Guinevere Russell is the sole heir to the multimedia conglomerate, Russell Corp. After obtaining her MBA and moving home to New York City, she's been forced to return to a tumultuous relationship with her father and the rest of the board. Gwen would prefer to run off with her friends to see just how far she can take a distraction, and she's perfectly happy doing so. That is, until her father hires a bodyguard to keep a watchful eye on her. She just can't figure out if he was hired for her safety, or to uncover the secrets no one knows she possesses...
Joel Miller is a personal security officer on leave from his last assignment. He has avoided private security detail for years after a life-changing accident, but when he gets this call, the money is too good to pass up. But Joel has never met a client with such an aversion to being protected. Regardless of the paycheck, Joel will soon realize this is his biggest challenge yet, but not for the reason he thinks...
When their secrets, both past and present, collide in a mixture of tension and new-found feelings, the results can be catastrophic. Now, Gwen's safety is out at risk more than ever before, and the two of them have to get to the bottom of the mystery, and what they mean to each other, before it's too late.
Joel finds a young woman, Adeline, being held hostage by a group of men while he's out on patrol one day. He brings her back to Jackson, where she's given the opportunity to have something resembling a real life, for the first time. Joel and Adeline orbit around each other, destined to crash, if both of their reservations don't get in the way.
OR
Joel finds the love of his life lost in the woods.
(obviously deviates from canon as he's not going to see any g*lf clubs and Ellie doesn't hate him because I've already got enough angst to write without that)
fic playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Q4Ye6oEr8Eaafv0dYvrEC?si=077733b0860b482f