LOVING MY BODYGUARDChapter 1: The Assignment
1444 Words
LOVING MY BODYGUARD
Chapter 1: The Assignment
The city never really slept.
From the upper floors of the Vance Tower, Lagos looked like a living organism—lights flickering like restless thoughts, cars moving like veins of gold and red, and noise rising even through thick glass like a distant heartbeat that refused to calm down.
Elara Vance stood by the window, barefoot on marble floors, watching it all without seeing it.
Behind her, the room was already full of people who talked too much.
“Security has been doubled at all exits,” her father’s chief assistant said, tapping furiously on a tablet. “We’ve changed your schedule, restricted public appearances, and increased surveillance both inside and outside the estate.”
Elara didn’t turn around. “So, I’m officially a prisoner now?”
“No,” her father replied sharply from the leather chair behind her. “You’re my daughter. And someone is trying to make that very inconvenient.”
That finally made her turn.
Richard Vance was a man who didn’t raise his voice often, because he didn’t need to. Power sat on his shoulders so naturally it felt like part of his body. Expensive suit. Controlled expression. Eyes that missed nothing.
Elara crossed her arms. “You still haven’t told me what this is really about.”
A silence followed—careful, calculated.
Then Richard exhaled. “We’ve received credible threats.”
“Threats,” she repeated flatly. “I get those every month. Someone online hates my face, someone at a gala hates my dress, someone thinks I’m ruining the company legacy—”
“This is not online hate,” he cut in.
That shut her up.
For a moment, even the air felt heavier.
Her assistant shifted uneasily. “Miss Vance, the intelligence unit intercepted communications suggesting a coordinated plan. It involves surveillance of your movements. Possibly an a*******n attempt.”
Elara blinked once. Then scoffed. “a*******n? Me?”
“Yes,” her father said simply.
She laughed, but it came out sharp instead of amused. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t even go anywhere without five bodyguards already shadowing me like ghosts.”
“Which is why we are changing the structure,” Richard said.
Elara frowned. “Changing how?”
The assistant hesitated before speaking. “A single assigned protector. Personal detail. 24/7 coverage. Less predictable rotation, fewer security leaks.”
Elara stared at him. “Absolutely not.”
Richard didn’t react. “It’s already decided.”
Her eyes narrowed. “By who?”
“By me.”
Of course.
Elara turned away again, walking slowly toward the window like she needed distance to stop herself from exploding. “So let me get this straight. You’re assigning me a shadow. One person. To follow me everywhere I go. Sleep outside my door. Listen to everything I say. Control where I move.”
“Protect,” Richard corrected.
“I didn’t ask to be protected like a fragile object.”
“You didn’t ask to be born into this family either,” he said quietly.
That landed harder than he probably intended.
Elara went silent.
For a second, only the hum of the city filled the room.
Then she spoke again, softer but sharper underneath. “And who exactly is this ‘protector’ you’ve chosen to run my life?”
Her father looked at the assistant.
The assistant nodded and tapped the screen.
The doors opened.
And he walked in.
Elara noticed him immediately—not because he was loud, but because he wasn’t.
He moved like someone used to silence. Controlled steps. Straight posture. No unnecessary emotion on his face, but not blank either. Focused. Observant.
Dark shirt. Tactical watch. No visible weapon, but she didn’t doubt he had one.
He stopped a few feet away.
“Adrian Cole,” he said.
Just his name. No greeting. No unnecessary introduction.
Elara studied him like he was a problem she hadn’t agreed to solve.
“So,” she said slowly, “you’re the guard dog.”
A flicker crossed his eyes—gone quickly. “If that’s what helps you understand it.”
Her lips curled. “I understand plenty. I just don’t like it.”
“I wasn’t hired for you to like it,” he replied.
That got her attention.
Her father cleared his throat. “Adrian is former special operations. Private security contractor. He’s handled high-risk protection assignments across multiple regions.”
Elara didn’t take her eyes off him. “And now he’s babysitting me.”
“I prefer ‘protecting,’” Adrian said evenly.
She stepped forward slightly. “I didn’t ask for you.”
“I know.”
“Good. Then you can leave.”
He didn’t move.
That alone annoyed her more than anything he could’ve said.
Richard stood. “Elara, this is not negotiable.”
Her jaw tightened. “You always say that when you’ve already decided to ignore my opinion.”
“Because your opinion doesn’t change the threat level,” he said.
A pause.
Then Elara laughed again, but this time there was no humor in it at all. “So I don’t get a say in who follows me around like I’m a target practice dummy.”
“You are a target,” Adrian said quietly.
Silence dropped instantly.
Even her father glanced at him.
Elara turned her head slightly. “Excuse me?”
Adrian didn’t look away. “If the intelligence is correct, someone has already mapped your routines. Your movements are predictable. Your security pattern is structured but reactive. That makes you vulnerable.”
She blinked once, then scoffed. “And you figured all that out in five minutes?”
“I didn’t need five minutes,” he replied.
That hit differently.
Not arrogance. Observation.
Elara studied him again, this time more carefully. “You talk like you already know everything about me.”
“I know enough to keep you alive,” he said.
“Charming,” she muttered.
Her father stepped closer. “He starts immediately.”
Elara’s head snapped toward him. “Immediately?”
“Yes,” Richard confirmed.
“So I don’t even get time to—what—prepare for my new jail sentence?”
“This isn’t a sentence,” Adrian said. “It’s a precaution.”
She turned fully to him now, their distance shrinking. “And what happens if I refuse to cooperate?”
A brief pause.
Then Adrian said, “Then I still do my job.”
That answer surprised her.
Elara narrowed her eyes. “You think you can control me?”
“I think I can keep you safe even if you make it difficult,” he replied.
Something about that confidence irritated her more than open defiance would have.
She stepped closer again, deliberately invading his space now. “You don’t know me.”
A faint pause.
“I don’t need to,” he said.
That was it.
Something in her expression shifted—just slightly.
Because that answer wasn’t what she expected.
It wasn’t admiration. Not fear. Not flirtation.
It was detachment.
Like she was a mission, not a person.
And for some reason, that bothered her more than anything else so far.
She turned away first.
“Fine,” she said coldly. “Stay.”
Her father relaxed slightly, like a decision had been sealed.
Adrian didn’t move.
Elara walked toward the door, then stopped without looking back.
“But let me make something very clear,” she said.
“Yes?” Adrian replied.
She glanced over her shoulder.
“If you think I’m going to make your job easy, you’re going to be disappointed.”
A faint pause.
Then Adrian said, “I wasn’t expecting easy.”
That made her stop for half a second longer than she intended.
Then she left.
---
Later that night, Elara’s room felt too big.
Too quiet.
Too watched.
She stood near her balcony doors, arms crossed, staring at the city lights again—but this time, she wasn’t thinking about the world outside.
She was thinking about him.
Adrian Cole.
The man who didn’t smile at her attitude.
The man who didn’t get nervous under pressure.
The man who looked at her like she was a responsibility instead of a person.
And worst of all…
The man who didn’t seem even slightly impressed by her.
From outside her door, she heard a faint sound.
Footsteps stopping.
Stationed.
Waiting.
Guarding.
Elara exhaled slowly, her reflection staring back at her in the glass.
“This is going to be a problem,” she muttered to herself.
Outside, Adrian didn’t respond.
But he didn’t leave either.
- Writer
