The Prince's Devious Proposal - Holly Rayner Page 0,15
as soon as I had landed, they told me I needed to come back. They said that I was at risk of losing my job if I didn’t get back to work, and that my time off hadn’t been approved through the proper channels.”
“That’s awful,” Petr said. “Didn’t they know about your mother?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’d explained that. And maybe I didn’t apply for time off in the right way. Maybe I didn’t follow the right protocols. But they should have helped me fix that, not demanded that I come right back to work.”
Petr nodded. “I agree,” he said. “That’s terrible.”
“Ever since then, Rick has been incredibly hard on me,” Naomi said. “He watches what time I arrive at my desk and what time I leave for the day. If I get up to go to the bathroom, I can feel his eyes on me, following me. He’s waiting for me to make a mistake. I think, in his mind, he’s moved me into the category of people who don’t put work first, who let their personal lives get in the way.”
“But people should be able to have personal lives,” Petr said. “You’re not a drone. You’re a human being. And as your employer, he should respect that. He should want you to be happy so that you bring that happiness in to work with you. That’s how you get people to do good work, not by micromanaging their time.”
“I feel like you would be a better boss than he is,” Naomi said with a little smile.
“Well, it sounds like the bar for that isn’t very high,” Petr said.
“At any rate,” Naomi said, “he treated me badly at a time in my life when I really could have used the support of my employer. And now I’m afraid of him, but…I don't know. The idea of breaking the rules a little does hold some appeal for me too. Maybe it will be good for me to get away right under his nose like this, to take a vacation that I know he wouldn’t approve of.”
“That’s the spirit,” Petr said encouragingly.
Naomi laughed. “I can’t believe I’m blowing off work to go to Europe with a man I hardly know. It’s not like me at all.”
“You’ve never done this before?” Petr asked, grinning saucily.
“Nothing like this,” she said.
“Well, you’d better pack,” he told her. “Our flight leaves in four hours, so we should head to the airport soon.”
“What should I pack?” She was suddenly nervous at the realization that she had no idea what was in store for her. “What kinds of clothes am I going to need?”
“I haven’t made any set plans,” he said. “I’d pack some casual things that you’ll be comfortable walking around the city in, and maybe a few outfits that would be appropriate for a nice dinner. Some swimsuits wouldn’t go amiss either, I don’t think.”
In other words, the same kinds of things she would pack for any other vacation. It was amazing how normal it all sounded when he described it.
“I’ll be in my room,” she told him. “Feel free to help yourself to more coffee, or…or anything you find in the kitchen, really. Mi casa es su casa. Have you eaten?”
“I’m good,” he said. “I don’t want you to put yourself out.”
“You bought me a plane ticket to Spain, Petr. You can let me feed you breakfast.”
He laughed. “Some fruit would be nice, if you have any.”
She rummaged around in her crisper drawer and produced an apple, a pear, an orange, and a container of blackberries. “Eat as much as you want,” she urged him. “They’d be rotten by the time we get home anyway, so you’re doing me a favor.”
“Fair enough.” He picked up the orange and began to peel it.
Naomi was momentarily mesmerized by the way his fingers worked the peel away from the flesh of the fruit, coaxing it off in long and winding curls rather than the little chips that were all she could usually manage.
She forced her attention back to the task at hand and went into her bedroom. Her suitcase was at the top of the closet. She pulled it down and flipped it open on her bed.
A few things from her trip to New York—a novel she’d been reading at the time and had never finished and a pair of unworn socks—lingered at the bottom of the suitcase. Naomi scooped the items out and tossed them on the floor. This trip wasn’t going to be anything like that