Fit for the Job (12 page)

But not thinking about Jay wouldn’t be so easy, as he’d be forced to see him every day until Jay got fed up and quit, or the summer ended. And it didn’t look like Jay was going to get fed up and quit, not anymore. The guy had only been there a couple days, and already he was handling Sassy better than any of them.

Attraction aside, Bodie just liked the guy. He was kind and thoughtful and funny. He was whimsical and self-assured. He didn’t seem to feel the need to prove himself to anyone, possessing a confidence that wasn’t forced or false. Or boastful, like most of the men Bodie had spent time with. Bodie’s response to Jay’s presence was odd for him. He couldn’t seem to stop thinking about the guy.

Bodie’s father would have called Jay a
fairy
. Not because Jay immediately read as gay. Despite a certain softness to his look, he wasn’t delicate. But anyone in Jay’s profession would be deemed a leotard-wearing fag by his dad, and his mother would be quick to agree.

Bodie supposed his youthful desire to prove to his father that he was
not
that sort of man was part of his reason for joining the army so young. But as he aged and matured, the truth that both his parents—if they ever found out Bodie was anything but hetero—would despise him as much as any leotard-wearing fairy. And that had prompted him to retreat from them, limiting his contact to the occasional phone call on birthdays and holidays.

Jay didn’t seem to have any such concerns about his own family, as evidenced by this party they’d be attending today. Being an only child, Bodie’s only experience with big families had been when he’d visit his cousins on summer vacations as a kid. He’d loved those trips, not only because it got him away from his folks, but because his relatives didn’t seem to share his parents’ views.

Bodie and Eben’s mothers were sisters, but they were opposites as far as he could determine. It used to make Bodie almost angry to see the love Eben’s parents showered on their three children, the encouragement they gave them to do what they wanted, to be who they wanted. He’d told himself back then that his cousins were
spoiled
, but at the root of it was a deep, aching envy that he didn’t have that acceptance himself, and never would.

And now, Eben had taken Bodie in again, as an adult this time. Made him a part of his family, screwed up as it was. Which reminded him, it was time to take over for Evelyn and check on Sassy.

After knocking several times and receiving no answer, Bodie experienced a shiver of panic when he entered Sassy’s suite and found it empty. Sassy never got up before ten in the morning. But she wasn’t there.

“Sassy!” he shouted as he turned and ran down the hall, checking all rooms as he went. He raced down the stairs and checked the kitchen, finding it empty.

Moving through the house, his heart thudded as he checked room after room, and there was no sign of the girl.

As he raced down to the bottom floor, he spotted Evelyn coming in through the back doors that led out to the yard. She looked up as she heard his approach, blinking tired eyes at him. “Bodie, what’s wrong?”

“Where is she?”

Evelyn closed the door behind her. “Sassy? She’s outside. With Jay.”

Bodie let out an enormous breath of relief, then leaned his back against the wall, closing his eyes.

“Easy there!” Evelyn laughed, patting his shoulder. “You know I wouldn’t let her out of my sight.”

Bodie opened his eyes and nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. When she wasn’t in her room, I panicked.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “She was up early, if you can believe that, so she asked me to go get Jay. They’re playing tennis.”

“Really?” Bodie moved to the French doors and peered out at the property. In the distance, he saw the figures of Sassy and Jay, hitting the ball back and forth on the tennis court. He chuckled. Jay was dressed like a pro, in white shorts with a headband holding back his hair in the front. But by the looks of things, Sassy was running him ragged.

“He’s great with her, don’t you think?” Evelyn said.

Bodie nodded. “He really is.”

“Do you like him?”

He glanced at Evelyn. “Yeah, he’s great. Don’t you?”

Evelyn grinned. “Yeah, I like him. But I meant do you
like
him.”

Scowling at her, Bodie turned away and looked outside again. Sassy was laughing as Jay made a show of stumbling across the court, finally falling down and lying on his back. “He’s not my type,” Bodie said.

Evelyn chuckled. “I’m pretty sure he’s everybody’s type,” she said. “I’m cooked, I’m going to bed. You got this?”

Bodie nodded. “Yeah, I got it. Get some sleep.”

Once Evelyn had gone, Bodie stood at the door for a while longer, watching. When Sassy and Jay eventually ceased their game and started across the grass toward the house, he opened the door and stepped outside.

