The Bodyguard

0ooo0

Angela slammed the door to her room with unnecessary force. She walked to her bed, picked up a massive pillow and threw it across the room. As though swinging the innocent pillow wasn't enough to cool her down, Angela walked to where it landed and trampled on the thing with her foot, thinking about a certain dark-skinned woman with a tattoo under her right eye.

"How dare she? Order me around like that. Who does she think she is?" Angela mumbled angrily. She kicked the pillow away after she decided she was done torturing it.

Despite being sweaty and hot, Angela flopped down her bed and closed her eyes. Her anger had cool down now thanks to the pillow still lay abandoned on the floor, but another feeling crept up inside of her. It was guilt. She shouldn't have behaved like a total brat. She shouldn't have told Fareeha to go. She admitted there was something very intriguing about Fareeha that she couldn't not think about her. Aside from her striking appearance, with short raven hair, tall and lean, and piercing amber eyes, Fareeha's voice was what had captured her attention. It was low and full of power. It could melt butter and send shiver down Angela's spine. Angela was shocked that she had the decency to blush at the thought of her new bodyguard. She felt her face grow hot, her throat dry, and her body sweat even more imagining Fareeha wearing a little less clothes than she had had this morning.

"Stupid Angie! What the hell did you do?" Angela grunted, turned on her stomach and buried her face to her pillow. You shouldn't have shooed her away. You want her to stay, dummy!

Part of her was calculating the situation. It wouldn't be too late if she ran to Fareeha now and told her she wanted her to stay. But the stubborn and arrogant side told her the opposite. Why do you have to lower yourself? You are Angela Zeigler, the rich and famous singer, the gifted actress, the source of many fantasies. You don't need such a bodyguard like her. Angela pulled away from her pillow, sighing. She did want Fareeha to stay. She was just too prideful to say it out loud.

"Angie?" someone called out for her from outside, and it was Mei, her personal secretary.

"Not now, Mei," said Angela.

"Angie, captain Amari wanted to talk to you. She's waiting in the lounge," Mei gently said.

"What? Why?" Angela sat up so fast she felt dizzy and had to use her arms for support.

"Apparently, Jack managed to talk her down. They're waiting for you."

Angela's face formed a triumphant smile. She jumped off her bed, hopping in front of the mirror and fixing her hair. She applied some lip gloss to her lips and some blush to accentuate her cheek bones even though she knew she would take them all off once she took a shower. Angela looked down at her body and frowned. Her tank-top was darkened with patches of sweat, and she swore she could smell her own odor. She was tempted to take a quick shower but decided against it. She didn't want to test Fareeha's patient, not after her silly outburst earlier. She decided to change out of her sweaty tank-top and opted for a simple white tee. Even though first impression was very important, Angela had already ruined it, so she guessed she would have to try harder on the second impression. It was for the sake of her protection and nothing more, she concluded.

0ooo0

Striding confidently into the lounge, Angela's eyes immediately found the dark tall figure standing near the grand piano. There was no sight of Jack and others. It was just her and Fareeha in this room. Angela stopped to watch Fareeha. The tall woman seemed to not notice her arrival yet as she kept her attention on the piano, eyes downcast. Fareeha's expression was surprisingly relaxed as she glided her long fingers on the keys, playing a tune Angela didn't recognize. Angela's breath was almost taken away by looking at Fareeha's profile: dark and thick eyebrows, long and curved eyelashes, straight nose, full lips, prominent cheek bones, and a squared chin. Angela had seen countless of men and women in suits, but no one had had such strong effect on her like Fareeha had. Her simple dark-blue suit was just ravishing, and Angela cursed loudly inside her head for wanting to be hold by those strong arms. She took a deep breath before approaching her new bodyguard.

"You play?" asked Angela.

"Miss Zeigler," Fareeha turned to look at her with slight surprise in her eyes. "I used to."

"Please call me Angela," said Angela, moving next to Fareeha.

"Angela," Fareeha called, and Angela suppressed the shiver running through her at the way Fareeha wrapped her tongue around each syllable of her name. "I understand this is difficult for you to-"

"I am sorry for earlier. It was out of line," Angela interrupted the tall woman. She knew she was blushing, but she kept her gaze fixed in burning ambers. "I know I'm not a good negotiator, but I will try my best to work things out with you."

