The American (Billionaire Royals Book 6) Read online

  At one point he pulled her into his chest and stared into her eyes long enough, he forgot everything except her heartbeat next to his.

  Then a hand tagged his shoulder. What?

  Her musical laughter rang out above the music, and the DJ held up Sage’s hand as the winner. The crowd cheered.

  Thad had to give it to her, he pumped his hands with the rest of them. She was beautiful on the dance floor. And off, he reminded himself.

  He would have to be careful or he would gain far more than a spot as CEO of an American company. Some unwanted complications would confuse the issue, and his loyalties were in Torren. Somehow he didn’t think this high-powered motivated fireball of a woman would be happy living the palace life or even taking on a job in Torren—unless it was King of the country, and that slot was already taken.

  Once the crowds had died down, and Thad and Sage were left to themselves, he found a quiet booth and pulled her in next to him. He took her hand, flirting naturally. “You were incredible.”

  She sipped a water. “So were you! I knew you must be at least comfortable out there or you wouldn’t have suggested it.”

  So she was trying to take a read on him. “Oh ho! And that’s where you are wrong. Sure, I wanted to put a few of our group in their place.” He coughed Devon’s name and then smirked. “But I am perfectly comfortable trying new things.”

  “Are you?” Her expression turned calculating. “So, might I suggest our next activity?”

  He glanced at his watch. “Tonight?”

  “Tomorrow.” Her eyes sparkled with adventure.

  “You’re on. Whatever you’ve got. I’ve got.”

  The music got louder, and conversation became impossible. Thad shouted close to her ear. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  She nodded.

  They made their way outside and walked along the water. He took her hand easily in his. They came to a parking garage pier so they made their way to the end of it. The moon’s reflection stretched out along the water in a great pathway of light. “Did you ever want to travel that moonbeam?”

  She tilted her head in surprise. “No, have you?”

  “Of course. Look at it.”

  She shook her head and leaned her forearms on the deck railing. “You make me question all the responsible and dedicated moments I’ve spent preparing for my career.”

  He ran a hand along her upper back, letting his finger lightly slide across the soft skin at her neck. “I wouldn’t regret those moments. Look at where it’s got you.”

  Her eyes sought his and he was surprised to see a hint of insecurity. Perhaps she was not as self-assured as she let on.

  “Sage. I wanted to thank you for the way you have handled this change in your expectations.”

  She looked away and a more aloof expression altered the lovely vulnerability he had just seen moments ago. “The way I see it, our situations are still in flux. Any day things could change.”

  He nodded slowly. “So, you’re my adversary and my partner?”

  She stepped closer and put a hand on his upper chest. “We have to keep things interesting.”

  He wrapped a hand around her back. “I like interesting.”

  She relaxed against him, her eyes welcoming, gaze moving to study his lips.

  Instead of placing his lips right where he wanted them, he pulled her into an embrace, and kissed the top of her head. “Come on.” He stepped back toward the street. “Let’s catch a cab.”

  She hid her disappointment well.

  He hoped he’d have another chance to feel her soft lips under his, because he wouldn’t soon forget the moonlight shining off their slightly opened readiness.

  But for now, he needed some perspective. And kissing his newly proclaimed adversary was not the way to gain some.

  Chapter 5

  So, he would refuse to kiss her when given a perfectly good chance? Two could play at that game. Sage arrived at work an extra hour early. She was determined to best him. No matter that his main job was to sit as the company’s poster child, she would still best him.

  When the elevator dinged on her floor, she sipped her peppermint tea as she stepped out into the main reception area and just about dropped her cup. Thad leaned against the counter talking to a blushing, giggling receptionist.

  Sage nodded, “Tammy. Thad.”

  “Tammy! That’s your name.” He nodded. “Suits you.”

  Zachary stepped out into the area. “Oh good, you’ve arrived. Together?” His eyes shot up in surprise and suspicion.

  “No, not at all.” Sage waved her hand around. “I mean, we were together last night. But no kissing—” She stopped. “I’m sure you don’t need to know the details.”

  Zachary smirked. “No, I don’t. As long as your shenanigans don’t appear in the press, we don’t need to talk about any of it.”

  Sage couldn’t calm the fire in her cheeks. How could she appear so unprofessional? This whole Thad thing. It was throwing her off her game. She needed some time to do her job without him at her side.

  Zachary waved them to follow. “We have to formulate our first press blitz.”

  Sage cleared her throat. “Um, since I’m not really a part of the press campaign, might I start working some numbers?”

  “Oh, I’d like to work the numbers too, if you don’t mind. I think it might be helpful for us to decide who handles which responsibilities, don’t you?”

  Sage sighed. “No, I think we already decided. You are working on the press and marketing campaign and I’m…doing everything else.” She smiled. She knew that division of the workload wouldn’t fly with him, but she couldn’t resist.

  Zachary stepped into his office. “We can talk about that in here. And yes, Sage, you are needed at this meeting.”

