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Arthur grins. “There’s your personal space.”
I drop my hands, glare at him, and the monster bursts out laughing. “You are an ass.”
“From time to time.” He sits next to me, patting my knee. “Look, I know this is hard. I hate it too. But just like you lost your parents and your grandfather, I lost my nephew and my big brother. I can’t lose you, too.”
I look away, the anger draining out of me; I understand exactly what he means.
I might be angry, but I really get it.
I know why he’s doing this.
If hiring someone could have kept my grandfather’s heart from stopping or my parents from drowning, I would have hired an entire country just to keep them alive.
But there is no fucking way I am letting Arthur know he just touched my tiny heart, or that I understand his reasons for making me miserable.
Screw him.
“Harknett is the best agency in New York, probably even the country,” Arthur continues, oblivious to my epic internal eye-roll. “I know you don’t like them or what they represent, but do me a favor. Just tolerate them.”
“This is so unfair,” I sigh, crossing my arms. “And why am I even the target? You’re next in line to inherit the company.”
“Oh, hell no.”
“What do you mean, ‘Oh, hell no’? You’re sixty and part of the board.” I gesture toward him. Grandfather was twenty years older than Arthur, meaning my great-uncle was always closer in age to my father than to his own brother. “It’s time to take some responsibility.”
“Absolutely not. The only reason I agreed to partner with my brother was because he signed a contract guaranteeing I would have zero responsibilities or say in the matter.” Arthur shrugs. “I was born to be a second prince, and I love it.”
“What the hell is a second prince?”
“Means I have the status, money, and fun of a Prince without any of the responsibility and pressure the crown prince has. That’s your department.”
“What?! No. I was also born to be the second prince!” I protest.
“Too bad. There are only two of us left in this family, and I called dibs on that title decades before you were even a thought.”
“You are infuriating.”
“Thank you. Now stop whining and go talk to your security team.” He checks his watch. “They must be done eating by now.”
“I hate you.”
“Aww, how lovely… And if it makes you feel better, only one of them will be following you around.”
“Only one?” I ask, and he nods.
I take a breath.
Only one.
Well… that’s not so bad.
Not ideal, but I guess it’s manageable.
“Yeah, I don’t think you’d need more than him, anyway,” Arthur laughs, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners the same way my grandfather’s used to. “The man is practically the size of two guards.”
Wait.
What?
