Page 38 of The Billionaire's Royal Secret

She answered before he dialed the first number.Meet me at our special spot in the park. 5pm. Don’t be late.

He grinned at the phone. Her reference to their specialspot sent his heart soaring. After weeks of seeing each other, and only falling for her more with each meeting, he loved that she’d felt the connection, too. And her surprise was intriguing enough to keep his mind buzzing with anticipation throughout the day.

A knock midday interrupted his working lunch. “Yeah?” he called as he stared at the screen, expecting his secretary to pop through the door.

Instead, he found his father’s head poking inside his office.

He wiped his hand on his napkin as he leaned back in his chair. “Something you need?”

“A word?” his father asked.

Nate heaved a sigh as he motioned to the chair across from him. He wouldn’t be able to avoid this conversation. Too many accusations had flown around the dining room this morning.

Charles slipped inside and settled into the chair, his usual frown etched into his serious features as he studied his son.

“I’m not drinking, Dad. And I’m not doing drugs.”

“Okay,” he said with a bob of his head. “But there’s something going on with you.”

“Not any of that. Outside of that, I don’t want to talk about it.”

His father puckered his lips as he stared down at his clasped hands. “Unfortunately, with your track record, son, it comes across a little…questionable when you don’t.”

Nate studied the wood grain on the polished mahogany desk. Apparently, his drinking had cost him any privacy. But he wasn’t ready to tell anyone about Ellie. Not yet.

He was falling for her, and he couldn’t stop himself, but he wasn’t ready to admit that to anyone. Not yet. Not until he wassure about her.

“I get that. But I’m not hiding anything, and I’m just asking for a little…privacy.”

“Privacy is a concern, Nate.”

He slammed a fist against his desk, rattling the pencil cup. “I’mnotdrinking. And like I said, maybe you ought to be worried about where Stephen’s been spending his time, because I guarantee he’s up to no good.”

“I’d ask you to elaborate on that, but you boys trade barbs like I traded baseball cards when I was ten.”

Nate clenched his jaw. “So, you don’t care what he does because he’s not a screw up like me.”

“That’s not what I said. I just think you two need to learn how to settle your own battles. There’s obviously something going on with you two. I’m not always going to be here to police you, though.”

“Then what are you doing in my office? Because you’re policing me based on what Stephen said this morning.”

Charles lifted his chin, the unmistakable pinch of his lips betraying his annoyance. “Your situation is a little more precarious than Stephen’s, Nate. You know that. No one wants to see you suffering another setback.”

“So, whenever Stephen decides to throw suspicion on me, I’m going to be under a microscope? Is that it?”

“No. You’re not under a microscope. I’m not asking you to tell me where you’ve been or what you’re doing. I’m just…reaching out in case you need help.”

“I don’t,” Nate answered flatly.

Charles sucked in a sharp breath as he rose from the chair, closing his button on his suit jacket. “All right. See you for dinner?”

“No, I’ll be out.”

His father hesitated for a moment, his eyes narrowed at him into a suspicious gaze before he nodded. “All right.”

The door closed behind him as his father left, and hesqueezed his eyes closed. The tension of the day had already been too much. The thought of seeing Ellie was a beacon of light in the mire of his day, the one thing that made the insurmountable pile of tasks ahead seem bearable. Each tick of the clock was a heavy step closer to freedom, to her.

He stretched his neck, trying to loosen the tension from his chat with his dad. Though it still lingered, he powered through the rest of his afternoon tasks.

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