1
J A N E
“Janey, sweet heart please come up to my office. I need to discuss something with you.” My father yells from his upstairs office
I quickly grab a bottle of water from the fridge and rush upstairs to his office. I walk in to see him sitting back in his chair with a glass of Bourbon in his hand - classic, drinking Bourbon right after dinner.
“Yes?” I say remaining by the door
“Come sit. This is serious.” He says sipping his drink. I walk to his desk and sit in the cushion chair right across from him. His face is angered mixed with worried, something really bad must’ve happened. I haven’t seen him like this in a long time.
“What’s the matter? Why do you look so angry?” I say opening my water bottle and sipping from it.
“Before I get into it, you have to know that you are the most important person in my life and your safety will always be my top priority. Now there has been some rumors spreading that some of the people in this world, that aren’t too fond of me, want to see me suffer.. and they want to do that by hurting you.” He says with a deep sigh
“Me? They want to hurt me simply because they don’t like you?” I ask confused
“People never want to go after the person they hate, they want to go after that person’s loved ones. That’s one of the worst ways to make someone suffer, you go after the people they love.” He says downing the rest of his drink
“So then what’s the plan? What do I have to do to protect myself?” I ask starting to feel anxious due to what my father just said. Nobody would actually come for me, right? People just say that.. I hope.
“Wellyouaren’t going to do anything.” He says taking a deep breath before speaking again.
“Some of those people are ruthless human beings, people do the unthinkable and I will not have anything happening to you. You are my only daughter and I can’t lose you.” He says
“So...?” I say suspiciously
“Starting tomorrow a man in protective services will start being your personal bodyguard. He will go wherever you do, no matter what you do or where you go he will be right there by your side. He will be here to protect you and make sure no harm comes your way. He will be here 24/7.” He speaks and my face drops instantly.
A bodyguard?! I’m not a child, I don’t need a damn bodyguard. My mind is in shock which quickly turns into anger. I don’t even know what to think or say. I scoff and stand up abruptly throwing my hands in the air.
“No way! Dad I’m 21 years old, I do not need a damn babysitter!” I say
“Jane, he’s not a babysitter. He’s a bodyguard! It’s his job to protect the people who hire him. You need protection at all times and frankly sweetheart - you’re small, okay? You’re only 5 foot 1. If a group of men try to come at you, you cannot fight them off.” He says and I roll my eyes. That might be true but I’m definitely not going to admit it.
“First of all, I’m not 5 foot 1.. I’m 5 foot 2! And secondly, do you know how embarrassing it’ll be to have some old or middle aged man following me around wherever I go?” I say
“He’s not old or middle aged Jane. He’s 31 years old and he’s very skilled and he knows what he’s doing. He’s been a bodyguard for many people since the age of 22. He’s good, great actually, his old clients were sad to see him go from what they told me. He will be here tomorrow whether you like it or not.” He says
“So I really don’t have any say in this?” I ask and he shakes his head and I scoff.
“Well don’t expect me to be very welcoming to Mr bodyguard.” I say and storm off to my bedroom slamming the door behind me.
I can’t believe my father just up and hired some guy to “protect” me without even speaking to me about it first. I mean, who the hell does that?! Does my father not realize how weird this will be? Imagine having some random guy following you around at all hours of the day just to protect only IF someone tries to hurt you.
“I don’t need a damn bodyguard.” I say to myself.
I throw myself on my bed facedown and scream into my pillow. My mother would have never allowed this. After a few long seconds I lift my head and my eyes dart to my nightstand. My eyes fall to the photo of my mother and I at the beach. A small smile forms on my lips as I reach over grabbing the photo. Rolling over onto my back, I hold the photo up in the air and stare at it.
“I wish you were here mom. I miss you so much.” I say quietly. I close my eyes and hold the photo down to my heart. Next month is going to be 3 years without her. Her death was so unexpected, it was just a normal day and life was so great. I was out when I got a call from my father, he was sobbing so hard and I was terrified because I’ve never seen or heard him cry before. Not even when his mother died. When he told me that my mother was dead I couldn’t even register the words in my head for a moment. All I remember is falling to the floor screaming and crying hysterically. Things have never been the same since then.
I slowly open my eyes and let out a long deep sigh. I kiss the photo and place it back on my nightstand then get up from my bed to go get ready for bed. Mr bodyguard is going to come tomorrow and I just can’t wait! Sarcasm noted, I hope.
•••
My alarm clock wakes me up in the morning bright and early. I sit up in bed stretching out my arms letting out a deep sigh, I reach over and grab my phone taking it off the charger then checking the time.
8 AM
I continue looking through my phone for a few moments when a text from my father pops up, “Get ready and be down in 30 minutes. He will be here at 8:30” it reads. I roll my eyes and get up from going into my bathroom.
I still can’t believe my father got me a babysitter - correction a bodyguard he says. I’m 21 years old, I’m not a child and I sure as hell don’t need a bodyguard! I can take care of myself, I don’t need protection. It’s very much unnecessary but unfortunately nobody can tell my father “no”, it doesn’t end well for the person that does.