Jay spotted Bodie as they approached the house, and gave him a shy smile. Bodie smiled back, a little thrill running through his body. “Good game?” he asked when they reached him. Jay’s face was flushed, making him look sexier still.

“I kicked his ass,” Sassy said.

“She did not,” Jay said. “I let her win.”

“You wish!”

“Did you eat breakfast?” Bodie asked Sassy.

She shrugged as she pushed open the doors and went back inside the house. “No.”

Bodie followed, with Jay right behind him. He could feel the heat coming off the other man’s body. “Well, make sure you eat something.”

Sassy trotted up the stairs in front of them.

“Speaking of food,” Jay said. “When I got in last night I discovered Libby had stocked my whole fridge. I couldn’t believe it.”

“Well, Eben isn’t going to let you starve,” Bodie said.

“I know but...he’s paying me a lot already. I can buy my own food.”

Bodie chuckled. “He can afford it, don’t worry about it.” He glanced at Sassy as she grabbed a banana and started out of the kitchen.

“I’m going up to take a shower,” she said.

“A banana isn’t much of a meal,” Bodie said.

“We’re going to a barbecue later, Bodie,” she said, then stopped and faced him, a frown pinching her brows. “Unless you changed your mind. Can we still go?”

Bodie nodded, and she beamed, then left the kitchen, practically skipping off down the hall.

“She seems happy,” Jay said.

Bodie huffed. “I know. It’s weird.”

Jay leaned on the island, eyes on Bodie. “Isn’t that what you wanted? For her to go back to normal?”

Bodie leaned against the island directly opposite Jay, mirroring his position. Sassy’s change in demeanor did please Bodie, yet he still felt the weight of everything hanging over his head. By hiring Bodie to deal with Sassy, to make sure she didn’t run off or gain access to the Internet in any way, Eben hadn’t just put him charge of his child. He’d more or less put him in charge of his career, and seeing that his reputation wasn’t tarnished. Bodie was really starting to feel the awesome responsibility of that, especially with Jay’s well-meaning yet risky quest to get the girl out of the house.

“Of course I want her to be happy. But she won’t be
back to normal
until she resolves things with Eben.”

“Do you think they will?” Jay asked. “Resolve it?”

Bodie shrugged. “Has she said anything to you about it?”

Jay shook his head.

“Nothing at all?”

“No.” Jay frowned, taking his headband off and scrubbing his blond hair with his fingers. “Why would she talk to me about it? It’s pretty personal, and she only just met me.”

“Just thought she might confide in you,” Bodie said. “She seems to trust you already. I’m thinking she may talk to you if it’s approached delicately enough.”

Jay held Bodie’s gaze, his expression unreadable. “Are you saying you
want
me to ask her about it?”

Conflict swirled inside Bodie. Of course Eben would want Bodie to push it at this point. To tell Jay yes, talk to Sassy. Get her to tell you everything. But he was torn between his duties to Eben and his growing respect for Jay. But as much as he liked Jay...hell, as much as he
wanted
Jay, Eben was the one signing his paychecks.

“I don’t want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable,” Bodie said. “But if she did say something to you...especially if it concerns the blackmail material, would you please tell me?”

Jay stared at him, blinking slowly. “The blackmail material.”

Bodie nodded. “Yes.”

“Is this why I was hired?” Jay asked, his tone unfriendly. “To try and get Sassy to tell me where she’s hiding her footage of Eben? Spend the summer with her, become her buddy?”

Damn
. Bodie immediately regretted bringing it up. He was trying to do what Eben wanted, but based on Jay’s expression, he might have just done more harm than good. “No,” he said quickly.

“Well,
something’s
going on,” Jay said. “And it’s not like Eben hasn’t already mislead me. He sure as hell didn’t give me all the facts when he hired me.”

“You were hired to get Sassy to exercise. Eben knew it would be a challenge for you. But he obviously liked what he found when he researched you, and thought you were fit for the job. He was right; you’ve already had her rock climbing and playing tennis.” Bodie’s attempts at backpedaling sounded obvious, even to him.

Jay’s eyebrows lowered. “But if she just happens to tell me her secrets, I’m to report back to you. And Eben.”

Bodie nodded. “Well, yes. It’s important.”

Jay’s expression soured further. “Did you and Eben discuss this? Me getting Sassy to talk? Did you discuss it before I started the job?”

