Unwrap the Truth: Regal Rights Book #2 Page 10

  “Fuck. Sorry, mate.”

  I nodded at him and forced myself to eat. The normally sweet chocolate tasted chalky in my mouth as I chewed. I had to take a swig of the coffee to force it down my throat.

  “Are you headed back there soon?” Maddox asked after grabbing a flaky pastry. As he bit into it, the flakes scattered all over his desk. He didn’t seem to notice as all his attention was on me.

  “Looking to go back this weekend,” I said.

  “With Sophia?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

  I narrowed my eyes. “How did you know?”

  He smirked. “She was asking for you.”

  “And you assumed she’s here?”

  “I assumed she flew to Qatar to be with you,” he said. “But now she’s here? Interesting.”

  Since when was he so observant? Although when it came to my love life, he had pushed me for years to meet someone. He was probably more aware of my relationship than I had been.

  “She is.”

  He clapped his hands together. “I knew it, mate. She’s got it bad for you.”

  I sat down in the chair across from his desk. I knew what I was here to do, but talking about Sophia was a welcome distraction. “I’d say it’s mutual.”

  “What happened?” he asked, grabbing another pastry.

  I told him how Sophia had arrived at the palace gates and how she barged her way through there and into my heart. “Father likes her.”

  “What about your mum?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “We’re working on her.”

  “That’s great to hear,” he said. “Not the situation with your mum, but overall. Glad to see that someone has cracked through your icy exterior.”

  “I’m not icy,” I said.

  “Not anymore.”

  After polishing off three pastries, Maddox guzzled down the rest of his coffee. His eyes were much more alert from the sugar and caffeine rush.

  “What do you need me to do?” Maddox asked. “I’m here for you and your family. If you need anything, I’m your guy.”

  “I know,” I said. “I appreciate that. Right now, let’s keep Father’s illness between us. You’re the only one that knows other than Sophia.”

  “My lips are sealed.”

  “Since I’ll be flying back this weekend, I’ll need you to take over operations again.”

  “Got it,” he said, checking his phone after it pinged several times. He put down his cup and typed a reply into the phone.

  I wasn’t sure why I was hesitating to ask him. He was my sole confidant in England. Why was it so hard to give him the best opportunity that his career might ever offer?

  Part of it was my hesitation to let go of the life I’d been living for years. Unfortunately, I had responsibilities. It wasn’t like I was handing over the company that day; I wanted him to put it in the back of his mind so when the time came, I could count on him. Maddox was the perfect employee. He was intelligent and a swift businessman. I was the lucky one to have him by my side.

  “How would you feel about taking over the company?” I blurted out.

  Maddox’s finger stopped moving across his phone screen. He looked up at me. “You serious, mate?”

  “Hypothetically,” I said, backpedaling. “I don’t know what the future is going to hold for me. I need to know you have my back.”

  “I’ll always have your back, but if you want me to take over the company, does that mean you’re going to stay in Qatar? Long term? Possibly with a crown on your head?”

  I glanced behind me and then walked over to the door and closed it. I didn’t want anyone to catch wind of our conversation before I made my decision. “I haven’t decided yet, but I would like you to be ready if the time comes.”

  Maddox dragged a hand over his face. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t need to make a decision right away,” I said. “Think about it. You’d make a great CEO, and I feel comfortable leaving my family’s business in your hands.”

  He nodded. “So you really haven’t decided?”

  I knew what he meant, even though he didn’t say the words out loud. “I haven’t.”

  I left his office, needing to escape that space. I’d done it, but I still didn’t feel right. I didn’t think I would until I made a choice and stuck with it.

  Pulling my phone from my pocket, Sophia had sent me a text. I hadn’t realized my phone was on silent still. There were several texts from her. She sent pictures of herself in her pajamas, sipping coffee, and wandering around my house.

  The sight of her calmed me.

  Entering my office, I flipped on the light and closed my door. It was the universal sign for “don’t bother me.” I had a lot of work to do and zero motivation to do it. All I wanted to do was get into my car and drive back to Sophia.

  I had to force myself to get my ass into the chair and get to work. The faster I got my responsibilities dealt with, the quicker I would be able to see her again. And that was more than enough motivation for me.

  16

  Sophia

  After Luke left his place, I fell back asleep for a little while longer. There was no rush for me to get out of bed when he was going to be at work for most of the day. I was no closer to writing a story about his family, especially when I was thousands of miles away from them. My initial research involved finding every article written about his family and him. I hadn’t left a stone unturned. Other than exposing this difficult time in Luke’s life with Erol’s illness, I had nothing that hadn’t already been reported on a hundred times.

  While that should have bothered me, the silk sheets and comfortable mattress aided in me falling back asleep and forgetting all my worries.

  When I woke again, it was an hour later. My stomach ached with hunger, and I reluctantly shoved the covers away and got out of bed. Wandering across the room to Luke’s walk-in closet, I stepped through the doorway, and the lights came on right away. Rows of suits hung on either side of me, along with a small collection of shiny leather shoes and several drawers of underwear and socks, neatly folded as if they were on display in a store.

