Tear Down These Walls (4 page)

When she gets into her apartment, she takes the jacket
off and puts it on a hook.  Staring at it, she says, “How am I supposed to
get this back to you?” Getting an idea, she searches the pockets. There is a
packet of gum in one pocket. In the other pocket, Teagan feels a piece of
paper. “Probably some chick’s phone number,” she snorts.

Taking it out, she looks at it. It’s a business card. The
initials on it are written in bold type. It says:  TPS. The address is on
a street on the south side. There is no phone number.

 “TPS?” Teagan whispers. “I wonder what that stands
for. Maybe he works there. I will find out tomorrow. I want to say thank you
and return his jacket.”

She looks at the card one more time before tacking it up
on her bulletin board.  It hangs next to her concert ticket stubs and all
her pictures of her friends. “Okay, Mr. Hero Man, I will start tracking you
down tomorrow.” She nods and turns around to go to her bedroom.

“Are you sure you are okay!?”

“Yes, I’m fine Isaac,” Teagan sighs as she pours her second cup of
coffee. “I got a good night’s sleep and feel a lot better. I didn’t get hurt.
The bad guys are in jail. There isn’t anything else to do.” She catches herself
rolling her eyes a bit at how short his memory seems to be when it comes to
her.

“Do you want me to come over there?” Isaac asks.

Ummm, no.
“I’m all right. I have errands to run today. I’m leaving
after I take a shower.” She looks at the clock and notes the time.  The
dishes are piled up in the sink, but they can just wait. She has things to do.

“All right, well, I am here if you need to talk,” Isaac sighs.

“Thanks Isaac, but I should get going. I have stuff I need to do today. I
will talk to you later.” Stepping over the laundry basket in the hall between
the bathroom and her bedroom, she remembers she needs to grab quarters for the
laundromat while she is out.

“Okay, have a good day.”

“You too,” Teagan hangs up. She exhales. “I hope he gets a clue soon, not
to be mean or anything.” Teagan lifts up her cup of coffee and takes a
sip.  She walks over to her bulletin board and looks at the business card
pinned between takeout menus and next month’s water bill. “First things first,
I need to go there.”

With a nod, she turns and goes to the bathroom to take a shower. When she
is finished, Teagan stands in front of her closet, staring at her wardrobe.
“What do I wear? I want to look good at least.” She takes one look at the small
pile of jeans and t-shirts on her closet floor and shakes her head. She needs
to look presentable, attractive even, not thrown together. She settles on a
pair of black pants and a cashmere turtleneck.  Biting her lip, she decides
on her stiletto boots and then finishes her hair and make-up.  “Alright,”
she exhales. “I look good, but not overly sexy. I don’t want to make the wrong
impression. Let’s go find my hero.”

On her way out the door, she grabs the jacket. It’s a nice, heavier jacket
by a top designer.  “Wow, the guy has taste,” she whispers. With a
chuckle, Teagan leaves her apartment. She knows it’s now or never in figuring
out who this guy is. On the way over to the mysterious address, Teagan comes up
with a million different ways that this conversation could go. “Of course, he
may not even have any affiliation with this place,” she admits to herself,
laughing at how absurd she would feel if that would be the case.

When she pulls up to the building, it isn’t what she expected. It’s a
small brick building with one large window in front that has “TPS” printed on
the glass. Teagan looks around a little to see if she can get a clue to what
this place is. She sees nothing else distinct about her surroundings, and only
a handful of cars in the lot. “Why would there be clues here? That would be
easy,” she scoffs. Taking one last glance around she exhales. “No time like the
present.” She grabs the jacket and gets out of the car. Her heart beats a
little louder in her chest as she makes her way to the front door. When she
opens it, a small bell rings.

Teagan steps inside and into a reception room. It is very new and classy.
The overhead lights hum. A small blonde girl is sitting behind a desk. “Oh,
hello, welcome to TPS.  What can I help you with?”

“Umm, this is going to sound weird,” Teagan starts as she approaches the
desk. “But I am looking for someone.”

“Oh, okay,” the girl shifts in her seat. “Who?”

“I’m not sure of his name,” Teagan replies. “He helped me last night, and
I wanted to return his jacket.”

“You don’t know his name?” The girl asks, concealing a small chuckle. “We
have a lot of guys who work here.”

Teagan shakes her head. “No name, he never told me it. He’s 6’ 5”, built
like a brick house, black hair and really dark brown eyes, almost black.”

“And gorgeous?” The girl giggles.

“Well….yeah,” Teagan laughs.

“That’s my boss. He runs TPS. He’s in back if you want me to get him.”

