into the empty slot with little inconvenience. It was painful, but true. If Malcolm had really come for me—if Malcolm even really knew me—he’d surely know I was allergic to flowers, now wouldn’t he.
But today was a new day, one without the threat of Prince Malcolm interrupting it. I’d been careful to pack a bag and scout the car park on my way out this morning, and I planned to get a hotel room for the night in case he had the misguided notion to linger for another day.
What was I saying? He’d surely come to the area on some manner of errand for Leo or Ruby and had just decided to pop by on the off chance I might like my job back. And Prince Malcolm would never in a million years fly commercial, so that had clearly been a lie as well.
I yanked the papers from the copier more aggressively than necessary and stalked back down the hall to Grier’s office, cursing myself for even allowing my thoughts to wander in the direction they’d run for the last sixteen hours.
“Okay. Here is the dossier on Phaedra Keene. Her reputation is clean as a whistle as far as I can find.” I flipped the pages as I entered the room, looking for the section on our soon-to-be sponsor’s charity work. “You know, I can’t believe it took us so long to think of her. Who needs a Hollywood bad boy or some stuffy prince when we could have a self-made entrepreneur and internet sensation instead?”
I affixed a smile to my lips as my eyes swung up to my boss, but my smile dropped when I realized she wasn’t alone. “What are you doing here?” The words were out before I could stop myself.
Grier gasped, as she rightly should at my lack of propriety in the presence of royalty.
I quickly attempted to cover my lapse. “Your Highness. Sir.” I blew a loose strand of hair out of my eyes. “To what do we owe the honor?”
Neither Malcolm’s smile nor Andrew’s small grin escaped my notice.
Grier stepped in to fill the pause. “I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that Ms. Williams was able to arrange this, Your Highness—and so quickly!”
Malcolm raised a dark brow at that and, had Death chosen to knock at that moment, I would have readily ushered him in.
The prince’s presence seemed to act as an instant caffeine injection on my boss because she proceeded to chatter and gesticulate in a manner I’d never before witnessed. “You’ll want to sample the product first, of course. We wouldn’t dream of asking you to endorse a product you didn’t truly like, sir, but I’m confident the Triumph Velocity will meet with your full approval. You may have as many pairs as you like. Take them all! Share them with the family!”
Good God, she was careening off the rails on her way to barn filled with petroleum barrels.
“Ms. Vorhees. Pardon me for interrupting, but I believe you’ve misunderstood Prince Malcolm’s appearance at our offices.”
“Not so fast, Alice. Let the woman speak.” His lips practically trembled as he tried to suppress his laughter at my glare.
My fingers curled into fists as I pasted a tight smile on my lips. “Of course, sir. I apologize, Ms. Vorhees.” This was just like Malcolm. The man’s mind was a pinwheel.
“Now, Ms. Vorhees, am I to understand you’d like me to endorse a line of eyewear?”
Grier’s eyes pinballed back and forth between Malcolm and me as she finally collected herself and gestured to the chairs in front of her desk. “Please, sir, have a seat and we can clear up any confusion.”
Malcolm unbuttoned his suit jacket and nodded at Andrew before settling in one of the chairs. While Andrew retreated to the hallway, I gingerly sank into the other seat, the dossier resting on my lap and my mind repeating the mantra, “Don’t stab him with your pen. Don’t stab him with your pen.”
There was nothing to do but allow Grier to outline our proposal while Malcolm listened with too much interest for my liking and purposely avoided looking my way. There he sat, seemingly riveted and in need of a fresh haircut and a proper shave. Where was his new assistant? I forced my attention back to Grier’s words, and it wasn’t until she was finished with the part about making him famous on American soil that I finally cut in.
“And as much as we appreciate you considering this project, it’s my understanding