"This is true. I'm not kidding." Kester replies to whatever Henry was asking.

I'm not listening. Seriously, their work is hectic paperwork. Henry spends most of his time reading and writing documents.

"Let's ask Rob." Henry says.

I groan. Ever since Ash asked about my duty change, Henry thinks Ash has accepted me.

If only he knew.

"Oh, come on. It's an easy question. Which of Ash's song is your favorite?" Henry asks, leaning on his knees with his elbows.

I think for a second about lying. Say a song or tune I heard him play when he was recording or practicing. Nothing stands out.

"I'm yet to listen to his albums."

I'm rather proud of my diplomatic reply. I haven't out right said anything negative. But three pairs of eyes stare at me, unblinking.

A moment ago, Boss was engrossed in reviewing the security feeds. Now he looks like I confessed about kicking a dog or something.

Kester clears his throat. "Are you saying, you've never listened to his songs?"

Suddenly, I'm self conscious. "I— it's just—"

Is it bad that I haven't?

"It's alright Rob. You don't have to be his fan to be his bodyguard." Boss says, his tone light and teasing.

My shoulders sag in relief and I crack a smile. "I don't try new music. I kinda have a preset albums."

"He is the perfect sample!" Henry crows. He pats the couch next to him. "Sit. Answer this survey honestly." He takes his tablet out, tapping on it madly.

"What are you guys talking about?" Boss asks setting down the laptop.

Kester turns to him. "Surveys. The recent one was conducted on his ardent fans to gauge their expectations. Seventy four percentage of them want his next song to be a steamy number."

"Oh." Boss says.

"It's not really that surprising." Kester says with a chuckle. "His fans are growing up right along with him. Explicit songs are actually a trend."

Boss breathes out heavily, "I'd rather have him go back to his old trend," the nostalgic look on his face clearly proclaims his love for those songs. That's a surprise. Ash is relatively new in the music industry. Boss as his fan is hard to imagine.

"You and me both." Henry sighs. "Rob, do this survey." He pushes his tab in my hands.

I've been trying to unwind around Boss, see him as a friend, treat him like Tolan or Corey. So I decide to be casual and ask.

"So you guys are his fans?"

Kester laughs. "Proudly."

Henry and Boss both bow their heads.

"But you said his fans are his age."

Kester beams. "True. That's the core of his fan club. But he has a song out there for everyone. A family with members from three different generations could sit in and listen to his albums. Not a bad word or inappropriate innuendo in any of his songs. They're all gems. You should just listen."

Not a bad word? Every other word out of his mouth is a curse word. He is yet to talk to me appropriately. All of our conversations till now are inappropriate.

Which means his songs are not real. Ash is as fake as a celebrity musician can be.

And Kester is campaigning Ash and that's definitely not fake. Kester seems to genuinely like him.

Ash is still an asshole to him. And yet Kester has nothing bad to say about him. What's the deal?

"Start with 'A Mile Ago.' It's my favorite." Henry suggests, grinning wider.

"Or 'Take My hand.'" Adds Boss.

"Or 'Found In A Crowd.'" Kester says.

I look between their grinning faces like they are aliens. They go through hell on a daily basis because of Ash. How can they even hear his songs, let alone have favorites?

"But don't tell him. He'll be insufferable." Henry warns. "Now do this. This is a new survey to find out how to pull in people like you."

I smirk. "You asked for it. I'm not sugar coating."

"Just do it."

I start going through the questions and answer ruthlessly. I hand it over to Henry once I submit the survey.

"That fast?" Henry tsks.

My Secpho fills with an urgent voice of Seb. "Breach in Succulent."

It's a studio owned by Ash in the center of the city.

Boss stands up. "Details."

"A guy with nano recording devices was caught."

"I'm coming over." Boss takes the car keys and gives me a glance. I mirror his stance and nod.

Henry sighs. "What now?" He asks watching Boss walk out.

"Someone got in with spy stuff in Succulent." I explain.

