When We Met (Fool's Gold #13)(38)

Kenny managed to open his eyes. “Thanks.” He staggered to his feet and fled.

She turned to Sam. “I’m going to find out what’s going on. You know that, right?”

Sam collected his papers and left without saying anything.

Only Jack was left. “You have something you want to say?” she asked.

He smiled. “Sure. Justice Garrett called. He wants to talk to us about a campaign for CDS.”

“The bodyguard school?”

“That’s them. Nothing fancy. Not advertising. Just a tweaking of their promotional materials. I thought it would be a fun change for us. We’re in a small town now. We need local business.”

She waited for him to make a crack about Angel, but he didn’t. “Fine. We’ll get it on the calendar.”

“I made an appointment for you already. It’s in an hour.”

She sighed heavily. “Of course it is.”

CHAPTER NINE

TARYN SPENT THE next hour frantically preparing for her meeting with Justice. Her knowledge of what really happened at CDS—otherwise known as the bodyguard school—was limited to the gossip she’d picked up from her friends and what Angel had told her. She knew the other partners were also former military and that the customers fell into two categories—professional bodyguards and corporate retreats. There were also a few classes offered to the community, but those seemed to be more about building goodwill and not about an actual serious income stream.

By the time her assistant stepped into her office to tell her that Justice was waiting, Taryn had what she hoped was a working knowledge of the industry in general and CDS in particular.

Jack passed her in the hall on her way to the meeting room. “Want me to sit in?” he asked.

“I think you’ve done enough damage already today,” she said.

He grinned, obviously unrepentant.

Taryn walked into the conference room and smiled at Justice. “Nice to see you,” she said, shaking his hand.

“I appreciate you taking the meeting.”

He was about six feet, with dark blond hair and deep blue eyes. Handsome, she thought absently, but too refined for her taste. It seemed that these days she was attracted to men who were more overtly dangerous.

Not that Justice was available. He was happily married to Patience, the owner of Brew-haha and Taryn’s friend. But it was nice that Taryn could look at him and internally yawn.

They both sat down and Taryn waited while Justice explained what he was looking for.

“When we opened last year, we were more focused on getting up and running,” Justice said. “While I like our logo, I’m not happy with any of the other promotional material we have, including our business card design and the website. We have two distinct areas of our business and neither is represented well.”

Taryn made notes as he spoke. She’d been over the website and understood what he was talking about. She took the card he offered, along with a sheet of letterhead and an invoice.

“You’re looking to give an impression of success and power,” she told him. “With a corporate edge for those clients. For the other half of your business, you need less flare. I’m thinking understated without a lot of information. Anyone looking for a company to train bodyguards wants discretion. That isn’t the place for testimonials. I’m assuming your bodyguard clients come through word of mouth. If they want to know more, they’ll ask.”

Justice relaxed in his chair. “Good call.”

She smiled. “Jack and Kenny sell what we offer. I’m the one who makes it work for the client. Let me put together some ideas and I’ll get back to you. Who are the decision makers at your firm?”

Justice raised one shoulder. “I handle the day-to-day business, but when it comes to something like this, the team will be involved. Ford, Angel and Consuelo.”

She nodded without reacting to any of the names. She had no way of knowing if Justice knew about her relationship with Angel, and she wasn’t going to be the one to try to explain what was happening. Angel kissed as though he knew what he was doing but then had the self-control to walk away. She didn’t know if she should be impressed or find someone to beat the crap out of him.

Neither of which were issues Justice needed to deal with.

“I’ll bring an appropriate number of copies,” she said.

“I look forward to seeing what you come up with.”

* * *

TARYN WALKED INTO Brew-haha to find Dellina waiting. The pretty brunette had her laptop with her. The computer was open and she was typing furiously. Taryn ordered a latte, then sat down across from Dellina, who looked up in surprise.

“Have you been sitting there long?”

Taryn smiled. “I just got here.”

“Good. When I get focused, the rest of the world seems to fade away.” She saved her work, then closed the laptop and shoved it into her briefcase. “I’m finishing paperwork for a job I just completed. It’s the worst part. Pulling all the invoices together, trying to figure out why I’m not making as much as I’d hoped.” She laughed. “The trials of being a small business owner.”

“I know that one,” Taryn said. “Thanks for meeting me. I’m sorry to take you away from work.”

Dellina shook her head. “Don’t be. I appreciate the opportunity to get out of my house. I love my home office, but I do need to venture into the world. So, what’s up?”