"And I appreciate that a lot," Fareeha replied quietly, maintaining their eye contact. "Angela, there's something you need to know…" Fareeha softly continued but was interrupted yet again by a different person.

"I'll tell her that, captain Amari. Thank you," said Genji as he joined them, followed by Jack.

"Tell me what?" Angela asked. She was surprised and annoyed at the fact that Jack and Genji had kept something from her. She shot Jack a look of hurt before turning her attention towards Genji.

"We will discuss this later, okay Angie? Right now we need to talk about how to 'rebuild' the house," Genji smiled at her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Angela knew it was supposed to make her feel at ease, but it did nothing of such. In fact, it irritated her even more, but she decided to wait. "Captain Amari, Jack and I will provide you with a construction team, and they will start working on the house tomorrow morning. I trust you will give them specific instructions?" Genji addressed Fareeha, smiling.

"Of course. Thank you," said Fareeha.

"I'll assemble a security team for you soon, Fareeha. On a second note, Angela has a dinner date with Vogue editor in chief tomorrow night. I know you asked for a fixed schedule but right now I can't have that yet. Give me a few days, alright?" it was Jack's turn to inform them all.

"Alright," Fareeha nodded.

Angela felt like she was left aside once again while they talked about her life. The anger in her bubbled up again, and it was so tempting to just let off steam right at the moment. She was certainly annoyed by the fact that Jack and Genji, her trusted people, had kept secrets from her, and then they moved on to discuss her problems without letting her have her own opinions. However, what angered her the most was that they treated her no more than a child in front of Fareeha. Angela was having a very civil conversation with her bodyguard. She and Fareeha had almost come to a mutual understanding, but it was all shattered by their intrusion, who thought they knew what best for her. Angela was not someone who let others control her life.

"Excuse me, but has anyone noticed that I am still present?" Angela said, loud enough for everyone to hear. She got the attention she wanted as the three of them stopped talking and turned to look at her.

"Angie sweetheart, I'll tell you what you need to know later, okay?" Genji quickly assured her, but Angela didn't want his attention.

"I'm not talking about that, Genji," she snapped. "Last time I checked, this is still my life, correct?" she continued, giving Jack a fleeting look before focusing her gaze on her new bodyguard.

"Of course…" Jack nodded, frowning in confusion.

"So, I would like to have a saying in this. Do you mind?" said Angela, pleased to see the three of them nodded in acknowledgement. "Lena and I are going shopping this afternoon, then we are going to lunch together after."

"Wait, what? Angela, you have a meeting with DJ Zip at 2. Don't tell me you forgot," Jack said. His eyebrows were now practically sticking together, creating ugly creases on his forehead.

"I didn't, but Lena is back from her trip. I want to see her," said Angela easily.

"Can it move to another day?"

"Sorry Jack, but no. I'm not going to put my best friend on second for some mediocre dude who produces cheap music," Angela shrugged, ignoring a shocking look Jack was giving her. "Is it a problem, captain Amari?" she shifted her attention to Fareeha, locking eyes with ambers.

"No, it's not. I'll escort you to wherever. All I'm going to say is you should minimize your outings as many as possible until I get everything ready," Fareeha replied calmly, staring back into her eyes.

"Oh come on, guys. It's just a lunch date. No one is going to get hurt!"

"We have to be careful, Angela," Jack insisted. He turned to Genji next, "I have to go and reschedule the meeting with Zip. He's not going to be pleased." Then, with a curt nod to Angela and Fareeha, he hurried out of the lounge.

"Who cares if he's pleased or whatever," Angela snorted, and she was pleased to see Genji laugh along. She turned to Fareeha, and just as she had expected, the tall woman's expression stayed stoic.

"Angela, I need to know who this Lena is," Fareeha said.

"She's my best friend."

"That's not the information I asked for. I want her record. I want to know what she does, what kind of people she associates with, and if it's possible, I would need to know her social security number," Fareeha said all of that in just one breath, and Angela was beyond shocked herself.

"Wait a minute. Are you investigating her?" asked Angela.

"Simply put, yes I am."

"Why?"

"For your safety, of course."

"She's Lena, for God's sake. She would never do anything to harm me!" Angela exclaimed angrily. She couldn't believe Fareeha would actually put Lena, her best of best friend, her family, as a suspect.

