That was not what she had asked, nor should it have made her feel any better. After all, Neo was really just a student, not a friend or a protector, but he made her feel safer than she had in years. Maybe ever.
And wasn’t that thought just a tad overwhelming. Neo would walk out of her life without a backward glance in less than a year’s time. His lessons would be over and he would move on, but Cass did not think he would leave her unchanged.
And maybe that was okay.
It had been too long since she let anyone inside, but even if it led to pain and loss down the road, it might well be worth it.
“I’m sure your personal assistant will love that. She doesn’t like me,” she said to cover her nearly overwhelming relief at his offer.
Cass could not imagine spending the day trailing after the high-energy billionaire. But for the first time in years, just because she couldn’t imagine it, did not mean she refused to try it.
“Miss Park? She is a very efficient personal assistant. I do not pay her to like or dislike people.”
“Just because you don’t pay for it, doesn’t mean you don’t get it.” Did the man really think people worked that way?
“I have acted somewhat out of character in my dealings with you. No doubt that surprises her.”
“Really?” Cass let go of his jacket and smoothed the expensive fabric. “I guess that doesn’t surprise me. Even I realized you offering to come this morning was not the norm.”
“No, but here I am.”
“Why is that?” she asked. Was it possible he felt the same almost primal connection she did? And what would she do if he did?
No way would a dynamic man like Neo Stamos tolerate the cramp in his style a relationship with her would cause.
“I believe I am making a new friend for the first time in more years than I care to count.”
“Oh.” Of course he hadn’t felt the same amazing attraction. Neo was surrounded by gorgeous, fully socially functional women. Cass wouldn’t even register a blip on his female companionship radar, but friendship wasn’t something to dismiss lightly. Not for her anyway. She didn’t have so many she could or would want to dismiss his offer. “I think I’m honored.”
“As am I, by your trust.”
“I do trust you.”
“I noticed.”
Cole cleared his throat. “I’ve seen enough to write my preliminary report.”
Neo’s face twitched just enough to let her know that like her, he’d forgotten the other man was there.
“Good. I’ll expect it on my desk by afternoon.”
“For the rates you’re paying, I can make that happen.” Cole smiled as if he didn’t mind rich clients throwing money at a problem they expected him to fix.
It was a good attitude to take, she was sure. If you wanted to keep working for said rich clients.
“I’d like to see the report as well,” she said.
Cole’s smile warmed up a couple of degrees as he turned it on her. “No problem.”
“Naturally,” Neo said at the same time.
And then like the whirlwind he was, Neo Stamos was gone, his security consultant along with him.
CHAPTER FOUR
CASS read the security report, her heart sinking further with each recommendation.
No way was all of this going to be done in one day, or even two. Despite most of the security upgrades being offered with options that made them as unobtrusive to her current lifestyle as possible, they were far too extensive for a single-day implementation. Looking at the report, she had visions of workmen coming and going, invading each and every room of her sanctuary, for a week at the least.
She appreciated Cole’s efforts to keep the changes in the background, she really did. Just as she was grateful he had brought the report personally, instead of sending a messenger as he told her he had done for Neo.
However, no amount of understanding on the part of the security expert could alter the fact that he was recommending several anxiety-producing modifications to her home. Not least of which was a state-of-the-art alarm system that governed every window and door in her house.
Should she accidentally set the alarm off, a hundred-plus decibel noise would assault her ears and those of her neighbors. Not only that, but the system would be hooked into his private security company for twenty-four-hour monitoring. Someone there would have access to duplicate keys to all her outdoor locks. Even though Cole called the system typical in its implementation for residential security, Cass felt like it was all too cloak-and-dagger for words.
Cole had also recommended replacing all of her doors and windows with more secure models. He wanted to install biometric locks as well. She knew biometric referred to locks opened with retinal or fingerprint scanners, which almost sounded intriguing, if a little redolent of science fiction. She might actually like that upgrade.
But by far, the worst elements to the proposal, and the ones given the least explanation, were those recommended for the outside of her home. Cole wanted to cut back the lilac bushes her mother had planted the year Cass’s parents had moved into the house. And that was only the beginning of the landscape changes he wanted to make outside.
There was nothing for it. If Neo’s privacy and safety were the reasons for the upgrades, Neo would simply have to have his lessons in the studio. Which is what she told him when she called him a few moments later.
“We have already discussed that option and I do not find it acceptable.”
“Then we’ll have the lessons at your penthouse.” Why hadn’t she thought of that before? “You’re planning to get a piano anyway. It would be beneficial to have your lessons on the instrument you use for practice.”
“What is the problem here?” he asked without a sign of impatience, which rather surprised her. “I have looked at the report and I thought Cole Geary did a fair job of minimizing the impact of the improved safety measures.”
She rolled her eyes, though of course he couldn’t see. “For someone like you maybe.”
“Someone like me would require an armed guard on the premises at all times.”
“Sucks to be you.” The words just slipped out, but she meant them. With every fiber of her being. She could not imagine spending her days under constant observation.
A surprised bark of laughter sounded. “I’ve got to admit that is the very first time in my adult life that particular phrase has been directed at me. What is even more astonishing is that I can tell you mean it.”
“The life of a high-profile businessman is not for me,” she said, amusement making the first tiny cracks in the wall of anxiety that had been building since she had agreed to have the security consultant come over yesterday.
“It’s a good thing you are just my friend, not my business partner.” He sounded like he was smiling, if not laughing outright.
“I’m sure Zephyr Nikos is grateful for that as well,” she said dryly.
“I don’t know. I can push too hard at times, but then so can he.”
It amazed her how humble the tycoon could sound after all that he had accomplished in his thirty-five years. She couldn’t afford to get sidetracked by admiration though. “I, on the other hand, may not be pushy, but I am also not a pushover.”
“I never thought you were. It takes determination to refuse the lucrative life of a concert performer.”
“My