“Um, Sir?”

I looked up from the paper I’d been attempting to understand for last ten minutes to see Sophie at the doorway, her hands clasped in front of her. I was grateful for the distraction, to be honest. I hadn’t been able to concentrate at all on the words on the page; I’d reread the last paragraph at least eight times and still hadn’t taken anything in.

Instead my thoughts kept drifting to the previous night. To Sophie. And then, to my shame, on how I’d reacted when she’d found Frederick’s letter. I’d been too harsh, too cold. But I couldn’t bear for anyone to know what was inside.

She was still wearing that black little dress, and I was glad for it. Much better than her other work clothes; it suited her, even with the boring beige cardigan she’d wrapped around herself. And though the subtle signs that she’d had an eventful evening were present, the beginnings of dark circles under her eyes, she still looked positively stunning.

“Yes?”

“There’s a gentleman here to see you. They are holding him down at security; they said his name is Jeremy Thorne.”

A grin split my lips as I stood, eager to see him. “Tell them to let him in. And show him straight through when he gets here.”

She nodded and went back to her desk to inform security. I paced the floor in front of my desk and I cracked my knuckles, excited that Jeremy was here. After the days I’d had it would be good to see a friendly face. One that didn’t expect anything of me.

“Mate, you are going to have to get me an official badge or something. Do you know they threatened me with a cavity search?” Jeremy said when he waltzed in. He wasn’t fazed at all by the illustrious surroundings. But why should he be? He was used to extravagance, what with being a billionaire and all. Though he wasn’t your typical toff.

“It’s because you are so bloody handsome.”

He shot me the middle finger and gave me a brotherly hug.

“It’s good to see you,” he said. I motioned him to follow me deeper into the office and he gave a low whistle as he glanced behind him in the direction of Sophie’s desk. “Wow, that secretary of yours. How did you get so fucking lucky?”

“What do you mean?”

He laughed, sliding into one of the chairs in front of the desk.

“Do not tell me you haven’t noticed how hot she is. Like a naughty schoolmarm or something in those prim clothes. I’d tap that. Bet she’s wild in bed… quiet ones always are.”

I held my tongue and merely shrugged, knowing that Jeremy was just spouting off. I wanted to tell him of course I’d seen her, that I couldn’t stop thinking about her, that I’d almost had her strapped to my bed and tasted her sweet delights. But I kept quiet; if I told him the truth of what had happened or more accurately what didn’t happen, he would’ve thought I’d gone soft.

“What are you doing here?”

“Came to see if you were free this afternoon. I’m going jumping and wondered if the heir to the entire fucking kingdom could fit in a few hours of fun into his busy schedule with his one and only mate.”

I shook my head and laughed. “You’re not my only mate.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, right, your brothers don’t count.” He stopped short and winced. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything.”

I waved my hand. “It’s fine, I know you didn’t.”

“How you holding up?”

“Taking it day by day as they say… though haven’t had much chance to really think about it.”

“Ah, they got you dancing to their tune, have they? Or is that little minx in the other room the cause for distraction?”

“You wouldn’t believe the shit they’ve thrown at me.”

He nodded, fully aware of the pressures families liked to bestow upon their offspring. “Well, more reason to come with me then. Relax a bit, throw yourself off a few cliffs. Clear the cobwebs of this place off. It’ll take your mind off everything.”

“I don’t think my father would enjoy that, not after the little incident with the Audi,” I smirked. But already the adrenaline and anticipation of the prospect of a jump had begun to build inside me. I’d missed it. “But I would.”

“Smart fucker,” Jeremy laughed. “Well then? Ready to go now?”

I sighed and looked down at the calendar Sophie had prepared for the day, seeing a conference and a tour that afternoon that had been organised by a prominent sustainable food trust. The monarchy had to be seen to be going green and doing its bit for the environment, apparently. But the box wasn’t coloured blue. Therefore, technically I could miss it since it wasn’t crucial… I could bugger off with Jeremy, enjoy myself for a few hours. The only last problem in my way was Sophie, and my promise to her. But I was sure I could come up with something that would make it ok.

