Ruby huffed out a laugh that felt disingenuous and shook her head. Then she swiveled her bar stool to fully face me. “If I tell you where you can find her, will you promise me you won’t hurt her?”
“Hurt her? Why on earth would I ever do that?” Did she think I’d come all this way to run Alice over with my car?
“We all have the power to hurt those closest to us, don’t we?”
Oh. “I suppose.” I tapped a finger on the bar. “But Alice was perfectly happy in her job until that bloody trip. If I don’t know what upset her, how am I to prevent it again?”
Ruby picked up her beer again. “I think I’m the wrong person to ask that.”
“Well, I’ve asked her a thousand times over text, and I’d ask her again in person if she’d quit slamming doors in my face!” My raised voice caught Benny’s attention, and he scowled at me in warning.
“I don’t know why the mental image of you getting hit by a door brings me so much joy.” Ruby smiled over the lip of her beer bottle before taking another healthy swallow.
I finally followed suit and took a long drag on mine. It tasted of watered-down piss, making me wince. “You’ve been hanging around Leo for too long.”
Ruby laughed at my expression and slid my beer closer to her before making a series of hand signals at Benny. “Maybe it’s time you found yourself someone to hang around with, Mal.”
I snorted out a half-laugh. “You’re probably right. I’ve been so consumed with all this coronation business that I haven’t been laid since my last time here.”
Ruby’s eyes widened. “Interesting.”
“Not the word I would have chosen, but all right. Now, are you going to surrender this top-secret information on Alice’s whereabouts or not?”
After that, Benny dropped off a whiskey for me, and Ruby and I played a few rounds of darts before Leo joined us late in the evening. I’d ultimately been escorted too sober for my liking to my hotel with a silent Andrew at my heels.
Now it was time to take that second chance afforded by Ruby. After much consideration, I determined I should start with an apology this time. If I’d learned anything from watching films, women always liked it when men apologized—even if they’ve done nothing wrong. Or, in my case, probably cocked up a number of things but couldn’t figure out exactly what. Best to issue a blanket apology on behalf of myself and the male gender collectively.
As Andrew and I ascended in the lift of the office building, I silently rehearsed my speech, certain to add in enough flowery bullshite to make it both convincing and irresistible. By the time the lift’s bell rang, indicating our arrival at Alice’s level, I was confident I’d win Alice over and be on the next flight home. It was as good as done.
Chapter 6
Alice
I hadn’t a clue what had given me the strength to close the door on Prince Malcolm, not once, but twice, the previous evening. It must have been the adrenaline coursing through my body at the unexpected sight of him standing there looking so ridiculously handsome and confident on my doorstep.
My first instinct had been to grab him by his shirtfront and kiss the living daylights out of him. Well, technically, my first instinct had been to turn around and run for my life, but the kiss notion followed closely after.
In the end, though, it had been two things that brought me back to reality and reminded me of all the reasons I’d been wise to quit in the first place. The way the throwaway endearment “love” had slipped so easily from his lips when trying to cajole me into opening my door. Charming his way inside was second nature, whether it be the inside of my flat or the inside of some tart’s thighs—he felt entitled and had no regard for the feelings that small endearment might evoke in the recipient.
The flowers in his hand had been the second reminder that Malcolm hadn’t really come for me at all; he’d come for his missing assistant. He’d probably driven his new aide away and was looking for a quick and easy solution to a problem. I knew the job and could fit right 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.