“Fine, but I only want Max as my guard,” I assert.
Joshua’s eyes flick to me again. “Why? he is part of the team that looks after us and you should be happy to have whichever guard is assigned to you.”
I roll my eyes as my anger starts to pump. “Assigned to me?” I repeat. Who in the hell does he think he is?
“Yes, assigned to you,” Joshua snaps as his eyes hold mine. “This is my household and these are my staff.”
“Well this is just fucking great, isn’t it?” I snap. “I choose Ben then, asshole.”
Joshua narrows his eyes. “Ben is my guard. He is unavailable,” he replies.
I shake my head. “Nope, if I don’t get to pick my guard you sure as shit don’t get to pick yours. You can hang out with the losers that you expect me to.”
“Um, excuse me,” Ben interjects, sensing that this conversation is turning into a power trip for both Joshua and me.
“No offence, but I am not guarding you, Natasha. I am staying with Stan and Max is staying with you. We are both happy with our designated roles.”
My eyes flick back to Joshua who folds his arms in front of him as his eyes flick to Max. “I understand the terms and I am happy with them. I will be guarding Natasha when you are at work and will not be over-friendly or inappropriate at any time,” Max replies flatly as his eyes flick to me. I smile gratefully at him.
Joshua stays still and silent as he thinks. I know he wants to get rid of Max and we are railroading him but I don’t care. Max doesn’t deserve to be fired for protecting me and in the long-term future this will all be forgotten.
“Max is the best guard we have. If you want Natasha to be safe and protected you need someone experienced that she likes and you know that.”
Joshua nods as he drops his head and looks at the ground, sensing that he is losing this battle.
Joshua’s eyes meet Max’s. “Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful that your loyalty lies with Natasha but you need to understand that this is a family unit now and not me against her or her against me. I need to know that all of my staff are on the same page and there is no underhandedness between us.”
For the first time Max smiles. “I understand that and I am very happy that this is turning into a family unit. You have my word that you can trust me and I will do what’s right for everyone in future and not just Natasha,” he replies.
Joshua nods and his lips show a hint of a smile. “Thank you, “ he replies softly.
Max stands and holds his hand out and Joshua stands and they shake. An over-the-top smile beams from my face and I jump out of my chair. What I really want to do is cuddle all three of them but I am going to stick to this over-friendly thing so I punch Ben in the arm instead and he smiles warmly. That went really well if I do say so myself.
It’s 7 pm. Dinner is on and our friends will be here soon. Between us, Joshua and I have deciphered the recipe for Fettuccine Carbonara. I took the easy way out and picked the simplest recipe I could find. Joshua is sending a few emails before they get here and I am lying on the lounge in his office. All this Martha Stewart stuff has
made me tired before the guests even get here.
A soft knock sounds on the office door. We both look up and my heart sinks. Robert Stanton, Joshua’s father, stands in the doorway, wearing a suit and an obvious broken heart. Joshua, who is sitting behind his desk, immediately drops his head as tears flow from his eyes. I bring my hand up to my neck as I am overcome with emotion.
“Hello, son,” Robert whispers.
Chapter 16
Robert stands still as he waits for Joshua’s reaction but Joshua’s head stays down. A lump in my throat forms, blocking my vocal cords. I’ve never seen my beautiful Joshua so gutted.
“Come and hug your old man,” Robert says quietly.
Joshua brings both of his hands over his face and the tears drop onto my cheeks.
Silence and time seem to stand still.
Robert walks into the room. “Joshua, look at me,” he whispers.
Joshua’s haunted tear-filled eyes meet his.
“It’s ok, son,” he whispers.
Joshua screws up his face as he fights the tears, then he shakes his head and wipes his face angrily.