Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 Karen Whiddon (best fiction books to read TXT) 📖

Each time she needed personal protection she requested a two-men detail. Trace was always one of them.

He was one of the agency’s most requested guards, especially by women between the ages of twenty-five and fifty. Connie couldn’t much blame their female clients for falling for him. Trace was not only tall, dark and fine, but he was also smart, funny and charismatic. And as a former US Navy officer, he had the whole alpha, top-dog persona nailed down.

Even still, that didn’t give any client the right to proposition him, or make him uncomfortable with unwanted advances.

“I’ll look into the situation and identify someone to take his place.” Connie turned to her laptop and pulled up their personnel database. “Does Kya know that she’s losing Trace?”

“Not yet. I told him to give us an hour. We need to see who’s been assigned to her in the past that Kya will approve of before he tells her.”

“You know she’s not going to let him go without an argument.”

“I agree. That’s why I want you to talk to her.”

Connie jerked her head away from the computer screen and narrowed her eyes at her friend. “Why me? Why can’t you do it?”

“Because you have more tact than I do, and you care about keeping her as a client.”

Connie laughed. “You do, too.”

“I do...to a point. Yes, Kya has sent us a ton of business, but her inappropriate behavior is unacceptable. It was bad enough that time when she thought it was okay to prance around her house naked in front of our guys. She didn’t care that she made them uncomfortable. When Trace suggested they give her privacy, she demanded they stay put. Don’t even get me started on how many times she’s propositioned Trace. He hasn’t accused her of sexual harassment, but technically... We need to face it—she’s a problem. With all of that said, the news should come from you since she’s afraid of you.”

“Oh, please. That girl is not afraid of me.”

“Uh, yeah, she is. Remember that time when she requested our guys to escort her to court? Then when they did, she started a fight with that news cameraman and expected Noah to fight her battle. I’ll never forget when you cursed her out.”

Connie’s mouth dropped open. “Really, Trinity? How can you even say that with a straight face? You know good and well I didn’t curse that woman out.”

“Okay, maybe not, but you have the amazing ability to curse someone out without using a swear word.”

“I didn’t exactly tell her off. I just made it clear that if she couldn’t carry herself like an adult and a lady when our people are with her, she’d have to find another agency.”

“Well, whatever you said worked. Now you need to talk to her about Trace. This is the second time she’s made a pass at him. She doesn’t get another chance.”

A knock sounded on Connie’s office door.

“Come in,” she called out.

The door slid open. “Connie, have you seen...? Oh, Trinity, you’re in here. I was looking for you. Your husband’s on line one,” Jade, their executive assistant, said.

“Okay, thanks. I’ll pick it up in my office. Tell him to give me a second.”

“Will do,” Jade said, backing out of the office and closing the door behind her.

Trinity stood. “Okay, so we agree that you’ll save Trace from Kya?”

Connie gave an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. If I must.”

Trinity grinned. “Don’t act like you ain’t happy to get him away from that woman. I know you want him all to your—”

“Don’t go there. He and I are just friends and coworkers. If this is one of your attempts to push us together, forget it.”

Honestly, Connie was more than happy to assign someone else to Kya’s detail. She hated the idea of any woman coming on to Trace. Not because she wanted him for herself, but... Heck, who was she kidding? She totally wanted him, but she had no intention of admitting that to her friend or anyone else.

“I don’t know why you keep fighting the inevitable. You and Trae-Trae would be perfect together.”

“You know he hates when you call him that.”

Trinity and Trace had grown up in the same neighborhood as kids and had always had a brother-sister-like relationship. After he left the navy and moved back to Las Vegas, he joined LEPA and had been with the agency ever since. He and Connie had only met a year ago, when she relocated to the Vegas office from their branch in Los Angeles.

Connie was staying firm to keeping her and Trace as friends. Especially since every time she opened her heart to someone, they found a way to disappoint her. Or maybe it was that she just chose wrong when it came to men. Either way, she was good at cutting her losses and moving on. She didn’t want that to happen with Trace, though. If they didn’t complicate whatever was happening between them, they could at least stay friends.

“Oh.” Trinity snapped her fingers. “On a serious note. What do you think about him in a management role? We’re going to need to set up another team, specifically when some of these contracts start rolling in. I don’t want to oversee another group, and I know you don’t. Instead of hiring someone from the outside, how about we promote from within?”

Connie had actually thought about that months ago, when Trace had filled in for one of the other managers. He had phenomenal people skills, was dependable and well respected at the company. Besides that, he knew how Trinity and Connie liked things run. A frisson of anticipation coursed through her at the prospect of seeing his handsome face in the office every day. His presence always made her feel giddy inside. Then again, if she wanted to maintain some type of professionalism, having Trace around all the time could prove challenging.

“I think it’s an excellent idea to promote from within. I just don’t think Trace will want an office job. He likes to be