  While I didn’t care much for men’s clothing, in the back of my mind, I was searching for a woman’s touch. Our relationship had moved so quickly that neither of us had gotten into the nitty gritty of past relationships. I wasn’t blind to that fact that he must have had a girlfriend—or girlfriends—in his past.

  After a thorough look, I didn’t see any hanging lingerie or perfume left from a previous relationship.

  That made me perk up a bit.

  I headed out into the central area of his place. The guest bedrooms—I counted three—were located down a small hallway off the open floorplan. Those were all boring and had no touch of Luke in them. They looked more like hotel rooms, with immaculately made beds and not a thing out of place. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see mints on the pillows.

  It made me feel a little better to know that Luke didn’t have guests often, especially of the female variety.

  I snapped a few selfies and sent them to Luke. I couldn’t help smiling at them as if I were looking at him and not a reflection of myself in the camera. Even in the short amount of time we were apart, I missed him terribly, but I wasn’t about to make him feel bad for leaving.

  If it were up to him, he would have remained in Qatar with Erol. We were on borrowed time, and Luke didn’t need me to make him feel guilty.

  Walking through the living room, I peered out at the spectacular view of the bridge in the distance. The unobstructed view of the city was breathtaking, and I wouldn’t mind waking up to it every morning.

  Heading into the kitchen, tricked out with all the most expensive appliances, I made myself some coffee. Luke had different kinds on hand, enough for a post-coffee apocalypse. I picked the only one I recognized and set a filter into the machine before pouring the grounds. The act was so normal, but at the same time, so different. I was in a billionaire’s home, doing something as or
dinary as making coffee.

  Although to Luke, all of this was ordinary. I was getting a glimpse into how the “one percent” lived, and it wasn’t so different, other than having infinite money at your disposal.

  After pouring a piping hot mug of coffee, I took it back to the living room and sat on one of the couches. While it looked pretty, it was quite stiff. I wasn’t sure if it was the style or if it went unused most of the time. I wondered if I could change that.

  An erotic image of Luke and I making love on the couch with the view of the city behind us made my toes curl. I doubted he would have a problem with it if I suggested it.

  I shivered and pushed the image out of my head. If I was going to experience it, I wanted Luke underneath me while I rode him to his climax.

  Glancing at the mantle above the fireplace, Luke had stuffed it with shiny, expensive frames filled with photos of his family. I smiled. Even though he wanted to be as far away from them as he could, he brought them into his safe space and put them on display. He really cared about them.

  My phone rang from the kitchen where it was charging, and I jumped up, nearly spilling my coffee on Luke’s expensive area rug.

  I knew who was calling before I got to the phone. Matt had a specific ringtone. I had barely spoken to him through all of this, and I wanted to tell my best friend about my crazy adventures with my prince.

  “Hey,” I said, picking up just before it went to voicemail.

  “It’s nice to hear from you,” he said. “I was starting to get worried.”

  “Sorry,” I said a little breathlessly. I had sprinted to get to the phone, and it was too much movement before finishing my coffee.

  “Where are you now?” he asked. “I can’t keep track of you now that you’re a world traveler.”

  “Be careful, or you might sound jealous.”

  “Oh, I am,” Matt said, and I heard the smile in his voice.

  “I’m in England,” I said. “At Luke’s place.”

  “At Luke’s place,” he repeated. “How interesting.”

  “Stop it,” I said, giggling. “You sound like a terrible reporter.”

  “You would know,” he said.

  “Ouch.”

  He snorted and then burst out laughing. “Sophia, you know there’s this wonderful thing called the internet. You could have emailed me to tell me you were on a jaunt across the world again.”

  “I know,” I said. I had only given Matt a few details when I left Dallas. I hadn’t been sure what to expect, so I didn’t want to get either of our hopes up. Then, once I saw Luke, thoughts of everyone else in my life disappeared. “I’m a terrible friend.”

  “You can make up for it by telling me what the hell you’ve been up to,” he said.

  Starting from the conversation with Mr. Fraser about me going to England, I told Matt everything. Well, not everything. I kept the erotic details out of the conversation. While Matt and I were close, he didn’t need to hear about my sexual encounters. Those were private between Luke and me.

  “You’ve been on quite the adventure,” Matt said when I finished.

  I glanced at my surroundings. “Yes, I have. Do you think I’m nuts for doing this? I like him.” I wasn’t about to say “love.” Matt would never let me hear the end of it. Besides, I wanted Luke to know before anyone else.

  “You went there to do a story,” he said. “But it looks like you’ve already written it.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “You went to the UK and Qatar with a handsome prince who appears to be smitten with you,” he said. “Your personal love story is unfolding right in front of you. How can you not see it?”

  “But I didn’t come here for that,” I said. “As much as I want to be with Luke, how can I keep my job at the Post too? I’m not the kind of girl who falls for her subject and then loses her job and my whole identity over a guy. What if it doesn’t work out? What will I have then?”

