Save Me, Sweetheart Read online

  “It was bought right out from underneath us.”

  “But … but that doesn’t make any sense. The president of that country contacted us directly. It was confidential. No one else knew about it.”

  “No one but us, of course, and a few others on our management team who’ve been a part of this project. Not to mention those below them that have been helping.” Matthew grunted, a sure sign he was concerned and trying not to show it. “Point is, even though it’s a hidden project that’s yet to be revealed to our employees, there is still a good amount of them that knows about it. One of them leaked the information to our rival, Windico Groups and there’s no telling who it was. That’s why I called you here, Mark. I want you to find the spy.”

  “That goes without saying.”

  Matthew leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’ve been talking to your mother and she let me realize how harsh I’ve been on you. You’ve done nothing but put your all into this company, your wild, player behavior aside, and I should base passing the company down on your performance instead of your marital status. Though, it would be nice if I had a grandson or two.”

  “Dad, what are you trying to say?”

  “Prove to me that you have what it takes to be this company’s CEO by finding this spy before he does anymore damage and cost us millions, and I’ll stop bothering you about getting married.”

  Mark couldn’t believe his ears. He’s been hearing that he needed to get married so often lately that it was growing hard to remember that he didn’t really want to. He couldn’t believe his father was saying this right now. “Deal. You got yourself a deal.”

  “Good.” Matthew got to his feet. “Now, leave my office. I have work to do. And don’t bother Brenda on your way out. She’s a good secretary and I don’t want you messing that up.”

  “You got it, boss.” Matthew looked at him in surprise at the chipper tone but Mark didn’t hold back his grin. He got to his feet, saluting his father before heading to the door. He was still grinning from ear to ear when he passed by Brenda.

  “You look happy.”

  “I am happy,” he said. “You should help me celebrate.”

  Brenda calmly picked up the phone receiver and pressed a button. “Hello? Yes, security?”

  “Alright, alright, I get it,” Mark laughed. “I have something I need to do anyway. See you later, Brenda.”

  Mark’s descent in the elevator was a stark contrast to how he came up. Now, he had a real goal he could make plans for, an aim that would secure one of two things he’s always wanted. While he might not be able to have Jen, at least he’ll have the company.

  Chapter 2

  He was being tailed.

  Mark always wondered about that when he saw it in the movies. How did they know when they couldn’t see who was behind them and there were a decent amount of people around? Now, he understood. The chill that came over his skin, the foreboding feeling. The glances over his shoulder that only further confirmed his decision. Someone was following him and it was beginning to freak him out. He chose the wrong day to walk for lunch instead of driving like he usually did.

  Or had the person been waiting on him all this time? Would they have followed him like this on any other day? Or by car if they had to? The questions stressed him out, he had cold sweat running down the back of his neck as he glanced over his shoulder again. It was hot out, something that only Mark seemed to like since the streets weren’t as populated today as they normally were. It only made him a bigger target, he knew.

  Without thinking, Mark ducked down another street, going off the path. It was more crowded and he tucked his hand into his pants, trying to lose himself amongst the others. But no matter how many times he checked, the suspicious looking man was always behind him, the cap over his face masking his features. Mark looked back in front, searching for someplace to lose himself in but seeing no available options.

  He turned down another street and regretted it instantly. This was a shortcut, narrow with bad roads. Mark only spotted three other people on this stretch. Now four, if he counted the man who was tailing him. Bad move, Mark.

  He made a fist in his pockets, trying not to freak out too much. It was too coincidental. The fact that, just this morning, his father informed him of a spy and here he was being followed by a shady character. Perhaps his father’s office was bugged. That was the only way he could explain it. He’ll have to make sure to tell him that as quickly as possible, but that meant he’d have to get out of his ordeal first.

  A woman turned the corner, coming his way. She had a cap on her head, earbuds in her ears, hands tucked into her coat. Her eyes were cast downwards as she walked so she didn’t see Mark, but Mark recognized her instantly. It was the security guard who had tased him at the Jen’s mother’s congratulatory party.

  Mark resisted the urge to take off running towards her. She was a security guard, which meant she must know how to deal with a situation like this. Or, at least, she must know more than him, who was way too close to freak out. She looked up then, as if she could hear his frantic thoughts and their eyes met.

  Recognition flooded her brown eyes. Mark remained composed as much as he could but with his eyes, he tried his best to tell her that something was off. She frowned, coming to a stop, not understanding. Mark continued walking towards her, his eyes straining to convey what he was trying to tell her.

  Finally, she got it. She glanced behind him, taking in the man who was following a few paces behind. She looked back at Mark.

  Mark didn’t know what he expected her to do when he got her aware of what was happening. When she started walking towards him again, he thought she’d pretend to know him, let the guy see that he wasn’t alone and hopefully scare him off. Instead, she walked right by him.

