Hello, I hope you're all doing great. Here is the chapter two of my story Bodyguard. By the way, I'm sorry it took so long for me to translate this story into English… and I'm sorry by advance for the mistakes… English isn't my first language and I do my best.

Like an evidence

I had always had the postcard image of Madison Park: Washington Lake and his beautiful view… but I had never suspected that this neighborhood also incorporated pretty shady alleys, dotted with beautiful homes almost out of another century. Amelia Shepherd had visibly searched her pied-à-Terre for finding such a beautiful house, in a quiet corner, almost inhabited by a soul « village ».

I came back to the edge of the house of the singer after walking a tracking of surroundings to memorize the smallest details of the environment that would become my day for some time.
One thing was flagrant however the neighborhood was not at first a source of concern or threat.

I walk the stairs before announcing myself as during my first visit.
- Owen Hunt.
- Good Morning Mister Hunt, I open you…
It's Richard Webber again who welcomes me through the intercom, then who opens the door, the smile on his face. He shakes my hand while pressing me inside.
- How are you?
- Very well and yourself?
- Much better since your presence will be frequent here.
- I wanted to talk to you about the condition of my presence.
I hear a rustle on the floor.
My senses sharpened by so many years of work make me instantly raise my head and then I see her against the banister of the stairs watching us.
Her gaze directly finds mine and she moves on the stairs, running down the stairs quickly.
Unlike our first meeting, her hair is raised in a bun: she's dressed in jeans and a sailor sweater and travels the last meters separating us and I notice she is barefoot… and she looks much smaller than the first time.
- Good morning Miss Shepherd.
- Good morning, Owen… can I call you Owen? she asks me smiling.
- As you want.
- So it will be Owen and please, call me Amelia, I have a lot of trouble with the « miss ».
- Great.
Her manager at my side shifts slightly.
- Amelia, Owen came to detail the condition of his contract, you may have better things to do…
- In fact, I would prefer Miss Shepherd… Amelia to be present…
- No problem, if it's useful for me to be there…
Richard observes me again and finally speaks again, but I perceive a certain embarrassment on his side.
- All right, so let's get in my office.
He leaves before us and Amelia remains a few seconds to watch me.
- After you…
She smiles at me and ends up following her manager down the stairs.

I follow suit and enter the office I had already discovered during the first meeting.
Richard is sitting behind his desk when I sit in the room while Amelia landed on the dest next to me, feet swaying in the air.
I remain standing for my part, in the middle of the room.
- Did you receive details of my salary proposal?
- Yes, and like I told you, it's not just a point of conflict… By the way, we have prepared a contract that we will ask you to sign… especially on the confidentiality of all the information that you will be led to discover about the projects and the life of Amelia…
- No problem… beyond these administrative elements, I will have several conditions to honor my mission.
- You do not want to sit down.
- No, thank you…
- So we listen to you on these conditions…
She shifts to put on the front of the desk and no longer on the side to face me completely.
- First thing… you will have to make some changes to your house… I would like you to install a videophone and not a simple intercom and that each person who visits you is the subject of a prior appointment… Second thing, it will be necessary that all your windows are equipped with blinds and a « blurring » film which does not allow to observe anything of the outside…
- Ok… we will make the necessary adjustments…
- I'm not finished… Do you have a licensed driver?
- No, Amelia travels by taxi or with drivers punctually for certain events that are engaged in various companies.
- We'll have to change that…I want Amelia to hire a full-time driver and be her only middleman… a person that I will recommend to you, someone with whom I can work with full confidence… does it seem possible to you?
Amelia turns to Richard who is the one who finally speaks to answer me.
- Yes, we will be able to organize this… give me the name of your contact and we will engage him according to your modalities…
- Great… last thing… to protect Amelia… I must be the maximum of time nearby, ready to intervene at the slightest threat… constantly present to her… I have to stay here…
- Excuse me?
Amelia looks at me suddenly with big eyes, while resting her feet on the ground and leaving the office where she was sitting.
- I need room to settle down…
She turns to Richard and addresses him, almost forgetting me in the room.
- Richard… you told me about a bodyguard but not a roommate or a babysitter…
- Amelia…
- I understand that I need someone when I'm in representation or outside… but here in my house? Listen, Owen, I want to accept all your conditions, but this one seems to be completely disproportionate…
- Amelia, my conditions are not negotiable, it is to take or leave… if you have a problem, I will have to decline your job proposal…
- And well, in this case…
- Amelia…
Her manager suddenly takes the floor in a tone that surprises me, a tone that I had not heard from him yet.
- Richard, I don't see why…
- Owen, do you want to wait for us downstairs, please?
I nod and leave the room without waiting, anticipating that an explanation will take place between the manager and his protected.
I find the entrance to the house, taking a few steps back and forth.
I approach the living room on the side and scrutinize the room a little closer.
A fireplace dominates the middle of the room with an imposing corner sofa, all in blue/green, white and black tones that give a pleasant cozy impression.
My eyes are attracted by a picture frame the size of a painting, hanging on the Wall, just above the fireplace… a photo where I think I'm guessing Amelia with Richard… Amelia with a microphone in his hand all smiles, watching her manager at her side.
A picture almost family-like…

