HER BODYGUARD

Even if it was by a woman he was starting to guess might never be happy with his job performance. A woman he had no chance to be with.

“You’re absolutely right,” he said with enthusiasm. “I really need to step up my game.”

Kimberly started to loosen her grip, probably feeling her sarcasm backfiring, but Asher held it firm. Instead of trailing behind her, he took two long strides ahead.

Now he was leading her.

Looking both ways, Asher tugged her across the street to the left, in between a lag in traffic. Had they both not run, they might not have made it. Despite Kimberly’s gasp of concern, Asher continued parallel to the block they’d just left before coming to the intersection.

He blew through it within another pocket of pedestrians until they were at the opening of a preppy clothing store. He didn’t waste any time and ducked through its double doors, passing through an invisible cloud of loud cologne and expensively dressed mannequins. One thin, very tan sales associate was on them within seconds.

“Can I help you two find anything?” the young woman said, eyes dropping to their clasped hands. She raised her expertly styled eyebrow as Asher kept moving.

“We’re just browsing.” he said.

The associate backed off, but not without a huff.

Asher scanned the tops of clothing racks and display tables for an exit. While he was familiar with the shops and buildings around her apartment, he didn’t know their layouts once inside.

This particular store was the first of several housed in a much larger mall. Another set of double doors could be seen in the back corner, leading to what looked to be a common area between the other stores.

Asher slowed, hesitating in his next decision. Playing into Kimberly’s teasing was fun, but pulling her into a busy area just to show he wasn’t a wet blanket? That was starting to toe the line that separated fun and responsibility.

However, Kimberly didn’t seem to care or to be currently struggling with his internal dilemma. She took advantage of his pause to untangle her hand from his.

“Come on, Mr. Bodyguard, let’s see if you can multitask.” She said,

Then she darted toward the back corner of the store and was at the common area doors before he’d even had time to process how the absence of her hand left his cold.

———————–

Kimberly wasn’t sure what had come over her. Maybe she was just in a good mood. Or maybe it was the handsome, dark haired man who had a backstory that tugged at her heartstrings, taking him from a man who was annoying to surprisingly human. The man definitely wasn’t of the stock variety. She realized she really liked Asher Adams.

Kimberly pushed into the common area of the minimall with a grin from ear to ear. Whatever had made this mood crop up, she was still enjoying it.

“Kimberly” Asher called from behind. She cast him a quick glance, noting he wasn’t sharing in her mirth, but kept going.

The common area had a good number of people bustling down the hall before turning into different chain stores.

Kimberly passed a shoe store and an electronics boutique before hitting a pocket of air that smelled so delicious it grabbed her full attention. She whipped her head upward to look at the second story. Her full stomach batted the thoughts of cookies out of her head, but the escalator leading up to them made her turn on the spot..

She gave her bodyguard another grin that she felt in her bones was as mischievous as she could muster and didn’t stop as she walked up the escalator.

“Kimberly,” he said again, warning her. But, really, what was he going to do? He wasn’t her father. He wasn’t her boss.

He definitely wasn’t her husband or boyfriend.

With another weird thrill of amusement, she let out a giggle that carried her along to the second story. Heavy footfalls sounded against the metal behind her as she hit the tile. Asher was now quickening his pace. So, what was a girl to do?

Kimberly matched and then added some speed of her own. Walking fast turned into sprinting, weaving through the shoppers with nothing more than a few nasty faces and words thrown her way. She didn’t care. Now she had a mission. She was going to lose her bodyguard to prove to him that, even if his intentions were good, they weren’t needed.

She could lose her imaginary tail. She could outsmart a man trained in surveillance. She could take care of herself.NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.

The humor she’d been feeling hardened into determination.

And above all, she was having fun.

Kimberly spotted an opportunity to slip out of Asher’s view when a group of laughing teen girls exited a coffee shop. She cut to the right of them and immediately ducked behind their group, moving toward the second escalator that led to the first floor.

When she righted herself, already descending downward, she looked over her shoulder at the bodyguard.

It worked!

Asher kept going straight, slowing but not stopping as he tried to get his eyes on her. The flush of success at evading her guard narrowed her focus as she hurried down the last of the escalator.

Sure, she’d just proven she could get away, but how far could she go? She had completely forgotten how badly it had turned out when she had gotten away from him before.

Instead of hurrying to the first-floor main entrance that deposited shoppers back to the sidewalk, Kimberly saw a second opportunity she couldn’t pass up. Past the public bathrooms at the end of a short hall at the corner of the building were two large metal doors that must have been primarily used for bringing in merchandise.

A rubber doorstop kept the door ajar. Beyond that she could see a strip of daylight. Kimberly booked it as fast as she could without her shoes slapping the tile too loudly, straight to and through the door.

It was the end of the mall, the building and the one next to it separated by the small walkway that ran the width of both. A set of industrial Dumpsters and their stench filled the small space, making her escape less ideal than she’d hoped it would be. But, then again, Kimberly didn’t care much.

She’d just outsmarted her bodyguard for the second time and his tailored knowledge of keeping tabs on people.