Bodie kept his face blank, but his heart skipped a beat. He felt like a cornered rat. A big, stinky, deceptive fucking rat. “Yes. We discussed it.”

The words left Bodie’s lips before he had quite decided whether or not to be truthful. He wasn’t sure why. But something inside him wouldn’t let him look into Jay’s eyes and lie to his face. He simply couldn’t.

Jay let out a heavy breath, and his head fell forward. He clasped his hands, nodding. “No wonder Eben wasn’t straight with me during our interview. I had to be
convincing
as someone Sassy could trust.” He looked up at Bodie. “Am I right?”

“Jay. I’m not comfortable with it either. I know it’s not part of your job. But this madness has to end. And as long as Sassy continues to hold things over Eben’s head, it never will.”

Jay scowled, but said nothing.

“It was seeing Sassy so happy just now that prompted me to bring it up,” Bodie said. “I’d like to have the old Sassy back. She should be able to go out. Have friends. Be a normal teenager.”

“So I’m a fucking paid spy,” Jay said, and Bodie flinched. “You want me to earn her trust but at the same time you’re asking me to betray her. For Eben.”

“It’s not about saving Eben’s reputation, if that’s what you think,” Bodie said, though he wasn’t sure he believed that himself.

“Well, I’m sure that has a great deal to do with his desire to locate that video, or whatever it is,” Jay said. “I’m not an idiot, Bodie.”

Bodie shook his head. “I know you’re not. But here’s how I see it, and this is the truth. Sassy is too young to fully foresee the consequences of her actions. For whatever reason, she’s hurt and angry at her father, and she wants to hurt him back. But think of the effect this will have on her life if she does release some embarrassing video of Eben. Eventually she’ll grow up and mature, and most likely regret it. But the fallout will be lasting. Permanent. She’ll forever be
that
Sassy Wright, the girl who betrayed her movie star father. She’ll never be free of it.”

“You know I like Sassy,” Jay said. “It’s impossible not to feel protective of her. But please don’t try to use that against me by playing on my sympathy. You and Eben haven’t been straight with me from the start.”

Bodie didn’t know what to say to that, so he simply looked down. “I’m being straight with you now, straighter than Eben would want me to be, I’m sure.”

Jay huffed a laugh. “Damn, but you people are fucked up,” he muttered. “I need to get out of this house for a while. If you’ll excuse me.”

Bodie winced internally at what he knew he had to do next. “You spent the morning alone with Sassy, so I’ll have to search you before you go.”

Jay looked up and stared at Bodie. “I don’t think I really like the idea of you touching me right now.”

“You know you make me feel like an asshole every time you protest the searches,” Bodie said. “It’s not
my
rule.”

Jay rounded the island, coming to stand before Bodie. He reached into his tennis shorts and turned the pockets inside out. Then he peeled off his shirt, leaving him naked from the waist up.

Bodie tried not to drool over his well-cut chest and stomach. Especially since the look on Jay’s face was anything but friendly. He inhaled sharply as Jay unzipped his shorts and dropped them to the floor, stepping out of them. Then he kicked off his sneakers.

Standing only in a pair of blue boxer briefs and his socks, Jay turned in a circle, arms out, then faced Bodie. “Satisfied?”

Unable to form words, Bodie gave a curt nod.

Jay pulled his shorts back on, then stepped into his shoes. “I’m gonna go shower. It’s starting to stink in here.”

Jay walked out of the kitchen, shirt dangling from his left hand. Moments later, Bodie jumped when he heard the side door slam loudly as Jay left the house.

Bodie let out a breath, rubbing his forehead. “Shit.”

Well, he’d sure fucked that up.

****

Bodie had truly thought Jay would quit after that. He expected to find him gone and the guest house empty when two o’clock rolled around, but he was wrong.

As Bodie drove the car, Jay kept his body twisted sideways so he could chat and joke with Sassy, who was in the backseat. His demeanor was light and seemingly unaffected by what he’d learned from Bodie in the kitchen earlier. But Bodie suspected it was all show for Sassy, because Jay was blatantly not including Bodie in any of their conversations.

Bodie was back to being driver, security guard, silent cyborg, and nothing more. Which shouldn’t have bothered him, because it was what he’d expected to be when Jay was first hired. But it did bother him. Because in the short time he’d known Jay, he’d unexpectedly begun to think they were developing a friendship. He felt the loss of it now as Jay ignored him.