Some Like It Deadly (5 page)

Hanging up, she followed him up the ramp to the exit gate and then out onto the street. The black SUV and a second follow car slid out, one ahead and one behind. It took skill to follow a driver by staying in front of them, but since Richard was heading home, they knew where to expect him to go.

Turning in the opposite direction, she had one more stop to make before she could get some sleep. The grand duke wanted a report on his best friend’s security situation.

And won’t that be an entertaining conversation...

* * *

Twenty-five minutes later, she found the grand duke waiting for her in Peterson’s office. He was alone, and to her surprise, Peterson didn’t remain to supervise the discussion. The grand duke was still in his suit, though he’d forgone the tie.

“Thank you for coming by so late, Kate.” He waved her toward a chair and settled against the desk rather than sitting. His offer of seating was more an order than a request, so she sat obediently.

“It’s not a problem, Your Highness.” She clasped her hands together.

“Richard hired you.” It wasn’t a question, but concern furrowed the grand duke’s brow. The man made control freak a dignified art. “How is he?”

“He’s well.” It was a non-committal answer, but their brief acquaintance said a great deal about Richard’s tenacity. He didn’t give in to the suggestion of weakness.

“That I know, but how is he really? What is his schedule like? Do we need to try and lighten his workload? Should I bully him into taking more time off?” The grand duke’s European accent sharpened and he enunciated each word with care.

“Your Highness, you’ll have to forgive me. The parameters of my assignment are clear. Mr. Prentiss is my
protectee
, I cannot discuss the behavior of my protectee. Not even with you.” Unfortunately, that answer didn’t satisfy him.

“Richard is my dearest, oldest friend.” If he thought repeating the same information to her would get him what he wanted He was wrong.

“I understand, Your Highness.” And she did. She understood the lengths to which he would go to protect those he considered his. He’d hired her twice now to do the exact same job. “I must still say no.”

As a man few people ever denied, he really didn’t like her telling him no.

So he called in Peterson.

Thankfully, the security chief backed her.

It was after midnight by the time she left the tower and almost one before she fell face-first into her bed.

5:00 a.m. came too swiftly, but she lunged out of bed and did a five-mile run on the treadmill before showering and heading to the office. She wanted to be in place before Richard and she wanted a good look at his fellow attorneys.

She really did need a raise. This undercover shit blew.

* * *

The next several days mirrored the first in terms of workload. Needing the additional time to begin building profiles of his employees, Kate arrived at the office every morning before seven. If she didn’t, Richard beat her. In addition to Richard, his firm included a dozen senior associates and nearly two dozen junior associates. As the only named partner, Richard had the final say on all their cases—a fact he seemed to take to heart.

“What are you doing?” Richard’s arrival had been announced by his security tail, so she had time to put away her research notes and meet his inquiry with a faint smile.

“Catching up with He Who Does So Much.” Rising, she preceded him to his office door and opened it. “I set up your coffee maker, you just have to hit brew. Your morning meds are on the desk. I’ve pulled the two briefs you wanted to review. The Wilkinson deposition has been rescheduled, and Mr. Grange’s secretary called. Mr. Grange would like you to sit in on a phone call this afternoon for Mr. Voldakov if you have the time.”

And most of that was in the last fifteen minutes. She’d changed her mind, Richard Prentiss had enough work for four assistants. That she had to oversee his security simply added to the load.

His cell phone rang before he could respond. Richard pulled it out of his pocket and answered it with a thumb swipe. “Morning, Armand, you’re at your desk earlier than I am.”

Ignoring his conversation, Kate took his brief case and carried it over to the desk and started the coffee going before withdrawing a bottle of water from the fridge. She opened it, and put it on the desk right next to his meds and pointed at them while he continued talking.

Richard paused and covered the phone. “I’ll take them in a minute.”

“No, you’ll take them now because His Highness will talk business for at least twenty minutes, then you’ll discuss his upcoming wedding before you segue into his management plans for the rest of the family and you’ll forget to take them before the deposition you wanted to sit in on with one of the junior associates.” She folded her arms and stared at him, daring him to deny it.

“Give me a moment, Armand.” Richard hit a button on his phone and set it down. After opening the bottles one at a time, he took the meds he was supposed to and washed them down with water. “Happy?” He eyed her, his expression more fitting a recalcitrant six year old than a grown man.