  She followed the men into the room and shut the door behind them all. Once she had taken her seat, Thad and Zachary went over the marketing file and talked of ways to entice the press with their story to get the most coverage possible. “It’s free advertising.” Thad pointed to the resultant sales. “Effective. See those numbers. It’s difficult to copy that return on investment in any other way.”

  Zachary sat back in his seat. “So one way to stay in the press’s eye would be to continue to do press-worthy things.”

  “Yeeeees.” Thad cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. “Or to be press worthy yourself.”

  The pager beeped and before Zachary could answer, a female voice filled the room. “News on channel two. You’re gonna want to see this.”

  Zachary clicked the screen on.

  Images of Thad and Sage together flashed across the screen, and Sage’s stomach dropped. The headline that bothered Sage the most, “Another one of Thad’s conquests, Sage Parker, co-CEO.” Other sound bytes called Thad the prince taking Wall Street by storm. A royal takeover. And many more.

  The more they heard, the whiter Zachary’s face turned. And then a different reporter interrupted and said, “This shot was taken down by the river, romantic meetings in secret, after hours.”

  Thad stood up. “Are these legitimate news sources?”

  Sage nodded. “They are viewed as such.”

  Zachary clicked off the television. “What else do I need to know? So I don’t have to watch this any longer.” His face was indifferent, but the anger flashed in his eyes.

  “Nothing. Zachary.” Sage was mortified. She wished to run from the room and hide, right after she called her mom. She glanced at her phone, streams of texts were coming through. “I promise. There is nothing more to the night. The spin is just that, a spin.”

  Thad toyed with his paperwork. “Down by the river, I would have kissed her. But she kept it platonic.”

  What? She shook her head but he held a hand up. “And that’s all there is to know. She’s stunning. I could easily be attracted to such a woman. But we have no plans to confuse things.” He looked to her, and Sage nodded, blushing furiously, trying desperately to keep the conversation professional.
“Exactly. He’s just the sort of man who could excite me, were we free to do so, but we aren’t. We sort of came to that agreement last night.” Without saying anything at all. She felt so chagrined that if not for his restraint, far worse could have been on film. And yet, he covered for her, acted as though it were him making the moves.

  “But it doesn’t matter so much what happened as what the press says happened.”

  Thad nodded. “Unfortunately true.”

  Zachary slammed his hand down. “How can we move forward with the marketing campaign if you two are already an item? Part of the appeal is the prince’s noted availability.”

  Sage added. “I know. I’m sorry. Perhaps he can be seen with another lady every week?”

  “Possibly.” Zachary rubbed a hand along his chin. “Let’s watch the press for a couple days. Another solution might present itself.” His eyes looked far too calculating. And Sage felt a growing worry.

  Chapter 6

  Thad tried to concentrate. The marketing team sat around a long rectangular table. Images of Thad flashed along the screen at the back wall, the progressive ad sequence looked good. Thad was looking forward to getting this nailed down so he could move on to some real CEO work.

  But everyone in the room felt frustrated. The images of he and Sage had not stopped appearing on websites and talk shows. They were waiting until Sage and he were old news. But one week later and the hype of their relationship was still going strong.

  Zachary knocked on his door. “You have a minute?”

  He nodded, then he stood and excused himself from the team.

  “We have to get moving on something.”

  “I know. The picture by the river just appeared on another talk show. Everyone keeps calling, asking for appearances. It hasn’t died yet.”

  Zachary ran a hand along his chin. “This story, this idea that two CEOs found each other is really resonating with people. Not just any CEOs, two of the best looking CEOs in the business and one a royal.”

  Thad sensed where this was going. “It will die faster than you think. People want conflict more than anything else, secrets, intrigue, disputes. They feed off of it.”

  “Well, we can provide them with conflict too. Think of it, a Princess CEO.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying, maybe we should run with this idea. You said yourself you’d love to pursue her, well, do.”

  Thad grimaced.

  Sage entered. “You wanted to see me?” She looked from one to the other. “What’s up?”

  Zachary motioned that she take a seat. “Thad and I were just talking about how your story, from last week, has not gone away.”

  She huffed out a breath. “It’s only gotten worse actually. I just want to apologize. I could never had predicted this would happen, though I should have seen it coming.”

  Thad chuckled. “You can’t take all the credit. That was epic dancing.”

  Someone had posted a video of their final dance moves and it had one million likes on YouTube.

  Zachary cleared his throat. “All press is good press. I think we are missing an opportunity to pick up more buyers. If you can’t beat them, join them.”

  Sage’s face went white. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying date. Get to know each other. Just do it in a very public way.”

  Sage’s head began to shake as if to say no.

  Thad was inclined to agree. For one, he legitimately wanted to pursue Sage. She was special. But he was purposefully waiting until things weren’t so complicated. This whole set up would probably ruin whatever chance they had.

  Zachary continued without asking what they thought. “And consider a royal wedding, here in Manhattan.”

  Thad’s stomach dropped. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I am. Let’s give them what they want. Make a show of it. Ride this publicity as long as it will take us, and then when it dies down, you guys can quietly break up or whatever.”

  “But Zachary.”

