguard or be a businessman. There’s a great chance you won’t be able to do both.”
I’ve always wanted to be in business.
To build my empire with what my dad left me when he died. The more my companies grow, the more I’m honoring him.
But some part of me is resisting the giant leap towards business. When the opportunity came knocking to franchise my gym, I rejected it. Too much work. Too big of a project away from security.
I didn’t want to leave Sulli then.
And now—it’s not any easier. I’ve loved every moment being her bodyguard, and a gnawing, bittersweet feeling overcomes me when I consider walking away from her. It’s the end of a huge chapter of my life.
It’s the end of a fucking era with her, and how am I supposed to say goodbye?
So I thought having Banks gradually fill in for me would ease the transition, but it’s not easing a damn thing. It still feels like pouring salt on an open wound.
Back at the Jeep, I tear off the gas receipt. And instinctively, I look back at the store for Sulli. She’s laughing while he motions her forward. And then she stuffs the rest of the donut in Banks’ mouth, smiling. He’s near-laughter and trying not to choke.