“Did you eat this morning?” she countered. In her limited experience over the last four days, the man didn’t eat unless someone dropped a meal on him during a meeting.

“I have a call,” he told her pointedly.

“I’ll take that as a no and order you up a steak bagel breakfast sandwich. It will be here in thirty minutes. Wrap up with His Highness before then and I’ll let you have another cup of coffee with your breakfast.” Amused by his blink of surprise, she put away his prescription bottles then delivered his coffee before retreating out of his office, aware of his stare the whole time.

The man needed a keeper.

After placing the breakfast order, she checked her surveillance on his office—he was seated behind the desk and had the cell phone back to his ear. Satisfied, she pulled out her notes on the attorneys in his office—so far they all proved to be as clean and honorable as the man who’d hired them.

Chapter Three

The next week sped past and he not only got ahead of his cases, but managed to close two—including Leonard v. Johnson.

Blake had come through in spades. Leonard’s last continuance had been filed to allow the man to take a trip to Vegas where he’d not only partied, but ended up in jail on charges of public intoxication. Armed with enough evidence to debunk the majority of Leonard’s claims, Richard had met with the other man’s attorney and the lawsuit had been withdrawn.

Kate had gone with him to deliver the news to Brett Johnson and the older man had nearly wept.

He liked winning his
pro bono
cases, but Richard would savor the Johnson victory for some time to come. Men like Leonard, who wanted to take advantage of other people’s misfortune made him sick. Richard wasn’t ashamed to admit he couldn’t have handled the sheer volume without Kate.

She’d smoothed over all the rough edges, rolled with the changes, and found more efficient ways to pack his schedule in so he could maximize his time. But he’d also noticed the hour-long windows she gave him in the late mornings
and
late afternoons—windows of time where he could rest his eyes, or at least take a break.

She
was
handling him. His unflappable assistant handled him like a professional.

“You make that sound like a bad thing.” Armand filled two crystal tumblers with ice and added water.

“It’s odd. Miranda micromanaged my schedule, but not me. Kate, she’s different. She makes changes, but only afterward does it seem like it’s my idea. The funny thing is that I didn’t realize it until today. She’s good.” Uncertain whether he should be impressed or irritated, Richard decided to go with the former over the latter.

Armand laughed. “Enjoy it. Anna’s been talking to Peterson again, and Gretchen. I have three nights in each week. No events.” The genial tone declared the prince had no problems with his fiancée’s decision making.

“Have you two finally set a date?” Richard accepted the glass and stretched his legs out in front of him. They were supposed to be going over the latest corporation paperwork, but neither man reached for the stacks in front of them.

“Fall. She wants an autumn wedding on her parents’ farm.” The smug grin couldn’t have anything to do with the Middle American, rustic setting Anna desired. It was about as far from European royalty as the couple could get.

“Have you told your mother?” Richard’s lifted his brows. The matriarch highly approved of her future daughter-in-law, but he doubted she’d be as delighted with a hayfield wedding.

“Oh, that was my third call.” Armand laughed. “I had to tell Sebastian and George first, so they would have time for duck and cover.”

“What about your great-aunts?” The dowager duchesses were a canny old pair. Richard made a point of never being in their line of sight if they were expected. Unfortunately, Armand’s wedding would make them unavoidable—particularly since he would be best man.

“Bring a date, unless you want to be Rose’s latest conquest,” Armand advised. His royal cousin had earned her share of notoriety since reaching her majority and she was wild as her twin sister was calm. “Hell, bring two. I’ll get you some numbers.”

Unable to cover a grimace, Richard considered whom he could take to the official wedding. “How much of a circus are you two planning?”

“A small wedding actually. This one will be very intimate, family and friends only.” Which immediately eliminated about three-quarters of the people Armand did business with, and it wouldn’t make them happy.

Unhappy business partners meant meetings to soothe ruffled feathers and more. He’d have to plan ahead for that eventuality.

“You’re never going to pull that off, not after the press already had a taste with Alyx’s wedding.” Armand’s long-lost cousin had made a splashy, royal debut and her wedding to a California software developer had turned into a public relations dream come true—right down to the royal attendants at an American wedding. The ridiculous feeding frenzy that followed had continued to dog Armand and his brothers. Rekindling his relationship with his college sweetheart kept the machine so well fed, Sebastian and George might never come out of hiding.