Kester groans. "I should go then. Change tomorrow's schedule."

Henry gets up. "I'm going home. Call me if you need me Kester. Bye, Rob."

I'm left alone in the living room. I hope Ash doesn't come out of his room until Boss is back.

Breaches like this are common. Someone is always on the lookout for fresh news about celebrities. Recording studios are the weakest point.

Ash will still act like his phone is stolen.

But then Ash is a lunatic.

Yesterday he was screaming 'please' while he was having sex with some college girl. When he sent her away he said thanks so loud I was embarrassed on her behalf.

I know it's all for my benefit. However I don't know if he's mocking me or being real. Who in their right mind says thanks for accepting my dick? Or please consume my hard on.

Asshole.

He is so...cringe inducing kind of jerk. And he is in love with Boss. And he wants my help.

I scoff at the empty room. As if anyone can make Boss fall in love.

Martha's face comes to my mind. We have gone on a few more dates. She's incredible. But I don't think I'll fall in love with her anytime soon.

That's the mystery of love. Heart wants what it wants. Sometimes it's unrequited. Sometimes you let go and find someone with whom you can be content. There's no success formula in love.

Ash, the phoney song writer doesn't seem to understand that. He thinks he can get love like everything else in his life. With the use of his money and bitching tantrums.

He's gonna be disappointed.

"Rob, code blue." Corey says in my ear piece.

Sudden adrenaline pumps through my body. We never get code blue.

"What happened?" I check the gun under my belt and move closer to Ash's bedroom door. Code blue means breach inside the house.

It's fucking rare. My heart beats wild.

"Stay with him. Button cams in the kitchen. Jonas is sweeping the house for more."

"Fuck." It's Boss. I forgot he'll also be on line.

"I'm gonna sweep his room, Boss." I say, taking the detector from under the table. We usually use it on Ash's girls.

"Keep me posted." Boss replies in a grim voice.

I mute my line and knock the door lightly. It'll be so much easier if he's asleep.

"Yeah?" Ash calls out cheerfully.

Not my lucky day.

"It's Rob, I'm coming in."

I open the door without waiting for his reply.

Ash is in his bed, a notebook open on his lap.

His face breaks into a grin. "Buffy! To what do I o—"

He jumps up mid word when I start sweeping the detector on his desk. "What happened?"

"Breach."

"Oh my God! Oh my God!"

He follows me as I move to the closet.

"Is there a video? Of me fucking? Oh God!"

I stop and turn toward him. His eyes are wide and he is standing on his toes. I don't know if he's excited or worried at the prospect of a leaked sex footage.

"Let me do my work and I'll answer your questions." I say and turn back to sweeping.

"Where's Nick?"

Of course he doesn't listen. What was I expecting?

I ignore him and continue my work.

"Who do you think did it?"

His bed is so huge. I start from the head rest.

"Oh fuck! Is it Linda? The nerve! I fucked her respectfully!"

I sigh. I can as well answer him, if not, he will come up with his own stories. The notebook has fallen down when Ash got up. I pick it and give him.

"Her name is Lisa. And no. We don't know who did it."

I move to the other side of the bed and continue.

Ash huffs. "I'm sure it's her. She's set out to ruin me."

He plops down on the bed.

I finish the sweep and straighten. "His room is clean." I relay the update on Secpho.

"Stay with him. This looks big." Jonas says.

My chest burns in anger. It's already big.

"How big?"

"Another breach in the Eastline studio. And a false ID in grocery delivery. All in the same day."

I groan, so much is happening outside of this room, I'm only getting second hand news through Secpho. "Who is in tier three?"

"I'm here Rob. Don't worry, I'll pose without my middle finger up." Milo replies.

I laugh along with Jonas. It's an old joke about paparazzi. "Stay safe, man."

As I mute my mic, I realize that Ash is listening to my one-sided conversation from the bed.

Shit.

"What's big? Where's Nick?"

"He is investigating a breach in Succulent."

