Diva (Ironclad Bodyguards Book 2) by Annabel Joseph, Molly Joseph Page B

other artists in this festival. Her absence would disappoint attendees and create bad feelings in the EDM community toward our future promotions.”
    With every word, Ransom clenched his fists tighter. They didn’t give a writhing fuck about Lola, who’d almost died last night. They cared about profits and future attendance. He wanted to take the contracts spread out in front of them, set them on fire, and shove them down the men’s throats.
    But that wouldn’t accomplish anything but his firing, not just from this job, but from Ironclad altogether.
    “Can we have a moment, gentlemen?” asked Liam.
    Thank God. He had to get out of this room. Liam gestured for Ransom to precede him into the hall. Without thinking, he turned in the direction of Lola’s room. His boss walked beside him, his tall frame almost as large as Ransom’s. Female agents swooned over Liam’s handsome features and shoulder length hair, but Ransom respected him for being a thoughtful person. Another boss would have fired him by now. Maybe Liam still would.
    “I’m sorry,” Ransom said. “I just can’t stand the way they talk about her, like she’s a…a commodity.”
    “They think about the money. We think about the person. What happened last night? Your people don’t usually end up in the hospital. Is she salvageable? Are we in over our heads?”
    “No, she’s not a junkie. She’s not seeking out the harder stuff. She takes party drugs for fun, like ninety percent of these raver kids. She just happened to buy a batch of ecstasy with stupid levels of meth and mCPP. She hasn’t been using long enough to understand about testing for adulterants.”
    “Then you’d better educate her. That’s the thing about these infant superstars. People assume they’re smart because they have money and power, but they’re really just…”
    “Kids. She’s a struggling kid, and nobody cares. Those assholes back there don’t care.”
    “You care.”
    His boss accompanied those blunt words with an assessing gaze. Ransom shrugged, feeling heat rise in his cheeks. “Of course I care. She’s a client. I care about my job, and Ironclad’s reputation—”
    “You care about her. You’re torn up about this.”
    The stare deepened. Ransom felt the flush spread to his neck. “It was scary last night. I’ve never had a client code on me. I thought she was going to die in front of my eyes, and it would have been…”
    Would have been so senseless. So horrific. So soul-destroying.
    “It would have been a huge waste of a talent,” he finished, because every other answer seemed to skirt dangerous ground.
    They stopped outside her room. The curtains were drawn, but he knew what she looked like in there. Small and defenseless. Innocent, even though she wasn’t innocent. Pathetic, for all her vaunted fame. “On stage, Liam, she’s incredible.”
    “Yeah, I gather she’s good at what she does.”
    More words burst out, rough with regret. “I hate that I fucked up on the job. I left her alone for ten minutes. I thought she was with the manager.”
    “They’re hiring a new manager.” Liam paused. “Shall I have them hire a new bodyguard? There’s nothing wrong with saying a situation isn’t working for you.”
    “No.” He didn’t even stop to think about it. “No, I want to finish the job.”
    “Are you mentally up to finishing the job? I’ve never seen you rattled like this. You look like hell.”
    Another quality Ransom admired in the Ironclad CEO—his directness.
    “Not only that,” his boss continued, “but you’re not presenting yourself to the clients with your usual air of capability. It’s natural to hate those fuckers, hell, I abhor them and everything they stand for, but they’re paying for your services and you need to behave professionally. They need to be reassured that you’re competent. If you want to finish this job, you’ve got to pull yourself together. You made a mistake, and both of you survived it. I’m