The next day, Castle is outside the bodyguard agency Gina told him to meet her at.
"Hello Rick" she greets him as she steps into the building with him on her heels.
"Gina" he says as he studies the lobby. It's a fancy place. Of course. With all the celebrities and hot-shots that come here, it can't be anything but fancy.
The walk over to the receptionist, and she sends them to Mr. Petersen's office. They go to where they're told and are met by a middle-aged guy in a fancy suit smiling at the possible new clients.
"Mr. Castle, please sit down" he says respectfully. "So you need a bodyguard?" he sits down behind his desk.
"Yeah"
"For what, exactly?"
"I need a low-key security guard, to protect me and my family"
"How many do you need?"
"One will be enough"
"Alright" Mr. Petersen takes a large folder and hands it to Castle. "These are all our low-key bodyguards. You've got the picture and their description"
Castle starts going through it and none of them really caches his eye. They're all tough looking guys who could certainly keep him safe, but not really low-key. He wants someone who doesn't look too much like a bodyguard. He doesn't need the media commenting on his need for a big-muscled gorilla to take care of him.
He's getting to the end of the folder and in the corner of his eye notices Gina's getting impatient. He's about to give up and choose one at random, when he sees her file. Katherine Beckett is her name. She's a beautiful young woman, who doesn't really fit the stereotype, which is exactly what he's looking for.
He barely glances at her description and qualifications when he shows the file to Mr. Petersen. "This one"
"Great" he answers with a smile on his face. The smile disappears when she recognizes the woman. Not her again! "Are you sure, sir? We've got plenty of other-"
"I want her" Castle cuts him off.
"Rick, are you sure?" Gina asks him. Just looking at the girl she isn't sure she would be able to take care of herself, even less of Castle and Alexis.
"She's just what I'm looking for" his mind is set. That's who he wants.
"Very well" Petersen sighs. "When do you need her?"
"As soon as possible"
"Alright. Do you want to wait for her here, or should we send her to your house?"
"I'll wait here"
He sends them back to the lobby to wait there. Gina leaves because she has to get to a meeting, so he waits alone,
Beckett's doing some training at the gym when her cellphone rings.
"Beckett" she picks up trying to catch her breath. It's the bodyguard agency. They need her to get there as soon as possible. Already?! "Okay, um- I'll be there in 20" she hangs up and rushes to her apartment to take a quick shower and change.
She wasn't expecting to be called so soon. After the whole thing with Mr. Petersen she was sure he would do anything in his power to stop her from getting a job.
As she drives to the agency, the excitement wears off and she starts getting nervous. Who would she work for, what would she have to do? She was hoping she wouldn't have to work for a starlet on her high horses. She wouldn't be able to handle it.
She practically runs into the building where she knows her very first Principal is waiting.
She's going to hate this so much.
Castle's getting impatient. The Angry Birds on his cellphone had only managed to distract him for 5 minutes. It's been over an hour since they had told him she was coming! Well, more like 20 minutes, but it felt like a lot more.
That's when he sees her. She's coming into the lobby looking a bit disheveled. He wonders what she had been doing before they called her in.
He gets up from his seat the moment Mr. Petersen steps out of his office and calls him and the girl in.
Castle walks into the office but doesn't sit; Beckett stands respectfully a bit behind.
"Miss Beckett" Petersen says and she walks closer to the desk. "This is Mr. Richard Castle. He'll be your Principal for as long as he needs a bodyguard"
She shakes his hand and nods respectfully. "Kate Beckett. You can call me Beckett" she sets the boundaries immediately. She had been given a list of the bodyguard protocol and one of the most important things to do, was to establish boundaries between Principals and bodyguards.
"Right" he gives her his playboy charming smile, to which she doesn't respond like he expects. She doesn't flinch. That surprises him, but regains his spirits quickly.
He's going to have fun trying to break that professional boring attitude of hers.
She internally rolls her eyes. She knows the guy. He wrote her favorite books, but she's not the kind of girl who would melt meeting him. She knows there are plenty of other girls who already do.
She's going to hate this so much!
Once the introductions are done, they leave the office.
"Mr. Castle," she wonders when they get to the lobby. "Are we going to your house?"
"My apartment, yes" he simply answers.
They decide to drive there separately, since they both have their cars. They'll figure out the rest once they're in his house.
She gets there before he does, so she waits for him in front of the building. As she's waiting, she starts to think about the logistics. How would everything work? Would she stay at his apartment? How long is this going to last? Her head starts swirling with questions, so she decides to talk with Castle – Mr. Castle – before freaking out.
When he gets there they get into the elevator and she silently follows his to his apartment. She tries to memorize as much of the place as she can, figuring out escape routes and everything that would be helpful in case of an emergency. In no time they're at the door of his loft and he opens it.
"Welcome chez Castle" he smiles as she stares at the place. He almost expects her to gasp in awe, which of course she doesn't.
She isn't really surprised. It is a nice place, but it's not like she was expecting anything less. "Nice place" she says as he invites her in.
They walk over to the lounge where he invites her to sit. "Want something to drink?"
"No, thanks" she sits on the couch in front of the chair he's sitting on. "So, what will you need me to do, sir?"
He grimaces. "Don't call me sir" it makes him sound old.
"Alright… Mr. Castle, what will you need me to do?" she repeats herself.
"Nor Mr. Castle" he figures it's too formal for him.
"Mr. Castle" she says pointedly. He's the boss, but she figures he's trying to break the boundaries, and if she's to work with him, she can't have that.
"Alright, alright" he lets it go. She won't be able to resist him forever. "Well," he finally gets down to business. "I will need you to protect me, of course" he scoffs; of course she's there to protect him!
She eyes him carefully and suppresses a smirk. Is he nervous?
"I- As you may already know, I'm a famous novelist" he says smugly.
"Oh, really?" she acts surprised. She's not about to help boost his probably already giant ego. "I had no idea"
That deflates his attitude a little bit, but it comes back in no time. "Anyway," he continues. "There have been some incidents with some paparazzi and my daughter, and I don't want that to happen again"
She notices the change of attitude when he talks about his daughter. He's more serious than she's ever seen him and his eyes show the determination of a father. For some reason, that throws her off a bit, more than his charming smile or his seductive ways.
She comes back from her reverie immediately. Boundaries, she reminds herself.
"Okay. So you will need me only when you go out, or…" she let him finish the sentence.
"Yes, I believe so" his signature smirk is back on his face.
She's relieved. She knows he will be a handful, but she's grateful that he doesn't need her to stay with him. She would have probably quit right then and there.
They decide that he will call her whenever he goes out, so they exchange phone numbers and he promises to call her about his outings with anticipation.
"Well, Mr. Castle" she gets up. "Call me whenever you need me"
"Of course"
With that, she leaves. He watches her go with an intrigued look on his face. There's so much he wants to know about her. It will be hard to get her to talk… But he will wait. He will be patient. This woman is a mystery… And he never leaves a mystery unsolved.
AN: I'm so glad so many of you are liking this! Hope you enjoyed this one.