“Dad, please let me be his bodyguard. We both know that only I can deal with Avner's cockiness and narcissistic tendencies”, Leonard tried desperately to convince his father into letting him take the job as the bodyguard for his first love, one he knew wouldn't be happy with his presence, but Leonard didn't care.
All he wanted was to make sure he got Avner's love and affection back.
“Leo, you know you are the last person he wants to see, right? And now you are asking me to make you his bodyguard? Avner hates you with all his heart. You can't just walk back into his life after you left him when he needed you the most”, Stephen, Leonard's father, reproached.
Although he didn't know the real reason behind his son's sudden disappearance from Avner's life, he knew what Avner had gone through after finding out that Leonard had moved to another country entirely, especially when he had needed him the most after losing his grandmother, the only surviving relative he had.
Leonard was Avner's best friend but unknown to Stephen, his son was also his employer's first love.
“Father, please you have no choice, everyone is refusing to work as his bodyguard because of his character, so you are stuck with me as your only option, don't worry I won't do anything to upset him, I'm just there to protect him and redeem our friendship”, Leonard said, putting his father in a tight position.
Stephen sighed deeply and looked at his son, contemplating if he should accept his offer or refute it. But he knew he couldn't even if he wanted to because Leonard was right about nobody wanting to work for Avner because of his character.
“Fine, you have the job, but only if he is willing to let you. Even though he gave me the power to decide who works for him and who doesn't, I still need to make sure he approves of whom I hire so you better pray hard that he accepts you as his personal bodyguard”, Stephen said and left Leonard's room as he was running late for an important meeting.
Leonard's face was plastered with a wide toothy smile, he was one step close to achieving his goals.
First, get close to him, then win him back, he thought as laid on his bed, focusing his gaze on his ceiling.
His attention was brought back to reality when his phone rang, he pulled it out of his pocket to see who the caller was. It was his best friend Jamil calling.
[“Jamil, why are you calling? Is there anything wrong at the factory?”], Leonard asked, immediately he picked up the call.
[“No, I just wanted to check on the millionaire who decided to leave everything he has worked for the past six years to be a bodyguard to someone who doesn't even want to hear his name or lay his eyes on him”], Jamil said with so much sarcasm.
Although he sounded sarcastic, he was concerned about his friend getting rejected and hurting himself once again.
Leonard rolled his eyes before replying to Jamil.
[“ I don't care what anyone says, I will make sure I get him back and if the only way to do that is by being his bodyguard then so be it Jamil, besides I didn't leave my company behind, you are over there handling things, and I'm trying to open a branch here while I'm busy with my love battle”], Leonard said with much pride, he wasn't bothered about what anyone really had to say or what their thoughts would be, all that didn't matter to him anymore, he just wanted the one he loved to come back to him, and he was willing to do anything for that to happen.
[“Well, good luck with your love endeavor, while I go back to making sure your company doesn't go bankrupt and Leo, remember I'm always on your side no matter what”], Jamil said and ended the call.
After the call ended, Leonard got up from his bed to take a shower as he waited for his father's text that Avner had approved him to be his bodyguard.
“I really hope everything goes my way”, he thought out loud as he made his way to the bathroom. He knew it wasn't going to be an easy battle for him to win, as he was the one who started all these in first place.
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“Good morning Mr. Sullivan”, Avner's Butler, greeted as he opened the door for Stephen.
“Morning, Charles, where is the young master? Is he still asleep?”, Stephen questioned as he took a seat, opening his MacBook to check Avner's mails.
“Young master didn't come back home last night. He went clubbing with Miss Sophia”, Charles informed Stephen, who stopped what he was doing immediately he heard what Charles had said and focused his gaze on him.
“He went out last night, alone? Without protection? And you let him?”, Stephen sneered and stood up from where he was seated, he started pacing around disoriented while he put a call to Avner.
“He is not picking, why is he not picking up my calls? Why would you allow him to go out alone without informing me? What if something happens to him? You and I both know that he has a lot of enemies, yet you let him go out alone with Sophia?”, Stephen flared up and began panicking as he wasn't getting any response from Avner.
He picked up his car keys and was about to leave when he saw Avner walk in, yawning, his eyes still heavy with sleep.
Avner walked past him and greeted him before heading to the kitchen to get a bottle of water from the fridge, he opened it and drank it all at once, he looked like someone who had just come out from the boxing ring. After he finished drinking the water, he threw the bottle on the floor and walked down to his favorite couch, threw all the pillows on the floor and lay down folding his legs and arms together, and immediately he dozed off.
Stephen just stood and stared at Avner thinking of what to do with him, he was becoming too much to handle. Even though Avner had a great sense of business, his character was as rotten as a rotting fish.
“Hm mm”, Stephen sighed before walking down to where Avner was sleeping, covering him with a blanket.
“Charles, Please make sure the chef has his food ready for when he wakes up and ask the maid to get his clothes ready”, Stephen ordered, he brought out his phone and sent a text to an unknown number before going back to his seat to continue what he was doing.
An hour later, Avner finally woke up from his deep sleep. He opened his eyes and scanned through the room to know where he was.
“I'm home? How did I get here?", He muttered as he rose and leaned backward into the couch while rubbing his head. It was obvious he had too much fun last night at the club and his reward was a serious migraine.
“I don't know what to do with you”, Stephen nagged as he handed Avner a bottle of aspirin.
“Thank you”, Avner said as he collected the bottle from his hand and took out two pills, then swallowed it before drinking the glass of water in front of him.
“I'm sorry, Uncle Stephen, I just needed to lose some steam. I have been too busy with the upcoming project”, Avner apologized immediately as he knew he was wrong. Don't get it twisted the only person Avner apologizes to is Stephen Sullivan and no one else, as he sees him as his only family. Stephen had been there for him all through his life on earth, and that alone makes Stephen a significant person In Avner's life.
“Go take a shower first and come down for your meal. Remember, we have a meeting by 2pm. Oh, lest I forget I have hired a new bodyguard, and he will be here any moment from now”, Stephen checked his watch for the time as he spoke to Avner.
“Okay”, Avner answered without asking questions, as he trusted Stephen's decision-making skills when it came to employing who works for him.
Thirty minutes later, Avner came down the stairs after taking his shower. As he walked down, he noticed an unfamiliar person whose back was turned towards him. He thought to himself that the body structure was familiar, and that alone piqued his interest and made him wonder who the unknown person was.
“Oh, he is here, Avner, here is your new bodyguard, Leonard”, Stephen introduced, guiding Leonard's attention towards Avner's direction.
Leonard turned around with a soft smile on his face and stretched out his hands for a shake, but what came next left everyone in shock.
“You bloody swine!”, Avner cursed out as he gave Leonard a heavy blow to his Jaw.
“Fuxk you!! Fxck you, who gave you the right to show your face in front of me?!!!”, Avner yelled out with all of his might, making the veins on his forehead pop out.
