Pia Does Hollywood (Elder Races, #8.6)(16)

Pia, who had been on the receiving end of many events that needed immediate attention, didn’t feel nearly as dubious about Tatiana’s absence. Things happened, and when you were a demesne leader (or his mate), sometimes you had to react quickly.

Bailey turned to indicate the direction of the rear of the house, and as they fell into step beside her, she said, “My mother asked me to apologize for her. She had planned to be free to greet you personally, but in the last two days she’s been dealing with an unexpected situation. I’m sure you know how it goes.”

“I do, actually,” Pia replied. “We’re often disturbed in the middle of the night for one reason or another. Demesne business never seems to stop.”

“I get it,” said Bailey. They reached double French doors, which she opened. She led them onto a wide verandah. “You and Dragos are one of those places where the buck stops, aren’t you?”

“Yes, we are.”

“My mom is too. It’s one of the reasons why I mostly live somewhere else. I love my family, but I don’t want to eat, drink and sleep all things Light Fae. And I really didn’t want to go into the family business. I have about as much acting ability as a tin can.”

“What do you do, at your home?” Pia asked her curiously.

Her first impression of Bailey had been one of tough competence, but the other woman hadn’t seemed all that friendly during the motorcade ride to Bel Air.

Now, she received a different impression. Once they stepped inside the Queen’s home, Bailey seemed to have relaxed, and as a result, she had grown more talkative.

“I run a security company out of Jamaica,” Bailey said.

“What does a security company do?” Pia asked.

“It can involve anything from supplying bodyguards for specific events to either running expeditions or providing security for them. One of the most interesting expeditions we recently undertook was to retrieve a magical library from a deserted island.”

“You’re talking about Carling Severan’s library, aren’t you?” Pia said, her attention snagged by the scenario. “I heard about that. It must have been a fascinating trip.”

“Yeah, it was. That was the trip my business partner Sebastian found the love of his life, mated and retired.” Bailey gave her a sidelong grin. “But usually things aren’t quite so eventful. On a daily basis, my job mostly involves a lot of drinking and suntanning. When we take on jobs to pay the bills, it can often involve a lot of fighting too, so by and large that makes me happy. Only thing I don’t like is the paperwork. Sebastian, my former partner, used to take care of most of that, but now that he’s retired, I’ve been drowning in it.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Pia saw Eva smile. Pia told Bailey, “My husband hates paperwork too, which is why he has several assistants.”

“Yeah, assistants.” Bailey heaved a sigh. “If you don’t do it yourself, you have to be a manager for somebody else who does. Or even a couple of somebody elses. I’m just not sure running a business by myself is going to work out. It takes away from the drinking and the suntanning.”

Pia laughed. “Bummer.”

As they talked, they stepped outside to walk the grounds. In the growing heat of the sunny morning, Bailey unbuttoned the jacket of her uniform, shrugged out of it and slung it over one shoulder. Underneath she wore a shoulder harness and gun over a plain white, short-sleeved shirt. The shirt hugged her lean torso and supple, muscled biceps.

Pia had gotten used to the sight of armed people as a daily occurrence a long time ago, but she couldn’t help but wonder—if Bailey was comfortable enough in her role to shed the uniform, why did she still feel the need to go armed?

After all, Bailey was essentially in her own home, and there were other guards around. When sentinels or other military personnel visited Pia and Dragos’s house for any length of time, they disarmed, left their weapons in a safe place—usually Dragos’s office—and relaxed. It was only when they were making a brief stop that they didn’t bother.

Did Bailey stay armed because Pia and her three guards were here? Or was it some other kind of Light Fae protocol? If Bailey was supposed to be on duty, perhaps she was required to be armed at all times.

And if she ran a security company in Jamaica, what was she doing here in southern California?

Pia filed those questions away to pursue another time. Hopefully, everybody would relax during her visit, and she might find a time to ask some of them at a later date.

The grounds were beautifully landscaped. They weren’t as glorious as the former Elven High Lord’s consort Beluvial’s grounds were, but Beluvial had a special gift for growing things.

Still, the Light Fae Queen’s gardens were beautifully kept and worthy of being featured in Home & Garden. When Pia thought of the sturdy, no-nonsense landscaping of grass, mulch and trees that they had decided to do around their home in upstate New York, a pang of homesickness washed over her.

Thrusting that aside, she focused on the present. “The weather is gorgeous,” she said, taking a deep breath and turning in a circle to admire the cloudless blue sky. “When I left home last night, we were getting a combination of rain and snow, with a forecast of more snow through today.”

“Did you bring your swimsuit?” Bailey asked. “L.A.’s forecast for the next week is more weather like today’s.”