"We don't know that," despite her raging tone, Fareeha's reply was so cool and calm it irritated Angela to no end.

"No, you don't because you don't know her, but I do! She's my family, and I'm not going to let your obsession with bad guys upset her!" yelled Angela.

"Angela, I know why you react this way, but if you understand the situation, you will let me do my job," Fareeha kept talking in that low and calm voice with an indifferent expression, and Angela was so angry she even wanted to step forward and give her a slap across her face to strip off that mask.

"You know what? Screw you and your sick job! You will not touch my Lena. She's off limit. Period!" Angela barked, and for the second time, she stomped away fuming, leaving behind her new bodyguard, who infuriated her every single time they met.

0ooo0

"Angie, calm down," Genji called for Angela, catching up with her.

"She's just too much, and did you see the way she responded? She's getting on my nerves, Genji. I can't stand that face!" Angela cursed. She walked into the kitchen and yank the fridge open. She stood looking at nothing for a good two minutes because she didn't even know why she opened the thing in the first place. Angela slammed the fridge shut after deciding she didn't need anything from it. She moved to the kitchen island and sat down on the tool heavily. "She acts as if she's my boss!"

"You are your own boss, Angela," Genji sat down next to her, rubbing his hand on her back. "That Amari is a psycho, I tell you. It's like she sees bad guys everywhere."

Angela was silent. She knew Fareeha was far from what Genji had said. Fareeha had been in the military before, and she was an ex-special agent, or that was what Jack had told her. The Amari woman was the best of the best was what Jack had acclaimed, but when she asked him the reason why Fareeha left the force, Jack had given her a lie. Angela knew it wasn't because of money; it was something else. Something must have happened in the past that had Fareeha retired. Fareeha might look cold and untouchable, but she gave off the vibe of responsibility and honor. She wouldn't leave her job and teammates just for money.

"I still don't understand why we have to hire her," Genji continued, pulling Angela back to the present. He picked up an apple and took a big bite, humming in approval. "Want a bite?" asked Genji as he thrust his already-bitten apple to Angela.

"No, thanks. There are plenty for me in the basket," Angela frowned, looking in disgust at the messily bitten apple in his hand. She never understood how he could casually offer eaten food to people. This reminded her of one time Genji had joked about this particular habit of his, saying he was simply testing the food to see if it was poisoned. "What was it that you wanted to tell me?" said Angela, taking an apple for herself.

"Yeah, about that…Angie, the reason I kept it from you was because I didn't want to terrify you. You were so stressed out with the way things were before, so-"

"Just tell me already!" Angela cut him squared. She almost felt sorry for the way she had left his mouth hung open, but the curiosity had the better of her.

"Alright," Genji sighed, "There were a constant amount of letters from an unknown sender, threatened to harm you."

"What?" Angela exclaimed, eyes widened. "What kind of letter?"

"The words were cut out from newspaper and combined into sentences. Now, it might be just a stupid joke from your anti-fans…"

"Where are they? I want to see what's written inside," demanded Angela. She had already stood up from her seat, hand outstretched. "Genji!" she snarled when Genji had shown his hesitation.

"Fine! But reading them won't solve anything, Angela. This way," Genji stood up, walking out of the kitchen. He led her towards his study where he pulled out a pile of paper from the drawer of his desk. "Here."

Angela took the pile. She carefully opened one of the envelops, pulling out a sheet of paper. Her eyes darted from left to right, and a hand slowly crept its way to her mouth. The crumbled letter read:

DEAR ANGELA,

YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL UNGRATEFUL BITCH. YOU HAVE EVERYTHING, BUT YOU NEVER GIVE. YOU WALK CONFIDENTLY ON THE STREET, THINKING NO ONE WILL TOUCH YOU? YOU ARE WRONG, PRINCESS. THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WATCHING. ALWAYS.

"Angie?"

She heard Genji's voice, but she ignored him. Quickly dropping the letter to the ground, she opened another one, hands shook in anticipation. This time, the letter had illustration inside. She saw a red skull with a knife plunged deep into its head painted at the bottom left. Angela quickly swallowed a surge of panic. She took a deep breath and began reading.

