"Of course." Beautiful wasn’t a word she’d expected to hear today, when she’d chosen her borrowed black heels, black pencil skirt and feminine white button-up blouse. Once her glasses were on her face again, she looked up. "I do have them, but I don't wear themoften."
He angled his chair closer. "Any particularreason?"
If she somehow landed this job, she'd have to get her raging crush under control. She didn’t like people looking directly into her eyes as he was doing right now, but she carefully chose her words to answer his question. “I’m not trying to impress anyone. I know my place and how to be aprofessional.”
He read his paperwork again. "Kristin, your resume also says you have a marketingbackground."
"Yes." At least her voice sounded normal. She crossed her legs. "I’ve run a successful online launch for the watch band company I briefly worked at." His attention was drawn to the slit in her skirt so she uncrossed her legs, self-conscious. "We sold out of the band. Now I work for an insurancecompany."
His gaze returned to her eyes. "Why did you leavethatjob?"
The interview was back on track. Good. She could handle business. She’d always wanted to travel and learn, but she knew the value of a penny in the bank. Her parents had taught her frugal now meant security in the future. Her body eased. "The watch band was exciting, but once they sold out, her positionwasover."
“Andinsurance?”
“The insurance company because there were health benefits and a 401K, but it was so boring. Your position would be anything but, and I’m up for thechallenge.”
“I hope that’s true.” He opened the folder again and scanned the contents. "So, let's get right to this. How much are you for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 daysayear?"
Her pulse surged. Did she really have a chance here? And she had no clue how much she should say for a salary demand. What a terrible interview question! "I would need to give two weeks’ notice at work, but I don't have any familyobligations."
He stared at her and she noticed that his brown eyes had a hint of green. No picture had ever captured that illusivecolor.
"You didn't answer the question. How muchareyou?"
She blinked. What question, she thought but then she remembered the salary. She’d checked online and the starting salary for a secretary was forty thousand, but he wanted around the clock attention. Late nights meant she should request more. Her stomach churned. She needed to be in the ballpark number so that he didn't laugh her out of the office. "$60,000? For theextratime."
He rubbed the lower part of his chin. "That's low for what I'masking."
Really? "For a secretary, it's a competitiveprice."
His grin curved into a smirk. "How much for you to bemywife?"
She jerked in her seat. Was this a joke? "Your wife?" Nothing on earth could have prepared her for this moment. Seriously. She searched every corner, every wall, wondering where the cameras werehidden.
Her mother had warned her to choose her future husband carefully and never fall for a playboy. Prince Antonio had a new girlfriend every other day. She tried to sound like she was in on the joke. "Aren't you a world-renowned bachelor with women begging to beyourwife?"
He nodded as if proud. "Yes, but I want a wife with a head on her shoulders who doesn't expect my love ordevotion."
The air in the room felt thinner. He was serious. She let out asigh. "What?"
"To start, I'll pay you $150,000 a year plus living expenses for you to be my wife, and the salary has options for pay increasesovertime."
Her pulse raced so fast she wasn't sure how she managed to speak. The position he wanted filled was for his spouse, not a secretary. What duties would a wife perform? "What aboutchildren?"Sex?
He riffled through the file and handed her a contract as he pointed to section two, subparagraph four. "Now if you want to negotiate that's fine, but I already stipulated in the contract that I will pay a flat, one-time rate of $500,000 for the first child and then $250,000 for each additional, plus reconstructive surgery for every child produced. If you don't wish to raise any children, I can provide a twenty-four hournursery."
The words out of his lips were cold, professional and devoid of any feelings. Love might not exist, but marriage was meant to be more than figures in acontract.
One day she had vaguely imagined she'd be a mom and have kids with a husband, dog and a house in the suburbs, but she wasn't sure. In those moments, she never once imagined herself as some princess in a castle in a country she couldn’t pronounce. She met his stare and for once she didn’t melt. "I’d want to raise my ownchildren."
He held her gaze and that speck of green mesmerized her. "Would you like this job,Kristin?"
He made it sound like he was asking her to be part of his company, rather than sleep at his side for the rest of her life. Her heart pounded. Antonio would be hers. Her fingers ached to touch him, but she folded her hands in her lap. For him, this was business. Could it be for her, too? "It's a lot ofmoney."
He nodded. "You’re my top candidate. What would you need from me to closethedeal?"
Life as a royal would be surreal and the only thing she could compare it to was a movie because honestly things like this didn’t happen in real life. “Is this atrick?”