“Oh, I just wanted to return his jacket, but yes, I would like to talk to
him.”

The girl nods. “Hold on a second.” She picks up the phone and presses a
button. “Yeah hey, umm, there is a girl up here looking for you. I don’t know.
Hold on.” She looks at Teagan. “What’s your name?”

“Teagan Murphy.”

“Her name is Teagan Murphy. What? Okay, thanks.” The receptionist hangs
up the phone. “If you want to take a seat, he will be right out.”

“Oh okay,” Teagan replies. She walks over and sits on one of the black
leather chairs that line the wall adjacent to the window. She folds the jacket
onto her lap and waits. A few minutes go by before she asks the receptionist.
“Excuse me, I have a question.”

“Sure,” the receptionist says.

“What does TPS stand for?”

“Trent Personal Security,” the receptionist states proudly, nodding at
the sign on the window.

“Security?” Teagan asks, eyebrows raised. This has now gotten slightly
more interesting.

“Yes, personal security services,” the receptionist nods again.

“Well then, that’s not a surprise,” Teagan murmurs. Suddenly, the door to
the right opens. Teagan looks up and the guy from last night walks out. Teagan
has to pause. He is even better looking than she remembered. He is dressed in
black suit pants and a vest, with a red shirt and tie. He looks at Teagan and
raises an eyebrow. “Hey,” Teagan nervously gulps. “I wanted to return your
jacket.”

“Umm, thanks,” the guy replies. “How did you find me?”

Teagan pulls the business card out of her back pocket. “I found this in
your jacket.”

“Oh, well, okay,” the guy shrugs. “You didn’t have to return the jacket.”

“I don’t think it fits me,” Teagan laughs. “It’s not really my size.”

The corner of the guy’s mouth twitches, but then he gets serious again.
“I see you did get hurt last night.” His eyes stop on her cheek.

“What?” Teagan asks. “Oh.” She brings her hand up to her face. “I thought
the make-up covered the bruise.”

“This is what I do for a living,” he states seriously. “I notice the
small stuff.”

“I see,” Teagan says softly. She steps forward and hands him the jacket.
“Here.”

“Thanks,” the guy replies.

“So anyway,” Teagan whispers. “Thank you for saving me last night.”

“I’m just glad that I was there.”

“Yeah, I don’t know where I would be if you hadn’t shown up.”

“You should always walk with someone that late at night. It’s not smart
to be out alone.”

“I never really thought about it before. I’m definitely going to think
about it every night now.”

“You should also carry pepper spray.”

Teagan raises her eyebrows, “I’ll go buy some today.” She makes a mental
note, adding that to her to-do list.

“Come with me,” he instructs, opening the door behind him. Teagan looks
at him and then walks through the door. “I have some I can give you.”

“Thanks,” Teagan whispers. She notices her heart hasn’t stopped pounding
in her chest, and suddenly, she is feeling very warm. She isn’t nervous; this
is a feeling she can’t quite place.

She follows him down a hallway to an office. Teagan enters it. The white
walls of the office glow in the light that streams in from the large windows. The
ebony wood floor shines as if recently polished. A large black desk sits
against one wall. The only color in the whole room comes from the pieces of art
hung on the walls. She can’t contain her gasp. “Wow.”

“What?” The guy inquires as he turns around.

“The art, it’s beautiful,” Teagan whispers, as she walks around looking
at the paintings, totally forgetting she is in an office with a man whose name
she still doesn’t know.

He points to the one in front of her. “It’s my sister’s work. She’s
really talented.”

“You can definitely say that,” Teagan agrees. This office is so clean
that it feels more like a medical office than someone’s workspace. “How do you
ever get work done with all of this clutter?” She hopes he catches the humor in
her voice.

He laughs. “I know, right? I’m a little anal about things being clean. I
like order. Precision. It keeps me focused on what is important: my work.
Clutter bothers me.” The guy walks over to his desk and opens a large bottom
drawer. He pulls out two containers of pepper spray. “Keep one in your purse
and one in your car.”

“Okay, but you don’t have to do this. I can buy my own.”

“Don’t be silly, I have some right here,” the guy scoffs. “You need to be
protected.”

“Yeah, I had no way of defending myself last night. That was the worst
part,” Teagan sighs.

“Don’t you know any self-defense moves?” He sounds surprised.

“No, I grew up with two sisters, and my father died when I was little.
There was no one to teach me anything,” Teagan states quietly.

Shaking his head, the guy crosses his arms. “I teach a self-defense
class; you should come.”

“Where is it at?” Teagan asks.

