Royal Opposites (22 page)

He flipped the envelope over and loosened the string holding the flap down. With any luck, Joan had some massive skeleton in her closet that would take her out of the running once and for all. Even while the notion was still surfacing, Tom shook it away. He knew her pretty well. Tom couldn’t imagine her having done anything his royal PR machine couldn’t spin in a favorable manner. Not when they’d had years of practice spinning his own exploits.

Tom freed the sheaf of paper from its confines and read the contents. The further he read, the more dismayed he became.

Outside of a few indiscretions which weren’t even close to the level of the blunders he’d made, Joan had passed the evaluation with flying colors. In fact, she’d scored higher than the candidate who’d just left his office. He blew out a breath in frustration. What was he going to do? He needed to get married soon. Leave it to him to be the first monarch to fall in love with the perfect woman before he got married but still not be able to seal the deal.

“Darling, I just walked Caterina to her car. She seems quite distressed. What did you do to her?” His mother, Queen Tabitha Josephina du Bacoeur, swept into his office and closed the door.

The skirt of her dress filled almost half of the large space while her presence filled the rest, leaving him precious little room to breathe.

“Nothing, Mother. She just wasn’t right. The fact she came crying to you about the meeting proves my point rather nicely.”

Tom straightened Joan’s vetting information and placed it back inside the envelope. He made sure his movements were neither too fast nor too slow. The last thing he wanted was to tip his mother off to the contents. She’d already interrogated him at every turn about the young woman who’d shared his company during what she now called his “American Ordeal”. Her incessant questioning had him on the verge of demanding that Jai hire her so she could put her interrogation skills to good use on the criminal element.

“All it proves, darling, is your heart isn’t in this.” She swept one manicured hand toward the shelf where the crown newly designed for his wife rested. In keeping with Rafferstonian tradition, he would place it on her head during the wedding ceremony. Also in keeping with tradition, the coronation would take place after the wedding since it would be for his wife and for him. He was fast running out of time for both.

His mother whirled around and pinned him with her gaze.

He hated when she did that. Ever since he could remember, she’d use that look on him and he’d confess his deepest secrets within moments. Well not this time.

“Mother, I really need to get back to work here.”

“Where is your heart, dear boy?” she asked like he hadn’t spoken.

“Mother, I—”

“If it isn’t here, it must be somewhere.” She stepped closer to the desk. She had on her ‘you can tell me anything I’m your mother’ smile, but it did nothing to comfort him. If anything, it made him want to duck under his desk and hide until she was gone. How was that for the future King? He stood, hoping to wrestle the upper hand away from her. Even towering over her the way he did, it didn’t work.

“My heart is irrelevant. The simple fact is, I must be married in two weeks’ time and I’m running out of suitable women.”

Her smile became wistful and her gaze softened. He didn’t think she was seeing him anymore, but taking a trip down memory lane instead. She shook it off and her eyes refocused on his chest.

She straightened the lapel on his suit then gazed up at him. “Your father refused to follow his heart, too. At least until after we were married. Then he followed it quite a bit.” She gave him a smile which didn’t conceal the bitterness in her eyes then gathered her massive skirts to turn around.

Tom stood there in silence when she opened the door. She paused to give him a smile. “I love you, dear boy. I imagine that this ‘traveling companion’ of yours whom you go out of your way to never mention is positively lovely.” She winked at him. “You got your great taste from me.”

He was stunned for a moment. Just long enough for Queen Tabitha to sweep out the door and close it. Then he laughed. What was wrong with him? So what if Joan had left him high and dry at the airport? She must have had her reasons. He’d never know for sure unless he asked her. He was about to be crowned King. He couldn’t afford to be too much of a coward to have a conversation.

He’d feel her out on the queen thing and, oh yeah, loving, honoring, and cherishing him for the rest of her life. Heck, he’d settle for the queen thing. He’d have plenty of time to seduce her into loving him later.

