His Secret Bodyguard

Part 34

"Seriously. Brynn, what are you doing?" Jeff asked, getting annoyed that neither of us would answer his questions...

He sighed. "Fine. Harry, I'm leaving. Call me if you need something." He said. He hesitated a moment, waiting to see if that got a response. It didn't. "Brynn.. We'll talk later. As of right now, you still have your job." He stated, walking out of the room and shutting the door behind him..

"What's he mean by that? Why wouldn't you have your job?" Harry asked. "It's complicated. He was being annoying, and I don't like people telling me what to do. So, I was trying to quit, and he was attempting to threaten me." I summed up. "You're trying to quit? Why?" He questioned, his upset tone coming back.

I shrugged. "I don't really need this job. Sure, I'm doing what I love, and make a decent salary. But, it's gotten too complicated. And I don't need that in my life." I explained. "How is it complicated?" He asked.

I laughed, looking over at him. "You, Harry. You make it complicated. I was never supposed to meet you. And you were never supposed to know I existed. And now, all this is going on, and all those photos are out there.." I sighed, trailing off.

"Photos?" He questioned. "From earlier today. Someone was taking pictures of us. It doesn't look great, and Jeff wouldn't authorize me to take them down. So, they're still out there." I explained. He pinched his eyebrows together. "What? Why would he do that?" He asked, seeming confused. I shrugged. "He said it wasn't bad publicity. Something about free advertising. Then he threatened to release my name to the press." I replied. He sighed, rolling onto his back and shoving his hands through his hair.

"He's been acting so weird recently.. And I'm trying to trust his judgment. But.. Wow." He commented.

"So, they saw us.. I mean.. They saw me kiss you?" He asked. "Yep." I said. He rolled back onto his side, facing me.

"And, so.. You didn't happen to like that at all, did you?" He asked me. I laughed. "Was I supposed to?" I replied. He shrugged. "I thought it would be romantic. With the rain and everything." He admitted. I looked at him.

"You know I can't work for you anymore, right? It's unethical." I said. He met my gaze. "Then don't work for me. Work for Jeff." He offered. I laughed. "Still wouldn't change anything." I replied. "So then.. You'd just, leave?" He questioned. I shrugged. "I mean, yeah. I'm constantly getting job offers." I said.

"If we hadn't met.. If you hadn't been the only security that night with the gun. Would it be different? I mean, is it the job you don't like? Or is it me?" He asked. I was still on my back, and looked up at the ceiling instead of at him..

"I don't know. Maybe both. I guess it was fine before we met. A little boring. But, Jeff started assigning me to look after you, even though it wasn't part of my job. Then, you told me you were becoming attracted to me. And.. That's fine. For you. You're allowed to like whoever you want. But, I don't do that anymore, and you don't seem to get that." I explained.

"Don't do what anymore?" He questioned, confused. "Any of it. I don't get close to people. I don't date, or have relationships. All of it." I replied. "But.. Isn't that lonely?" He asked. "No. You get over it." I said. "Brynn.. You don't have to close yourself off to everything. You've had a horrible past, and I can't begin to understand how that's scarred you.. But, you can't just give up. That's not living." He stated.

"You don't think I've tried? Harry, after Ryan, I dated two other guys. I tried. I took that risk, knowing that I'd been hurt by everyone I'd ever gotten close to." I commented. "And.. How did those relationships end?" He asked. "One of them was during college, and he cheated on me, as expected.. The second one was right after I graduated. For maybe two months. It wasn't a good fit. He didn't understand me. I was upfront with him in the beginning, telling him that if he was actually interested in me, it wasn't going to be easy. And, he told me that he wanted it to work, and would do anything for me. A few weeks in, he didn't understand why I still didn't trust him. He didn't understand why he couldn't touch me. After another few weeks, he left, as expected." I explained. I didn't care at this point.

Explaining all of this to him wouldn't make a difference. I was quitting, and would never see him again. So, it really didn't matter..

He didn't say anything, which wasn't a surprise. Most people couldn't handle my past, and never knew what to say to me.

"Sounds like you need to get a new taste in men." He commented. I laughed, not expecting that. I looked over at him. "What?" I asked. He smiled. "Your taste in guys is obviously flawed. You go for the wrong ones, and then you assume all guys are that way." He elaborated. "Uh huh. Well, most of them are." I stated, looking back up at the ceiling. "I'm not. I think I could prove you wrong if you gave me the chance." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"You couldn't, and I'm not doing that." I replied. "Right, okay. You know, when we first met, I thought you were this fearless, strong, sort-of mean type of girl. Sorry, woman. But, you're clearly not fearless, considering you won't face this fear of yours. Who cares if you get hurt again? That's a part of life." He commented.

"Yes, well I've had enough pain to last a lifetime. So, no thank you. Pretty sure I'm maxed out on that." I stated, not looking at him.

He sighed, not saying anything for a minute. "Give me a chance. I won't hurt you." He said. I laughed. "You can't guarantee that." I replied. He was still lying on his side, watching me, not saying anything..

"Why are you even interested? I mean, seriously. Why do you like me?"