“The dojo on Hickory and Lake Street,” he answers.

“How much is it?”

“A hundred and fifty for ten classes.”

Teagan bursts out laughing. “I work at the university book store, and I’m
a full time student. I also live on my own. I don’t have a hundred and fifty
dollars lying around. I will save up for it whenever you have the next round of
classes.”

“I’ll make you a deal; you come to every class, and I will waive the
fee.”

“What? Why would you do that?” Teagan gasps.

“Because, I don’t want last night to happen again,” he answers sharply.

“Ummm, okay, what night is it?” She understands that it sounds insane to
accept an offer from a man who she doesn’t know, but she also knows she needs
protection. And he seems to be just the kind of guy to help her out with that.

“Mondays,” the guy answers. “Seven o’clock.”

With a slight nod, Teagan says, “I can do that.”

“Bring a friend,” the guy adds on. “Girls get anxious if they do this
stuff on their own.”

“Okay,” Teagan replies hesitantly.

“All right, Monday night. You better be there.”

“I will,” Teagan laughs a little. “Pushy aren’t we?”

“I want you safe,” he states. “And I can teach you how to be.”

 Teagan waves her hands. “Hold on, I am signing up for this, and I
don’t even know your name.”

“Everyone calls me Trent,” the guy replies.

“Calls you Trent? Do you have a different name? Do you have a secret
identity?” Teagan giggles.

The guy smirks, “My middle name is Trent. I don’t go by my first name
anymore.”

“Oh, okay,” Teagan replies. “Well Trent, thank you for helping me last
night.”

“I’m glad I was there. I really wanted to hurt those bastards more than I
did, but I would probably have been arrested with them.”

“But you are what, a security guard?”

The humor drains from Trent’s face. “I hate that label. I’m personal
protection. My team members are all trained to guard individual people.”

“Like black ops,” Teagan remarks. “Scary body guards?”

“Yes, I am a highly trained body guard,” Trent states.

“Wow, that’s kind of a bad ass profession,” Teagan nods. “Must get all
the chicks.” Both of Trent’s eyebrows rise. Quickly, Teagan stammers, “I
mean….that sounded horrible, totally put my foot in my mouth. Sorry.” Her face
warms as she realizes she is blushing, just as she was getting comfortable.

Trent shakes his head in bewilderment. “Anyway,” he starts.

“So….I feel like I should do something for you,” Teagan suggests.

“What do you mean?  Why?”

“You saved me and are now offering me free self-defense classes. I mean,
I can afford to buy you lunch or coffee, something to show my appreciation,”
Teagan suggests.

Trent shakes his head. “I don’t fraternize with my students.”

Teagan bursts out laughing. “I’m not asking you out on a date. Just
coffee or a small lunch.”

“Now?” Trent retorts.

“Sure! No time like the present.”

Shaking his head, Trent says, “No, I don’t think it would be right.”

“You saved me from the most horrific moment in my life,” Teagan throws
her hands in the air. “Let me at least buy you a coffee. It doesn’t even need
to be fancy, just a cup of coffee.”

 Trent exhales heavily and then nods. “All right, I need to eat
something anyway. I haven’t eaten yet which goes against one of my major
rules.”

“You have rules?” Teagan’s eyebrows raise as she tries not to smile.

“Yes,” Trent replies. “I live by a strict set of rules. Eating breakfast
is a major one.”

“And why did you miss breakfast this morning?” Teagan asks. “It’s the
most important meal of the day you know.”

“I do know that,” Trent replies. “That’s why it’s a major rule. Anyway, I
had to go back down to the police station this morning. They had more questions
for me, once they knew what I was capable of and what I did for a living.”

“You aren’t in trouble right!?” Teagan exclaims.

“No, not at all,” Trent replies. “Don’t worry about it. I’m used to it
any time I use physical force to protect someone.”

Raising an eyebrow, Teagan says, “You have to do that often?”

“With my job….sometimes.”

“Wow,” Teagan exhales.

“Are you ready to go?” Trent suggests, looking toward the door.

Teagan nods, “Yeah.”

“Okay, after you then.” He opens the door for her. They silently make
their way to the front room again. Trent looks at the receptionist. “I will be
back in an hour.”

“Yes Mr. Grayson,” the receptionist replies.

Teagan’s heart falters. “Grayson,” she whispers.

Trent turns and looks at her. “Yes, my name is Trent Grayson. Well, okay,
my full name is Kellen Trent Grayson, but I don’t go by Kellen anymore.”

Instantly, Teagan’s hand comes up to her mouth and she gasps, “Oh my
god.”