Die for You

Chapter 13

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As I sat in the chair, I felt a small hand press down on my shoulder and looked up to see Miss Armstrong looking down at me sadly.

"You ok, Miss Sarocha?"

"I'm fine, Miss Armstrong," I replied, my natural, sarcastic tone pervading my voice.

"So that really was your ex-girlfriend?" She said ignoring my tone, replying with a faint hint of surprise in her voice.

"Yeah, that was her in the flesh. Fucking lovely, right?"

"Well, she's certainly not what I expected."

I raised an eyebrow at that comment wondering what it was supposed to mean.

"Well, you know it's not that she wasn't lovely, but you know... well, I didn't realize... you know..."

'Ah right', I took a deep breath and stood up from the chair and strode past her towards the doorway. I stopped as I got to the now familiar double doors, and paused for a moment or two, collecting my thoughts before turning to give yet one more speech I've had to give what feels like a hundred times in my life.

"Yes, Miss Armstrong, Amanda was my girlfriend and just because I'm not straight, well, believe me it won't affect the way I treat you in any way, shape or form, okay?

"No, Miss Sarocha, I didn't..."

I ignored her protests, ignored her shallow defense, just like I'd done a hundred, no a thousand times before with other people.

"It doesn't matter Miss Armstrong. Look, I'm sorry she came and I'm sorry if she or I embarrassed you or your father. I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again. Now I believe you mentioned that your father is waiting to take you to dinner to celebrate your success today, and you don't want to keep him waiting... shall we?"

I gestured towards the hallway and she just nodded and walked through the double doors and down the corridor, not once meeting my eye.

'Oh fuck, here we go again.'

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I didn't say much for the rest of the day, deciding that doing the job I was employed for was the best thing I could do to keep my temper.

I focused on keeping us safe as we transferred the Armstrongs to the restaurant. It was an easy job with James and Simon, another guy from our team, but still, I remained vigilant. James impressed me with his tactical awareness as we walked to the limousine. He was talented, certainly a good tactical partner.

Opening the rear door, I ushered our clients into the car. Once they were safely inside, I nodded to James who followed them in before slamming the door and heading up front. As I slipped into the passenger seat, Rob's voice came over the intercom.

"Freen, what are you doing up there in front, kid? Come and sit back here and join us."

"Sorry Mr Arms... er... Rob, someone needs to keep an eye on things from up here. It's SOP to have someone ride shotgun."

"Freen, that's why Simon's here. He's on shotgun duty today. We need you on personal protection. Get your ass back here, Blondie, that's an order."

I snorted at James' attempt at orders but unbuckled my seat belt.

Opening the rear door, I stepped into the back and took the only remaining seat, next to Miss Armstrong.

"Freen, I meant to say earlier, I'm sorry to have to ask you to work at tomorrow's party," Rob said as we drove out of the car park and into the crowded streets. "I know I promised you an invitation to our little bash."