“We might.” Armand’s sly grin suggested he’d already found a way to resolve the issue. “We’ll be announcing a spring wedding during our late summer fundraisers. First in casual conversation and then with an official announcement when we award the first Princess Alyxandretta Scholarships.”

“Spring. The press will start digging to see where you’re having the wedding.” It might work. They’d be looking in the most logical of places—France, Norway and Los Angeles. “Who’s handling the wedding planning?”

“Anna and her mother. They will do all the ordering and use multiple vendors from around the country. They’ve already started. A small shipment here, a large shipment there—very innocuous and always timed with a charity event. If all goes as planned, we’ll be married with just forty or fifty of our closest friends.”

“That’s a perfect blend of ingenuity and deviousness,” Richard mused, impressed.

“All Anna.” Pride filled Armand’s tone.

Richard approved. He’d had to pick up the pieces when Anna had left Armand all those years before and something inside of his friend had changed, broken and hardened. Armand hadn’t laughed as loudly or smiled as bright. His humor had taken a slightly darker bent and he’d thrown himself into work and foundation projects. In recent months, Richard had seen his old friend re-emerging.

Hell, from his hospital bed and hopped up on medication, Richard’d had a front row seat to the conflict Armand fought with himself over bringing Anna back into his life. Thank God he’d finally forgiven her, and more—fallen in love with her again. Richard wasn’t a romantic—far from it. But Anna and Armand gave him hope.

They fit each other. After all the pain they’d put each other through, they’d found a way to be together, and Armand appeared happier than he’d been in years.

Win-win-win as far as Richard was concerned, even if it did mean a hell of a lot more work.

“Well as much fun as picking colors and plate patterns would be, we should go through all of this.” Sparing a glance at his watch, Richard sighed. “In about forty-two minutes, Kate will poke her head in here to gently remind me that I have a dinner engagement at six.”

Armand didn’t disguise his amusement. He was all smiles today. “You have your assistant’s timing down that perfect?”

“Hey, you sent her to me. I figured it had something to do with keeping a royal schedule.” Richard appreciated the hell out of Kate’s dedication—she never failed to pull him out of his distractions and always seemed to know exactly what to say to get him moving. He’d discovered that if he occasionally dug his heels in, he could make her frown.

And he liked the feel of her biting wit.

He flipped open the top folder and eyed the language. In addition to opening up new revenue streams, the contracts would include the first European awarded contracts for Spherecast Technologies, courtesy of three corporations that Armand maintained the controlling interest in. Both men wanted to make sure Daniel’s assets—and thus Alyx’s—were wholly protected as he sliced into a market that had formally been closed to him.

“I’ve read the first two and didn’t find a problem.” Armand sobered. “It’s the third one I have some questions about.”

“Reading.” He ignored the urge to hurry. Richard had faith in Armand’s business savvy, but it was Richard’s job to protect the family’s legal interests—and that now included any negotiations with the princess’s husband’s company. Not that anyone would tell Daniel or Alyx until they’d made sure all the
t’s
were crossed and the
i’s
dotted—that was how Armand worked.

It’s always easier to ask for forgiveness than it is for permission.

* * *

“Do you know how to play golf?” They were on their way to his club. Richard had swung by her apartment spontaneously to pick her up. He hadn’t been sure whether to be disappointed or pleased to find her dressed and ready for the day when he knocked on her door at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Kate was always so put together, so in charge, he hadn’t called ahead on purpose. He’d wanted a peek at the
real
her. Instead, she wore jeans, a golden polo shirt and a pair of comfortable running shoes.

“I’m familiar with the game.” It was the most casual he’d seen her since she came to work for him. Though he’d developed a certain fondness for her cocktail dresses. The woman possessed a killer pair of legs. “Although, I’m not entirely certain why you felt the need to conduct business during your tee time.”

He hadn’t. Picking her up had been an impulse, one he hadn’t put a lot of thought into. They’d worked in each other’s back pockets for the better part of two weeks. Today should have been her first day off. “Business happens as often on the golf course as off of it.” But he still needed some validity for her presence. “And I didn’t realize I shared tee time with Walsinger, Kravitts and Bing.”

