Love in Spades: Four Kings Security Book One (Four Kings Security #1)(6)
Ace nodded. He hated leaving things unfinished, but King wouldn’t have made the call if it wasn’t important. King’s phone beeped.
“Yes?”
Jay, King’s executive assistance came on the line. “King, Mr. Paxton Connolly is here.”
“Show him in, please.”
They all stood when Jay opened the office door, and a tall, broad-shouldered, handsome man with silver interspersed with his blond hair walked in. Lines formed at the corners of his gray eyes when he smiled.
“Thank you so much for meeting with me on such short notice, Mr. Kingston.” Paxton nodded to the rest of them. “Gentlemen.”
King thanked Jay, who promptly closed the door behind him, before taking Paxton’s outstretched hand. “Please, everyone calls me King. Let me introduce you to the rest of the Kings. This is Russell ‘Red’ McKinley, Eduardo ‘Lucky’ Morales, and Anston ‘Ace’ Sharpe.”
They took turns shaking Mr. Connolly’s hand. The man looked genuinely pleased to see them.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Four Kings Security. When I consulted with my head of security, he recommended your company without hesitation.”
“We’re glad you came to us, Mr. Connolly,” King said, showing Paxton to the chair directly in front of his desk. Red and Lucky resumed their seats, and Ace pulled up one of the extra chairs lining the office and placed it next to King’s desk facing Paxton and the others.
“If you don’t mind my asking,” Ace said, needing to know, “is there a reason you didn’t hire your current security company for this?” Connolly Maritime already had a security company on the payroll. They were a little old-school, with a few loose cannons, but they were a good bunch.
“I don’t mind at all. We’ve been with our current security company for decades, long before Four Kings. They’ve been invaluable to us, but as my son pointed out at our last board meeting, Connolly Maritime has grown exponentially over the years, and with the changes in the market, and technology, comes the need to take our security to the next level. I’ve already spoken to our security manager. Our contract with them will end on very amicable terms. Every trusted counsel I’ve sought gave me the same response. If you want the best, hire the four Kings. My hope is once the threat to my son is taken care of, we can discuss continuing our business relationship. If you can protect my son, I’m confident you can protect our company.”
If Four Kings Security could secure a contract with Connolly Maritime, it would be huge. They could look into moving forward the expansion down south and open the office in Miami ahead of schedule.
“We’d be honored to represent you and Connolly Maritime. First, why don’t you tell us a little about your son,” King said. “I’m assigning your son’s protection to Ace, Lucky, and Red.” He motioned to the three of them. “But one of them will personally provide round-the-clock protection to your son. To determine which one of them would be the best fit, I need to know a little more about Colton.”
Paxton nodded. “I love my son. He’s a good man, and I couldn’t be prouder of him. Speaking frankly, he can also be a little shit. Stubborn as the day is long. I wish I could say he gets it from his mother, but that would be unfair of me since he gets his stubbornness from me. From his mother, he gets his temper. His business sense is second to none, and he has a way with people, but when you get on his bad side, look out. He despises insincere flattery and personal questions, warm one minute and freezing your balls off the next. I already approached him with the idea of hiring private security for him over this, and he was completely against it. This is going to piss him off to no end. If there’s one thing my son won’t stand is loss of control. Whoever you send in, he’ll see as a threat to that control, and he will fight it with everything he has.”
Ace cleared his throat. “Permission to speak freely, sir?”
“Ace,” King warned.
“It’s okay,” Paxton said, putting up a hand. “You boys say what you need to say. No minced words.”
“Your son sounds like a pain in the ass.” Ace ignored King’s heavy sigh and the way he closed his eyes, clearly summing patience.
Paxton scoffed. “Understatement.”
“That’s why I’d be perfect for the job.”
King sat back and moved his gaze to the ceiling. It was clear he agreed, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. The room was quiet, all eyes on King. Several heartbeats later, he leaned forward, his gaze meeting Paxton’s and his fingers laced together on his desk.
“I won’t lie to you, Mr. Connolly. Ace’s methods are somewhat… unorthodox.”
“Meaning?”
Ace grinned. “Sir, I’m an asshole at the best of times, but I’m damn good at what I do. My job will be to protect your son, not coddle him or kiss his ass. If he wants a fight, he’ll get one, and believe me, he won’t win. I will protect him, by any means necessary.”
“In other words, you’re not going to take his bullshit.”
“Not if it interferes with me doing my job.”
“Good. We’ve already established a way to make this contract watertight, with an added clause stating he can’t fire you or cancel the contract. Anything and everything will have to be authorized by me.”