Stalker in the Shadows

Phillip Bromley entered in an expensive business suit, holding a bouquet of red roses. The sight of the flowers and their vivid color made Shaun’s shoulders hunch and tighten like a bull pawing at the ground. Phillip had on a wide smile, and his eyes were fixed on Monica.

She met him with a polite smile. “Thank you, Phillip. You shouldn’t have.” Shaun thought she should have chucked the flowers at Phillip’s head, but she did hold the bouquet in front of her like a thorny shield, preventing Phillip when he tried to move in to give her a hug in greeting.

Phillip then turned to Shaun, who stood closer to Monica’s elbow than he knew he should. “Hi, Shaun. I saw your father last week at the Zoe banquet.”

“Hi, Phillip.”

“Are you meeting someone for lunch, too?” Phillip asked.

Shaun wanted to say no, to say that he’d been thinking of joining Phillip and Monica, but they had decided beforehand not to make it obvious he was watching over her.

“No, I’m not meeting anyone,” Shaun said. “I’m just here to take a leisurely lunch.”

Phillip gave a bland smile. “My mom went to the baby shower for your brother’s wife. She mentioned that your sister-in-law was worried about you. Something tragic happened down near the border, she said.”

His anger at Phillip for putting Shaun at a disadvantage warred with a flash of images of the drowning van.

“Every job has its stresses,” Monica interjected. “Businessmen have their own types of stresses, while law enforcement has an entirely different set. More physical, those requiring strength of body and mind.” She gave Phillip a bright smile, then shot Shaun a look that said, Don’t let him antagonize you.

Phillip’s neck had reddened at the mention of the “physical and mental strength.” Shaun wondered if Monica had said that deliberately, to contrast Shaun’s larger, more muscular frame to Phillip’s rather pasty, thin body.

The thought made him not mind her stern look at him.

“Well, we should get on with our lunch appointment,” Monica said. “It was nice chatting with you, Shaun.” She led Phillip to a table near the back of the restaurant.

Monica had already spoken to the restaurant owner, her friend Lorianne, about Shaun being her secret bodyguard, so Lorianne had given him a small table next to Monica and Phillip where he could keep an eye on them and eavesdrop on their conversation.

Phillip pulled out the chair to Monica’s right, about to sit down, but she placed the roses on the chair, preventing him. Her purse was on the seat to the left, so he awkwardly moved to the seat across from her.

“I hope you like roses,” Phillip said.

“Oh. Certainly,” she said carelessly.

A part of Shaun felt relief that she seemed to be making an effort not to encourage Phillip’s Casanova moves. She hadn’t mentioned that Phillip had a more than professional interest in her. Sitting only a few feet away, listening to their conversation, was harder than Shaun had expected it to be.

“I bought the roses because they remind me of the dress you wore to the Zoe banquet,” Phillip said. “You looked amazing.”

“Thank you,” she said simply.

“It was the first time I’d gone to the banquet. Do you go every year?”

“Yes. Dad has contributed regularly to Zoe International, and they hold the banquet every year to thank their largest donors.”

“Speaking of your father…” Phillip leaned in with a smile. “I heard a rumor that he was going to expand the Joy Luck Life Spa into a hotel. Is it true?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to ask him, since I don’t usually work at the spa,” Monica said with a neutral expression.