“Bing?” She shot him a questioning look. “You don’t have a client named Bing.”

“True. I don’t have one named Walsinger or Kravitts either.”

“But you handled contracts with their respective companies for the grand duke and Kravitts actually wants the contracts in the EU that you and the grand duke are planning to hand over to Spherecast Technologies
.
” She flipped her ponytail back. The gorgeous length fell to below her shoulder blades.

Until he’d seen it that morning, he hadn’t realized how often she pinned her hair up or just how much of it she possessed. The multi-colored length reminded him of a calico cat, all shimmering brown, shot through with tawny streaks of gold.

“I handed you those contracts yesterday.” He hadn’t shared any of the details of his meetings with Armand until he’d been ready to have the grand duke finalize them. Following their meeting the afternoon before, they’d returned to the office and he’d handed her the copies to enter digitally.

All U.S. based parties would be in his office Tuesday morning to authorize signings, ensure notarization, and then transmit to the office of his Brussels’ counterpart for signatures in Europe. Coordination and discretion were the two weapons they had in their arsenal to make sure the deal went through smoothly.

News would break in the European business markets first and ripple across. It would be a hell of a week, but they’d worked through mountains of regulations on both sides to create the perfect soft entry for
Spherecast.
Voldakov had the knowledge and the skill to take that lead and run with it.

And Armand gets to protect his cousin’s interests at the same time and maybe absolve his personal guilt over her orphaning.

Though he wasn’t to blame for it, Armand took Alyx’s time in foster care personally. He wanted to do everything he could to make up for it whether it was his fault or not.

The man didn’t know how to draw personal lines when it came to the lives of those he loved. His devotion to family was an admirable trait, but it bordered on interference at times.

“Richard?” Kate’s voice held a sharp note and he jerked a glance toward her, then the road.

“What?”

“You missed your turn for the club back there.” She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder and he slowed down enough to glance back.

“Son of a bitch—sorry, I was distracted.” He swung into the right hand lane and completed a series of turns to head back to the golf course.

“Apparently, and yes, you handed me the contracts yesterday. I made sure they were scanned in and correct before we left the office. They’re in the passcoded dropbox so we can access as needed.”

“And you read them? Enough to recognize the names?” That counted as impressive even by the standards she’d performed since hiring her.

A shrug met his inquiry and she pointed at the gated drive for the club. “Don’t miss it again.”

Richard followed the drive and found his parking slot. Putting the car in park, he turned in the seat, curious as hell, to look at his assistant. “Spill.”

Her attention wasn’t on him, however. Instead she scanned the club parking area, not that there was much to see, though the parking lot was over half full. A lot of the locals preferred the earlier tee times before the Hollywood types hit the greens. She pushed up her sunglasses to rest on top of her head and swung her gaze back to him at the order. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” He searched her face. He had the oddest sensation of seeing her for the first time. Her soft brown eyes were actually hazel in the morning sun, with hints of gold and deeper green. She didn’t wear cosmetics beyond a gloss for lipstick and a hint of eye shadow. “Spill. Speed reading? Eidetic memory? How are you picking up all of this so fast and remembering it so clearly?”

“Reading is a fairly basic skill. I learned that in kindergarten.” Her lashes swept down, then back up. The corner of her mouth curved with the barest hint of a smile. And there she went, trying to manage him again—by misdirecting his attention. “One I apparently excel at.”

It was damn subtle and, as much as it amused him, he still wanted an answer. “A five-year-old couldn’t process one seventy-five page contract, much less three in the two hours you had them prior to the dinner we attended.”

“What makes you think I wasn’t reading them at dinner?” Challenge flared in her eyes.

Richard snorted. “I would have noticed your digital tablet and that green dress left you nowhere to hide it.”

Her smile grew and she held up her right hand. Her phone faced him and the contract appeared when she swiped her thumb across the screen. “But I had my phone.”

“Damn.” He hit the steering wheel. “So that’s what you were doing when I asked you to dance.” Her attention had been on the plate of salad, though he could have sworn she watched the room more than looked down. She always seemed to be aware of everything going on around her.

“It’s merely a matter of dividing my attention.” Another careless shrug. “As for the memory, I’m trained in observation. I’d hardly make a worthwhile assistant if I couldn’t identify, assess and remember key details.”