Lia rested her elbows on the designer desk, made from reclaimed aviation aluminium, as she studied the info on the screen, her chin resting in her palms; then her fingers flying as she typed on the keyboard. Tom has sent a blessedly small number of hopefuls for her to confirm for her sector, so she had managed to get some real work done.<br/>She looked at the time on her screen: 18:00.<br/>From the early morning to now, without counting the hour car ride to and from the afternoon show's location, and the time to get washed and changed into clean clothes before stepping in front of the cameras, she had been working 12 hours. Her only meal of the day had been a a mushroom pâté hors-d'oeuvre after the show.... But she needed to succeed.<br/>The others were only waiting for her to slip up to cancel her projects, eliminate the scholarships and reduce her role to that of a little figurehead puppet with no voice nor power, or worse...<br/>She could not let that happen.<br/>She would NOT let that happen.<br/>Lia reached for her simple black handbag, which she kept on a hook at the side of her desk, to pull out a small a5 notebook. The cover was made of sustainable materials: teak leaves, coloured red and treated with plant-gum to be water proof, and the inside was lined with recycled, stiffened cotton fibres.  Packed with notes and cuttings, it had lost some of its original sleek shape; the edges were frayed and faded from use.<br/>EverythiNg else about Lia was elegant and impeccable to the outsider's eye, so this notebook  contrasted starkly with people's image of her; precious few people had seen her holding it, and nobody had ever had the opportunity to even just glance inside its pages.<br/>She opened it to the front matter; carefully attached to the page was an old, faded picture of five young men leaning against a wall, laughing. One, in the middle, was holding a sign; the dark shadows of weariness under his eyes did nothing to lessen the bright warmth that shone through his smling gaze as he looked into the camera. In the corner of the picture, one could see black burn marks against the side of the wall, and the edge of an open garage door.<br/>Underneath the picture, she had written a quote: "Who doesn't experience a few explosions, when changing the world?"<br/>With a heavy sigh she carefully rested the notebook, open on the picture, against the bottom of the computer, and continued typing.<br/>She had at least one more hour or so in her before ending the day.<br/>Moments later, Lia heard the door begin to open and deftly put the notebook back into her bag.<br/><i>"Good day. I have an interview scheduled with you. The name is Aiden Alenko. It is very nice to meet you madam."</i><br/>She looked up at the unfamiliar voice.<br/>Her gunmetal blue eyes met his green ones and she caught her breath as a shiver ran down her spine.<br/>There was something so...Cold about his gaze. Harsh, almost hateful eyes were glaring back at hers as he smiled.<br/>No, there had not been such a glare! She was wrong: his smile was warm, his eyes bright, confident and almost joyful as they amiably met hers.<br/>Lia must have imagined it; she was tired, after all.<br/><i>Give this guy an honest chance. Keep an open mind.</i><br/>Her eyes studied him, taking in as much as she could in a second.<br/>She appreciated the quality of the suit and her eyes fell on the red shirt. That rich, ruby shade was her favourite colour... Did he know he was going to be meeting her specifically? If so, he had either really done his homework or he was very lucky. Either way, his attire was impeccable.  There was muscle under those clothes, this man kept in shape! However, the suit had been properly tailored to compensate, so he was the type of person who appreciated details... His hair was clearly hard to tame...She briefly wondered if it was secretly curly but too short to show. Was his hair as soft as it looked? Then she blinked, chastising herself for wandering into the irrelevant.<br/><i>Well, 10 out of 10 for presentation, I have to admit. </i>She told herself wryly. If she did approve him for hire, whatever department he would end up with would be quite pleased with this new eye candy.<br/>Lia smiled politely and stood up from her desk, walking around it to shake his hand.<br/>"Hello, Mr Alenko, thank you for coming."<br/>Her grip was firm and steady, but her skin smooth and soft. The only jewelry she was wearing was a small, Edwardian ruby ring which he might feel under his touch. It matched the antique earrings that danced delicately just below the ears, partially hidden by her hair.<br/>"Please, have a seat." She motioned to the black chair in front of the desk, and sat back down.<br/>"So, tell me..."  She typed his name into the server while she spoke; "...What qualities do you think would be of greatest use to Steadfast Enterprises?"  His curriculum, with annotations from HR, popped up.<br/><i>Application for Security. Excellent confirmed references. Personal Body Guard, for consideration.