by Tee, Marian
Over what, she wondered absently.
Lou and Grant appeared to have noticed the same thing, too.
“Do you think there’s a brawl?” Grant asked with a frown.
Lou wrinkled her nose. “The guards will take care of it if so. Derek Christopoulos wouldn’t stand for such—-” Her eyes widened, and her voice trailed off as if she had suddenly seen a ghost.
Grant stiffened as well.
Fawn blinked. “What—-”
Behind her, she heard a distinctly familiar, British-accented voice say silkily, “Mind if we interrupt your meeting?”
Fawn spun around so fast she almost fell off her chair.
It was the prince!
And he was not alone.
Mocking green eyes collided with bewildered blue ones.
What are you doing here, she internally shrieked at the prince. I wanted you to text me back, not show up!
The prince smirked. Haven’t you heard of the saying ‘beggars can’t be choosers?’ But when the prince spoke, his tone was perfectly polite and businesslike. “I truly apologize for interrupting your meeting, but I’m afraid I’ve an urgent need of Fawn’s assistance.”
“Umm, right. Of course.” As she clumsily rose to her feet, she wondered what the heck the prince was talking about. Grant and Lou stood up as well, the former looking wary while the other girl was all smiles, an avaricious gleam in her eyes.
So this is what a gold-digger looks like, Fawn thought.
The prince offered his hand to Grant. “I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Grant took the prince’s offered hand and tried not to wince at the excruciatingly hard pressure the prince exerted on his fingers. “A pleasure,” he managed to say while resisting the urge to yank his hand out of the prince’s crushing grip. What the hell was wrong with this idiot?
“I’m Lou, the student council’s vice president,” Lou was murmuring.
The prince gave the girl an icy smile. “Charmed.” And then he promptly dismissed her, turning his back to face Fawn again as he asked casually, “Fawn, may I introduce you to my friends?”
At Fawn’s nod, the prince gestured to a pair of black-haired and blue-eyed twins, both of them tall, dark, and handsome. One was dressed in a stylish pin-striped suit while the other was dressed in a crisp white shirt and jeans. “You probably already know Nick and Jason Christakos, who jointly head their family business.”
Family business, she thought weakly. Riiight. That was a vast understatement, considering the Christakos’ fortune amounted to billions.
“It’s nice to see you again, Fawn,” Jason said with a smile.
“Same here, although we weren’t properly introduced when we first met,” Nick said wryly.
She could only smile, tongue-tied in bemusement at their friendliness.
“This is Nathan Callis.” The prince gestured to the former supermodel. Like his friends, Nathan’s features were decidedly Mediterranean, but unlike the others, he had an air of quiet mystery about him, and when he spoke, his voice was soothingly soft and kind. “It’s an honor to meet you, Fawn.”
“I-It’s an honor for me, too,” Fawn stammered.
“And of course, you know the chairman’s son, Derek Christopoulos.” The prince gestured to the last man to be introduced.
“Hi, Fawn.” Derek Christopoulos’ legendary charm was displayed in full force as he gave Fawn a rakish grin. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”
Fawn blinked.
Behind her, Grant asked sharply, “Have you changed jobs?”
The prince reined his temper in with an effort as he watched Bennett move to Fawn’s side and take her hand.
“Fawn?”
“I—-” She looked at the prince, not knowing what to say.
Derek stepped as planned, saying easily, “I’m talking about the position of treasurer for the foundation Reid, the others, and I are putting up. Reid told you about it, right? He told me you’re good with numbers, and since this friend of mine rarely gives that kind of recommendation, I’m inclined to believe him.”
“We’re sorry for putting you in the hot seat,” Jason added ruefully, “but as we’re a bit pressed for time—-”
“And by that,” Nick continued, “he means we have an urgent need to donate millions of dollars for tax purposes.”
Grant and Lou looked at each other at the amount Nick Christakos mentioned.
