Rachel jumped about a foot in the air and swung around, finding Tarin leaning in the doorway.
For a long moment, Rachel stood there, her hand to her heart as she looked at the enormous man lounging in the doorway. Finally, she pulled herself together. “How long have you been standing there?” she demanded, struggling to regain her balance, and folding her hands nervously in front of her. The music on the video increased and the man called out, “Remember your…!” He didn’t get a chance to finish since Rachel slapped her laptop closed. She struggled to appear professional even though she knew that Tarin had probably heard and seen everything. Good grief!
“Long enough,” he replied and pushed away from the doorway to step into her office. “Are you learning how to dance?”
“Yes. I just…”
“From a video?”
Rachel sighed, her shoulders drooping slightly. But she rallied quickly, pulling herself back and looking Tarin straight in the eye! “Yes. I try to improve myself in various ways and…well, dancing is something I’ve always wanted to learn.”
“Did you ever take dance classes when you were a kid?” he asked, moving closer.
From this distance, he was so close, she could see the golden flecks in his hazel eyes. Fascinating!
“Rachel?” he prompted.
Rachel jerked slightly, pulling her eyes away from his. “Um…yes. I begged my mother to let me take ballet lessons.” She smiled crookedly, lifting one shoulder. “She finally signed me up for classes but…apparently, she thought I was too klutzy and looked ridiculous trying the various steps, so my mother only allowed me to take a few classes.”
Tarin cocked a dark brow. “Klutzy? I doubt it.”
She grimaced. “I don’t see how you can. I’m always tripping over things.” Only when you’re around, she finished mentally.
He shrugged a shoulder, dismissing her assertion. “I bet you’re a beautiful dancer, Rachel,” he said, his voice dropping just enough to make her shiver.
She looked up at him, saw the soft look in his eyes and something melted inside of her. “Yes. Well, dancing has always been a dream of mine. But…,” she licked her lips, thinking she should move back, put some space between their bodies. Instead, she stood still, transfixed. “I’ll figure it out.” She turned and picked up a file folder from a stack on her desk. “Here are the proposals you asked for. Plus, I did a bit of research and added a couple more architectural firms that you might want to consider. I evaluated your criteria from the previous list and compared that criteria to some other firms. Any that matched, I pulled up information for your review and included details in this file,” she explained, handing him another file. “I hope you don’t mind.”
He flipped open the second file and skimmed through the pages. “This is great work, Rachel. Thank you for doing this.”
“You have another meeting with the Water Board in five minutes,” she explained.
He sighed, closing the file folder. “Right. Back to the boring stuff, huh?”
She tried to hide her smile, but he was just so irreverent! “I guess so, Your…” Rachel stopped when she saw the warning in his hazel gaze. Shifting her feet, she glared up at him, although she was unaware of her expression. “I can’t call you by you first name,” she declared. “It’s disrespectful and inappropriate.”
He grinned. “Ah, but don’t you love living on the wild side?” He put the files down on her desk, then leaned his fists against it. “Come on. Try it. I dare you! Say my name, just once. I bet it would feel liberating!”
Rachel rolled her eyes, fighting back a laugh at his teasing. Carefully, she folded her hands in front of her. “You’re going to get me fired.”
He laughed. “No way. You’re too valuable. I can’t fire you.”
Her lips quirked slightly, but she quickly shook her head, unaware of the prim, librarian-like way she was standing. Pushing her glasses higher onto her nose, she shook her head. “I’m not using your first name,” she told him firmly.
His eyes sparkled with mischief. “I’ll fire you if you don’t,” he returned.
She rolled her eyes, adding a bit of a huff for emphasis. “You just said I was too valuable to fire. Now, you’re threatening to fire me if I don’t follow your completely inappropriate order?”
Another shrug of that deliciously muscular shoulder and she had to press her lips together to stop herself from laughing out loud.
“I’m fickle. So sue me. But you’ll have to use my first name in court.”
She crossed her arms over her stomach. “Your Highness, has anyone ever told you that you’re a horrible man?”
He chuckled, straightened to his full height and grabbed the files again. “All the time.” He turned around. “I’ll be in this meeting for about an hour. Would you mind sticking around so that we can discuss these firms over dinner tonight?”
“Absolutely!” she replied. Then, just because she was in a good mood, she added, “Your Highness.”
He’d already disappeared through the doorway, but he’d obviously heard her because he stuck his head back through the door. “You’re going to pay for that,” he warned.
At her laughter, he once again disappeared, and Rachel slapped her hand over her mouth, trying to hide her amusement. “Good grief,” she grumbled happily. “That man is…” she didn’t finish the sentence because too many “wrong” adjectives popped into her head. Describing Prince Tarin as horrible, sexy, gorgeous, or anything else was a bad move professionally.
Sitting down at her desk, she re-opened her laptop, still smiling at the short interchange with Prince Tarin. Working for Tarin was definitely different than working for Talia. The princess was kinder, asking for assistance and offering praise constantly. Rachel felt like a dynamo while in her employ.
Tarin was far more demanding, she
