Going Royal 02 - Some Like It Scandalous Read Free

her clasped hands on her lap, she lifted her brows and waited.
    Irritation creased his perfectly pleasant expression. “What are you qualifications for the position?”
    “None of your business.” She smiled politely. “I interviewed with the board and Mrs. Voldakov. They were all satisfied with my hiring.”
    “Of course, however, the scholarship fund is in the process of being relocated under the Dagmar Foundation and you have not been interviewed by the head of the foundation.” Every word perfectly enunciated and emphasized by his accent. The angrier he grew, the more formal his speech became—or at least that was how it had been. His temper lurked beneath that placid surface.
    Her stomach plummeted. The relocation of the fund could only mean a new direction, new oversight and more paperwork. She’d just finished getting the nonprofit status fully vetted, and they remained in probation status on their grant applications. Changes meant those applications would become null and void.
    “I see.” Play it cool. You can do this. The internal cheerleader lacked any real confidence and cool sweat dampened her back. Thank God the jacket she wore hid the unpleasant reaction. Sliding her purse to rest on the sofa next to her thigh, she retrieved her laptop case. Fortunately, the designer bag offered numerous pockets and storage capacity for her files. Violently aware of the prince’s gaze on her, she thumbed through the contents and pulled out three quarter-inch-thick manila folders. Returning the case to the floor, she flipped open the first file and extracted her résumé. She set it on the table between them.
    “My qualifications and work history.” She added a stack of six sheets. “Personal references.” And finally, a three-page letter of introduction from the previous fund she’d administered. “Professional recommendation.”
    The prince ignored the stack. “I did not ask for your résumé or your letters of reference. I want to know why you think you’re qualified to do this job.”
    “And you’ll find my qualifications are outlined quite clearly in those papers.” What did he want from her?
    “I find that it’s easy to disguise shortcomings with a cleverly phrased sentence. Harder to compensate in person.” He couldn’t have slapped her harder if he’d reached out to strike her.
    How dare he? She stood, barely catching the folders before paper slid free from them. Incensed, she glared at him. “You’re one to accuse me of deception.”
    “Sit down, Miss Novak.”
    “I’d prefer to stand.” Her lungs burned with every deep inhale. Her temper unraveled further at his too-calm gaze. She hated it when he tried to “handle” her.
    “Sit. Down.” The quiet command just pissed her off more and she grabbed her laptop bag, shoving the folders inside—ignoring him completely. It was a mistake to think she could do this—a mistake to believe that a decade could mute the betrayal.
    “My apologies, Your Highness.” Heat flooded her face. Her jaw ached from clenching her teeth. “I do not think this going to work out.” And it made her sick to think she wouldn’t be a part of the solution so many young men and women needed to achieve their educational dreams. Better to let someone else handle the royal arrogance and demand.
    “Miss Novak...please...” He sighed.
    She made it three steps.
    “Stay. Please.”
    Keep walking. But she didn’t. The quiet words took all the fire out of her sails.
    She looked back. He stood, his hands in the pockets, but the neutrality in his expression evaporated. The quiet request accompanied by the all too familiar hopeful smile twisted the dagger in her heart.
    “Go to hell, Charlie.” The venom in the words startled her. Tears filled her eyes and she blinked furiously to keep them at bay. “I came here to do business, not to be interrogated like some supplicant to your throne. You could have sent someone else, but you made me come here as if I would bend