“The position is yours if you want it,” the prince murmured. “But we would need a decision now.”
“Umm...” Her head was whirling, and she had the strongest urge to shout at the prince. What the heck did this mean? What was he planning? He had never mentioned anything about this before, darn him.
“About the project you’d like to sponsor,” Grant suddenly said. “Are there any specifics you’re looking for?”
“Anything would do,” Nathan answered. “As long as it can be set up right away.”
“Then maybe we can help you.” Grant cleared his throat. “The student council is actually planning a fundraiser. In fact, I believe Mr. Christopoulos may have heard of it—-” He stopped, expecting the chairman’s son to tell him Grant could call him by his first name instead.
But Derek Christopoulos only nodded, saying pensively, “Yes, I believe I’ve heard of this. You submitted a proposal to my office a week ago, if I’m not mistaken.”
Grant’s cheeks turned a dull shade of red at the indirect snub, but he forced himself to mutter, “That’s right.”
Derek raised a brow. “What do you think, Reid? We could sponsor their project.”
Before the prince could answer, Lou suddenly approached him, saying, “Please say yes, Mr. Chalkias.”
Fawn’s eyes widened at the way the girl pressed herself to the prince’s side. Did that girl not know she was practically rubbing her breasts against the prince’s arms?
Her gaze moved sharply to the prince, who looked back at her with a glint in his gaze.
She glared at him, unable to help it. Get rid of her!
But the prince only said dulcetly, “It’s really up to Fawn, I’m afraid.” The prince remained where he was as he spoke, with the vice president still treating his body like a scratching post for her breasts.
Fawn saw red.
“She’s the one who’d be crunching numbers with the council if she chooses to accept the project.”
“Or what?” Fawn mumbled under her breath. “It’s going to self-destruct in five seconds, Tom Cruise wannabe?”
Five seconds passed in complete silence.
Oh my God, had she said that out loud?
And then the prince’s friends were laughing while Lou gasped and Grant began to hurriedly apologize on her behalf.
I’m dead. I’m totally dead. She slowly looked up to meet the prince’s gaze.
He was smiling at her, and of course she knew that smile of his from experience.
“Your humor is as adorable as ever,” the prince said pleasantly.
Fawn gulped as she mentally translated the prince’s words and knew that the prince was already looking forward to killing her as soon as they were alone.
“Do you then accept the project?”
Before she could answer, something played out from Derek Christopoulos’ phone.
It was the theme song from Mission Impossible.
Nathan and the Christakos twins started laughing again while Derek grinned at Fawn, saying, “You need to come work for us, Fawn. We won’t take no for an answer. Life’s going to be too boring after this if you don’t.”
Feeling the prince’s gaze boring a hole through her back warningly, she said feelingly, “I would love to work for you, Mr. Christopoulos.” And she did, she had to, with the prince practically threatening her destruction in five seconds from behind.
Lou had finally disentangled herself from the prince, walking back to Grant, saying, “We need to go back to HQ, hon. I got a text from the president.
”
Grant frowned. “Right.” He checked his phone. “I got the same text.” He hesitated then said firmly, “You go ahead. I’ll just say goodbye to Fawn.”
Lou’s lips tightened. “I can wait—-”
“You don’t have to.” Grant’s voice had turned hard.
Lou’s lips formed a thin smile. “Okay, hon.”
As the other girl walked away, Grant turned to face Fawn again, saying, “I have to go, luv.”
“Okay.”
“I’m sorry we haven’t had much time together.”
Oh. Her lips parted, but no words came out. He had never apologized about this in front of other people, and she didn’t understand why he was doing it now.
“So...” Grant looked at her intently, and after a second she realized that he was waiting for his cue from her.
Could he kiss her or not?
I should let him, she thought. Make him think that he could kiss her and then turn away at the last second.
But this time, with the prince and his friends around them—-
This time, if she did it to him again, the entire school would see it.
