Coming out of a dream-filled sleep, I opened my eyes. It was still dark in the room, courtesy of the blackout curtains I’d closed at some point in the night. A sliver of light peeked through, and I knew it was at least morning.

Turning over, I checked the clock on the side table, and it was nearly seven in the morning.

Sophia stirred and rolled over to face me. Her eyes were still heavy from sleep. “What time is it?”

“Time for me to go,” I said, holding back a groan. I didn’t want to leave her, but coming to see Maddox and how the business faired in my absence was the main goal of the trip.

“No,” she moaned, barely opening her eyes. She reached for me, and I pulled her close and kissed her. She melted into me, and I had to extricate myself from her before we had a redo of the night before. I planned on fucking her again later, but I would never leave if I didn’t do it now.

“I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“Okay,” she conceded and snuggled into the pillow.

“What are you doing today?” I asked her. I’d gotten the hotel room for her to enjoy. There were enough amenities in the hotel to keep her busy for several days.

“Probably more sightseeing,” she said.

I gritted my teeth. I would have preferred she stayed safe in the hotel, but I knew if I said something, that would only make her want to do it more.

“They do have a nice spa here,” I said, in the hopes she would find that more appealing.

“I’ll have to check it out,” she said. Her voice was heavy with sleep, so I left her alone.

It didn’t take long for me to get ready, and by the time I came out of the bathroom, Sophia had fallen back asleep.

I wanted to kiss her goodbye, but I didn’t want to disturb her or be tempted by her naked body again. Instead, I took a mental picture of the sexiest woman I’d ever known. Her breasts slowly moved up and down as she breathed, and I longed to suck those perky nipples again.

And I would soon.

---

On the way to the office, I called my favorite cafe to place a delivery order for the office. Since I would be present at the office for most of the day, I wanted my employees to be happy and on their game. I planned on checking in with all of the departments, and I hoped they were ready for me.

I had given Maddox a day to prepare, and I expected that the day would run smoothly.

Once I walked into the office, a wave of déjà vu flowed over me. Victoria’s head peeked over the top of the desk at the center of the lobby. Her eyes widened, and she stood up straighter. She moved on instinct since technically, I wasn’t her boss anymore. Well, not her immediate boss. The kingdom still oversaw the business, but a vast majority of the executive decisions came from Maddox now.

“Mr. Walters, it’s so good to see you,” she said. “We weren’t expecting you until later.”

“This is still my company, and I am an early riser.”

“Of course,” she said, without missing a step. “I’ll inform Mr. Greene that you’re here.”

“Very well, thank you,” I said and headed for the elevators.

For years of my life, I strode across the lobby on the way to my corner office. It felt strange to come as more of a visitor. I wondered if that was how Father felt whenever he came to “check in” on me. He never ran the business in his youth. He preferred to stay in Qatar as much as he could, allowing whoever he’d chosen as his UK representative to run the company from afar.

While that method worked for Father, it didn’t work for me. I’d hidden in England, avoiding all responsibility when it came to the throne. It was a position I’d never wanted, and I was excited when Father and Mother had Abir on their own. If Father were alive and well, I would have completely agreed with the council that someone from the royal bloodline should rule. But nothing turned out the way I’d wanted.

My chest tightened as the elevator rose to the top floor. My palms started to sweat as I imagined how different life would have turned out if Father never fell ill. I wouldn’t have met Sophia, but I would be living my own life.

I couldn’t imagine life without her, but I would have never known the difference if she hadn’t come over to England for the interview.

I shook my head as the doors opened in front of me. I never regretted meeting Sophia, but I did regret Father dying and his final wish being for me to succeed him.

Stepping out onto the main floor, I stopped in my tracks as Maddox charged toward me.

“Hey, mate,” Maddox said, taking me in his arms for a tight embrace. He slapped a hand on my back a couple of times.

“Maddox,” I said. “Did you miss me that much?”

Maddox laughed and held me at arm’s length. “Blimey, did you stop eating? You’re thin as hell.”

I glanced down at my jacket. I didn’t weigh myself on a regular basis, but I supposed the stress from the job and losing Sophia might have had a physical effect on me.

“It’s a good thing someone ordered all of these amazing pastries for us,” Maddox said, dragging me into the main conference room. “Come on. Have one or five. You need it.”

About a dozen employees gathered around the tables covered with food and coffee.

“Our fearless leader has returned!” Maddox said to the group.

Everyone turned around and made their way over to me. I shook hands and caught up with everyone, even those who ventured into the room later in the morning.

When I worked as the CEO, I knew who worked for me, but I rarely spent time speaking with them. Now that I wasn’t on company time and someone else ran the show, I relaxed a little more and really solidified my connections within the company. I recalled faces and remembered vague details from interviews that were expanded upon throughout the morning. I got to know people’s family lives and what they did on their breaks from work.