I turn on my shower letting the water get hot, I take a quick shower but not too quick, I don’t really care about making the bodyguard wait. I finish my shower and dry off before walking to my closet and picking out a pair of black jeans and a grey long sleeve shirt. Once I finish making myself ready I brush through my hair and keep it down to let it air dry - props of having straight hair like me, once it’s dry, it actually looks good. I apply deodorant and perfume then head downstairs with 2 minutes to spare, damn it! I’m early.
“Thank you for not being late Jane. He’ll be here in just a second.” My father says greeting me in the kitchen
“Well I didn’t really have a choice. What’s this guys name anyway?” I ask pouring a glass of orange juice and sipping on it. He gives me that serious parental look and sighs deeply. “Your attitude isn’t going to change anything by the way. You need protection from my enemies and that’s final.” He says crossing is arms
I put my hands up in surrender without saying another word and he speaks up again, “Thank you. And his name is Miles St. John.” Before I could say anything else the doorbell rings. We both make our way towards the door where my father opens it revealing him and my mouth drops open immediately as I lay my eyes on the most good looking 6 foot something man I’ve ever seen. His tall figure almost takes up the entire height of the door frame. No fucking way this guy is my bodyguard, this has to be a joke. I thought he was going to be some unattractive man in his late 50s but this guy doesn’t even look like he’s older than 30. His brown hair and brown eyes match mine.
“Mr. Adams, it’s a pleasure meeting with you. Thank you for hiring me for this role, I will not let you down.” Miles says reaching out his hand for my father to shake. I roll my eyes, oh great, he’s a kiss ass.
“Miles, please call me John. And well, I must say that you had a very impressive history with this type of position. I’ve done my research and I was very impressed.” My father says shaking his hand then retreating it. Miles takes a step in and my father shuts the door behind him.
“Thank you John, I appreciate it very much. And you must be.. Jane Adams” Miles says looking over at me, his eyes slightly widen when I notice his Adams Apple bobs from him swallowing so hard. He looks at me up and down quickly before looking back at my father.
“Yes this is my daughter Jane. Jane this is Miles, he will be your bodyguard until your safety is guaranteed.” My father says and a fake smile spreads across my face and I wave to Miles “Nice to meet you Miles.” I say and he nods slowly “You as well.” He says then a short awkward silence falls in the air before my father speaks up.
“Now that Miles is here, I have to head out to the office for a few hours. This is my contact information Miles, make sure it’s on speed dial in case of any problems or emergencies. Jane will show you around the house and if there’s anything you need, just ask her.” My father says before grabbing his coat and keys.
“Of course, and I will make sure no problems occur.” He says grabbing the card with my dads contact information on it and quickly puts the information into his phone.
“Great! Jane, please be nice and show Miles around the house so he knows his way around.” My father says with a stern look and I nod “I will.” I say and he nods before walking out and locking the door behind him.
Another awkward silence falls in the air, Miles and I stand there in a deep silence just looking around and staring at one another. I can’t believe how good looking this man is, and him being my bodyguard doesn’t help my attraction for him at all. After what seems like forever, he finally breaks the silence and speaks up.
“So Ms. Adams, I-” He begins to say but I put my hand up to silence him and I take a step closer to him. “Please don’t call me that, just call me Jane. And I’m still standing here wondering why my father hired you.” I say crossing my arms and he looks at me confused.
“Well your father did say that he does have quite a few enemies and those enemies would do anything they can do make him suffer, which includes hurting you. And he can’t have that happen.” Miles says now taking a step closer to me and I scoff before letting out an annoyed sigh. I look up at him as I catch his eyes on me already, I swallow hard and lick my lips. I need to stand my ground, I can’t let his looks get in the way of how I feel about him being here. His eyes look down at my lips then quickly darts back up to my eyes.
“I don’t need a babysitter, a bodyguard or whatever it is that you want to call yourself. I’m an adult and I can defend myself.” I say rudely and he raises an eyebrow while looking at me up and down. “Well, Jane - I’m sorry to have to break it to you but your father is my boss. Not you. He hired me to protect you and make sure you’re safe at all times, so that’s what I’m here to do, nothing else. I’m sorry that you don’t like it but that’s just something you’re going to have to suck up and deal with.” He says in a deep serious tone catching me off guard.
“Wow, what a change in tone, your kiss ass tone towards my father changed real quick just now. That’s funny, let’s see you try and speak that way to me in front of him.” I say
“Well I can sense when I’m not wanted Jane, and it’s clear that you don’t want me here but there’s nothing you can do about that. I’m here for one job, and one job only. Once you’re 100% safe then I’ll be gone and you’ll never have to see me again. But until then, I’m going to be here at all times. Wherever you go, I go.” He says and I smack my lips while giving him a death glare and he stares right back at me giving me the same look. After a long moment of silence, I finally speak up.
“Guest bedroom is over there down the hall. You’ll be staying there. Guest bathroom is right next to it, all the bathroom stuff is under the sink. Kitchen is over there to the left. Help yourself. Now I’ll be upstairs in my room, so don’t bother me. If you need help with something, you’ll have to figure it out yourself.” I say in a cold tone and turn my head rushing upstairs before he could say anything else. I heard him mumble something under his breath but I don’t care enough to want to know what it was.
I get to my room and slam my door shut leaning against it.
Asshole.
