The Bodyguard

Training

Chapter 2

"Try again, fail again. Fail better." —Samuel Beckett

•••

Chapter 2 - Training

Stella's POV

It has been a whole week since my last interview. Still I haven't managed to find a single job. I have looked everywhere but no store, bakery, restaurant, or bar is willing to hire a 26 years old female with no experience whatsoever. Not even a night club is willing to hire me to stand at the door. As if it's the end of the world that I'm born with a v****a instead of a p***s.

"How's it going, grinder?" Becca said coming out of the kitchen and handing me a hot cup of tea.

"Not good" I said folding the last newspaper I had and throwing it back on the table.

"Maybe I should completely give up on this bodyguard job and do some type of qualification for fashion or cooking instead. Who knows I might get a job then"

"No no young lady you are not doing that. You did not work your ass off, serve this country and live like s**t for so many years for no one to hire you later on just because you're a lady. You are going to find a good job and you going to get hired. Just don't give up"

"Me not giving up won't pay rent next month" I groaned.

"I have got a gold necklace I never wear. We can sell that & I can see if mom and dad can help furthermore. They know how it's been looking and I'm sure they won't mind. You know how much respect my dad has for the military"

"Becca no. I won't let you do that. You and your family have already done so much for me. You don't deserve this"

"You neither Stella. You keep forgetting that"

*Ring Ring*

My phone went off.

"Hello" I picked up not recognizing the number.

"Hey! Is this Stella Smith?" The voice spoke on the other line.

"Yes. Who am I talking to?"

"Hi! It's John, John Rain. The guy you met at Lucas office"

"Oh John! Hey! What can I do for you?"

"I'm calling to inform you that you got through to the next part of the interview. Congratulations!" He said attempting to sound excited.

"What?! I mean wow thank you but how?"

"It did require some convincing but what matters is that you got through at the end"

Holy shit...

"Well thank you so much. What happens now?"

"So, you and 5 other interviewees are going to start training for a few weeks, about 5-6. After that we will decide on two people who will stay with us and officially get the job. Everyone will get paid for the hours of training of course" he added, and I tried my best to refrain from jumping around like a little kid.

"Alright sounds good. When do we start?"

"Well.. that's the catch. First training is today. Will you be able to make it during such a short notice?"

"Yeah.. that's fine" I replied not worrying about that. I know my skills and I know that I can do whatever is required. I did mentally slap myself for the two double chocolate muffins I had yesterday though.

"Great! I will send you the address and time. I'll see you then!"

"See you soon, John"

"Bye Stella" he said, and I couldn't wait until I made sure we hung up before I yelled and jumped around the house running to Becca and hugging her.

"I got through!! I f*****g got through!!!"

"Yay.. what does that mean..?" She said and I slowed down to explain.

"According to John, his assistant I guess, I got through to the second part of the interview. I will be training with him and 5 other people who applied for the job and they will pick 2 from us to permanently get the job. Until then we get paid for the training. I'm literally going to get paid to go to the gym Beccs" I said overly excited, having no idea what was ahead of me.

"See! I told you! Congrats!! Know what this calls for?"

"No..?"

"A celebration obviously!"

"You mean 'an event where Becca gets wasted and Stella drives her back home, don't you?"

"Or we can just stay in, order food and put on a movie"

"As much as I love the second idea, I got to get to the first training. It's supposed to be today. John will send me the address and time"

"Fine. But we will celebrate later" Becca spoke as I nodded.

"I gotta pack a change of clothes and take a shower before that. Thanks for the cup of tea though" I said quickly getting up and making my way to my room.

"You didn't even drink it-" She started but I was already in the other room grabbing some clothes.

"Becca?" I yelled while grabbing some clothes.

"What's up?" she yelled back

"Wanna grab breakfast at Eduardo's in 30?"

"Say less" she yelled back as I smiled and quickly hopped in the shower. I gave my body a quick scrub, shaved my legs and arms and quickly shampooed and conditioned my hair. I wrapped the towel around me as soon as I got out and dried my body quickly before jumping into my clothes.

"All done?" Becca said walking into my room.

"Yeah just gotta brush my hair"

We then proceeded to make our way out of the house and to Eduardo's bakery. Everyone loved Eduardo in the neighborhood. After all, how could you not adore this man? He's a 51 years old chubby, Italian man with phenomenal baking skills and even more impressive family of 7. He had all his kids at a young age so most of them are grown up now and living their own lives, especially after Eduardo and his third wife decided to file for a divorce. His bakery has so many people who love it that he had it turned into a little coffee-shop about a year ago. He became like an uncle to so many people in this neighborhood and so many people try coming for breakfast here as often as they can.

"Good morning our favorite Italian uncle" Becca said as soon as we walked in.

"Becca! Stella! Good morning darlings! What can I do for you?"

"I'll take a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant" said Becca as he typed her order on the screen.

"What about you, Stella?" Eduardo asked.

"I'll do a salmon bagel and an iced coffee, thanks"

"That will be two minutes" Eduardo said walking away as I swiped my card.

"Are you alright?" Becca asked making me snap out of my daydream.

"What?"

"You zoned out. Grab your card"

"Oh right.."

"Are you alright?" she asked again.

"Yeah just nervous about tonight I guess"

"What's going on tonight?" Eduardo asked coming back with our coffees.

"Stella got through one of her interviews. Her bodyguard interviews" Becca explained.

"That's wonderful. Congratulations!" Eduardo said with his thick accent making me smile.

"Thank you Eduardo"

"What's the matter though? You don't look very happy"

"The boss is an asshole. I'm afraid he'll try to make me fail the training on purpose"

"Why would he do that?" he spoke with his thick New York, Italian accent and if I didn't know him better I'd think Eduardo was going to set a bounty on him.