  “No, you two created this mess. On the eve of launching our whole new marketing plan featuring bachelor of the year, Prince of Torren, you get him on the news as something else, someone already taken.” He held up a hand. “And before you say to take pictures of him with another girl, the country already loves you Sage. They want to see you together and will see his betrayal as a betrayal of my company.”

  Sage rested her head on one hand and sat in silence.

  Thad wasn’t sure how to respond. “But a wedding? That is overstepping, surely.”

  Sage looked away but said, “I think Zachary’s right.”

  “What?” Thad couldn’t believe she would agree.

  “It would be the news of the year. The public is engaged. I’ve been paying attention. There are polls of how long it will take before they catch a kiss on camera.”

  Thad groaned. “I’m surprised we aren’t swamped by paparazzi.”

  “Well, NYC is a big place. Security keeps them away from the building complex. But as soon as it leaks where we live…”

  Thad became concerned. “I have security at my penthouse, our country’s bodyguards follow me around and live there. Perhaps you should come stay with me?”

  She laughed. “See. You are already planning the wedding.”

  Frustrated, for the first time Thad considered returning home. It was one thing to put himself at the mercy of the public eye, to try to manipulate the press, but a totally different risk to involve someone else. “Perhaps I should go back home.”

  “Oh no. Then I’m the jilted CEO.”

  “Really, how much does this matter? You are running a proper business, you know, with legitimate stock holders.”

  “It’s all part of the experiment, but I submit that it matters very much.”

  A part of Thad wanted to drop the whole plan and try to be CEO like he’d always hoped. But he knew they wouldn’t keep him on if the marketing plan didn’t come with it. That was part of their agreement. That stung, but he couldn’t blame them. He watched Sage. Could he do this? He knew his heart would become engaged. Was it possible to give the allusion of love and marriage without actually falling in love? And what would happen if their plan was revealed. “This could backfire in an instant. The press doesn’t like to be fooled.”

  “Then don’t fool them.” Zachary’s eyes held challenge.

  Sage opened her mouth. Then closed it, then frowned. “What are you saying? Really get married?”

  Zachary picked up a file on his desk. “Here is the paperwork to apply for a marriage license. I suggest you date, publicly, put on a whole romance show, get married in the biggest event of the decade, go on an elaborate honeymoon and then pose for ‘happy couple’ marketing pictures.”

  Thad sat back in his chair. “When you put it like that, it sounds nice.”

  But Sage leaned forward. “Are you listening to yourselves? We have families.”

  Zachary held up a hand. “And they can’t know it’s a farce. We cannot risk that the word would sneak out.”

  Thad stood and started pacing at the back of the office. “She’d have to come to my country for a separate ceremony there, not to marry us but to acknowledge her as a new princess of Torren. Zachary, this is larger than you realize. And the subsequent divorce would bring out a whole slew of negative feelings in Torren. I need to think of my country. When we marry, we marry for keeps in the Valdez family. I would be the first divorced royal in generations.

  Sage’s worry lines calmed and for a brief moment she smiled in support. Then she put her head back in her hands.

  Zachary stood. “Think about it. If you can find a better option, I’m all ears, but if not, I would like you two married in six months.”

  Chapter 7

  Sage suggested they go to breakfast somewhere. “Let’s get out of this office. We need to think.” She needed to really think. All by herself. But first she needed to make a few things perfectly clear to Thad.

  “But I
need a white board to think.”

  “Ok, let’s order in and we will use the far corner conference room and lock the door.”

  “And turn off the intercoms.”

  “Oh right, no, we need to go somewhere else.” Somewhere no one could listen in.

  “My place.” Thad smiled as though it were suggestive. She knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but something about being at his place felt too overwhelming. She swallowed and tried to smile in return. “Okay.”

  They climbed out of the taxi and entered a beautiful sky-rise on the west side of the park. This part of Manhattan almost felt spacious. The doorman fist bumped Thad and they joked for a minute. Thad introduced her to the man, Sammy, who told her about his wife and new baby. She enjoyed the interchange and when they at last headed to the elevator, she felt she had made a new friend.

  They rose to the top, the eighteenth floor. He used a key to push the bottom. When the doors opened, it was into the front entryway of his apartment. The penthouse living area spread before her, warmed and lit by a wall of floor to ceiling windows overlooking Central Park.

  She rushed to the windows. “This is magnificent.”

  “I couldn’t stand not having a little bit of green. I love the city, but I need a little beauty in my life.”

  She studied the park. “You can even see the boats from here.” The little remote controlled boats were a favorite stop for her ever since she was a little girl visiting from Texas. “And there’s the pavilion where people can play chess.” She turned to him. “You know, that is so charming. I’ve never done it before. Do people actually set up and play there?”

  “You’re asking me?” He chuckled. “I did walk over there to check it out myself. And people were in fact, playing actual chess.” He turned to look at her. She felt his gaze, but she paused before she returned it.

  “This is crazy, Thad. What are we going to do?” She felt trapped. Her job on the line, her reputation she had taken years to build. What would happen to her as a CEO of only three weeks, with this whole press fervor over a supposed relationship with her partner, and then a parting of ways? She might be done in Manhattan.