Spurred on by the beginnings of a plan, he hurried around his desk and picked up the phone. He wanted to get this ball rolling. He just hoped it wasn’t too late. Jai had kept him up to speed on her life. The charges against them had been dropped and she’d gotten a job teaching couponing, of all things, at a local college. He could just imagine how much she loved that. She seemed to have picked up her life right where she’d left off and kept moving forward. Almost like he hadn’t mattered at all.

Tom shook his head. He wasn’t going to engage in any negative speculation. He was going to let her tell him ‘no’ if, indeed, that was the answer. The phone was answered on the sixth ring. “Hanger.”

“This is Tomas. How soon can you have the jet ready?”

“Within the hour, sir. The destination, sir?”

“The United States. Santa Monica, actually.”

Chapter Twenty-‐-One

Joan stood to the side of the Walgreen’s checkout counter and monitored the cashier while she rang up George’s purchases.

He balanced his three-‐-year-‐-old on one hip while trying to keep track of what items to put on the counter for the woman to ring up next. His other two children were running around the store somewhere while she guided him through his first attempt at rolling register rewards. She’d tried to get him to do this first run while the kids were in school and day care, but he’d insisted they wouldn’t be a problem.

Of course they were. She’d never seen such big problems.

The two oldest darted in and out of the aisles almost mowing down customers, while the youngest had just stopped crying at the top of her lungs a few moments ago. Joan didn’t envy him at all in his role of single father. Still, that hadn’t stopped her from refusing to hold the toddler while he completed his transactions. Her students needed to learn how to do this on their own. She didn’t even point out mistakes they made in the store. She let them go home and analyze their receipts before the next week’s class. She expected them to have figured it out on their own by then. If they didn’t she walked the entire class through the transactions and let them figure it out as a group. Using this method, they were less prone to make the same mistake again, and everyone else could learn from it, too.

The cashier sent a glare in Joan’s direction when George unloaded yet another tube of toothpaste and some Kool-‐-Aid they’d found on clearance from his cart. Judging by the pile of receipts, he was getting close to twenty transactions. She’d tried to talk him out of so many for his first time out, but like he had with the kids, he’d insisted he could handle that many and still keep everything straight. By her count, he’d failed to roll a register reward at least six times. Each one was costing him quite a bit in his out of pocket expense. Not to mention the goodwill of the cashier.

Joan sent the woman a serene smile and tried not to let too much glee slip in. The last time she’d shopped here, the woman had gone out of her way to embarrass her. She’d even gone as far as to accuse her of coupon fraud in front of a line of other customers. Joan called corporate to report the woman’s behavior and had been assured the problem had been taken care of. She’d done a test run by herself and found the cashier to be gruff but silent throughout her transactions, and it suited Joan just fine. She personally didn’t shop that store much anymore, but she brought problem students, like George, there on purpose.

The child began to whimper again. George turned his attention to the child so he missed that his last register reward didn’t print. He went to put his next transaction on the counter, but Joan put a hand on his arm stopping him.

“Let’s call it a day,” she suggested.

“But I have more items to buy.” He frowned at the few remaining products in his cart. Items he’d already purchased at least ten each of.

Joan nodded to the Catalina machine. “See the red light that just went on?” He checked out the machine and his frown deepened.

“Yeah. Wasn’t it on the whole time?”

Joan shook her head. “It’s either out of paper or ink. You won’t get any more rewards from this register.”

The man leaned forward to look around the register and see the Catalina machine. He brushed against her in the process. Joan stepped back and almost tripped over the man’s son who’d managed to sneak up behind her.

“I see. It’s a good time to call it a day.” He gave her a smile and ignored his son who was wiping something blue off his hands onto Joan’s skirt. She snatched her clothes from the boy’s grasp and nodded at George.

“I know I’m ready to call it day.”

George gathered up his bags. He tried to hand her some to carry, but she stepped away again. He had to learn how to do this all on his own. In reality, the man kinda gave her the heebie jeebies.

