Mistress to the Prince (8 page)

Chapter
5

She was wrong.  No matter how much she’d thought about Greg’s voice, as soon as she fell asl
eep, her mind drifted off to it
s normal dream of being in the arms of Maximillian Marquesa
. 

She woke up the next morning and had to rush in order to meet Greg for coffee. 
But even after all her rushing,
she still arrived before he did.
Tara
sat down with her cup of plain coffee and waited
, wondering if he’d already showed up, saw her and turned around to leave
.  Each time a man entered, she watched him to see if he was looking for someone.  Finally, fifteen minutes after seven, he showed up.  As soon as he walked in,
Tara
knew this must be the guy.  His eyes met hers and he smiled and walked over to her.

“
Tara?” he asked.

“Yes.  Greg?”

The relief on his face was apparent. 
“Sure am.  Wow!  I’m glad to meet you,” he said and shook her hand, his eyes never leaving her face.  “Cindy wasn’t kidding when she mentioned that you were beautiful,” he said with enough enthusiasm to flatter her.
“I’m sorry I was so late now.”

“Thank you,” she said and took in his features. Greg was in his early thirties and was only a few inches taller than she was, which made him about five feet nine or ten inches.  He wasn’t overly muscular but he was thin. 
“Were you not sorry before?” she teased. 

Soft, she thought
, immediately comparing him to Max’s muscular physique
.  But probably a nice guy.
  Muscles weren’t a prerequisite to a
life mate
, she reminded herself.  Just because she was used to seeing Max all day didn’t mean a less physical man couldn’t also interest her.

“
No!  Sorry, that came out poorly, didn’t it?” he said in response to her question.  He had the good grace to look embarrassed and slightly flustered which flattered
Tara
somewhat.  “
How about if I get a cup of coffee and I’ll be right back?”

“Okay,” she said and watched him walk away.  He didn’t have as much confidence as Maximillian did, she thought, then stopped herself.  She couldn’t compare every man in the world to Max.  There just wasn’t any comparison.  Max was…well, he was Max.  And no one would compare to him.  He was too everything.  And definitely too out of her league.  Greg seemed nice and gentlemanly, despite his tardiness. 
And he was in her league.  A working class guy with a nice smile and steady job.  That’s exactly what she should be looking for in a man.  Not someone larger than life and every woman’s dream like Max. 

He came back to her table and smiled as he sat down.  “
Tell me about yourself,” he said. “I want to know everything.”

“In thirty minutes or less?” she joked.

“Absolutely.”

Tara
laughed but she told him a little about herself then listened as he talked about himself and what he did for a living. He was a software engineer for one of the consulting firms that did a lot of business for the government. 
Tara
didn’t mention that she worked for the government and definitely didn’t tell him that she was a personal assistant to the crown prince.  That wasn’t something she shared with many people.  She’d learned that too many people asked inappropriate questions, so she saved that for only really good friends and family. 

By the end of the half hour, she stood up reluctantly.  “I’m sorry but I really have to get to work.”

Greg stood up as well. 
He looked reluctant to let her go and put a gentle, soft hand on her arm to stop her from leaving. 
“
Listen, I know this sounds a little creepy, but I had a really good time this morning.  Are you doing anything this weekend?”

Tara
was a little nervous but looked into his soft, blue eyes and decided to trust him.  “No.”

Greg smiled, relieved.  “Great.  Would you lik
e to come with me to a big bash?
  It’
s a very formal event that I think will really knock your socks off,” he said enthusiastically.  “My company gave me tickets and I was going to go alone
since it is so amazing
but now that I’ve met you, I’
d rather take you with me.  It
s black tie so if this is too short notice for you to get a dress, I’ll understand.”

Tara
thought about the formal dresses she had in her closet and knew she’d have something appropriate.  “I think that would be lovely,” she replied.
  “And I have something
suitable
to wear.”

His smile was broad and made
Tara
feel attractive since it was also slightly nervous. 
“Great.  I’ll phone you tonight with the details.”

“Sounds perfect,” she said.  “I’ll talk to you later,” she said and walked back to her car. 

Walking into her office that morning, she had a smile on her face and was feeling much better about her life than she had when she left here the night before.  She knew that, no matter what happened today, the prospect of meeting a nice man for a fancy date this weekend would put things into perspective. 

Max walked in with several other people and barely acknowledged her.  And the day went downhill from there.  Max pulled her into meetings all day, requesting that she take notes
and sometimes biting her head off when she didn’t answer his questions quickly enough
.  By the end of the day, she was tired, frustrated and overwhelmed with the amount of work that had piled up on her desk while she was in meetings all day. 
It was almost as if Max was deliberately trying to keep her from her desk but that definitely didn’t make any sense. 
She loaded up her briefcase with files that needed to be reviewed and
annotated
before she could pass them on to Max.  She intended to work on them during the morning, then get her nails done in the afternoon as a special treat for her date.

