All He Wants Read Online Free PDF Page A

doozy. Jessie had pretty much just thrown down the gauntlet. If Maxi wanted to remain employed at SPC, which was her dream job (literally—he remembered that she’d put this job on a vision board as soon as she’d graduated college) she would have to play nice and agree to twenty-four hour protection.
    He heard Maxi inhale through her nose slowly as her fingers gripped the arm of the chair even tighter. A mental image of her face on one of his favorite cartoon characters, Yosemite Sam, popped in his head, complete with smoke coming out of her ears as she turned bright red. Her temper was slow to build, but once it reached critical mass…it was best to take cover.
    “This is a gross overreaction to several totally unrelated incidents. I refuse to agree to this. I have no problem having a new security system installed in my condo and even beefed-up security at events. As far as the rest, while I’m on SPC grounds, I will go along with being babysat . But if I’m not on the clock, I don’t see how it is ethical to enforce any kind of mandatory requirements for protection .” He could hear the desperation in her voice as she grabbed at straws.
    “I understand your frustration, but try to put yourself in my shoes.” Jessie’s tone softened to a melodic, nurturing lull. “What would you do if the tables were turned? What would you do if the same exact ‘unrelated incidents’ had taken place with someone on your team? Or even more, your friend?”
    It surprised Billy every time he saw the gentler side of Jessie. The woman was all business, all the time. When his best friend and light-heavyweight world champion Zach Courtland had met Jessie, Billy’s first thought had been that she was cold and detached. An ice princess. Actually, his first thought had been that she had a nice ass, but he’d kept that observation to himself.
    Over the last couple years that Zach and Jessie had been married, Billy had learned he was wrong about his initial assessment. Of her cold personality, not her backside. He’d been spot on with that one. Again, he kept that opinion to himself.
    “Let’s look at the facts.” Jessie said calmly. “Six weeks ago your car was vandalized in the parking garage of your apartment building. Four weeks ago a disturbing package was delivered here, to the office, with your name on it. That package contained two dead birds. Two weeks ago, your email was hacked and pictures of you in the shower at your gym were sent to everyone in the building. And this morning, your apartment was broken into.”
    Billy knew all of those things. He’d heard Seth say them and seen the facts in black and white. But hearing them again, out loud, sent white-hot anger surging through him. Part of him knew that he had to remain calm. Losing his shit wouldn’t help anyone, especially Maxi. But right now he wanted nothing more than to find this sick fuck and kill him. Not hurt him. Not scare him. Not turn him over to the police. He wanted to end his life.
    Jessie rested her forearms on her desk and leaned forward. “The probability of these incidents not being related is slim to none. We’ve dealt with issues like this before when fans of our clients have mistaken a publicist for a romantic interest. We have a protocol.”
    “Look.” Maxi scooted to the edge of her seat and closed the employee handbook. Her back straightened as she placed her hands flat on her thighs. “As much as I appreciate everyone’s concern, I am more than capable of dealing with this. Alone . I will even agree to check in with the security company every hour, on the hour, if that’s what it takes. All I plan on doing this weekend is staying home, catching up on work and doing some light reading. I won’t go anywhere by myself. If I need to leave the apartment—which, thanks to Seth is now more secure than Fort Knox—I’ll ask my neighbor Jana to come with me. It will be like the buddy system in elementary school.”
    After his grandma had