  Shocked, Mark turned and looked at her. She began walking a bit faster, then took off into a full-blown run. The man following him shot away. But that didn’t stop her. She chased after him, gaining speed and bridging the gap between her and Mark’s stalker. Mark winced when she jumped at him from behind, the two of them going down. He hurried over to them.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” she asked, not sounding the least bit winded. Her knee was in his back, his arm pulled behind him and his cheek pressed into the hot ground.

  “Get off me!” the man screeched.

  She pulled his cap off, revealing brown hair and a nondescript face. Not anyone Mark recognized. “Why are you following him?”

  “I wasn’t—”

  “Don’t lie to me,” she warned and even Mark shuddered a little bit.

  The man gritted his teeth. Mark could see the battle in his eyes, contemplating whether he should give everything up or not. Finally, he seemed to have decided against it and with a grunt, he tried wrestling her off his back. It threw her off balance a bit, which gave him the leeway to shove her off and scramble to his feet. Without looking back, he took off.

  She got to her feet and dusted herself off. She stared after him a bit, watching him go, then returned her attention to Mark. “You okay?”

  “He didn’t do anything to me,” Mark said, still in awe. “I didn’t expect you to do that.”

  “Yeah, well.” She bent to pick up the earphones that fell out of her phone. “It’s always better to tackle these things head-on so they don’t get the balls to try anything with you.”

  She took her cap off and Mark realized how bright a blond her hair was. It was about shoulder length, held up in a ponytail which she fixed and secured the cap back over. She plugged the earphones back in and popped them into her ears. “You should probably get somewhere safe. Don’t walk on lonely streets like this.” She turned to leave.

  “Crystal, was it?” Mark asked, making her stop. He pulled the name from the dregs of his memory and hoped he had it correct. Normally he was good with names, but this aloof, unimpressed, gorgeous woman was making him nervous.

  She looked back at him. “Yeah.”

  “That
was pretty cool of you. You’ve been working as a security guard long?”

  Curious now, she faced him fully, shoving her hands into her jacket. “Not long. What do you want?”

  The boldness took him aback but he lifted his chin and gave it right back. “I want you to work for me. Protect me. If my suspicions are true, this won’t be the end of that sort of behavior and I’m not willing to see how far they want to take it. So be my personal bodyguard.”

  She crossed her arms. “Don’t you already have a whole host of bodyguards you can choose from?”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “I know that you’re the son of that CEO of that bauxite company, Mark Gooden. You have enough money to hire a professional. You don’t need me.”

  “I don’t have time to hire a professional. Who knows what’ll happen between then and now? I’m hiring you now. Besides, didn’t you say you’ll do whatever you could to make it up to me after you tased me like that?”

  She didn’t even blink.

  Mark blew air out his nose in frustration. “I’ll pay you well. You know I will.”

  “Alright.”

  “Alright?” Mark echoes, incredulous. He was used to people saying yes to him. Came with the face, came with the money and influence. But for some reason, her giving in took him by surprise. He supposed it had something to do with the bland expression she wore.

  “I’ll do it. I need the money and experience anyway and I stick to my oaths. If this will make it up to you then it won’t hurt.”

  “Oath?” Mark laughed. “Sounds more serious than it needs to be but great! We’re all set then. I’ll have my lawyer write up a contract for you.”

  “Do you want me to start right now?”

  “Yes.” He cleared his throat, lifting his chin a bit when he noticed how urgent he sounded. “That would be ideal, yes. At least, until I make it back to the office. Who knows when another one of those goons will be back. Is that okay with you?”

  “Yes.”

  Again, he was surprised. She didn’t even hesitate. “Weren’t you going somewhere?” he asked.

  “Nowhere important.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Do you want me to do this or not?”

  “I do, I do.” The vagueness made him want to question her even more, to see what laid beneath those coffee-colored eyes. The way she looked at him … it wasn’t something he was used to, for sure. Even Jennifer was a bit enamored by his looks when they first met, though she’s never been affected by it. But this woman seemed to know how to keep everything about her under lock and key. She seemed … emotionless, and Mark always thought such people would turn him off. Instead, it was pulling him towards her.

  It didn’t help that she was insanely attractive. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a packet of gum and popped one in her mouth. After that, she put back her earphones in her ears, turned and walked away. Mark could only stare after her.

  When she realized he wasn’t following, she stopped and looked at him. “Aren’t you coming?”

  “Where are you going?”

  “You were heading down this street, weren’t you?”

  Mark waved his hand dismissively. “I was only going this way to lose the guy following me.”

  Slowly, Crystal ran her eyes over her surroundings then looked at him, deadpan. “Pretty smart move, buddy,” she murmured sarcastically, facing him fully. “Then where are you headed? Lead the way.”

  For some reason, Mark took her command without realizing it. He turned back in the direction he came, listening to her walk behind him. She was always a step behind, never close enough for him to stare at her in his peripherals. He slowed down a bit, hoping she would come up next to him but she matched his pace perfectly. Finally, when they made it back on the main street, Mark broke the silence. “Why are you walking with earphones in? Don’t you think it’ll be better if you could hear what was going on around you?”