“What are you doing this weekend?” Max asked, stopping her as she was about to turn off the light on her desk.

“Excuse me?” she asked
curtly, still not forgiving him for how mean he’d been during the day. 

Max almost smiled at her reaction.  In anyone else, he would have sliced the person with a simple look if they were daring enough to speak to him that way.  But with
Tara
, he’d never criticized her tone.  Usually he deserved it but he also found it refreshing.  She never cow-towed to his opinions.  And he never wanted her to.  He realized that he valued her advice too much to intimidate her into stopping her tones. 
“This weekend?
” he repeated.  “
What are you doing?”

Tara
looked at the handsome man
standing in front of her desk and considered ignoring him
.  He was leaning against the doorway between their two offices, looking so suave and sophisticated it almost dimmed her excitement for the weekend.

Instead, she shoved another file into her bag and looked away from him, daring him to challenge her for her impudence. 
“I’m not going to tell you for fear that you’ll snap at me or make me go into another meeting to take notes,” she said and shoved another contract in her bag.

Max smiled and pushed himself away from the doorway.  “You don’t have to bring all that home with you.  You could just come in tomorrow and we can go over it together.
  I’ll get the chef to make us breakfast if you promise to let me have the waffles next time.
”

She couldn’t help it.  She smiled and shook her head at his teasing tone, wishing she could maintain her anger in front of him.  He’d really been mean today. 
“That doesn’t sound like the ideal situation,” she laughed.

“Why is that?  I’ll help you
, we’ll review the documents together and it will be done in half the time
.”

She had to laugh at his innocent expression, knowing he really thought he could do that.  She knew better though.  There had been several weekends when she’d come in to work, thinking she’d have time to go through her to-do list while the office was empty only to find him also here trying to get things done. 
“No, you won’t.  You’ll sit in your office and add more to the stack. Don’t even try and be charming.  I know you better than that.”

An odd look came onto his face.  “You think I’m charming?” he said, smiling and coming a few feet closer.

Tara
blushed and was grateful for the dim lighting. 
Looking down and pretending to concentrate on the items on her desk, she replied,
“You know you are.”

“I know other people say things but they usually don’t mean them.  I like that you think so though.”

Tara
turned off her light, pulled her bag over her shoulder and
stepped around him.  “Yes, well, I really need to get home,” she said.

Max’s eyes sharpened and he crossed his arms over his chest, quickly stepping in front of her to stop her exit from the office. 
”Why?  Another blind date?”
he challenged. 

Tara
stopped short, only a few feet away from him
and looked
up
at his angry face.  “Why does that bother you so much?” she asked curiously.  He’d never paid any attention to her personal life before, not that she’d really had one, she thought.
  Why was he so upset about her dating now? 

Max looked down at her and wanted to kiss her pouty red lips, pull her incredibly sexy body hidden beneath those ultra professional clothes
against his hard one
and show her why it bothered him so much.  But he knew she’d probably run screaming from the palace if she knew how much he wanted her so he kept his distance, if only mentally.

“Because I care for you,” was all he’d allow himself to say.
“You’re a very good employee and I don’t want you to get hurt.
”

Tara
wished he’d stopped with the first sentence.  But the second was the real truth. 
Pulling herself back out of fantasy land, she shifted her bags and stepped around him. 
“Thank you.  I’m feeling very appreciated,” she sighed.  “Regardless, I have to go home.”

He stopped her again. 
“Why?”

She blinked up at him, not used to him acting this way. 
“Why do I have to go home?”

“Yes.  Why?  Why don’t you stay here and talk to me?  You don’t have anyone to go home to, do you?”

Tara
looked down at her shoes, wishing she could lie. 
“No.  But…”

“But?” he prompted when she didn’t continue.
  His eyes were intently watching her face, searching for an opening, hoping she could feel something more for him.  He wanted
another
blush
just like
yesterday that told him she wasn’t completely immune to him. 

Thinking fast, she tapped her heavy bag. 
“But I’d rather do this curled up on my sofa and relaxing in more comfortable clothes than here in a desk chair and these clothes,” she finally said.

Max nodded
and looked up and down at her strict professional clothes.  His mind automatically jumped to
picture her
skin warm and flushed from the bathwater and strategic places covered with bubbles.  His body reacted to the image and he had to clear his throat and quickly refocus on something else
. “Yes.  I can see how that might be more appealing.”

She glanced up and caught his intent gaze, wondering about it for a long moment. 
“
Well….
I’ll see you
Monday
morning,”
Tara
said awkwardly.