“I’ll need a ride.”

“Of course, I brought mine. Still can’t believe you totalled your RS7.” He tutted, but he was smirking all the while. “You didn’t deserve her. What on earth were you thinking? But more importantly, why didn’t you invite me? You know I’m always down for a little wager on your illegal races.”

I stood and shrugged off the suit coat, laying it on the back of the chair before rolling up the sleeves of my dress shirt, revealing my healing wound. “It was a last minute decision… Don’t suppose you have extra gear?”

Jeremy’s eyes lit up in excitement, knowing I was caving and he had won. “Hell yeah I have extra gear. Don’t leave home without it.”

“Lets do it then. Hang back a moment, will you?”

“Sure thing.”

Sophie was busy typing on her computer, hammering away at the keys, and I hovered nearby. “Sophie, dearest…”

She swung around, her eyes narrowing.

“I’m going to need you to clear my calendar for the rest of the day.”

“You still have the conference and the tour at the bio-plant starting in half an hour.”

I kept eye contact with her and perched close on the edge of her desk. “They’re not important.”

She jabbed at the duplicate calendar by her monitor. “But it’s scheduled and you are expected to attend. Are you already reneging on your promise?”

“But you said so yourself if it’s not shaded in blue then it’s not important. So technically I’m not breaking my promise, right?”

“I wished I’d never told you that…”

“But you did,” I said grinning.

She dropped her gaze and her shoulders sagged. “I had a feeling you would do this.”

“Oh, come on now,” I said and took her chin so she couldn’t look away.

“The office has made a commitment to these events.”

“Go in my place then,” I fired back, losing my patience. “Take notes, let me know what they say.”

“You’re kidding, right?” she asked, frustration blooming in her eyes. “They’re expecting a prince not, not… me!”

I shook my head, loosening the tie I’d put on this morning. It had irritated me all day, almost strangling the life and will out of me. “I’m not kidding, Sophie, I need a break. I have to ease into this, remember. So, I’ll be out of the office for the rest of the day.”

She stood then, her hands on her hips and her face turning red with anger. “You can’t do this, Sir. We have a deal.”

“How about we make another one?”

“Why should I when I can’t trust you to keep the first?”

“Clear my schedule this afternoon and I’m all yours next week. And if I let you down again, you have my permission to go tattle on me to my father. I’m sure you’re already reporting back to him anyway… Actually, in fact I’ll do you one better, I’ll tell him myself and make sure you get a raise if I screw up.”

Sophie let out a defeated breath, and her hands went up in frustration.

“It doesn’t matter what you say, Will… Sir. You’re going to do what you want regardless… Frederick would never—” I waited for her to finish but she clamped her mouth shut, cutting off whatever she was about to say. She sighed again. I knew I was disappointing her all over again, but the four walls were closing in on me. “At least tell me where are you going?”

“Why?” I asked. “Are you going to come and do scotch shots with me again?”

Her face coloured with embarrassment and I grinned, knowing that she was remembering last night.

“Of course not,” she said in a low voice, “that was a one-time thing. It was unprofessional of me to do what I did. It’ll never happen again.”

“That’s a shame, you were starting to become interesting,” I muttered under my breath, but she’d heard every word and looked up at me, a fiery silence between us.

“You ready?” Jeremy asked as he joined us, the grin on his face telling me he’d been listening to the entire conversation. “We’re killing daylight.” When I didn’t respond he looked Sophie up and down and stood between us, holding out his hand. “I’m Jeremy; we already met, but I would gladly meet you a thousand times more.”

“Hi,” she said with no emotion, pursed her lips and turned back to face me. I almost snorted as I caught a glimpse of Jeremy’s downtrodden face. Jeremy hated to be ignored. “Sir, you can’t go without telling me where. Do you know how much trouble I would get in if anyone found out?”

I looked at her, a thought coming to mind. “Come with me then. You can… supervise. And you can even report back to the almighty king. Call it a business outing. A fact-finding mission. Or better yet, an office bonding session.” I waggled my eyebrows.

