I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone that's taken the time to read and comment on this story! You don't know how nice it is to see that people are actually noticing my little ol' fanfic and are interested in the plot so far. I hope I don't let you down! And I'm so sorry this chapter took like a month. School and life just got kinda busy but I have no intention of abandoning this story. Once again, thank you everyone and I hope you like this chapter! ;D
Later that day (on Saturday morning, to be exact), Cato was going through his closet, sliding several shirts back and forth until he finally settled on one that would be appropriate.
No, no, no, why does that one have a stain, no, yes. He pulled out a pressed dark gray dress shirt and held it out in front of his as he inspected it. It looked clean. No wrinkles. He brought it close to his nose and briefly sniffed it and declared that it would do the job.
In just an hour he was supposed to meet the Bennett girl he would be looking after starting that following Monday and Brutus had emphasized how important it was to make a good impression. The older man had said that he didn't have to wear a suit but he still had to look clean-cut and professional. It wasn't like Cato didn't already expect that. He would be in Jack Bennett's home and he knew how much was at stake here.
He pushed his arms through the sleeves and straightened the shirt as he watched himself in his floor-length mirror behind his door. He grabbed his favorite black tie off the nearby dresser and began to tie it into his default Windsor knot. Once he was done and felt satisfied with how he looked from the waist up, he pulled on his black dress pants and looked in the mirror once more before making his way over to his bathroom.
Despite being so young, Cato had been responsible for himself for a few years now, and after working various jobs and saving for about two years, had finally been able to purchase his own modern studio apartment near the heart of downtown. It wasn't a huge apartment, but Cato only had himself to look after and ultimately didn't need much space. He had a small kitchen, enough room for a bed, a bathroom, some space for a guest or two. It was all he really needed. And it was close to work. What more could he want?
Stepping into the slightly cluttered bathroom, he reached forward to open the vanity and pulled out a dark bottle of cologne. He smirked slightly at the sudden memory of when he was a teenager and applied it for the first time. He had put on way too much and the scent was so strong it gave him a headache and the smell was stuck in his nose for days. He sprayed a small amount on his hand and dabbed it along his neck before dabbing his wrists.
Looking in the mirror once more, he quickly scanned himself over, mentally checking off his list on what he had to do to be ready for this meeting. He looked professional, but not too formal, his hair was neat, his face clean-shaven. All he had to do was put on his shoes, grab his keys and wallet and he'd be good to go.
He was walking out the door about five minutes later, locking the heavy door with a loud click before slipping his keys back into his pocket. He made his way to the parking garage that held his car and soon enough, he was driving toward the city limits after entering the address into the car's GPS. It was several years old and even he had to admit it had seen better days, but it would get the job done. If anything, it would get him close to where he needed to be. How hard could it be to find the famous Bennett mansion anyway?
About twenty five minutes later and several curses under his breath after taking a wrong turn or two, he finally found the long winding stone road Brutus had told him to look out for. And the Bennett estate was magnificent.
Along the road which had been laid with bricks, large magnolia trees with vivid fuchsia leaves were lined each side for about a quarter of a mile before he could finally see the mansion. Surprisingly, it wasn't exactly what he had in mind when he heard other talk of the enormous property. He had essentially pictured a castle but this house was much more modern than he would have expected. It looked like the kind he'd seen in a magazine, with asymmetrical structures and large windows that made up entire walls, allowing anyone to see the family's living areas as well as some rooms on the second floor. Naturally, he'd be concerned about the privacy of the Bennett family but then again, how many people beside them and the staff had even been allowed this far? He knew from Brutus that extra cautionary action had been taken when he agreed to this job; the agency already had background checks ready to show to their new clients but who knew what else they could have looked into about his past. Thankfully, he had nothing to hide or he obviously wouldn't have been invited to the man's family home.
Once he was closer to the house, he was met with a large wrought-iron gate with stone pillars and he suddenly felt a little nervous. He hadn't known about this. Was he just supposed to wait for them to open? Would someone come out to meet him? Maybe he should call his boss. He looked around, leaning against the steering wheel when he caught sight of a rectangular panel on the stone pillar nearest to him and he rolled down his window and slowly drove up a little closer. An intercom. Perfect. He reached out and firmly pressed the button, and waited. Moments later he heard a grating buzz from the device and a gruff voice emitted from it.
"Name and business," it grunted.
"Uh-Cato Marks. I have a meeting Jack Bennett's wife and daughter," he replied, wanting to kick himself for not answering with more conviction.
The intercom seemed to turn off for a moment before it buzzed again. "Proceed."
Cato nodded and watched as the large gates slowly opened up for him and let his foot step off the brake. He pulled up into the driveway and was met by two stern-looking men and Cato quickly turned off the ignition and stepped out of the car to greet them. After a quick inspection to make sure he wasn't potentially dangerous or was concealing a weapon, he was given the all-clear and was lead up to the front door, the two men still behind him. It made the blond feel uncomfortable, as though he was guilty of something he'd done or hadn't even gotten the chance to do yet. He reached up and rang the doorbell.
He could faintly hear the sound of someone calling out "coming!" before the double doors opened a few seconds later to reveal a petite middle-aged woman. The first thing Cato noticed about her were her soft green eyes and how they contrasted with her fair skin and shoulder-length dark hair. Was this Mrs. Bennett? Other than the faint crinkles at the outer corners of her eyes, he wouldn't have thought her to be older than thirty or thirty-five.
"Oh, you must be Cato Marks," she beamed, offering her hand and he shook it with a smile. "Yes, ma'am, that's me. And you must be-"
"Claire Bennett," she finished. She could sense the young man's nervousness and realized how intimidating this must be for him, especially with two large men watching his every move. She chuckled and gave the men a dismissive nod. "Thank you, gentlemen, I can take it from here. Come inside, Mr. Marks," she told him, stepping back inside and gesturing for him to follow her.
