“Deal.”

“Would you care to... ah, have lunch with me?” he asked.

The light in her dark eyes dimmed a little. “I’m sorry, but I already have a date—I mean, a business lunch—scheduled with Drew.”

He didn’t miss that she had to correct herself. “Tomorrow?”

She hedged. “Drew might need me at the last minute. I’d hate to have to cancel.”

“Your boss is very demanding. Perhaps you should request a transfer—I’m much more accommodating.” He winked, and then leaned into her a little, lowering his voice. “The pay is better and saying, ‘I can’t answer the phone because I’m on Facebook’ is a legitimate excuse.”

Her smile turned into a grin. “If only, but Drew needs me.”

Blake needed her. “When he doesn’t, perhaps you’ll accept my offer?”

She nodded, auburn hair shining under the lights. “Promise.”

As she walked away, Blake stood there, watching as her curvy hips swayed. “I’ll hold you to that.”

***

Blake surveyed the private room at King’s. It was plush, well stocked, and manned by a young woman wearing a snakeskin-print bustier and black shorts that left little to the imagination.

Only, he wouldn’t imagine anything. The woman, more like a girl, couldn’t be more than twenty-one. Even if there weren’t a decade between them in age, he wouldn’t have touched her. No matter how hard she tried to get him to.

“Is this usually where you get up to?” he asked Andrew. No, Drew. Andrew had insisted that Blake call him Drew.

Their comely server bent at the waist, putting her breasts practically in Blake’s face.

Annoyance flashed in Drew’s green eyes.

“Love, could you give us some privacy?” Blake asked, deliberately laying on the posh accent.

She giggled. “Call me when you need me.”

“And that will be never,” he muttered as soon as the door shut behind her.

“Either we’re getting older or they’re getting younger,” Drew remarked.

“A little of both, I suspect.”

“You didn’t want what she’s been offering for the past fifteen minutes?” Drew asked.

Was this a test? Had he been setup? “I enjoyed the display, but I won’t be sampling or buying.”

“Good man.” Drew’s phone buzzed. “Damn it.”

“What?”

“Just my luck is what. First time is weeks I’ve had the chance to relax, and Ella’s computer goes on the fritz. She says she’s locked out.” His head fell back as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Guess I’ll have to cut this short.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Blake motioned for Drew to sit. “After all, my computer skills are one of the reasons your father hired me.”

Drew gave him an appraising glance. “Hacking is a computer skill?”

Blake felt heat rising in his face, but he refused to feel shame. “For those who lack any other type of skill, yes.”

“Since when does royalty need any other skills besides charm?” Drew grinned. “That’s reason two my father hired you.”

Blake was so far removed from being royalty that it was laughable, but he wasn’t about to correct Drew, or defend what he had done once he’d reached adulthood. A man had to do what he could to survive to provide for his family.

“Quite.” He grabbed his phone and pocketed it. “I’ll be off. Consider a raincheck, yes?”

Drew nodded. “Next time I have off.”

*

In no time at all, Blake arrived at Montgomery Industry. He waited impatiently while the elevator whisked him up to the top floor of the building. Blood pounded in his head, his heart kicked against his chest, and his entire body was alive with anticipation.

Ella needed him.

Well, she didn’t know she needed him, but he would be the one to rescue her. Not Drew.

The doors opened with a muffled swoosh, and he stepped out into the hallway, keeping his steps measured. He couldn’t appear to have been running the entire way. That wouldn’t do at all.

Ella appeared before him, her face worried and pinched. “Is Drew coming?”

“No. He sent me as his emissary.”

A rush of air left her. “Thank God. I feel so stupid. No matter what I do, I can’t get back into the system.”

“No worries. I’ll take a crack at it and get you sorted.” He followed Ella into her office and sat down at her desk. “What program were you in?”

“Company email.” She began to pace in front of him, biting at her nails. “Everything froze, and then went back to the log-in page.”

“Don’t hate me for asking, but have you tried shutting it down?”

She froze. “No, I didn’t. I panicked and texted Drew.”

He gave her a friendly smile. “Let’s try that, shall we?” Giving her computer the one-fingered salute, he powered it down, counted to twenty, and then started it up again. “What’s your login, love?”

With a grateful smile, she joined him and gave him her information. Her floral scent washed over him, and he breathed her in. She smelled so bloody good.

He simply sat there, watching the screen as he enjoyed her nearness.

“Let me call Drew so he knows everything is okay,” she said, walking away. He wanted to call out for her to stop, to stay with him... He was the one who’d fixed the damned computer, not Drew.

Her email program popped up and he searched through it, finding a folder with hundreds and hundreds of emails that had never been sent.

He pulled at his ear. That was odd. Opening the first one, he began to read.

Dear Andrew,

Today you wore the most perfect suit-and-tie combination. Of course, I’m biased since I was the one who gave you that tie.

He quit reading, then went to the next email and the next. Every single one was written to Drew. And every fucking one of them ended with Love, Love Always, or Your Ella.

Snarling, he shoved the mouse away from him and stood up. He was so stupid. Infatuation. Ha! More likely, Ella and Drew were carrying on an affair, and that bastard wanted to keep it a secret.

“Oh my God,” Ella croaked, her gaze bouncing from his face to the computer screen and back again. “You weren’t... no one was supposed to see that.”

“Imagine.” He clenched his jaw. “You’re better than that.”

She bent over the desk, closing the emails and finally, the program altogether. When she turned to him, her face was a dull scarlet and her eyes were furious. “You had no right to snoop through my things.”

“I wasn’t snooping. I was trying to figure out why the program locked up your computer.” Fury boiled in his blood. “Why would let him treat you like that?”

“Treat me like what?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Like a bloody secret. If you were mine, I would be proud to have you on my arm.”

Her mouth opened and closed. “Drew doesn’t know. He doesn’t treat me any way. Got that?”

He blinked at her, and then at her computer. “Are you saying you wrote hundreds of emails to him and never sent them?”

When she answered with a tight nod, he began to laugh. He laughed so hard that tears formed in the corners of his eyes. “Are you bloody demented?”

A resounding smack sounded in the room, followed by a sharp pain radiating out from the center of where she had struck him. He grabbed her arm before she could do it again.

“I didn’t deserve that.”

“Yes, you did.” Her lips quivered and her eyes were round, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she had done.

Maybe he had, but he wasn’t about to let her get away with hitting him. “Say you’re sorry.”

“I’m sorry.” Her gaze became downcast, and he let her go. “Please don’t say anything.”

“I’m too stunned to say anything.” With that, he walked out of her office.

*

The next morning, Blake went into work like usual. Unlike usual, Ella ignored him on the elevator and at the coffee and bagel bar. At their weekly staff meeting, she all but pretended he didn’t exist while he sat directly across from her.

Once the meeting was over, he said, “Ms. Simpson, might I have a word with you?”