  I hated to think like that, but Luke and my relationship was different from what I wanted for myself. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was going to become king, and where would that leave me? I couldn’t watch him marry someone else, someone who wanted to be queen and live for her people. Would I sit on the sidelines and watch the only man I ever truly loved be with someone else? I had no idea about being a queen, and it wasn’t fair for Luke to be with someone who wasn’t sure if she wanted the position to begin with.

  “You can get a job anywhere,” Matt said. “Why do you want to jeopardize your happiness?”

  “If I lose the job at the Post over this, I doubt I’ll be able to get a reporting job anywhere else.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re talented. Any outlet would be happy to have you.”

  “I’d never get a recommendation,” I said. With Mr. Fraser’s clout in the business, I wouldn’t be able to get a mailroom job without his approval.

  “That’s crap,” Matt said. “Any outlet would love to get the inside scoop on a competitor. Don’t let your boss bully you.”

  “I suppose.”

  “You suppose right.”

  “What should I do about it now?” I asked, not wanting to entertain the idea of getting fired.

  “Enjoy yourself,” Matt said.

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s helpful.”

  “When have you ever enjoyed yourself? You’ve worked like a dog for years, and you’re still not where you want to be. Then a prince comes along and sweeps you off your feet, and you’re debating the alternative? I thought you were a good reporter. It seems like you’re missing an opportunity for a good story.”

  “What story? I can’t expose Luke to the media. He’ll never forgive me.”

  “You’re story, dummy,” Matt teased. “Your life story. Here it is in a handsome package, with money and status to boot, and you’re about to throw it away for some job.”

  “It’s not just a job; it’s my life.”

  “And here is another part of your life, ready and waiting for you to accept it. True love is hard to find.”

  “I never said I was in love,” I muttered.

  “You didn’t have to, sweetie. I can hear it from thousands of miles away. Don’t be afraid of it. You’ll regret it later.”

  I knew what regret felt like. I experienced it the first time I left England and Luke behind.

  “I know it’s hard,” Matt said. “But looking at it from an outsider’s perspective, you’ve hit the lottery. Anyone would step into your shoes in a minute. Life’s too short to worry about the little things.”

  I chewed on my lip. “But would I be giving up my dream just for a guy?” I was never that girl, but Luke made it easy to become her. I wasn’t materialistic or anything, but it was nice to rely on someone else for a change. The thought made my stomach churn, and it wasn’t just hunger.

  “From the way you’ve described him, I think he likes that independent side of you. I’m sure he’d support you in whatever you wanted to do. Whether that was to become a queen or a superstar reporter.”

  “I never said anything about being a queen.”

  “I’m not an idiot, and neither are you. What if this goes further? His father can’t live forever.”

  Little did Matt know that Luke’s father wasn’t going to live much longer. The decision was much closer than he realized. If Erol were healthy, Luke and I could see how our relationship developed without the pressure of him taking the throne. But we no longer had that luxury.

  “Anyway,” he said. “It’s something to think about. You’re there, so take advantage. See where this takes you. And at the very least, if you do marry the guy, I’m sure Mr. Fraser’s threats won’t hold up against Luke’s connections. If there were any bad feelings, they would be buried under piles of money.”

  “You seem to have this all figured out,” I said.

  “I want to see you happy,” he said.

  “Thanks.”

  “Well, I’m off. I don’t want to take a
ny more time away from your prince.”

  We said our goodbyes and hung up. Matt left me with a lot to think about, though.

  My phone rang again, but this time, there weren’t happy feelings attached to the particular ringtone. Mr. Fraser’s name came up on the screen. My finger hovered over the ANSWER button, but I couldn’t force myself to take the next step. Instead, I allowed it to ring until my voicemail answered for me.

  17

  Luke

  Regrettably, I couldn’t join Sophia for lunch again on Wednesday. After being away from the office so much recently, things had been piling up that needed my attention. And since I was going back to the palace at the end of the week, I wanted to square everything away for Maddox so he wouldn’t get overwhelmed. I had full confidence in him, but I also wasn’t going to leave him with work that I could do myself.

  Apologizing to Sophia over text, she said it was no problem. She wanted to go sightseeing today, and I informed her of my stash of cash in my home office. She refused to take it without repaying me, and I agreed, not wanting to get into that unnecessary argument. She could think she was going to repay me, but I would make it known that her presence was payment enough.

  While it didn’t please me to have her traipsing around the city by herself, I felt better that she had enough money for cabs or anything else she might need. She refused to allow me to call the car service, but it was freezing out. I hoped she would put her pride aside and take a car when she needed to.

  Worrying about her wouldn’t get my work finished for me, so I tried to push her out of my mind while I focused.

  Over the last two days, I asked Justine to send all of my calls to Maddox so he could start taking over my responsibilities while I was in the office. If he had any questions, I told him to come to me right away, but I wanted our clients and other partners to start to trust him in the event that I didn’t come back from Qatar for some time.