Page 5 of Royally Promoted

‘Are you paying a scrap of attention to what I am saying, Lucy?’

Lucy blinked and surfaced to find her boss frowning at her. He was backlit by the thin, fading, last-of-the-summer sun filtering through the windows, a dark, looming silhouette that momentarily took her breath away.

‘Sorry, I was a million miles away.’

‘You need to focus. I’m talking about your immediate future and how what’s happened is going to have an impact on you.’

Lucy straightened, suddenly tense. She tucked her unruly blonde hair behind her ears and stared down at the desperately boring clothes her work colleague had decided to choose for her. She liked bright colours. It seemed appropriate that she was now wearing drab-as-dishwater clothes for an occasion like this, one in which she was obviously going to find the comfortable course of her life thrown off-course for reasons that had nothing to do with her.

‘I’m focused,’ she said quietly. ‘You know I’m good at focusing even if it may not always seem that way.’

‘I will have to leave immediately—probably by tomorrow evening. I’ve arranged a board meeting with my ten top guys to fill them in.’

‘And me?’

‘This is where it may be a bit tricky.’ He raked his fingers through his hair and again that off-putting hesitation was back on his face.

‘I wish you’d just say what you have to say,’ Lucy finally said with her customary forthrightness. ‘Since when do you make a habit of holding back? I’m a grown woman. I can take it. You told me I’m not going to get the sack because you have to return to Sarastan, so where does that leave me? Am I about to be demoted to office junior, is that it? Wearing a uniform, sweeping the floors and making sure the place is locked last thing?’

Malik ignored her flight of imagination, which he was used to. ‘The favoured option is for you to accompany me, Lucy. I won’t be able to get hold of anyone who will be able to work as efficiently alongside me as you. You’re familiar with multiple takeovers, and you know the ropes when it comes to dealing with clients.’

‘You want me to come with you?’

Malik tilted his head to one side and strolled back towards his desk.

‘I appreciate,’ he said gravely, ‘that this is going to be massively inconvenient for you, and I’ll naturally ensure that you are compensated accordingly.’

Lucy stared at him in silence as her brain shifted gear and began travelling down an altogether different route.

‘You said you had no idea how long you would be away,’ she reminded him slowly.

‘It’s a tough call. My father, presuming he pulls through this, might recover quickly or it might go slower than expected. I can’t put a timeline on it for obvious reasons, which makes it even more inconvenient for you. I’ve given this thought, and I’ll formally sign a contract that allows you to bail should you find the conditions onerous.’

‘Conditions onerous... The mind boggles.’

‘You have an active life here,’ Malik said bluntly. ‘You’ll lose that immediately should you accept my offer.’ He paused. ‘I’m not entirely sure whether that active life involves a boyfriend,’ he mused, narrowing his eyes and staring at her. ‘Does it? And, if so, would that be a temporary loss you would be willing to endure? Like I said, I don’t know for sure how long my presence will be required in Sarastan. It’s not just being there while my father recovers but in terms of sorting out my family’s business affairs. I’m hoping it’s weeks rather than months, and of course I’ll be going to and from London, I imagine, but I can’t give you a precise timeline. Right now, everything is up in the air.’

‘I... I...’

‘I’d like to give you time to consider my proposition, Lucy. I know this has been thrown at you out of the blue. But, in this instance, time is of the essence. I would propose you make arrangements to join me within the week.’

‘Within the week?’

‘If you rent, all rent would be covered until you return so that you don’t jeopardise where you live. If you own, all mortgage payments will be handled. All bills will be met. Additionally, as compensation, I’ll treble your pay for the duration of your time in my country.’

‘Treble?’

‘You’re parroting me.’

‘Can you blame me? My thoughts are all over the place.’

‘Moving along, you’ll also find your bank account substantially increased to cover incidentals such as appropriate clothing, shopping, beauty treatments...or whatever else it is that you do with your money.’

‘Does it look as though I spend lots of money on beauty treatments?’ Lucy said absently, while her mind continued to somersault. ‘If I did, my hair would know how to do what it was told.’

‘You haven’t answered my question, Lucy. Is there a man in your life? Someone who might prevent you from disrupting your routine here?’

‘Possibly,’ she said airily. ‘However, I should say that, were there such a man, I would never allow him to dictate how I chose to handle my life.’

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