Judgement

noun
1: a formal utterance of an authoritative opinion
2: a formal decision given by a court
3: the capacity for judging or the exercise of this capacity

"I'm pleased you chose our company for your security needs, Ms. Stewart," said the lady with the sharpest pair of eyes I've ever seen. Though her hair was snowy-white, she didn't look a day over 45 and I got the feeling that she wasn't someone to be trifled with.

"You are said to be the best," Lisa declared in a lofty tone. As my manager, she was in charge of my choice of security firm, much to my chagrin.

Bodyguards, I give a mental sigh. Every other actress in the business had a couple of creepy fans, and I didn't really see the need to hire personal security, but Lisa insisted. My parents insisted. Even Chloe insisted, and she was one of the most optimistic people I knew, so I finally caved.

Church & Best was well-known in the business and often provided security detail for people of much higher profile than me, but Lisa wouldn't let me hire anyone but the best.

"Please follow me, I'll take you through our training facilities and introduce you to the protection officer we selected for you." Ms. Church thankfully bypassed Lisa's rudeness and smoothly guided us out her office.

As she walked us through the building to a huge gym, Ms. Church explained her officers' training regimen in precise, clear terms and, frankly, it all sounded pretty insane. I was just an actress with less than six years under my belt and not nearly enough awards to warrant all of this.

I was two seconds away from being completely overwhelmed when Ms. Church called out in a soft voice, which strangely echoed through the gym like a shot. "Peck? Front and center."

Activity ceased around us and the whole room seemed to collectively hold its breath. My eyes widened when a blonde woman jogged over. Her hair was short and ruffled and my fingers twitched with the impulse of straightening out the wild strands. Laughing blue eyes swung between us and Ms. Church and my breath caught when they locked briefly with my own.

"You bellowed, Ms. C?" The woman – Peck? – asked with a cheeky grin.

Ms. Church looked entirely unimpressed with the woman's cavalier attitude, but I got the feeling there was a lot of mutual respect between them. "Peck, these are Ms. Holly Stewart and Ms. Lisa Stokes, her agent. This is Gail Peck, and I believe she's the best fit for your security detail, Ms. Stewart."

Before I could open my mouth, Lisa butted in. "What? She's smaller than me! She looks like a strong wind would blow her away!"

Ms. Church's response was as quiet as it was chilly. "I assure you, Ms. Stokes, Peck is one of our very best."

"There's no way this skinny waif can protect Holly! Why not that big guy over there?" Lisa pointed to the biggest guy in the room. He stood head and shoulders above everyone and looked like he could crush a horse with his beefy arms.

"Lisa!" I hissed under my breath. Why did she have to be so freaking judgmental? I did not want that guy anywhere near me. He looked as conspicuous as a bulldozer.

"Hey, it's fine." Gail shrugged, her easy grin never wavering. "You should be able to choose your own meat shield, right?"

I blinked at the unexpected response. She didn't look the slightest bit offended, which was a given nearly every time Lisa opened her mouth.

"But, you know, just for reference?" She went on, moving a few paces away from us. "Hey, James! Show them what you got!"

The big guy, James, let out a booming laugh and shook his head, then started running in Gail's direction, arms poised to grab and probably crush her much smaller frame.

"Oh my God!" I choked out a warning, only to nearly swallow my tongue as Gail grabbed one of his reaching arms and threw – threw! – the man over her shoulder. Before any of us could recover our wits, she had him face down on the mat, arm locked in what looked to be a painful grip behind his back. A knee between the shoulder blades pretty much kept him from moving an inch without dislocating his arm.

I'm sure my chin hit the floor and I could see Lisa's thunderstruck expression from the corner of my eye. Gail's grin was positively evil and hit me straight in the gut.

"You know what they say about books and covers, right, Ms. Stewart?" Gail winked. "Underestimating me would be a mistake."

"You're hired!" I blurted out and was rewarded with a slow smile.

Holy crap.

A/N: If anyone here looks familiar, that was on purpose. I regret nothing.