“It was nice meeting you.” Sheryl stood and so did Mark. “We’ll be in touch,” Mark said.
I shook hands with both of them and then Troy and I headed out. Once we were in his car on our way to lunch, I breathed a sigh of relief. “It was the weirdest experience. It was intense but easy if that makes sense.”
Troy smiled and stared straight ahead. “I think I know what you mean. It was a challenge, but you were up for it.”
“Yeah, I believe so.”
“They’d be crazy not to hire you.”
“I don’t know about that. They probably have a ton of talented individuals who want the job.”
Troy glanced at me sidelong. “It’s in God’s hands now.”
“Yes, it is.”
We stopped at a hole-in-the-wall fast-food joint because I had a hankering for a good old-fashioned greasy burger, seasoned fries, and a strawberry shake. We ordered our meals and took them back to the car where we ate in silence for several minutes.
Troy finally broke the ice. “I got a call from my boss, Will, this morning.”
“Yeah?” I stuffed a French fry in my mouth, chewed, and then picked up my burger.
“Robert has requested that I be removed from your case.”
I gasped and dropped my burger in my lap. “Are you kidding me?”
“No. He asked for someone older with more experience.” He swiped a hand across his jaw, a sour look on his face. “He implied that we’ve gotten too familiar with each other and that I’ve been inappropriate.” He coughed uncomfortably. “I told Will we haven’t crossed any lines. He’s going to contact you later today.”
“Oh, my goodness, Troy. I am so very sorry. Robert had no business saying that. And don’t worry, I’ll clear everything up immediately. He had no right to interfere like that.”
Troy grimaced. “As long as he’s paying the bills, he has every right to voice his preferences. Just wish he were more honest.”
Angry tears filled my eyes at the realization that I’d put myself in this position by allowing Robert to pay for my security. I had to end this today.
Okay, Lord, I’m trusting you with my life. If I have to get rid of my bodyguard, I won’t have protection. Actually, I’ll have your protection, and that will have to be enough.
“Troy, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I’m not comfortable with Robert paying the bills. I don’t have the money to pay on my own, so I have to terminate your services immediately. I can’t go on like this.”
A crease formed on his forehead as he turned to face me. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Whoever attacked you is still out there. He hasn’t shown himself, but that may be because he knows you have security.”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about this, but I don’t know if I trust Robert anymore.”
For the last several days I’d been stewing on what Lillian told me, and even though I still didn’t think Robert was capable of criminal activity, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure about that. Also, I was furious that he’d just tried to get Troy in trouble. That was not okay in my book.
“Give me Will’s number, please. I want to call him right now.”
Chapter 14
Troy
I forced myself to remain quiet as Kayla called Will to do damage control, hating that she was placed in this position in the first place. Will trusted me—no one had ever complained that I lacked professionalism before—and he knew my character. Integrity was important to me. As was telling the truth. Despite my growing feelings for Kayla, I had not crossed a line, so Robert’s accusations were completely unfounded. What he said made my blood boil. Made me want to smack some sense into him. Of course, I couldn’t do that since my Christian values wouldn’t let me, but it was a struggle, nonetheless.
He wanted me off her case because he felt threatened by me. I didn’t have much respect for men who resorted to tactics like that. Worst of all, he put Kayla in the middle, and that was a cowardly thing to do.
Kayla held the phone up to her ear, a don’t-mess-with-me look flickering in her eyes. “That’s right, Troy has never been inappropriate. I even flirted with him a little and he didn’t take the bait.” She glanced at me and winked, and a small smile tugged at my lips at her ease with this topic. The subject didn’t appear to make her feel awkward at all. “I want to make it clear that I’m ending services, not because of Troy, mind you, but because it’s causing friction with Robert. If I find the funds later, I’ll reinstate services, but until then, I’ll just have to be extra cautious.”
I heard Will’s voice on the other line, but I couldn’t make out his words. It really got under my skin that Kayla had to do this, but I was glad she was standing up for herself with Robert. That guy needed to back off.
All that said, I was still very concerned about her well-being. If something happened to her, Robert would have to answer to me. He’d pushed her to this.
When Kayla got off the phone, she let out a breath and glanced at me, her eyes uncertain. “Well, it’s done. You are no longer my bodyguard.”
Different emotions stirred within me. On the one hand, I wasn’t so sure protection wasn’t a necessity. Granted, besides the incident with the guy who kept trying to get a second date, nothing else had happened. On the other hand, Kayla wasn’t my client anymore which meant… We were free to explore a relationship if we wanted.
Except… Robert’s accusations would appear to be true if I pursued something