DEAR MY PRINCESS,

I SAW YOU. YOU WERE ALL OVER YOUR HANDSOME MALE CO-STAR. YOU UNFAITHFUL WHORE. YOU THINK I DID NOT KNOW? I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU DO. PUNISHMENT AWAITS YOU. MARK MY WORDS.

Angela angrily tore off the letter. She crumbled it violently and threw it to the nearby fireplace. She quickly opened another letter, but Genji had stopped her hands. She threw daggers at him with her look as he had yanked away the pile of paper from her grip. "Give them back!" she barked, nostrils flared up in anger.

"That's enough, Angela. You need to calm down. Your face is burning," said Genji.

"I'm fine. Give them to me! Now!"

"No!"

She turned to a different voice this time and was shocked to find Fareeha standing in the door way. The woman regarded her for a few seconds before darting her eyes towards Genji. She strode to where he was and outstretched her hand.

"I need them, Genji," Fareeha used the commando tone, and Angela was stunned to see Genji handed her the letters without protest.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Angela growled, grounding on her new bodyguard.

"Doing my job," replied Fareeha, ignoring her burning stare. She tied the letters with a single rope and put them inside her jacket.

"Those are for me. I have not finished with them. Give them back!"

"For what? So you can tear off another evidence?" Fareeha finally looked at her. The cold and serious expression was once again plastered on that handsome face. "I think not."

"You!"

"Enough, Angela!" Jack roared, shutting her off.

Angela stopped immediately. She didn't notice Jack's presence until now. She guessed she was too angry and busy fighting with Fareeha to realize he had been in the room the whole time. Angela was about to lash at the old man, but she closed her mouth when she saw the furious look Jack was giving her. She knew this look. Jack rarely got mad. He was a pro at keeping his temper, unlike her. However, this was those very rare times that Jack had turned into someone you don't want to mess with.

"You're making it very difficult for me, Angela! Stop acting like a child for once and listen to Fareeha!" said Jack.

"You're not my father, Jack. I do and say whatever I want!" Angela yelled. She added volume to the latter sentence, addressing everyone in the room.

"Go to your room!" Jack bellowed, and the look he was giving her left no space for arguing.

Angela threw one last resentful glare at the old man before stomping out of the study, eyes stung. The last time he told her to go to her room was when she was being a brat to a director years ago, when she was just seventeen. Jack was never the man of authority. He used his tenderness and gentle nature to talk Angela in listening to him. He hadn't been forceful with her like this for years, and it wasn't like she was wrong, Angela thought angrily, wiping her tears away. She felt humiliated. She wasn't a child anymore, but he used that tone on her in front of a stranger, in front of Fareeha. Fareeha of all people! She laughed humorlessly at the thought of a very smug Fareeha who had just witnessed her downfall. Angela slammed open the door leading to a beautiful garden with a big pool in the middle and a massage tent at the far end. It was her private sanctuary. She strode to the pool, picked up a beach ball nearby and threw it in the water with great force. The ball made a big splash before bouncing away. She must be beaming in victory right now. What a jerk!

"Angela!"

Angela stopped and turned to face the owner of a familiar voice. "Lena!" she exclaimed, dropping another beach ball she had picked up, and ran towards the shorter person standing a few feet away. She threw her arms around the spikey hair girl, pulling her in for a bear hug. "I missed you!"

"Missed you too, blondie," Lena returned with a squeezing hug, laughing. Her thick British accent was so endearing to Angela despite its child-like pitch. "So, what has upset my little Angie that she decided to drown an innocent ball?" Lena asked after they had released each other.

"Oh, stop it you. I'm not little anymore," Angela laughed. The resentment and embarrassment she felt earlier had disappeared completely. "It was nothing big deal."

"Your face doesn't say so, ya know?"

Angela smiled. She put an arm over the other girl's shoulders as she walked them inside. "Come. I have so much to tell you."

AN: Alright folks, that was it for our beloved Angela. I know I made her into a little annoying princess in this chapter, but you have to imagine being in her shoes. She's rich and famous, and she got so used to people admiring her, not ordering her around like that. And she's a headstrong and confident woman, she wouldn't succumb to anyone. But I promise things will change in the future. Right now Pharmercy is just going to dance around each other.

Thanks for reading, guys! See you soon!