The Bodyguard (Hosie)

Chapter 30

"You got injured on the job. Dad said it's only fair that he pays you since you can't get a new contract because of this."

"But–"

"Shut up and choose a color. Oh, never mind. I'll just choose black."

"Wait, what in the world are you buying for me?"

"Lingerie," Josie drawled, pulling out her pseudo-French accent.

"Josie, you know I'm on painkillers so I don't feel the pain as much but it really hurts when I laugh, so please don't make me laugh."

"This is nice. Let's get this." Josie moved the cursor to click on a sheer nightie that revealed more than it covered but Hope's hand clamped over hers, preventing her from doing so.

"I'm not wearing that in your house."

"Why not?"

"Your father lives here too, remember?"

"You can wear it when you're in my room."

"Josie, no. I'm here to recuperate, not to seduce you."

"What about after you recuperate?"

"After I recuperate... you'll come over to my place and I'll wear something sexier than that for you."

"Really? I'll hold you to that promise."

"It's a promise."

"Will you still be my bodyguard after you recuperate?"

"I'm not for it, to be honest. It's better to keep my love life and work apart."

"Dad said he won't ask you to take the job if you don't want to."

"I know. We spoke just before dinner."

Josie sighed. "I'm going to miss having you as my bodyguard."

"I'm surprised you're not protesting against it to get your way."

"Hey, I know when some things have to end. I won't force you to be my bodyguard but I wish you wouldn't take up the most dangerous jobs." Josie clutched Hope's arm, feeling a stab of unease as she spoke. "I don't want you to get hurt again. It might be worse the next time. And I won't be there to save you with cold wax strips."

Hope chuckled and winced. "Oh my God. The cold wax strips on that guy's face. Marcel told me the guy was crying by the time they managed to get the strips off. And he lost half of his eyebrows."

Josie laughed out loud. "Really?"

Hope nodded. "Marcel called to update me on the case. He said they confessed pretty quickly after he threatened to put more strips on them but I think he was joking. Maybe."

"So, will you think about it?"

Hope smiled. "I'll think about it."

-----

The next day went by too quickly for Josie's taste. From the minute she woke up with Hope next to her, to hour of the bathing she helped Hope with; every moment was pure bliss for Josie. She couldn't remember a time when she found this much joy in spending time with a person who she started off hating and ended up loving.

It was dinner time when her father walked into the dining room just as Josie was feeding Hope a carrot. Unperturbed, she continued to push the carrot into Hope's open mouth. Hope, on the other hand, blushed furiously and pushed her hand away before greeting him.

"Good evening, Hope. Are you enjoying dinner?" he asked, eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Dinner is very good. Thank you, Mr. Saltzman."

"You should thank the cook. He's very good."

Josie nodded in agreement. "Kaleb is a very good cook." Then, turning to her father, she asked, "Did everything go as planned?"

Her father smiled and nodded. "I testified as planned and there's a lot of press coverage on this. It will be much harder for them to do anything to me now, even if they want to. But as it is, they have themselves to worry about. The prosecution found a lot of evidence against them, enough to build a case even without my testimony. So I doubt if they'll be interested in me after this."

"That's very good to hear, Mr. Saltzman."

He smiled at Hope. "Don't you find it tiresome to call me in such a formal way? You're my daughter's savior and good friend. Don't stand on ceremony when you're in my home. Just call me Uncle Ric or Papa Ric, if you like."

A giant smile found its way onto Josie's face and she took Hope's hand, squeezing it in happiness. "Papa Ric sounds good, right, Hope?"

Hope blinked and quivered. "Er, maybe Uncle Ric. For now."

Josie's father simply smiled and nodded. "Good. That sounds so much better."

-----

After dinner, Josie headed up to her bedroom to choose another movie to watch for the night while Hope met with her father in his study. When Hope finally returned, she helped the woman to change into her pajamas.

"So what did you talk about?"

"The future."

"Huh?"

"He asked if I wanted to continue working with his security team."

Josie stilled. "And?"

"I told him I'm not likely to accept his offer."

Josie pouted. "Would it really be that bad if you worked for us?"

Hope shook her head. "Of course not. But there's a big world out there that I still want to explore. I want to try more jobs and experience different things first."

"Isn't every security job the same?"

"Of course not. Every client is different. They have different needs. And to tell you the truth, Marcel offered me something too."

"What did he offer you?"

"I can't talk about it yet but I will be meeting him when I'm better to discuss the details. I'll tell you more when I can."

"So it's pretty much a definite 'no' over here."

"I'm sorry, Josie. I hope you understand."

Josie wanted to hug Hope but settled for an arm squeeze instead. "I don't but I won't force you."

"Wow, is this the Josie I know? What did you do with the girl who always wants her way?"

Josie pinched Hope's butt in retaliation, making the injured bodyguard yelp and wince. "Don't make me sound like some dictator or tyrant."

"Okay, okay," said Hope as she rubbed her butt. "I'm sorry. You're the most understanding and loving girlfriend in the world."

"Yeah, of course I am," said Josie as she moved in for a kiss. "I'm the hottest girlfriend you'll ever have. Don't you forget that."

Hope was smiling into the kiss and after a rousing lip locking exchange, she leaned back. "I won't forget. A humble bodyguard like me won't ever forget."

Josie grinned and draped her arms around Hope's waist carefully. "You're my bodyguard forever."

"Yes, I'm your bodyguard. I promise to guard your body so nobody can touch it but me."

"You and your glib tongue."

Hope simply grinned and leaned closer. "What about my tongue, baby?"

"Shut up and kiss me, bodyguard."

"Right away, ma'am."

Josie closed her eyes as soft lips took hers in and made sweet love to her. Her toes curled and she smiled into the deep kisses of endless passion. Only Hope could make her feel this way.

Her bodyguard.