Page 1 of The American

Chapter 1

Sage Parker worked to keep her wits about her. She sipped water instead of champagne, while her gaze swept the room over the rim of her cup. Everyone watched the head table. They talked to the person at their side, but their eyes flitted back to the head table.

The company hosting this charity gala was looking for a new CEO, and every Harvard grad in the room thought their name was on the door plate.

But Sage knew otherwise. The company had been negotiating for the past week. With her. She could almost smell the leather polish they used on their lobby furniture. But ‘almosts’ bothered her.

Their emcee for the evening stood. His grin surprised her. She didn’t like surprises. He looked as though he might make an announcement…

“Might I have your attention.” He paused, grin growing wider. “It is our great pleasure to announce our special guest of the evening.”

Special guest?

“All the way from the Mediterranean island country of Torren, Thad Valdez, Prince of Torren.”

Polite clapping gave way to several cheers when a tall man in a tux, who had no business being so handsome, walked into the room sporting a flashy pair of sunglasses and bright blue sneakers. His dark hair was styled high on his head, slightly curled, his white teeth nearly reflected the light from above. As he walked by, she could have sworn one of his many pointing hand checks to the audience was directed at her. He opened his mouth as though he winked at her, and then walked by, fist bumping a few guys at another table.

She had never seen him before. He was definitely not part of their usual crowd. Sure, she knew where Torren was. They had been in the press in the last five years or so when their king died and a new one took over. The eldest brother married an American so it caused quite a stir amongst the single American millennials. Everyone was vying for a Prince of Torren. Unfortunately, they never came to visit, were never available to all the many women grasping for a bit of royal attention.

She didn’t blame them. Each brother was hotter than the next. And this guy didn’t disappoint. When he finally made his way to the front, they gave him the mic.

The now second-best looking man in the room by only a few minutes, Devon Fenningway, thick, dark haired, Adonis Fenningway, leaned over and whispered a feather breeze on her neck. “You’re not taken in too, are you?” His eyes mocked her in a challenge.

“You feeling threatened?”

“By him? No. He’ll be in and out of here like a tidal wave.”

She thought that an interesting analogy. What destruction would he leave in his wake?

Curious, she leaned back in her chair and waited to hear what the man had to say.

He took off his glasses, and winked at a lady on the front row. Oh boy he was too much. Cameras flashed in rapid succession and he took it in, showing them good angles, the whole bit. This man knew his way around the camera.

Then he held up his hands and said, “I’d like to thank Zachary for inviting me here. It has long been a dream of mine to work in Manhattan.

Work?

“And giving me this opportunity to shadow some of the experts in the field, is beyond generous.”

She let out a breath of relief. Now she could admire him in earnest, threat gone. She had rarely seen anyone so chiseled, so perfectly proportioned. He fascinated her like a museum piece would. Then his eyes turned to her and something jumped inside. His gaze lingered and she felt warmer, and her stomach clenched. But she returned his gaze, as if unaffected.

“I look forward to getting to know you.” He nodded, subtly, the barest dip of his head in her direction.

Had she imagined it?

He turned the mic back over to the emcee and sat down in a chair up front by the current president of the board. Zachary clapped him on the back and the two looked thicker than Sage thought they should.

Others in the room had pinched expressions and narrowed eyes. This newcomer did not bode well for any of their aspirations.

But Sage had heard him. He was here on an educational trip, to shadow people actually doing their jobs. He had probably never worked a real day in his life.

Her curiosity about him increased. Especially because his gaze drifted to her enough that other women in the room were taking notice and the subsequent chilling glares in her direction amused her. Women were so predictable. She had long given up on being friends with most people of her gender. There were a select few. The sisterhood of the traveling pants in her own life. And she cherished them. But most everyone else wished her a slow death in the most painful manner, even though they smiled and simpered and complimented her shoes.

The speeches wound down, Sage enjoying a lazy scan of Thad’s body from her seat. Zachary and Thad had been occupied by consistent murmuring to each other, but at once they stopped and turned to her.

She jerked her head back in surprise, so sudden was their attention. And then she smiled and tilted her head in question.

Thad took off his sunglasses and smiled in response. Her stomach jumped again.MMM.He was intriguing, and delicious.

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