determined to change the board’s mind. Meeks was already having problems with the personal protection division since Francine insisted on continuing her fieldwork; adding celebrity to that mix only enhanced his resolve to eliminate the line completely.
While personal protection for celebrities had the potential to become an extremely profitable piece of business, it brought a lot of unnecessary chaos—unwanted publicity, uncooperative clients and questionable situations—chaos Meeks felt that their already extremely profitable agency could do without. However, Francine’s desire and ability to expand that line of business, ultimately increasing their profits expediently in a short period of time, had made that goal a lot more difficult. Now keeping Francine out of harm’s way was his new priority. If he again allowed Mr. Blake’s daughter to be seriously injured—or even worse—on his watch, Meeks would never forgive himself.
“Well, I guess that means the meeting’s adjourned,” Robert proclaimed as he pushed his glasses back up his nose and stood.
Meeks followed Robert out the door when Mary said, “Not so fast, you two.”
Both men stopped where they stood and gave her their undivided attention.
Mary Walker had worked for the company for over twenty-five years, but she had been a close friend to the Blakes even longer. She had been their father’s assistant almost from the beginning, and her eldest daughter had even been the family’s go-to babysitter for the triplets. Mary was promoted to office manager right after Meeks had joined the firm, taking his father’s position upon his death, and had been like a second mother to him—to all of the staff, in fact.
She was small in stature, but her quiet strength and no-nonsense attitude made her an unstoppable force. When Mary spoke, Meeks listened.
Mary tossed her salt-and-pepper hair from her shoulders, stood to her full five-foot height and placed her hands on her hips. “Francine was right. I know it’s hard to believe, but the Blake women are strong and smart and can handle themselves,” she pointed out. “You don’t need to treat them like fragile dolls that need your constant supervision and protection. Your day of acting as their quasi bodyguard is over.”
Meeks smiled and raised his hands with palms facing Mary, a sign of surrender. “Mary, I was only trying to—”
“I know what you were doing. You’ve been doing it for years and you need to find another way to do it. Try the direct approach,” she advised, giving him a wide smile.
Mary was in her sixties, but with her caramel-colored skin still smooth and free of wrinkles, she looked twenty years younger and beautiful as ever. She picked up her coffee cup and files and left the men staring after her as she exited the conference room.
Meeks headed to his office without making eye contact with anyone he passed. His robotic movements, deep frown and tight jaw sent a clear message: Leave me the hell alone. He walked into his office and slammed the door behind him, but before he could even make it around his desk, his door opened, and there Robert stood.
“What?” Meeks snapped. He always held his tongue with Mary, but he didn’t have to with Robert.
“Don’t shoot,” Robert said, raising his hands in mock surrender.
Meeks and Robert had been best friends since college, and at times, Meeks had been closer to Robert than his own brother. Robert and Meeks had started a technology company after graduation, and within a few years they’d sold it and made millions. With no concrete plans after the sale, Robert had agreed to join Meeks when he took over for his father after his death. While Meeks trusted Robert with his life and valued his opinions above most, he wasn’t in the mood for any of them at the moment.
“Don’t you have some work to do?” Meeks asked.
“Why don’t you two just get together already?” Robert asked as he folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “If nothing else, maybe you’ll get it out of your system.”
“What are you talking about?” Meeks asked as he sat in his chair behind his father’s antique cherrywood desk.
“You and Francine. You two have been doing this dance for a while now.” He pushed off the doorframe and entered the office, closing the door behind him. “First, you said she was too young for you. Then she’s the boss’s daughter—”
“She’s always been the boss’s daughter,” he declared.
“Then she’s basically you in a dress. There’s always something... In reality, you’re crazy about her. Hell, we all know you’re crazy about her. So do something about it already!”
“Cine and I are business partners. Period.”
Robert took the seat directly across from Meeks’s desk. “Which is why you were willing to walk away from a multimillion-dollar client? Because there was a remote possibility that Francine could be in danger?”
“Francine is the CEO of this company—an organization with a stellar worldwide reputation, which we all have worked hard for,” he said, stabbing his index finger into his desk. “This was a role she was groomed and destined for. Hell, she’s wanted it her whole life. She has no business working cases in the damn field. Didn’t we learn that lesson last year when she was almost shot by that irate husband we helped put away?” he yelled at his friend. “Or how about two months ago when she did get shot?” He threw up his hands. “She could have died, for Christ’s sake.”
“Yeah, but she didn’t, and working cases is her choice...not yours,” he said, pointing at his friend. “Francine has been following in her father’s footsteps since she was a kid. Do you remember telling me that? We both know she’s more than qualified. Her and her sisters’ years of martial arts training from not only their father, but from several experts in the field, set them apart from most. They’re double black belts. Hell, Francine’s better at handling herself and a weapon—any type of weapon too, gun, knife, crossbow—than some of the men we have walking around here,” Robert said as he ran the back of his hand along his jawline. “Shit, if that asshole didn’t get the jump on her, she wouldn’t have gotten shot.”
Meeks stood and turned to stare out his windows. “Being better than some of the men around here didn’t stop her from getting shot now, did it? She could have died, man.”
“So this is about your personal feelings for Francine, and not her abilities as an agent or her position with the company?”
Meeks glared at Robert over his shoulder.
“Because if it is,” Robert tilted his head slightly, raised his eyebrows and pointed at him, “you ought to remember that danger is something we all face regularly. In fact, we all happily signed up for it, and Francine was the most eager of us all—a fact that we all knew from the first day she started working in the field five years ago.”
“Yeah, I remember,” Meeks mumbled, returning to his desk. “She was determined to show everyone that she was just as good as the men,” he admitted grudgingly. “Turns out she was better than most of them, too.”
Robert threw back his head and laughed. “We had to rethink our stance on a number of things, and she challenged us every step of the way. Remember when she insisted that everyone learn the ‘art,’” he said, using air quotes to emphasize his point. “...of handling knives and bows and arrows?”
“Yeah, or when they