"WHAT?" Ash gets up abruptly, a pen flies to the side.

He is next to me in a flash.

"Tell me everything. NOW!"

I resist a wince at his high pitched order. "Three identified breaches and one fake ID."

"All today?"

"Yes."

"And Nick is not here!"

"Succulent was the first. The others were later. So..." I shrug.

Ash starts pacing back and forth.

"Oh, God. Oh, GOD. Oh, my fucking GOD."

"Ash. It's all under control." I try to stop him.

"Nick is not here."

I don't want a code red on top of code blue. At this rate Ash is gonna work up a sweat and break something.

I put an arm out to halt him and talk in a steady voice.

"I won't let anything happen to you."

Assuring his safety is the only way to calm him. That is the lesson I was taught.

It isn't working now. Ash glares at me with renewed anger.

"WHO WILL SAVE HIM?" His eyes are wild and wide. The nerves in his throat looks about to burst open.

"What do you mean?" Who else is there to save?

"They're gonna shoot him! Kill him! He is gonna die. No.. no.. take me there now. Take me there. Buffy! Take me there. I won't let him die. Not again! We have to save Nick! NOW!"

He shakes my arm in a death grip.

"What the fuck?" I'm completely stumped. What we are trying to contain is a privacy breach but Ash is going on and on about personal safety, that too for Boss of all people.

"Don't you see! This is all a set up. He is out there all alone!"

To my utter shock, Ash starts sobbing. One moment he's glaring, in the next moment he's hiccuping with sobs.

No one told me he is capable of crying.

No one told me I'm capable of consoling someone I hate.

But it seems both are God blessed facts.

I extend my free arm. "Hey... hey..."

He shakes his head. Completely desolate. "We have to go and save Nick. Please, Buffy."

I have never seen so much pain in anyone's eyes. Ash looks broken, helpless and unhinged.

Shit. Finally I connect the dots. He is triggered. But not for the reason I assumed. He isn't worried about his safety. It's for Boss. It must always have been for Boss, after all it was Boss who got shot few years back.

Everytime Ash got angry when Boss wasn't around him, he was worried for Boss.

Why haven't Boss figured it out yet? He thinks Ash is afraid to stay alone. Heck, everyone thinks that. Ash is known as a bundle of paranoid behaviors. That's not news.

The news is, it stems from his love for Boss.

My heart warms a little at this revelation.

"Hey, look at me." I grab his shoulders and give a gentle nudge.

He bites his knuckles trying to push back the sobs. I pull his hand away.

"Boss is perfectly fine. He talked to me just a while ago. Cops are with him, investigating. He isn't alone. He is safe. Okay?"

He nods, but tears keep streaming down.

"You sure?" His words tremble.

My heart twists hearing his broken voice. "Yes, Ash. Promise. All we have to do is wait. He'll be home soon."  I wipe his cheeks. "It's not as bad as it looks. Trust me."

He moves closer and his tiny arms wrap around my waist in a tight hold. "Don't leave me." His curly head is pressed on my chest.

I put my arms around him, moved by his sudden trust. "I'm not going anywhere."

He sobs silently.

I start rubbing his back and speak softly. "There, there. Don't cry, Ash. It's okay. Nothing to worry. Boss is okay. He is safe."

"Took another bug from the receiving room." Jonas says.

"Finish first floor and bring everything to console room." Tolan answers. His voice is hard and irritated.

It's understandable. These breaches shouldn't have been possible. We are the best freaking team. This place is impenetrable. Some fucker had made us fools.

How did this happen?

Ash hiccups loudly, bringing my attention back to him.

"How about some water?"

I swipe his hair away.

He hugs me tighter.

My arms tighten in response.

It's as if he's starved for physical contact. Which isn't true. He is always in contact with someone.

"Come on. Sit down. You're standing on your book." I whisper.

Without moving, he looks up at me. "Will you sit with me? Please?"

Jesus Christ. Who is this boy? Begging me? He never begs. Not ever.

