~ 3 part 2 ~
I faced the bodyguards with a smile.
"I'm Lena French! Elijah French's daughter," I introduce myself.
A couple of them start to laugh. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why are they laughing at me? Do I have something in my teeth again?
"We know, Miss French. It's nice to meet you. I'm Nathan Owens, the head of this organization and we are all here to protect you and Mr. French," a man said.
I shook his hand, "It's nice to meet you too."
"And I'm Zachary Parker," another boydguard said with a wink, "but you can call me Zach."
"Hello Zach," I greet back. He is one of the bodyguards that looks young and definitely attractive.
"You are really stunning in person," Zach said.
My face turned red at his words. Did he really just say that? Shouldn't he be professional, or at least act like one?
He took my hand and kissed the top of it. I didn't think a bodyguard could be flirty, especially with a client. I'm feeling uncomfortable at this state now, so I take a step back.
"Enough Zachary, It's my turn to talk to her." another guy in a suit says pushing Zach away and taking his place.
The guy now standing in front of me smiled. I smiled back politely. He looks really familiar. He has brown eyes and dark hair. I looked at his features and tried to recognize who he was. The way he stood with his hands in his pockets was very significant. Not only is his posture familiar, but so is his face. I'm guessing he noticed me looking at him weirdly because of what he says.
"Hey Lena! Remember me?" the guy asks.
So I do know him! I studied his looks again and tried my best to see if I remembered who he was. I'm not getting anywhere.
His facial expression turned from joyful to hurtful. He stepped away from me and folded his arms.
"From elementrary and middle school?!," he blurted.
I thought for a second. Still nothing. I slowly shook my head feeling bad that I can't remember.
"Don't tell me you forgot about your best friend!"
Then it hit me.
"Carter?"
He smiled, "the one and only.'
All of my childhood memories came flooding back to me. How could I not have guessed it sooner?! Carter was my best friend, until my dad and I moved during my last year of middle school. We left so suddenly that Carter and I didn't have time to hangout for the last time. I lost all contact from him for some reason. I never heard of him again. You would think since it was only a few years ago, I would've noticed him. Puberty must've hit him hard like Miley Cyrus' wrecking ball; however, he has gotten handsome.
"I can't believe you're here!." I shout in joy.
Nathan joined in on our conversation, "I didn't know you two have met."
"Met?," Carter smirked, "We were the bestest of friends when we were kids!"
After minutes of our little reunion, we had to get on with business. I almost forgot about the fact that they are bodyguards flooded in my room. I threw away my schoolgirl talk and went back to professional. Now that I know that Carter is here, maybe this bodyguard thing will be alright. It's nice to see a friendly face.
I met a few more bodyguards named Noah, Ty, and Connor. They were also very nice and outgoing, but my mind was still on my old best friend.
"Lena, I want you to pick one of these guys here to be your 24/7 bodyguard. You can choose anyone here, including me. The person you pick will be by your side to guard you at all times. We will have back up bodyguards for you as well. Here are everyone's profiles, you can take a look," Nathan explained.
I held the folders in my hand. I'm gonna have a lot of homework to do.
"I will need to know your choice by tomorrow," he added.
I nodded even though I was still a bit lost.
"We will now leave you to it." Nathan said.
The line of bodyguards left our suite in an instance. I didn't even get to say a farewell. As soon as they left, I started to look through the profiles.
First profile; Zachary Parker.
The folder listed things like his age, appearance, talents, and accomplishments. Says here that Zach is advanced in boxing and acrobats. What? He is only 23! Is that even possible? I gaped as I read all of his accomplishments. The list just dragged on. No wonder he's a bodyguard. Zach is definitely one of my top choices.
I moved his profile aside and opened another folder.
Noah Nelson.
Noah is 25, he specializes in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-jutsu. His profile was definitely impressing. He seems just as amazing as Zachary. I turned his page and realized he had a bit of background information in here. It said that Noah has a mother, but his father died at age thirteen. That must have been hard for him.
I closed his profile and went back to Zach. I turned his page to look at his background information. That's unusual. All it said was that he has a little brother, not a thing about his parents. I guess it's something private. Actually, I feel like I'm invading personal space already. I don't even know Noah, yet I know his father died. I feel like a terrible person.
I continued on with researching everyone. There was a few that I didn't see earlier. There was Henry Lee, Patrick Garner, Ty Jones, Connor, and Kekoa Kahele. I skipped all the background informations for their privacy.
Then, I finally got to the last one.
Carter Chadwick.
I smiled as I turned the folder open. My mouth dropped in shock. His profile was a lot longer than everyone elses. Exspecially the accomplishments section. Carter specializes in karate, tae kwon do, and kung fu. He won many tournaments and is a black belt. That's interesting. I knew he took karate classes when we were kids, but I didn't know he did it seriously, I though it was more like an extra after school activity.
"Do you know who you are going to pick?." dad asks me.
"I broke it down to two choices, but I don't know which one to pick," I groan.
I really want to pick Carter as my bodyguard; however, I don't think picking him is a good choice. If I choose Carter, then it would distract me-us- from why I need a bodyguard in the first place. We have so much history both good and bad that it could get in the way. I see Carter more as a friend than a bodyguard which could be a problem. If I pick Zach, then everything would be easier. I could actually look at Zach as my bodyguard.
Besides, I'm not even sure if Carter even wants to be my bodyguard, because of the fact that I left without even saying goodbye.
Since I have a day to figure out who I'll choose, it wouldn't hurt if I ask Nathan about the two.
"Dad, do you know where Nathan or any of the bodyguards would be?," I asked.
"They're checking this building to make sure everything is alright. Nathan told me he will meet up with us again around five. Can you wait until then?," he answered.
"Yeah, I'll wait."
~
At 5, Nathan came to our suite. This time, he was alone and not with the others. Dad invited him inside and he stayed standing.
"You can sit down if you want," I offer.
"No thank you Miss French, but I prefer to stand," he declines.
After we gave him a glass of water and some small talk, we started talking about the bodyguards.
"I'm sorry, but can you explain everything a bodyguard does?," I request.
Nathan nodded, "Well, you will be choosing a 24/7 bodyguard, which means whoever you pick will be at your side through all times. At night, they will be observing and checking the perimeters and will be staying on the same floor but in a separate room. He will follow you when you go out to do any errands, he will be accessible to reach when he is not in the same room, and he will check all buildings for any abnormal things."
"How long will this last?" I ask.
"Until they find out who is behind this whole thing."
Great, I'm stuck with a person watching my every move for who knows how long! It's gonna be like having a babysitter, only I'm old enough to take care of myself.