The two men replied with curt nods, still eyeing Cato carefully as they returned back toward the large gated entrance. The blond swallowed nervously and tried to walk as confidently as he could into the enormous foyer after Mrs. Bennett. With wide eyes he looked around the large space, in awe of the high ceilings, pristine white marble floors, and the grand winding staircase that brought his attention to the crystal chandelier hanging above them.
Claire looked over her shoulder and smiled warmly at the young man. He was much younger than the previous bodyguards her husband had employed. And much more handsome. Usually she would see this as a potential reason to be concerned but if Jack had approved of the young man then she would trust his judgement.
"So I want to thank you for coming all the way out here, Mr. Marks. I know it must have taken a while coming from the city."
Cato turned his attention back toward her and shook his head. "Please, Mrs. Bennett, call me Cato," he insisted. "And it was no trouble at all. I've never been this way before and it was nice getting to see what's out here. Your home is absolutely beautiful," he added a little breathlessly, still in awe of the surroundings and that a home as nice as this existed.
"Thank you, Cato," she replied, offering him a soft smile. She looked toward the staircase when she heard something upstairs and her lips curved into a small frown. She walked over toward the wall where another small rectangular panel was placed and pressed a button before leaning closer to the speaker. "Clove, our visitor is here. Would you care to join us?" She lifted her finger from the button and the two waited for a response that oddly never came.
Claire raised her brows and turned to Cato, hiding her annoyance with a smile. "Well. Why don't we move into the kitchen and wait for her to join us? Would you like something to drink, Cato?" she asked kindly.
Cato shifted uneasily on his feet, feeling the tension radiate from the older woman and tried to not show any signs that he had noticed. "Oh, um... Water would be nice, thank you," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck as he followed the other through the hall and into the just as impressive kitchen. Clearly something wasn't right but he knew it wasn't any of his business so he'd pretend not to have noticed.
Claire walked over to the refrigerator, the sound of her heels clicking against the tiles of the floor echoing through the room and Cato stood awkwardly in the entrance way. She pulled out a clear pitcher of water with a slice of lemon or two floating inside it and went to one of the many cabinets and pulled out a glass before pouring it.
"So Cato, tell me about yourself," she began, handing him the glass and leading him over to the table to sit down. "We're probably going to be seeing you quite often so it's probably best we get to know each other a little," she told him warmly before sitting down as well.
He cast her a nervous smile and took a sip from his glass. "Of course. I've always lived in this city so I know it like the back of my hand, so you don't ever have to worry about that. Lived with my parents but when they moved to Four, I decided to stay here with a family friend and–"
He stopped and they both looked up when they heard the sound of someone coming down the stairs (which Cato thought sounded more like stomping) and appearing at the entrance of the kitchen.
Other than the blank, yet slightly annoyed expression on her face, the girl was almost a carbon copy of the woman seated across from him. With the same fair skin and soft green eyes, the young petite woman was dressed in a light gray sweater, dark skinny jeans, and boots that probably cost more than anything in his own closet. Her hair, which was much longer and had a slight wave to it, framed her angular face which had a light dusting of freckles across her skin. She looked even prettier than she was in the small thumbnail photo in her file but Cato almost couldn't believe this girl was twenty. She looked maybe closer to seventeen or eighteen and wondered what it was about the mother and daughter that made them look younger than they actually were. She remained in the doorway as Cato stood up from his seat as did Claire.
"Clove, sweetie, this is Cato Marks," her mother said, walking over to her daughter and placing her hands on the younger woman's shoulders, gently leading her in Cato's direction.
Cato met her halfway and stretched out his hand, a small smile on his lips as he greeted her. "It's nice to meet you, Clove."
Clove regarded him skeptically, her green eyes scanning him up and down before reluctantly taking his hand. "I know."
"Clove," her mother said scoldingly before letting out a nervous laugh. "She's glad to meet you, Cato. It was all she's been talking about all morning." Clove pulled her hand back toward her side and looked away with a roll of her eyes. She supposed it wasn't a complete lie. Complaining did fall under the category of talking.
Cato let his hand rest by his side again as well and quickly understood what was going on now. Brows his raising slightly, he chuckled and decided to go along with it as though everything was perfectly fine. "I bet. Well, I'm sure this will be a pleasant experience. You'll barely even notice me and I'll make sure nothing happens to you. Promise," he assured her.
Clove suddenly looked much more alert as through just struck with an idea and turned to her new guard with a renewed interest. "So. Cato, was it? How long have you been on this job?"
"Four years," he answered simply, curious as to what she was up to.
"And have you ever failed at protecting the people you've worked for?"
"Nope," he answered quickly without missing a beat.
"Have you ever been fired by a client?"
"No, ma'am."
"Do you get to carry a gun? Have you ever had to shoot anybody?"
"Young lady, what are you-" Claire cut in, only to be waved off by her daughter.
"Yes, and fortunately no."
"Have you ever killed anyone?" she asked, her gaze boring into the blond challengingly, slightly impressed by his calm response. Whenever she'd interrogate her previous guards they'd ignore or dismiss her completely or just look flat-out uncomfortable. She wondered how much it would take to break this one.
Cato met her stare and smirked. If this was the game she wanted to play then so be it. He could handle this. "Not yet."
Having enough of this exchange, Claire linked her and Clove's arms and began to lead her into the other room. "Cato, would you excuse us for just a moment?"
Cato nodded, the same smirk of amusement on his face whereas Claire turned her furious expression to her daughter as they walked away.
Maybe this would be more entertaining than he thought. After only taking care of elderly millionaires for all this time, he'd be welcome to any challenges this girl threw his way.