Page 21 of Some Like It Royal

“I told you it was going to cost more than you thought. Be careful she doesn’t bleed you dry on these little shopping trips.” Martin’s doubt-laden grimace reminded Daniel that his attorney still didn’t approve of the plan.

“It’s not her credit card. I authorized Victor Russell on one of the accounts. He’s handling the shopping. She hasn’t asked for anything really. Except—hang on a sec.” He picked up the phone and dialed the number to his house. Theresa answered on the first ring. “Theresa, when is the next grocery trip scheduled?”

“Today, Mr. Voldakov. It’s always on Fridays,” she reminded him patiently.

“Excellent. Add some chocolate chocolate-chip ice cream, fresh whipped cream, some fruit and more chocolate syrup—and nuts. I think we were nearly out.”

“Anything else?”

Daniel drummed his fingers on the desk. “Steaks. Oat milk. And an assortment of flavored creamers…” The few things he did know about his bride-to-be was that she liked red meat and she liked her desserts. She also liked coffee with her dessert and she never touched the half-and-half. He’d seen the glimmers of disappointment after one morning coffee run to the kitchen when she glanced in the refrigerator. She’d avoided espresso since she moved in, but he only had regular milk.

“All right.” Theresa cleared her throat. “Do you need any other supplies?”

Daniel blinked slowly. The uncomfortable note in her voice suggested a different issue, but he wasn’t quite sure what. “No, I think that’s it. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome, Mr. Voldakov.”

“Huh.” Daniel hung up the phone and scratched his jaw.

“Planning to gorge yourself on sugar when this doesn’t work out?” Martin’s mouth twisted into a sardonic smile.

“No, Alyx likes ice-cream sundaes in the middle of the night. I want to make sure we have plenty. Theresa just sounded odd when she asked if I needed any other supplies.” Steak and ice cream were hardly supplies.

“She probably wants to know if you need condoms, but is too polite to ask directly.”

He inhaled coffee and set the mug down, coughing and sputtering. Martin couldn’t have shocked him more if he’d sucker punched him across the desk. “I don’t think I’ve ever asked her to buy me condoms.”

“Two years ago with that model from Nice. You were holed up with her for a week, working on that design-a-babe project.” Martin flipped open his laptop.

“It was a pseudo-morphing program for women who were working out to help them identify trouble areas and what exercises would help them achieve success in specific areas of their bodies.”Design-a-babe.Daniel snorted.What the hell was that model’s name?

“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. You called Theresa at home, asked her to deliver some groceries—including condoms—and to take the rest of the week off.”

“Because what’s-her-name was naked while I did my scans.” Daniel straightened in the chair. “The condoms were a precaution.” He ignored Martin’s dry look. “What’s on the agenda today?”

For some reason talking about the model made him uncomfortable, particularly because he hadn’t set out to have an affair with the Nordic blonde bombshell, just work with her. But staring at her voluptuous breasts day after day had its effect. Not his proudest moment, but definitely in the past.

“The scholarship project is moving forward. We received grant status approval and I filed the tax-exemption and that’s just a waiting game. But I imagine by the first of next month we’ll be able to announce the fund—Spherecast Technologies Scholarship. It has a good ring to it.”

“No, it should be the Dagmar Fund for Further Education or the Princess Alyxandretta Charity—don’t put our name on it.” It was Alyx’s idea. She should get the credit. “We can hold that announcement in our pocket for an event and use it to launch her as well.”

“If you say so.” Martin’s tone indicated severe doubt.

“Spit it out before you choke on it.” Daniel sat forward. He and Martin had been friends long before he needed his legal advice. One of the few friendships he could attribute to his gaming days that translated better in real life. It was why they worked well together. The man wasn’t known for withholding his judgment and Daniel didn’t want him to start now.

“You’re trusting your company’s fiscal future to a waitress from Sonoma. If you had a board of directors they’d string you up.” Martin clenched his fingers around his coffee mug. “All you have is her word and a signature on some paperwork that says she won’t tank this for you. You’re taking one hell of a risk.”

“It’s my company. It’s my risk.” He forced himself to maintain a calm tone. Martin had his best interests at heart for one and he’d asked, for two. “She’s not going to screw me over. She is doing her best and putting a hell of a lot of effort into a charade she didn’t have to bother with.”

“You’re paying her a million dollars.”

“And I offered her five.” Daniel thumped the desk. “She could have had a blank check and she didn’t ask for it. She doesn’t want these clothes, she doesn’t want to be a princess, but she’s doing it because she accepted the job.”

“You don’tknowher. Dammit, Daniel. You’re a dreamer, I get that. You dream big ideas and you make them happen. But those are bits and bytes of code on a computer. You can’t program this woman to be what you want her to be.”

“I don’t want to program her to do anything. It’s not about what I want, but what I need. She can do this, because she is simply becoming the person she always was.” And she didn’t sleep in her damn car anymore. “Let this shit go, Martin. Get on board or get out. You think I don’t know her? I’ve been living with her for the past week. She’s more comfortable in bare feet than shoes. She prefers pizza to haute cuisine. She actually knows the lyrics to every Madonna song ever recorded, including three I’ve never heard of. She likes to read, and she has a stuffed bear with a missing eye that she keeps in that beat-up Volvo rather than bring in the house because she’s not certain she belongs. I know a hell of a lot about her—leave her alone. Do we understand each other?”

He met his attorney’s gaze with a hard look. Whether the “damn fool” idea worked or not, his friend wasn’t going to harass Alyx. Not when she was working her ass off to accomplish in a few short weeks what it took most a lifetime to prepare for and it was only going to get worse.

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