“Fawn?” Grant swallowed.
She managed a smile. “I’ll see you whenever then.” She raised one trembling hand up, her fingers fluttering to wave goodbye at him.
And at that moment, she knew.
Grant might be the first man to make her heart beat fast—-
The first man to kiss her—-
The first man to break her heart—-
Grant was all those and more, but even so—-
No matter what happened after this, it was over.
And when Grant suddenly whitened in front of her, it seemed like he knew it, too.
“Fawn.” His voice was hoarse, but when he seemed to walk towards her, the prince stalled him, coming to stand beside Fawn.
Grant froze, and so did Fawn.
“You should go now,” the prince advised gently. “There seems to be an urgent matter with the council.” As the prince spoke, he placed his hand on the small of Fawn’s back, and she bit her lip at the way Grant jerked in reaction to the prince’s gesture.
“I’ll take care of her, so you have nothing to worry about.”
Grant’s eyes swung to her.
She swallowed. “Grant, I...” She didn’t know what to think or do, but the prince made the decision for her as his hand on her back moved and his fingers began to gently caress her spine. With his friends forming a half circle around them, she knew that the movement of his hand was completely hidden from other people’s views, but even so—-
She could feel her cheeks heating up at the prince’s caress.
In front of her, pain flashed in Grant’s eyes.
Oh.
A moment later, Grant straightened, and it was like seeing the old Grant again, handsome and smiling. “I’ll entrust Fawn to you then.” But he didn’t look at Fawn as he spoke, and after a quick wave, he turned and walked away.
She waited for him to look back. She wondered painfully what she would do if he did.
But he didn’t.
****
When the prince joined his friends in Derek Christopoulos’ office and they saw that he was alone, all four of them smirked.
He bristled. “What?”
The prince’s defensive tone was more than they hoped for, and their laughter rang out, causing the female employees outside the office to sigh dreamily.
Boyfriend goals, they all thought admiringly.
Squad goals, the few male employees present thought enviously.
“I need a fucking drink,” the prince muttered as he threw himself at the vacant wingback chair next to the recliner where Derek was seated.
Nathan got up from the settee. “I’ll pour you one since I need a drink myself.” As he walked to the bar, the prince raised a brow at the others. It was rare for Nathan to drink more than a glass during daytime.
The twins, who were sharing the couch, shrugged.
“He’ll tell us when he’s ready,” Derek said simply.
In the act of pouring a shot of whisky into two glasses, Nathan stilled, and without turning back, he said drily, “I know you’re all talking about me.”
“I meant you to,” Derek returned. “You’re starting to worry us with how unusual you’ve been the past few days.”
Taking the glasses from the counter, Nathan walked back to his friends and gave one to Reid.
“Thanks,” the prince murmured.
Nathan returned to his seat, saying calmly, “We can talk about my problem next time. For now, we need to concentrate on what’s more important.”
Jason raised a brow. “Such as?”
As Reid raised the glass to his lips, Nathan murmured, “What else...but Reid Chalkias acting jealous for the first time in front of us?”
The prince choked on his drink, and laughter from his friends rang out, and squeals once again erupted from the growing crowd outside Derek’s office. Nick slanted a distracted glance at them, unintentionally meeting a couple of girls’ gazes, who then let out excited shrieks.
Nick started in surprise. “What the—-”
“He looked at me, he looked at me!”
“No, did you see that? He looked at me!”
When the two girls actually started pulling each other’s hair, Nick swiftly turned his back on the crowd with a shudder. Damn. Women these days could be seriously deranged.
“Aren’t you bothered by them?” Jason asked.
Derek grimaced. “There’s nothing I can do about it. You know about the Montfort scandal, right? Since then, the board came to a decision that all offices in the university should have transparent windows.”
“Makes sense,” Nathan acknowledged. “Although obviously, it has its downsides.”
“It’s worse in this office,” Derek reluctantly admitted. “All the interns who applied are female.”