I suddenly hear steps coming closer as I realize that I don't know how long I took to observe this room and this picture…
- Owen?
I turn around again to the stairs to recognize Richard in front of me.
- It's understood that you have a room for you here… You had other requests?
This positive return, so fast, surprises me almost after the reaction that had had Amelia… to believe that Richard found the right words to convince her or that he has a flawless influence on the singer.
- No, I told you everything.
- Great, in this case, I will organize everything to make the changes that you have requested. Regarding the driver, are you coming back to me?
- Yes, I will need a few days to consult some of my contacts and I will send you the information as soon as possible.
- Ok, I'll have to leave you… I let you see with Amelia for the practical details regarding your installation…
- You believe that…
- Goodbye…
He disappears in a breath without I had time to tell him of my embarrassment to have to address this topic directly with Amelia… after her reaction disapproving my request.

The front doors slams while Richard just left the house and I find myself alone in the entrance… I was clearly destabilized by the beginning of this mission: I never had to live that kind of reaction from someone I had to protect.
Usually, they have always spontaneously understood the merits of my presence, including their intimacy… this context where Amelia is not fully aware of the threats weighing on her was more difficult to manage than I could have anticipated. And the discussion that was waiting for me in the next few minutes really disturbed me.
I enter the stairs and enter Richard's office, left open.
But it's an empty room that welcomes me. If she had decided to play hide-and-seek, I would soon lose my temper.
I go back to the corridor and I remain motionless for a few seconds, realizing that I did not know the house at all…
I hear some notes… piano notes…
I let my hearing guide me and my steps lead me to the room where I met Amelia. I don't hear the sound of her voice but just a melody.
A melody that seems familiar to me but I can't seem to associate the title or the interpreter.
The door is slightly ajar and I enter the room. I discover her eyes closed, fingers running on the keys of the piano, obviously inhabited by the music she plays. She plays a few chords then her fingers remain suspended above the piano, while she finally opens her eyes and finds my eyes directly… while carrying a hand to her chest.
- Owen! You scared me…
- Excuse me, I didn't want to startle you.
- It's nothing, I was just surprised to see you, I didn't hear you arrive…
She smiles as she gets up and shyly approaches me.
- Regarding my last request, I don't want to force your hand and impose…
She lowers her eyes for a few seconds then pulls them up to me.
- Richard told me it was necessary… that I need you here…It's just that I always thought I was protected in my house…I didn't really consider that your protection would be full time…
- It's partly my fault, I was probably not clear from the start, on what I envisioned.
- It's just that… well, Richard's reaction surprises me… He insisted that we apply all the measure you deem useful, including this one… and I have the unpleasant sensation that he doesn't tell me everything…
I remain silent watching her, uncomfortable to be aware of the danger that lurks around her and that leads me to demand a presence here, in what she considers her refuge.
- Listen, if you need time to think, I totally understand… you can give me your decision later.
- No, it's not necessary… Richard wants you…
- And you never question his opinion?
She does not answer my question as she walks into the room and gets ahead of me.
- You will know how to be discreet, right?
- You will even forget that I'm here.
- I doubt…
She walks in the doorway, walks down the hall and ends up looking back to me.
- You come?
I remain surprised by her question.
- Well, maybe you need to discover the house, right?