"I was kind of an asshole during the interview. He was being sexiest and straight up told me that he wanted someone who would protect his life, not someone like me"

"Just kick his ass. Simple" Eduardo said making me chuckle before my phone vibrated.

"Oh gosh" I groaned.

"All good?" Becca asked.

"Not really. John just sent me the address. Getting there with public transport will take forever"

"What are you crazy? Take my car"

"Eduardo you really don't have to-" I started but he cut me off.

"Sweetheart I want to. Now that that's sorted, go enjoy your food while I grab the keys from the house. If anyone comes by tell them I'll be back in 3"

"Eduardo?" I said before he left.

"What's up?"

"I owe you so many. Thank you so much"

"Silenziosa, you have nothing to thank me for" he said hugging me before heading out as Becca started laughing. His Italian always makes her laugh.

"What would we do without him?" I asked as we took our food from the counter and sat down.

"Hopefully, we will never have to find out"

•••

After enjoying breakfast with Becca in the bakery, we headed back home for a few hours before she had to get ready for her shift at the restaurant and I packed some workout clothes. Training was starting in less than an hour so I thought I should head out soon.

I made my way to Eduardo's black jeep and got in. Holy s**t I'm so thankful I don't have to take the public transportation and walk in this sweaty weather. I turned on the car and quickly turned on the ac before typing in the address in the GPS. Should take about 25 minutes to get there. Perfect.

Traffic wasn't that bad, so I arrived a few minutes earlier than expected and made my way inside the building marked on the map after parking the car.

I looked around the building, carrying my bag and trying to find out where to go now. I checked the message again but not much was said apart from the address and time. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't stressed. Last time I was late it went alright but that was pure luck. I had a feeling I wouldn't be so lucky every time.

Eventually my eyes landed on a man I recognized.

"John! Hey!"

"Stella! Good to see you again" he spoke reaching for a hug.

For some reason it didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable.. it felt as if I have known John for a lifetime. He was wearing an outfit similar to the one I saw him in when we first met. A pair of formal pants and a button up shirt.

"You too!" I replied.

"We should head up. Are you ready for training?" He said and started walking towards the stairs as I followed him.

"I am. Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Changing and we are still waiting on Lucas. You should go in and change too. We didn't originally have a females locker room, so I hope this room is alright" He said as we stopped in front of a few doors. "You can lock the door and keep the key with you if you want to leave your bag there when you are finished. No one will have access to this area apart from the group, so it should be safe. I'm still sorry about that though"

Shit Lucas would be here too.. I don't know why I didn't really expect him to be here today.

"Oh no worries. It's fine thank you" I started but then speak of the devil, Lucas appeared behind me.

"Good evening" John said to him and he just nodded back.

Asshole.. he smelled pretty good though I wasn't gonna lie.

"I should go change too. Just meet me and the rest here when you are done. The key should be in the door" he said as I nodded before turning around and making my way to the room where he had pointed before.

I got in and locked the door behind me. It was a small room with a green sofa and round table in front of it. It had a pretty comfy vibe about it and the room was pretty warm. I'd honestly love to fall asleep in here. The lights weren't that bright either. I took a deep breath and snapped out of my daydream about falling asleep and quickly changed into a pair of workout leggings and a sports bra. I put on a lose shirt over it and changed into some workout shoes. I put my hair into a ponytail and put the rest of my clothes into the bag before grabbing my water bottle and heading out.

"f*****g finally" I heard someone say as soon as I got out of the room. God help me not be the one to kill this man by the end of this. I rolled my eyes and looked up to see 7 men just staring at me.

"Stella. Great. Full crew. Alright everybody let's head to the ring and we will talk there" John said as everyone started walking there and he stayed behind until he walked beside me.

"I didn't know Mr. jerk was going to be here" I said for some reason trusting John and he just burst out in laughter.

"You and him don't get along for some reason. Why is that?" He said once he stopped laughing.

"We don't have the same values & priorities I guess" I said remembering the interview and how well that went.

We arrived at the ring and Lucas eyes didn't leave me and John. He looked really displeased. Jeez dude calm your ass down.

"We are going to start with some basic stuff. Some one on one drills and see how everyone does from there. Kyle you are with Steven. Michael you are with Chris. Tony you are with John and Stella you are with me. Pair up everyone" Lucas spoke firmly.

Fan-f*****g-tastic.

"Stella just a word before we begin?" John said as I nodded, and we walked a few feet away.

"What's up?" I asked

"Just try to not get on his nerve in the beginning. Based on your application, I truly believe that you are the most qualified here, but Lucas doesn't see it yet" he spoke as my eyes wandered to Lucas.

He didn't look the least bit happy.

"He really has that much trouble with the fact that a woman can get the job?" I asked not fully understanding where all of this was coming from. Surely, he isn't that childish.

Disrespectful piece of s**t? Probably, but I was hoping that he isn't that childish.

"Just show him what you are made of and prove to him that you are worthy. Once you get the job, get on his nerve as much as you want" John said as I took a breath nodding. At least I have John on my side. I really didn't want to come here and make enemies.

I sighed before looking up at Lucas again.

"I'll make sure to get on every tiny nerve once I secure this s**t" I spoke before making my way to him, making John laugh out loud.

"You f*****g done yet?" Lucas said when we walked back to them making me fight hard not to just kick him where the sun does not shine.

"Pair up and start already" he said as John gave me a look almost saying, 'remember what I just said' and I sighed.

This will be a long one... please tell me I can punch him soon.