Page 32 of Kiss Kiss Bang
“Good morning, Tom.” Tom eyed Joey questioningly, but Joey didn’t care. Yes, he looked comfortable in Olivia’s house and he wanted her to feel comfortable with him being in her house. “You got a minute to talk about the security plans, Tom?”
“Yes.” Tom said, his brows furrowing, probably wondering why Joey was there and why he was asking about the security.
“It’s okay. I’m not ready yet,” Olivia said to Tom. “Sophie, how are we doing?”
“I’m ready!” her daughter yelled, but Olivia rolled her eyes and mumbled, “doubt that. I’ll be back.” She moved upstairs as Joey questioned Tom about everything from their daily routine to the security of the car to the alarm system. . He wasn’t Tom’s boss, but Olivia was very important to him and he wanted Tom to understand that he’d be checking and rechecking his work henceforth.
By the time Olivia was ready to leave—looking flawlessly beautiful in her professional but sexy outfit with high as fuck non-sensible high heels—Joey had come to one conclusion: Tom sucked and the only security that would do was himself.
* * *
“I want more security on you,” Mark said, that afternoon at her office.
“More? Why? Do you know something? What was the outcome of the car thing yesterday?”
“Tom and their team are looking into it,” Mark said. ICS was also looking into it, Joey had told her, as well as the police. For some reason her gut told her that Joey would have answers before anyone else.
“Have you heard about Iron-Clad Security?” she asked.
“No, why?”
“Well, I met this man, Joey Clad. He’s one of the owners and I think we should have him check things out.”
“You met a man? When?”
She put her pen down and sat back. “The other day when I went to fix my laptop.”
“Okay,” Mark said, eyeing her suspiciously. Mark was protective of her. He’d been very good friends with Neil.
“It’s not what you think.” Well, it was. But she wasn’t ready to tell him that just yet.
“So, he wasn’t the man in the elevator?”
She let out a breath. She’d been caught. “Okay, fine. Yes. Maybe it’s more than just
friends but I don’t want to make a big deal about it. I just met him and I like him,” she admitted. And damn, it felt good to say that out loud. As if saying it made it real.
“So what, you’re dating?”
“It’s . . . complicated.”
“Livie, you don’t have the luxury of complicated. We’ve based your entire campaign on your family values. You are the single mother, the poor widow, the—”
“I don’t want to be the poor widow, Mark. I want to win on merit.”
“And you will. You have a strong platform. People love you. But, scandal, this late in the race? Having a man we know nothing about around Sophie? The media would have a field day.”
“I don’t want a scandal. I’m not even telling you this because we’re dating. I’m saying this because I don’t think Tom is exactly doing a stellar job.”
“You fought me tooth and nail over having a bodyguard and now you want this new company? Or a second security guard? What’s really going on, Livie?”
“I didn’t think we needed it, but I have to think of Sophie and the thing in the car . . . well, that seemed personal.”
He let out a breath and sat down letting his shoulders sag. “Yes, I agree that it did seem personal. That’s why I want more security on you. I’ll look into this guy and his company. I want you and Sophie safe. I made Neil a promise, Livie. If you think Tom’s not working out we’ll find you someone else, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. Thanks Mark. Now, tell me about the events coming up. And what’s the latest polls?”
Later that that same morning, Mark walked into her office as she checked her schedule. “I’m having ICS go by the house this afternoon and check things out. I haven’t let go of Tom yet, though. I have to admit ICS is very highly recommended once I started checking around.”
