“Hey, Rebecca, there’s this strange dude looking for you in the porch,” Thalia informed me.
I frowned. “Is it Eric?”
“No. It’s some guy I’ve never seen before.”
With a tired sigh, I got up from my chair and went to the front porch. Sure enough, an unknown in his early thirties was waiting for me. He was wearing slacks and a white button-down shirt. He was also carrying a black briefcase.
Immediately, I got nervous. This was just like in movies. A creepy-looking guy with a briefcase arriving in your front porch was never a good sign.
“What do you want?” I demanded warily.
But the man smiled warmly. “Are you Rebecca Georges?”
“Um, yes,” I said with a tiny hesitation before that.
“I’m Roger. I work for Harold Hoffman. I take it you know him?”
I nodded. “Is something wrong?”
“No, Ms. Georges. In fact, I think this is right and will make you happy,” he said brightly. He put down the briefcase on a vacant table and I looked at the contents. My jaw dropped. Roger beamed when he saw my expression. “I knew it would make you happy!”
“What… what…” I stammered. Inside the briefcase were loads of cash. I’ve never seen so many dollars in one place before. I think I’m about to faint. I looked up to Roger. “What is this?”
“This is your payment. You are Oliver’s bodyguard, yes?”
Oh. Right. The thirty-thousand dollars. My payment in return for protecting Oliver. I looked back at the money. I’m supposed to be happy because I earned this amount on my own. But somehow, all of those dollars was a reminder that protecting Oliver was only a job. I’m here because of my job. It reminds me that Oliver and I could never ever be together, even if we feel the same way.
“So Mr. Hoffman sent you here to give me this?” I asked Roger sceptically.
Roger blinked. “Well… yes.”
“Sorry to waste your time but I can’t accept this, Roger,” I said apologetically. “I’m really fine here with my own money. This is too much.”
“But-but—”
“How about I’ll keep the ten thousand and you take the rest to my brother? Tell him that I’m going to entrust this money to him for the meantime.”
Roger considered this for a moment and nodded. “Okay. I think that’ll do.”
He took some dollars from the briefcase, counted for three minutes and handed it to me. “Here you go. Are you sure with the ten thousand?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure. Michael will know what to do with this. I hope it wouldn’t trouble you or something, Roger.”
“Of course not. I’m heading back to New York, anyway,” Roger said and smiled at me. “I’ll be off now, Ms. Georges.”
“Okay. Thanks for delivering the money, Roger.”
“No problem. It’s part of my job!” With a last smile, Roger left the front porch and went to his car that was parked on the driveway.
When he was gone, I stuffed the ten thousand on my tiny pocket and went in the house. The others were still eating breakfast and were chatting. Thalia was the first one who saw me come in. “Oh there you are. We thought that creepy guy kidnapped you,” she joked. “What did he want?”
YOU ARE READING
Where He Stands
RomansaWho says only guys could protect girls? Rebecca Georges is one example. When Harold Hoffman, owner and founder of Hoffman Incorporated, appointed her as the personal bodyguard for his son, she is far from thrilled. But what could she do? Thirty-thou...