A warmth spread through me, and I genuinely enjoyed their company. It wasn’t until Maddox pulled me away for a little one-on-one time that I snapped back to reality. Schmoozing with the employees wasn’t going to get me back to Sophia.

On the way to his office, the one that used to be mine, Maddox chatted up all of the employees that we met along the way. The atmosphere was much different now that he was in charge, and a pinch of jealousy flared in my chest. I forced it down. It was his right to run the company as he saw fit. He was always a chatty guy, and he used that strength in his running of the company. It hadn’t crashed and burned in the month since I quit, so he was doing something right.

Justine was still at her desk outside of Maddox’s office. She grinned when she saw me. “How was your trip over here?”

“It was good, thank you,” I said.

She glanced at Maddox, and his eyes lingered on her a little too long.

I rolled my eyes but said nothing. Maddox loved to sleep around, but surely, he wouldn’t mess things up with his secretary.

It wasn’t my place to talk. I proposed to a professional reporter whose job was to write a story on me.

---

The interior of the office was exactly how I left it. I wasn’t sure what I expected. A pool table perhaps? Maybe a stripper pole?

But other than Maddox’s jacket hanging by the door, I could have sat down at the desk, and nothing would have changed.

In the short time I’d spent in the building after coming back, my mind wandered once again to the possibility of never accepting the position as king. Only then would I have Sophia and the job that I loved. I could live my life out as the company’s owner and be happy with that.

Why the hell did Father have to die? And why was Abir the way he was? I loved them both, but at that moment, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d lost everything for the both of them.

“You told me you were coming in, but you never told me why,” Maddox said, leaning next to his desk. “What’s going on? Everything okay in Qatar?”

Raking my hand through my hair, I nodded. “Everything is fine.”

“Come on, mate,” Maddox said, indicating the chairs in front of his desk. “Let’s have a little chat, shall we? I know you better than that.”

“Am I that obvious?” I asked, sitting down.

Maddox stretched his long legs out in front of him and crossed his arms. “First off, you could have called me. Showing up here means you want to escape something. Is it Sophia?”

“No,” I said quickly. “She’s fine. In fact, she’s the best part of my life right now. I proposed to her.”

Maddox lifted his thick eyebrows. “Did she say yes?”

“She did.”

Maddox clapped his hands together. “That’s brilliant. Congrats, mate. How come you didn’t bring her here today?”

“She’s sleeping in,” I said. “The flight gave her some serious jet lag.” I hated to lie to him, but it was necessary. I didn’t want Sophia there because Maddox was the only one I trusted with the question swirling around in my head. He was a good friend like that; he could spot things that I never could when it came to the hard decisions in my life. He was my sounding board, and I needed him now more than ever.

“The council doesn’t like my decision to marry Sophia,” I said.

Maddox scoffed. “Because they’re jealous?”

“I wish,” I said. “She’s not a traditional wife. I’m not a traditional king for them, either.”

“So, are they kicking you out?”

“They want to. Unless I get rid of Sophia.”

“That’s shit, mate. Can you fight back?”

“I’ve tried,” I said.

“And you want to be the king?”

I nodded. “I have to be the king.” I didn’t want to go into the family politics with Maddox. Abir confided in me about not wanting to be the king, and I had to keep his secret, even though it killed my chance of a happy life.

“That’s rough,” Maddox said. “You’re going to keep the girl, though?”

“Of course.”

“Then there must be another way,” he said. “You’ll figure it out. I know you will make the right choice.”

It was the same thing that Father told me when he’d come to this very office and instructed me to take over for him. It was before he told us all he was sick. My decision would have been quicker if I knew. I would have flown home and been with him for doctor’s appointments and the rest. But that was part of his reason for not wanting me involved.

“You know,” Maddox said. “Your spot is always here if you want to come back. As much as I love the view, I miss you, friend. I’d give it back in a heartbeat if it meant I could see you every day.”

“Is that because you want to see my secretary?” I asked, dropping the bomb.

Maddox clicked his tongue. “You are observant.”

I stood up and shook hands with him. “And you are an ass when it comes to women. You better treat her right.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Maddox said. “But in all seriousness. If it gets too much for you and you want to keep Sophia, come back here. The council can fuck off if they think that you aren’t the best person for this job.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Truly.”

We moved on to business, and that part took less time than the discussion about my ultimatum. Maddox had been doing everything right, and he had even improved the quarterly numbers in that short span of time.

When I left, I was confident in his abilities, even though I was less so when it came to mine and telling the council how I truly felt. Even though I loved getting a chance to meet up with my good friend, he hadn’t provided the sage advice I needed for when I returned to Qatar and faced my fate.