Or maybe I don't know him like I thought.

His eyes shine like round cut black marbles with unshed tears. He is not the star celebrity Ash I see daily. This is a clingy, needy, unknown Ash, a worried boy.

Something like pity takes control of my actions.

I ruffle his hair. "Of course."

I steer him back to his bed and sit him down.

Distraction. I should distract him.

The notebook catches my attention.

"Were you writing songs when I came in?" I pick it up.

He looks up.

God, how can he look so... pained?

I sit next to him. Immediately he leans on my side. "You can read."

"You sure?"

There are famous stories about staff fired on the spot. Not even Henry is allowed to open his note books.

Ash nods, hugging my middle. I place my arm around his shoulder and set the notebook on my lap.

The first page has a big, handwritten print of his name.

The second page is a pasted over sticky note with four neatly written lines.

Your fingers travel down.
One hard finger stands up.

I flip to the next page without reading further.

It's also a glued paper. It looks like the notebook is a collection of assorted papers glued in.

This one is a long poem.

At the very end
We're both wet.
Your tongue is the gift.
When the mounds mount..

I shut the notebook with a slap like it has a poisonous snake inside.

"Good ones are further down." Ash says matter of factly.

I clear my throat. "Are you trying to write steamy lyrics?"

"I don't have to try."

That's true. He has more sex in a week than I had in my whole life.

"Then why haven't you released any steamy songs?"

"Hen will have a meltdown."

I inspect the closed notebook. It's rather fat due to the stuck in papers. I can see that the notebook is almost complete.

Ash continues. "This is just for me. Whenever I write something super sexy, I put it here."

"You will run out of papers soon."

He rubs his cheek on my side. "This is my twelfth notebook."

"Oh." That's a lot of songs about sex.

"So... um... you won't tell anyone. Will you?" He asks in a tiny voice.

"About?"

"This. My horny songs."

"I won't." I say, offended that he thinks that I'll betray his privacy.

"Good. I'll deny it until my death if you tell."

I'm taken aback by that. "Why? Are you ashamed?"

Ash scoffs. "Are you ashamed? You didn't get past couple of pages."

My face heats up. "I'm on duty. I can't—"

"It's okay, Buffy. You can take it home and read."

I panic. I can't read these things. "That won't be necessary." Discretely, I place the notebook on my side. "Your fans want you to write explicit songs. Kester said."

"Hah! Never! Buffy?" His tone is tentative.

I look down at his bowed head on my chest. "Yeah?"

"Can you call Nick?"

That's easy to do.

I pull my earpiece off and place it in his ear. "He is briefing."

I watch in amazement when his lips lift up in a smile as he listens to Boss talk.

"Happy?"

He shakes his head. "Get him here. I can't rest until he is safe. I don't want him to be alone."

"Why?" I know that there was a shoot and Boss got a bullet on his shoulder. It was before the security team was formed. None of us know the details. All we know is Ash can't handle violence and blood. He has PTSD due to that incident.

"Give me a hug, then I'll tell."

"We're already hugging."

He shakes his head. "This is not a hug. Lie down."

"Why?"

"To hug, dummy."

"Is this some game?"

"No Buffy, just..." he pushes on my shoulder trying to get me down.

"Aaargh..." He nudges my shoulder. "Just..." he climbs on me like a monkey and with his full body force shoves me.

I laugh. "Seriously, you can't move me." He is a lanky boy with just bones and skin. No match for me.

"Fuck, move then. Lie down. Just give me a hug."

I take the ear piece from him and put it back on my ear. "Get off of me first."

Instead of doing as told, he puts more force behind his push. The only result of his effort is the dent his fingers make in my shoulders.

"HUG ME!!!" He screams in my free ear.

"Are you nuts?"

His answer is to tackle my head. His arms close over my neck and in the next second he is sitting on my shoulders with his legs on both sides.