  “I can hear you just fine.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t,” he said matter-of-factly. “It’s me you’re protecting and I don’t feel very safe around you when you could be listening to Lana Del Rey, for God’s sake.”

  Crystal popped the earphones out and tucked them away. It didn’t give Mark any satisfaction at all, especially not when she said, “I don’t listen to Lana Del Rey.”

  “Whatever it was you were listening to then,” he shot back.

  She didn’t respond, didn’t even attempt to counter him. Mark shoved his hands into his pocket, wondering why he was getting so worked up over this woman. Her silence next to him was louder than the cars racing by and it was a struggle not to look over at her. His mind had an even harder time trying not to think of ways to start back up another conversation.

  The stalker she chased away crept his way back to the forefront of his brain. Mark was now convinced that it had something to do with the spy. Whoever it was, caught wind of the fact that they were on to them and that man was sent do something to Mark, to stop him from even beginning his search. He wasn’t from the company, he knew that much. Mark knew every face in that building and that wasn’t a face he remembered. But it was clear he wasn’t just trying to rob him or something like that. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have run away like he did.

  Why wasn’t Crystal asking him about it? He clearly made it known that he had an inkling as to why he was being followed in the first place but she didn’t care to ask him. Wasn’t she curious at all? Mark glanced over his shoulder to see that she was still following close behind, eyes in front, face stoic. It stayed that way all the way back to the office. He would just eat in the office today instead.

  **

  Crystal couldn’t believe her eyes. She stared at the paper, her fingers tightening and crumpling it a bit. Taking in a breath, she tried to relax but the blood was rushing in her ears, her heart palpitating too hard. Once more, she looked up at the man sitting across from her, who was watching her with satisfied brown eyes.

  “Are you sure this figure is right?”

  “I’m pretty sure,” he said with a nod. “Is it good enough for you?”

  Good enough? She was floored by the number of zeroes staring back at her. She knew he was good for it when he said he would pay her well, but this was way beyond anything she could have imagined. This was way too much for a bodyguard of her stature, not to mention one that would have been willing to do it for free just to make up for what she did to him at Jane’s mother’s party. Crystal looked down at the contract in her hands again, scanning the paper for any hidden clause that would make this figure understandable and finding nothing outrageous. It was a standard contract of service as far as she could tell. Finally she looked back up at him. “Why?”

  His brows creased just a tiny bit. “Why what?”

  “Why so much? This is unnecessary.”

  “I’m not sure you realize just who you’re protecting here—”

  “I know just fine,” she cut in, holding up a hand. “This is still unnecessary.”

  Clearly, Mark Gooden wasn’t the type of guy who did well with being cut off. His jaw ticked and Crystal saw irritation flicker in his eyes. She wondered what would happen when he was really pissed off.

  “Recently,” he started, “we found out that there may be a corporate spy in our midst. My aim is to weed that spy out and bring him to justice, but now my guess is that that spy has his ears in more places than we think. I have reason to believe the man who was following me today had a motive related to that spy.”

  “To get you to shut up,” Crystal said, understanding. “Or not to try and find them.” She looked around his large office. “You sure it’s safe to talk in here then?”

  “I had one of my men sweep the place before I arrived.”

  “One of those men would have probably been more suitable to receive this kind of money,” Crystal murmured. She stared at the pen he left on the table, waiting to be picked up.

  “Does the amount bother you?”
<
br />   “No,” she said, shaking her head. “It excites me. I can’t stop thinking about what I can do with it.”

  Mark frowned at that. “I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

  She wasn’t joking, though her lips twitched a bit at his confusion. Crystal was excited to get her hands on this kind of money. Who wouldn’t be? But it was in her nature to question things before she went with them. With no more room for any more questions, she picked up the pen and signed her name. She slid the contract back over to Mark.

  He smiled a bit when he picked it up, looking as pleased as ever. The way he leaned back with her signed contract in his hand heated her stomach a bit. Was there anything this man could do that wouldn’t get her turned on?

  “I take it you read through the requirements,” he said.

  Crystal nodded. “I have to be around you once you are out and protect you. It’s pretty simple. What I find weird is why you didn’t try to vet me since you don’t know if I can even do this job as yet. Especially seeing that the first time we met, I accidentally tased you in the stomach.”

  “I saw what you did today with that stalker. I’m sure you have what it takes.”

  “Pretty trusting of you.”

  “I find I like to put my trust in beautiful women.”

  Crystal crooked her eyebrow. She made sure not to react outwardly to that, remembering the way he’d flirted with the lady in the elevator on the way up, but her insides melted at the fact that he called her beautiful. She tried not to push her hair behind her ears like a fool. “If you keep doing that,” she said, “you just might end up in a bad position.”

  “I think I’m willing to take that risk.” The smile he gave her would have taken her off her feet if she hadn’t been sitting. There is no need, she thought, for this man to be this hot.

  She was grappling for something to say when he clapped his hands. “Well, fortunately for you, I’m going to take the rest of the day off. You should too. My assistant will send you my address later.”

  She rose with him. “That guy freaked you out that badly, huh?”