She bit her lip and I knew she was thinking about it, torn between her duty to keep me on task and no doubt her curiosity at what exactly I was going to do. Finally, she grabbed her jacket and purse, her mouth set in a firm line.

“Alright, let’s go. I better not regret this. And you still owe me a completed schedule next week and the remainder of this one.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, surprised she’d given in so easily.

She shrugged her shoulders, eyeing me. “If I can’t keep you in the office, and if I can’t make you go to the conference then I might as well make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

“Stupid is his middle name,” Jeremy said, tying to smother his laughter with a cough.

“Funny, I thought it was James,” she quipped back.

“After you, my lady,” I said and held the door open for her, allowing Sophie to walk in front of us.

“She has no idea, does she?” Jeremy asked in a low voice as we walked out of the office toward the parking area where Jeremy’s car was located. “She is going to be so pissed at you.”

“Maybe not,” I answered, unable to take my eyes off her behind as she moved down the hall. That dress was magical, moulded perfectly to her rounded rump, and my cock jumped at the thought of gripping her hips and pressing it against me. She would probably resign on the spot if I did though.

Turning the corner I groaned as I saw the detail that had been assigned to me. Those two had stuck to me like fucking glue all morning. But at least they’d kept their distance the night before. Sophie was already marching towards them and I hurried to catch her, intercepting her at the last moment.

“We’ve had a last minute schedule change and are going on a site visit, no need for you to come, we won’t be long,” I said, clamping my hand on Sophie's arm and began to lead her away. As if on cue, they both stepped forward and blocked our path.

“Your Highness—” said one of the meatheads.

“It’s for my father,” I interrupted. “He wants to build a memorial for my brother.”

Sophie inhaled sharply as detail number one eyed me. I hadn’t had time to learn their names.

“An official visit. Why weren’t we notified?”

“He wants it to be a surprise,” I said quickly, knowing that a bolt of lightning was going to strike me down right where I stood for all of the lying I was doing. Either that or Frederick was having himself a good laugh up above. “So I’d rather not draw attention, you know? Going incognito today is our best option so the paparazzi don’t catch on. Surely you can give me a couple hours?”

“We have our orders, Your Highness…” detail number two said, crossing his arms over his chest. “For your own safety. So you don’t do anything dangerous.”

I reached out and pulled Sophie against me, throwing my arm over her shoulders as I grinned at both of them. “I’ve got Sophie. She’ll make sure I don’t do anything stupid. You know what a stickler for the rules she is.”

Detail number one debated this with himself, his lips twisting in thought. He then glanced at Sophie and I held my breath, wondering if she would lie for me. I had done everything she wanted me to do today, with the exception of the pointless conference and tour. Surely she could give me a few hours to be myself.

“I’ll look after him,” she said in a soft voice, though her body bristled against me. “We’ll be back in two hours tops.”

Finally the men relented—it was probably best for them not to get on my bad side—and I released Sophie, walking past them and out to Jeremy’s car. As soon as we were out in the open, she turned toward me, her eyes flashing angrily.

“If you made me stick my neck out and you end up doing something stupid, I will go to His Majesty and quit on the spot. I will not allow you to jeopardise my reputation here because you are throwing a tantrum and can’t stand a bit of work.”

I stepped close to her. “I promise you, Sophie. I am in full control here. I’m not having a tantrum. But all work and no play makes Prince William a very sad boy,” I said with a pout. “Look, you said it’s possible to do both; having a life and doing my duty. So let’s do that. I can handle both. You just gotta go easy on me for a few days, ok? I’ll make it work.”

She swallowed and stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest. “See that you do, because I really like my position here.”

I gave her an easy smile though inside I was grimacing, knowing that by the end of the day she would probably be hightailing it back to my father. I wanted her to see both sides of me, not just the stubborn bloke she was trying to corral, or the clandestine fool that liked to drink and hide away in his secret club… but the true me. Maybe then she would understand.

I needed her on my side if I was going to be able to do this; live up to Frederick’s expectations and make him proud. It would all be for him.