“Does Jaike give you hell about it?” Jason asked sympathetically.
“Occasionally,” Derek said wryly. “But since I also like seeing her jealous face from time to time...” He paused as something occurred to him, and looking at the others, the same thing appeared to have occurred to them as well.
The prince found himself the center of everyone’s attention once more, and knowing exactly what they were thinking, he said stiffly, “No. I was not jealous.”
Derek grinned. “You fucking were, Chalkias.”
Color stained the prince’s high-boned cheeks.
Pfft. Out of respect for Reid’s badly dented pride, the four men did their best to control their laughter.
The prince stared stonily at his friends. “Fuck all of you.”
This proved too much, and the office once again rang with his friends’ laughter.
Outside the office, chaos erupted anew, but this time, the prince and his friends knew better than to pay attention to the ongoing hysteria, knowing that their attention would only make it worse.
“You do know you’re worrying for nothing, don’t you?” Nathan finally asked when he managed to rein his amusement in. “The whole time I’ve known you, a girl only has to spend a few minutes in your company to want to fuck you. Or at least have a crush on you.”
Derek scowled. “Jaike’s not like that.” Right?
“Lilac isn’t either,” Nick said grimly. Right?
Jason cracked his knuckles. “Keanne sure as hell isn’t.” Right?
Nathan rolled his eyes. “Let me rephrase. Any single girl who isn’t in love with any of you three would likely fall head over heels for Reid. And you have to know that, Chalkias.” When the prince didn’t answer, Nathan’s look turned pensive. “Have I gotten you wrong about this girl? Is she extremely experienced and that’s why you’re worrying—-”
“She’s innocent,” the prince said stiffly.
The Christakos twins looked at each other. The girl was a virgin, and her cheating boyfriend an asshole who could and would never compare to their frie
nd. There was clearly nothing to be worried about, and yet...Reid was, visibly so.
This was not like the Prince of Darkness they knew—-
And it was funny as hell.
I think I’m about to laugh again, Jason’s smirking gaze told his older brother.
Nick subtly shook his head, his lips twitching. You have to remember we’re more honorable than that. He nodded towards the prince. We don’t beat someone who’s already down.
Jason’s gaze became thoughtful. So I suppose this means we should wait for Reid to recover just a bit, and then we can laugh—-
The twins suddenly sensed being subjected to a deadly stare, and when they turned to face Reid, the prince said coldly, “I liked you two better when you were at each other’s throats.”
Jason and Nick looked at each other.
He seems recovered.
Then I guess we can—-
The twins started laughing again.
The prince’s expression became even stonier as he wondered whether this was enough reason to put an end to their friendship. It would feel extremely good to beat their too-pretty faces up right now, the prince mused.
Nathan glanced at the way Reid was eyeing his knuckles and then the twins, who were still smirking. Realizing it was time to play mediator again, he said mildly, “Don’t mind them. You know they only want to get back at you for taking the role of knight in shining armor when they were having trouble with their own women.”
The twins stopped laughing and started scowling, neither of them wanting to be reminded of the past.
The office phone rang then, and Derek stood up to take the call. When it was over, Derek had a grim look on his face. “Security’s apprehended someone who suspiciously sounds like a hired lackey by Davos.”
Nathan’s lips tightened at the news. “He’s getting desperate, isn’t he?”
“Nick and I spoke about this, Reid,” Jason said slowly. “We’d like to take Beatrice from you, so you’ll no longer be in danger.”
The prince shook his head. “Neither of you have the necessary connections to look after her, and you both know this. Besides, I’ve had her all this time, and they weren’t able to take her from me. It’s best we continue with the present arrangement. It’s only for a few weeks, anyway, and all this will be over.”
Nick shook his head. “We all appreciate what you’re doing, Chalkias, but right now – it doesn’t seem right that you’re placing yourself and even the people working for you in unnecessary anger.”