</i><br/>She raised a brow in surprise. Security? She is never sent people from security, that isn't her bailiwick.<br/>Lia listened to anything Mr Alenko had to say as she read the extensive curriculum. Her mind began racing.<br/>Why had they sent her this man?<br/>Who needed a body guard? Her father had his own, heavily-armed entourage. They always did their own scouting.<br/>She frowned slightly, and began to bite her lip before stopping herself. Lia took a small breath and smiled, her composure intact.<br/>"Would you like something to drink? I'll have Tom bring you some refreshments." She pressed a button and Tom hurried in.<br/>Blond, slightly plump but well dressed, his boyish face made him look like little more than a teenager, despite being in his late 20's. He might be occasionally clumsy, but had been a good, precise and loyal assistant since he started working for her 3 years ago.<br/>"Tom, have you met Mr Alenko? he's here for a spot in the Security department. Could you please bring him...Tom?"  She frowned as she saw her secretary turn deathly pale. "Tom? Please excuse me, Mr Alenko. I'll be right back."<br/>She stood up and walked swiftly with Tom out of the office. The doors were transparent, blinds up, so anyone in the larger office space would see if the interviewee tried any strange business, hence she wasn't worried about leaving him alone.<br/>"Tom, what's wrong? Are you sick? Do you need to go home?"<br/>"I'm...I'm sorry, Lia. I thought they were just rumours... But if they sent someone for Security to you it must mean it's true..."<br/>"What are you talking about?"<br/>"It's for your sake, Ms Frith." A deep, suave voice made her lip curl slightly in distaste as she recognised it; she relaxed her face and turned to face him.<br/>Monsieur Affreux. Her father's main adviser and the one in charge of his security detail, although she thought of him more as a bad influence: a callous businessman, a cutthroat mercenary who cared nothing for the workers nor the values the company aspired to honour.<br/>Tall and lean, with a sharp face and aquiline nose, she knew his thin frame hid a very agile and lethal force. She had seen him tackle someone who got too close to her father once, and she couldn't shake the feeling that Mr Affreux would have killed him without so much as a blink, had her father asked. Thankfully her father was a far better man than<i>that.</i><br/><i>A</i>lthough her father was strict and controlling, sometimes dismissive and almost cruel in his words to her, she knew it was because he was every bit as passionate about the company as she was, and that he was ultimately a good man. She understood she should be thankful of Mr Affreux's loyalty to her father, but something always chilled her when she looked at him.<br/>"You've been receiving death threats, Ms Frith,. and many of them." He smiled as he spoke, as if he found pleasure in relaying the news.<br/>She blinked, then shrugged. "Death threats? I've been on people's screens, it's not surprising. Anyone with even a modicum of notoriety runs the risk of a death threat from some bored folk with no real intentions..."<br/>"Oh, no, Ms Frith." The man tilted his head, and handed her a small bundle of papers. Her heart sunk as she saw the very  top picture.<br/>It was her, in the company gym, kickboxing. She wasn't looking at the camera but the image was so clean that it felt like she should have been close enough to see it. Without a word, she turned to the next picture: her, in her Steadfast 3 car. Her forehead resting on the wheel. Another photo: early morning, her front door, she's walking out with a small trolley... She blinked. That was this morning at 4 am. The trolly was her change of clothes for the show....How did she not see anyone?<br/>"There are more, you know. Your father has decided that until your safety is assured, you will be escorted by a worthy bodyguard, for your protection."<br/>"This is ridiculous! I don't need a babysitter. I'll just be more careful, we can notify the police and..."<br/>"I'm afraid your father insisted, Ms Frith. He has provided you with some curriculums so you could chose the one that you prefer."<br/>"I don't need this." She muttered, shaking her head, still processing this new information.<br/>"Are you saying you don't wish to be burdened with the decision?" Monsieur Affreux tilted his head, and her blue eyes snapped up to meet his. Oh, she knew his game: if she fought this, if she refused to pick a bodyguard for herself, one of Affreux's men would be assigned to her, hand-picked by him; they would be a spy for Affreux, who would know her every move...<br/>"I'll take this one" Lia motioned in the direction of Mr Alenko.<br/>Have the new guy relax in an office, staying out of her way, making an occasional appearance, then she could hand him over to the security dept. in a couple of weeks, with a pretty addition to his resumė. Surely it would be ok...<br/>Any port in a storm.<br/><br/><div class="bbCodeSpoiler">
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