Page 68 of The Prince Who Loved Me

“So, can I call you sometime?” Kirk asked Charlotte.

“No,” she said.

“You?” Elijah asked Paisley. She shook her head.

“Oh, come on. You have boyfriends? I mean, that’s why we talked to you two and not Brandi.”

Charlotte’s lips tightened and she gathered the remnants of her split. “Move. I have to throw this away.”

“She said no,” Elijah said as Kirk stood up, “because she wants me to call her. What’s your number, babe?”

“Oh, good Lord.” Charlotte rolled her eyes. “It’s 1-800-treat your mother better, you spoiled little boys.”

The words shocked the brothers into a stunned silence, their mouths gaping open and eyes blinking.

“Bravo,” Brandi said. “And we’re done.”

Chapter 16

A shadow fell across Brandi’s desk the next day at Belle’s and she clicked on another window in case it was Ona. The list of candidates for Gerald’s position was whittled down to a few name, and the woman’s resume was the best one out of the bunch, but Brandi wanted to go through the check list Jordan had helped her with when she interviewed everyone.

The hiding wasn’t necessary. Sebastien stood in front of her in all his red-haired glory, a small, seductive smile on his charming face, and a streak of something dark near his eye, like he had been drawing and rubbed his skin with his finger.

“I hope you’re not busy.” He ran his finger from her shoulder to her elbow. “I didn’t want to go another hour without seeing or touching you again.”

Warm, gushy feelings. That’s what was happening in her belly. “This is perfect, actually. I have an appointment with the accountant later. It might be dull and boring, but do you want to come with me?”

“Dull and boring is my middle name.”

“Don’t you have, like, five middle names?”

“It comes between Thierry and Savoia.”

Brandi grinned. He always made her laugh. Why had they waited so long?

“Does this have to do with…” Sebastien turned his head to the left and then right, his eyes darting around the room. He lowered his voice. “You owning Belle’s?”

“Shhhhh!” Brandi waved her hands and did her own peek to see who was around. No one close enough to hear. Would her employees rebel if they knew what she was thinking? “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Sebastien took her hands and kissed her knuckles. “I’mproud of you,mon ange.”

Brandi fought back a smile, anxious about him seeing how much his words meant to her, about seeming too needy. This was different than doing things for praise of her latest boyfriend. This was genuine affection, but it was still hard to trust. “Why don’t I pick you up after lunch?”

He kissed her, hard enough to be a reminder of the feelings between them. “Can’t wait.”

Brandi returned to the work in front of her, but the enormity of what she was doing made her lose focus. She might as well put the papers away and pitch in with the manual labor needed at the brewery.

Eventually her stomach told her it was time to go back to the Hall. After going through the secret passage, she rooted around the fridge for some lunch. A quick turkey sandwich would do just fine. Afterward, she cleaned herself up, putting on an actual blouse instead of her polo shirt and a nice pair of pants. Now she was ready for her meeting.

Which terrified her. For so long she relied on others to tell her what to do. She could flirt and twirl her hair and they’d fall over themselves helping. But now, she was on her own.

Unless…

Sebastien was smart. His family ran a country, for goodness sake. He probably could have told her what the accountant was going to say when he was in third grade. Maybe he could help.

He met her in the parking lot, squeezing into her car. “It’s weird having someone other than Loïc or Massimo drive me.” He pushed the seat back to make room for his legs while his bodymen got into their car to follow.

Brandi turned out of Fountenoy Hall and onto the main road. “It’s not like I’m driving you somewhere. I’m driving me. You’re just along for the ride.” She tapped her finger on thesteering wheel. “You have a lot to manage, money wise. Your men and trips and lengthy hotel stays surely add up to some big bucks.”