I'm following her penetrating a few steps in the hallway.
She beckoned me in the direction of the room we just left.
- This room is my little cocoon for writing, composition… I like not to be disturbed when I take refuge.
I notice that this room is located at the very end of the corridors as to mark the fact that it is a private and reserved territory.
Amelia continues in the hallway and announces the rooms that we fellow.
- Here is a first friend's room…
…Then my office…
Richard's office
We arrive at the junction of the stairs but she continues to a part of the house that I haven't explored yet.
- Here is a bathroom for guest.
She walks a few steps and this time takes the trouble to open the door and make me discover a room.
- Here is another room… and if you agree, it will be your room…
I study the room a bit more: an office, a typical Japanese bed, a dressing room, and a neutral and modern decoration.
- There is the necessary for you to settle down if you missed something…
- It's perfect…
- The bed is futon type, so hard enough, if it was not suitable, we can…
- It will be ok Amelia, I slept in much more rudimentary conditions in my life… it's very good…
- Okay… you can use the bathroom that I indicated right next to you. And the room you see a few steps in the recess of the house is my room… so if you wanted to kidnap me in the middle of the night, you should hear him before he comes to kidnap me…
I smile slightly while hoping that this scenario doesn't materialize.
- Ok, do you want a quick tour of the ground floor?
I nod while I follow her down the stair to find the entrance.
First, she goes right up the stairs leading us into a vast American kitchen.
- The kitchen…I like to Cook from time to time, it's an important room for me…you will have to tell me if you have food preferences.
- Don't bother with that, I will eat like you… I can't be a source of complexity in your everyday life…
She nods, retraces our steps, to advance in the living room that I had begun to study for a few minutes before.
- And the living room… the living room where I like to read books, watch a movie or receive friends…
Here, you have seen everything… I forgot to show you the terrace which is accessible from my music room… otherwise there you go for the owner's tour.
- Ok, thanks… you have a very pretty house anyway.
- Thanks…
- And I repeat myself, my presence must not change your habits, I must be there, without being there…you are at home, I'm not a guest but someone who is there to ensure your safety …okay?
- Yes, I just have to get used to the idea… I don't have the habit of having a man at home… apart from Richard, I mean… in my job, human relations are delicate and difficult…
- If I do my job well, my presence will be natural and you will not worry anymore…
I still feel indecisive and hesitant about what I ask… but the threats that intensify around it require this device… her address is known to the one who had a morbid obsession, unlike her, I didn't believe that this house was still a refuge.
- Do you have no commitments on the rest of the day?
- No, I'm going to work here.
- Ok, I'm going to get my things back and I'm settling in tonight if you agree.
- Uh…yes…yes, of course… you need Richard to help you?
- No, it's not useful…
She sways from one foot to the other while biting her lip and I'm convinced that she wants to ask me something but she does not dare.
- Amelia, you're okay?
She observes me a few moments then ends up speaking.
- Yes, I just have a question… a little silly maybe…but how long are you going to stay here? I mean, we're talking about two weeks, a month? What will make your presence no longer necessary? The day I finish my career?
She asks the last question in a nervous laugh… her remark takes me by surprise because I can't clearly explain to her what my mission is and how long it will last…
- I don't know… but the moment when you will not need me anymore will sound like an evidence…
She looks at me for a moment before murmuring three words while continuing to fix me.
- Like an evidence…