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I was impressed by how prepared he was. I could also see him salivating on the idea of me marrying Liam now.
“This is a better match for me then?” I asked, wondering if he’d be honest.
He waved the thought away. “David is a Royal. A well-respected name as well. As long as their financial instability isn’t known, he’s a fine choice too. He doesn’t need to be convinced. He wants you. I’ve seen it in his eyes. I won’t grovel to any man. Not even to a King.”
I didn’t know much about the Kings or the Royals for that matter. What I did know was that Liam thought his father was an asshole. I didn’t see this going well.
A while later, a man came with a measuring tape and took my measurements as my father described the look he was going for. It wasn’t a slut dress, thank God. It also wasn’t a suit. I wasn’t surprised there. Men like my father and, likely, Mr. King didn’t want a smart wife, just an obedient one.
Shortly after, lunch arrived. We ate while C-SPAN played in the background.
“Can I have my phone?” I asked when we were finished. “You’ve already warned me. I’ve given you no cause to believe I won’t follow your ridiculous plans.”
He eyed me a second. “You went into my office.”
“To look for my phone. I could have fled to the neighbors and called the police instead. I didn’t. I could have done all those things when I was with David. I didn’t. I could have told him this was all happening against my will. How much more do I need to prove? I just want to talk to my mother.”
He steepled his fingers while he thought. “Tomorrow.”
“Why?” I asked.
“I don’t want you to call him.”
“Why not?”
“He doesn’t know you’re here. I would hate for him to try something heroic and ruin this meeting.”
He did want that meeting with Royce. “I’ll give you the phone in the morning. You can call your mother then.”
I took another chance. “Will you let her know I’m okay? Please?”
“I’ll think about it. Be a good girl and I may even take a picture of your smiling face and send it to her.”
A chill ran through me. I didn’t like the way he said that.
I spent the rest of the day watching the news in my bedroom when father’s masseuse showed up. If not for the guard, I would have left the room when they went behind the closed doors of the master suite. I also considered calling my mother on the hotel phone. Having stayed in hotels while traveling as a nurse on occasion, I knew all calls would be recorded. My luck, my father would get electronic access to daily charges and would see the call. So I was stuck in a waiting game.
The tailor arrived in the morning with a selection of dresses. These were tame compared to the fiasco I’d worn that first meeting with David.
After a mini runway show where I tried on the dresses in succession and ran out of the room when they dismissed each choice, I was left in a tame navy number. A dress that cost a fortune and was made in Italy.
The jersey like material fit me like a glove on top. There were sheer striped insets which showed some skin, a crew neckline in an A-line silhouette that ended on me mid-calf. They’d also brought me heels. The famous ones with the red sole bottoms. Though they were simple, I didn’t feel quite as small standing in them. Though I hardly wore heels every day, considering my job, I did wear them, being vertically challenged. They would hurt like a bitch, but I wouldn’t wobble on my feet.
Dressed, I was escorted by my father and trailed by his guard. The limo was parked out front. Our drive wasn’t long. We stopped in front of a building with a marquee for all to see this was King Enterprises.
The door opened and my father reached out and took hold of my arm. “Be on your best behavior, Daughter. Many lives rest on it.”
He didn’t need to say more. I wasn’t to embarrass him under any circumstances.
The Kings had security too. We entered the building and were checked for weapons. Of course, his thugs had them.
“You may have one unarmed guard with you,” their security head told my father.
He nodded at Shawn, who handed his gun to one of the other guys. Father had no idea the mistake he’d just made. I had a feeling Shawn worked for the FBI. I was betting my life on it.
We were escorted to an elevator and much like the woman at the hotel, their security head placed a card on a reader and selected our floor destination, the top, before leaving us to go up alone.
