The Pleasures of Summer Read Free

messages.
    Her father opened his laptop and they read through their emails in silence, broken only by the occasional expletive from her father when something annoyed him. He never stopped working. She couldn’t remember when they had last gone out for dinner together or done anything that wasn’t connected with business. It must have been when her mother was alive.
    ‘So when do you fly to the States?’ she asked to distract him from his latest rant about share prices.
    ‘Next Tuesday at noon. But don’t worry. Brian said they’re sending someone round at eleven.’ He said that his assistant was a godsend, efficient and organized. Summer hated him.
    ‘Great.’ Summer poured another cup of coffee. ‘I can’t wait.’
To get rid of him.
    At precisely 10.55 a.m. a nondescript grey Nissan made its way sedately up the driveway. Summer let the curtain slide back into place. She couldn’t see the driver clearly but he looked middle-aged. Perfect for what she had in mind. Grabbing her towel, she hurried downstairs to the pool.
    By the time they found her, she had swum four lengths at a fast crawl. The uniformed maid stumbled when she saw that Summer wasn’t wearing a swimsuit. With a blush and an apologetic glance at the visitor, she hurried away.
    Through her tinted swim goggles, she watched as thebodyguard stood at the side of the pool, shifting from foot to foot. She kept him waiting while she swam another length and then she climbed out, took off her goggles and shook her hair.
    ‘Towel,’ she said in a clipped tone, stretching out her hand in his direction.
    After a moment’s hesitation, he fetched the towel from the sun-lounger. Keeping his eyes averted from her naked body, he carefully handed it over.
    Summer deliberately didn’t thank him. She wrapped the towel around her hair, rubbed it dry and dropped the wet towel at her feet. Stepping closer, she stared him down. He was in great shape for his age, but no match for her.
    ‘I swim three kilometres every morning at seven and I expect you to join me. Oh, and be a darling and make sure that there are no leaves or insects in the pool before I arrive.’ She strolled away, leaving him staring open mouthed at her ass – and walked straight into her dad.
    That was the end of Bob.
    After that, operation
Defeat the Bodyguard
became her favourite game. Tyler, the driver, arrived the following day. She managed to clock up two speeding tickets during the afternoon she spent with him. Her dad had gone crazy about that one.
    Then there was Joe. He was a real sweetie and a strict vegetarian. Serving braised liver for lunch and steak tartare for dinner two nights in a row had ended that particular assignment. The poor guy had been almost barfing while he watched her eat and she wasn’t sure if she could keep that much protein down.
    Thursday brought the charming Tony who had a penchant for expensive Italian suits. Luckily he was gay. A heated kiss in her father’s office while she was giving him a tour of the house ensured that he was sent packing before his first hour was up. She really should have mentioned the hidden security cameras.
    The last guy was bald, monosyllabic and built like a brick house. He had been a tough nut to crack until she had taken him lingerie shopping for three hours, insisting that he sit outside her dressing room and view each outfit she tried on. Asking the assistant to take their photograph was probably a bit mean, but then so was sharing them on FB. He hadn’t returned the next day.
    No new bodyguards had arrived since Friday.
    Summer stretched and yawned before she got up. She would be a sweet, dutiful daughter until her dad left for Atlanta. Casual clothes and no make-up except a quick slick of her favourite lip-gloss. She had almost reached the landing when she heard her father’s voice in the hallway below.
    ‘What do you mean, you have no one available? You’re on a retainer, Niall. Make someone available, for Christ’s