My Secpho goes askew. Ash climbs further as if he is planning to sit atop of my head. I place a hand on his back to avoid his fall. But I misjudge his position. He gives a mighty push with his legs.

It's rather impressive.

We both topple on the bed with him sprawled on my chest.

"Hah! At last! A hug!" He grins.

I close my eyes. "You're on top of me. This is many things. But definitely not a hug. Move."

"This is the proper hug." He wiggles and places his head in the crook of my neck. "Now put your arms around me."

"If you don't get up, I am going to." I warn.

"One minute. Just one." He whispers.

Goosebumps raise at the soft breath coating my neck.

"No."

He lifts his head and looks at me with what I come to understand as his pleading eyes. To prove me right, he begs.

"Please, Buffy. Just hug me."

I do. Because, when Ash Minor begs, it's heart-breaking.

He lets out a big sigh and settles down.

In my head, I start counting down from sixty.

Before I reach forty, Ash speaks up.

"Is Nick still in Succulent?"

"No. He left." The Secpho conversations were background noise till now. Still, I seem to have listened.

Ash tries to get up.

"Why isn't he here yet? Is he on his way?"

I push his head back down. "He has to go to other studios. Don't waste your one minute."

"Okay."

He complies and when I wrap him securely in my arms, he kisses my cheek.

"You're the best hugger, Buffy."

It's a stupid compliment. However it goes straight to my heart. It's his voice. It has that quality. Smooth and soothing and honest. Not for nothing he is called angel.

After sometime I remember that I was counting. I forget where my count is at. So, I start again.

"You're so tall. My feet barely reach your knees." Ash says breaking the silence. He doesn't mind that his conversations are one sided. He doesn't care that I don't reply to his comments.

Nothing stops him.

His feet rub my knees.

"Stop moving."

"Okay."

Again, I start my countdown.

"You make the best fries. I think about them whenever I eat fries, you know?"

I smile. I'm proud of few things. My fries are one of them.

Ash can't see my smile, so he continues. "Will you make them again?"

"No. Boss' order. Can't do."

He lifts his head.

I panic, if he begs I'll fold.

"One minute is up. Get up." I push his body from mine.

He gets up with a huge grin. There's dried tear tracks under his eyes. I stop myself from reaching out to wipe them.

"You're bad at math."

"Huh?"

"It's seventy eight seconds now." He points at the digital clock on the wall.

Swinging my legs down, I stand up. "It proves that you're a liar."

"Don't start being mean."

I shrug. It feels different now to find fault in him. Just because he cried in my arms. However that doesn't change his character or mine.

He is still Ash, the multi faceted selfish client.

"Boss is here." Milo announces.

I stand straighter and move to the desk and take the detector.

"You can't leave!" Ash cries from the bed.

"I'm not—"

There's a knock, and the bedroom door opens.

I don't have to turn around to see who it is. I can see it in Ash's face. His eyes light up brightly. He springs down from the bed and runs towards the door.

"Why did you leave me?" He shouts.

"You are still in one piece." Boss replies.

Ash doesn't correct him. He doesn't tell that he was worried about Boss.

I turn around. Ash is hugging Boss like he was hugging me when he was crying.

His stance is the same. His arms are around Boss' middle. His head is on Boss' chest.

But Boss isn't hugging him back like I did. One hand is by his side. The other is typing away on his phone.

Boss isn't returning the hug.

It sends a chill down my spine. How unprofessional I was.

I hugged my client and let him get on top of me in a bed, no less.

I have a lot to learn.

Ash is spewing new theories about the breaches.

After a few seconds of listening to him, Boss looks at me and raises his eyebrows. It means how did it go.

"All good, Boss."

He gives a curt nod. "You can go. Let's have a briefing in thirty minutes." He pulls Ash away from him. "Go, freshen up. Ryan is downstairs."

Ryan is his voice coach.

The last thing I hear as I leave the room is Ash's now familiar demand.

"I want a hug."

I don't know why my heart thuds with an unfamiliar pain.