Page 9 of Lily and the Billionaire Prince

We can do that!Aaliyah replied.Please tell him we can help with whatever he needs.

Whatever he needs. Lily wasn’t about to tell him more than that.

She finished the remainder of her tasks, including sitting in on several meetings between Mr. Elir and his board of trustees, taking notes, and bringing drinks as desired. The final meeting lasted far longer than she’d expected, and by the time she’d ensured things were settled, the sky was dark.

Tired to the bone but knowing she had to give the prince an answer, she slipped back to the ninth floor. The halls were eerily silent. She made her way to door number 904, knowing how odd it was to be visiting not just a man, but a prince.

Steeling herself to keep from bolting back down to her car, she knocked.

Prince Henrik answered in shorts and a muscle tee. His hair tousled high over his head gave him more of a youthful appearance. She wondered how old he was.

“Oh good, you’re still up.”

“Course I am. Even though it’s the middle of the night back home, I’ve taken one too many naps. Jet lag is a bugger, isn’t it?”

She smiled in spite of herself. “Right. I can’t say I’ve ever experienced it before.”

“You don’t like to travel?” He rested an arm on the doorframe between them, exhibiting his muscular arm, and tilted toward her.

Lily’s mouth watered, but she shook herself. They weren’t here to talk about her passport’s lack of stamps or her plans for disappearing completely off the map or the fact that his display of muscles qualified him to occupy her dreams later that night.

She had to get through what she needed to say before her exhaustion took over and she let him do something foolish like kiss her. “Look, you’re not tired, but I am. I just came by to tell you that I agree. I accept or whatever.”

The prince’s smile spread and stole a few of her breaths with it. Goodness, but he was handsome. “Excellent. You won’t regret this.”

“I seriously hope not,” she murmured. Composing herself, Lily ran a hand across her abdomen. “Is there anything I should know?”

“Know?”

“Like, princely protocols or something.”

He laughed at this. She glanced around, worried, but then remembered they were alone up here.

“You must bow to me at every interaction,” he said with a twist on his lips.

He was teasing her. She wasn’t in the mood. “Okay then. I need the money before tomorrow night. Is that doable?”

“It is. I require your phone number and a name would be nice.”

This pulled her up short. “That’s right, I guess we haven’t been introduced.”

“That we haven’t.”

She wondered for a minute if he was serious about the bowing thing. Flaring her hands on either side of her, she gave a little curtsy. The flame in his eyes doubled and he fought another smirk. “Well, then, Your Majesty, my name is Lily Hope.” She pulled a business card from within her purse and handed it to him.

Taking the card, the prince fired out his hand. “Prince Henrik Noah Andre von Frosk.”

“That’s a mouthful.”

“Delicious, isn’t it?” His eyes twinkled.

Lily wasn’t sure what to make of him, but she was tired, both from the stress of her job and also from the emotional strain of worrying over Damon’s threat and the money he demanded. She needed a hot bath and her bed and a few cats to snuggle in with for good measure.

She backed away. “Thank you for doing this. You don’t know what it means to me.”

“I’m sure the tale is thrilling.” He nodded. “Meet me here tomorrow during your lunch break. Bring me food and I will have the money for you as well as my first request.”

Oh yikes. That sounded all kinds of awful. What was she getting herself into?

---