Since he’d enrolled in her class, she’d gotten the feeling he was less interested in learning how to coupon than in finding a wife to take care of his kids while providing a luxurious lifestyle at a reasonable price. Needless to say, she was nowhere near interested in that kind of responsibility.

Truth be told, she was happy with her lack of responsibility.

After the depths of the bank fraud had come to light, the money she’d paid them over the last few years had been returned plus some. Even without a job, she could afford to live in relative comfort for quite some time. Then there was the matter of the $800,000 check she had tucked away in one of her file cabinets.

She’d filed it with the rebates because it kinda was, in a way.

Except this was one check she had no intention of cashing.

She knew it was stupid and more than a little pathetic, but it was something that still connected her to Tom. Despite how much his abrupt withdrawal had hurt, she still yearned for even the teeniest of contact with him. Sooner or later she’d be ready to let him go; but for the time being, she’d settle for looking at the check every now and again.

“Make sure you go over your receipts and compare them to the spreadsheet you prepared before going in,” Joan said while George loaded kids and packages into his minivan. Given the increase in kid chatter, she couldn’t be sure he heard her. “See you in class next week.”

Joan waved and began to head out of the parking lot. At first, she’d picked this store to be her favorite because it was within walking distance of her apartment. Once the cashier started being disrespectful, she’d tried the store she passed on her way to and from her previous job.

“Why don’t I give you a ride?” George called after her. “If you don’t mind, we could stop and feed the heathen on the way.”

Joan cringed. She took a moment to rearrange her expression into a smile. She glanced in the van which was now shaking with kids bouncing to and fro instead of sitting in their seats. Yeah, she wanted to prolong her time with them. When pigs flew.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I left my dinner in the oven before meeting you. I don’t want to burn it up,” Joan lied with smile.

“At least let me see you home,” he insisted. Did he never give up? A shriek came from the van followed by loud sobs. He probably couldn’t afford to. He needed someone to share his misery if nothing else.

“Thanks, but no. I have one quick stop to make on the way.”

She gave him another smile. “See you in class.”

Joan retreated. When George’s van headed the same direction on the street she was walking, Joan slowed her brisk pace so he had no choice but speed up to keep from blocking traffic. She waved when he rolled past. Joan turned up the street before hers hoping to further throw him off the trail. The last thing she needed was him showing up at her door. Joan liked the boring pattern her life had settled into. She could do without any further upheavals in her life. When she arrived on her street, the first thing Joan noticed was the limousine parked at the end of the block. Joan smiled.

Prom season was upon them. Images of frilly dresses and magical evenings were still dancing through her mind when she walked up her driveway.

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of a man sitting on the top step of her building. She couldn’t make out his features in the sparse evening light, but reassured herself he had to be waiting for her neighbors. They seemed to always be entertaining company of some type.

He stood when she approached. Close enough now to recognize him, she stopped breathing altogether. Tom. What was he doing here? Why had he come? Was everything okay?

“Hello, Joan.” He smiled that gorgeous smile of his and she almost melted on the spot. Angry at her reaction, she straightened her spine and gave him a nod.

“Tom.” Joan forced her trembling legs up the stairs past him and shoved her key in the lock. She so hoped she’d hidden how shaken she was from his sudden appearance. Joan deposited her bag inside and stood in the doorway. Her instincts were screaming that it would be a mistake to let him in. It was bad enough he’d contaminated her heart. She wasn’t about to let the same thing happen to her home.

He had to take an abrupt step back when she blocked the door with her body. He gave her a puzzled look, then threw her off even further.

“You haven’t cashed the check.”

The check? He’d flown halfway around the world to see about a check? Didn’t he have some assistant who could’ve done the job? Or even a phone call would’ve sufficed.

“Riding the coattails of your celebrity got me a job pretty fast so I don’t need to. Not to mention the fact that the money the bank swindled me out of was returned. With interest.” She smiled. “I guess being royalty has its perks.”

“Actually, that’s what I’d like to discuss with you. May I come in?”