Chapter Seventeen

"GOOD MORNING, MS. DE Vries." Anderson paused. "Forgive me, miss. I meant, good afternoon ."

"Very, very funny." Since the man was sharp as a tack, his "mistake" was definitely a dig at the very shameful fact that she had woken up at half past noon.

"Your breakfast—-" Anderson paused again. "My apologies, miss. I meant lunch—-" The little growl the mademoiselle emitted had the butler permitting himself a smile. While he had always enjoyed working for the prince, it was indubitably more enjoyable these days, with how easy it was to rile up the little miss.

"It's not a crime to sleep late."

"Of course, miss."

"Etienne was the one who insisted I take the day off—-" But she was the one who had said yes, Spencer thought guiltily, and now, everyone at the office probably thought she was the type to take advantage of the fact she was dating the boss.

"I'm screwed," she said out loud. "Aren't I?"

"I'm sorry, miss. It is not my business to comment on other people's screwing—-"

"Anderson!"

The butler decided it was high time to change the subject. "May I take you to the dining room, miss? The chef has taken great pains to prepare all your favorites."

Despite Spencer's protests and grumbling, Anderson refused to let her eat in the kitchen like she used to do and went as far as insisting on pulling her chair out for her.

"Overkill," she grumbled under her breath.

Anderson pretended not to hear this, saying, "The master left this for you, miss."

Spencer didn't know whether to laugh or groan out loud when Anderson actually served Etienne's note to her on a silver tray rather than just handing it to her. It was moments like this that made her occasionally want to pinch herself, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming and all of this was real.

Etienne's bold handwriting had her lips curving as she unfolded his note, but her pleasure quickly gave way to embarrassment as she read his message.

Just as you foresaw, last night had immensely positive results, but unfortunately, this also meant losing the luxury of being next to you when you wake up. I will be out in a meeting with Caros all day, and as I doubt I'll be able to keep my hands off you tonight, I suggest you rest while I'm gone.

P.S. I would like to visit your grandmother with you one of these days. Let me know when it is most convenient for you both.

P.P.S. If you are uninclined to rest, you might want to do a Google news search on your name to keep yourself entertained.

A Google news search? That didn't sound good at all, and Spencer tried to prepare herself for the worst as she typed her name in the search box. A moment later, and the first page of results loaded in her screen, and she choked.

Oh my God.

There were photos and videos of her pole-dancing, and even of Etienne lifting her up in his arms and kissing her. But the worst thing were the headlines that came with them, most of which were complete fabrications. One tabloid claimed she was a hooker in the past; another tabloid painted her as a former drug addict. And those were the nicest ones at that.

She called her grandmother right away, worried about how her grandmother would take the news of her sudden shot to infamy, but the moment Maura came to the phone, she realized she had become anxious for nothing.

"I told you, didn't I?" the older woman said smugly. "The first time I saw you together, I told you that he finds you attractive. Remember?"

Spencer didn't know whether to laugh or groan. " Gran ..."

"He called me, you know."

Spencer shot up in her seat. "What?"

"Just this morning," Maura confirmed. "He wanted to assure me that he was serious about you, and that he hopes to come visit as soon as possible."

"Oh."

"Is that really all you can say?" Maura asked dryly. "You may be my flesh and blood, but I'm not blind, my dear. He could have any woman in this world—-"

"But for some crazy reason, he chose me? Thanks for the vote of confidence, Gran."

" Bah. I raised you myself, missy. I know you're tough enough to handle the truth," Maura said gruffly, "and tough is what you'll need to be, now that you're dating your boss."

"I don't care about what other people say."

"I hope that's true. Because it truly won't be easy for the two of you. Most people will try to tear you down out of jealousy and greed, and the only way they'll succeed is if you start believing in their lies."

"So if they say I'm not in his league, that's a lie, right?"

But the older woman refused to be baited. "You are who you are," Maura said calmly, "and it was the real you that Etienne Hirsche fell in love with. Don't let yourself forget that."

Spencer couldn't help closing her eyes as she listened to her grandmother's advice. It reminded her of the old days, with Maura always being the guiding force and voice of wisdom in her life.

"I miss you, Gran."

"I miss you, too."

"Do you think Etienne and I will last?"

"It's not a matter of will or won't , child. You're going to hurt and disappoint each other sooner or later, and it won't be once or twice. It will happen again and again, and every time it does, that's when both of you have to make a choice. Do you still want it to last?"

HIRSCHE ENTERPRISES had become a beehive of frenzied activity, with everyone - from the company's handful of executives to the hundreds of individuals making up its rank and file - talking (or texting) about last night's explosive news.

"And it all started with that Facebook status change," one of the company's security officers revealed to his comrade.

"Does he even know what his new status means?" a receptionist joked. "We know he's had girlfriends before, but he had never changed his Facebook status for any of them. Maybe he thinks having Spencer de Vries as his driver is already a relationship of sorts?"

"She could be blackmailing him," the nurse at the company's in-house medical facility whispered to her superior. "Things like that happen all the time to people like Mr. Hirsche. Just watch Dynasty ."

"If I had known Mr. Hirsche likes his women plain," a secretary complained, "I'd have had plastic surgery to make myself uglier. I just can't believe someone like her could nab a man like him, and I'm still single. F! M! L! "

It went on and on, with everyone seemingly incapable of holding themselves back from gossiping the moment Etienne walked past them. And because they were all humans, none of them realized that no amount of whispering would have their words escape his Caro senses.

Torv was already waiting outside the building when Etienne came out, and the bodyguard-turned-driver bowed with flourish as he opened the door. "Good afternoon, sir."

"Not one word," Etienne warned.

The seven-foot hulk feigned a look of hurt. "Aw, come on, Your Highness." As he was Caro as well, he, too, had been able to overhear what the humans were saying about their boss. "Where did your sense of humor go?"

"It never existed."

But because Torv had been working for the prince for years, the older man pretended to hear nothing and launched instead into a gleeful recounting of the craziest rumors he had overheard as soon as he was behind the wheel.

"They say you're just a fool like all other the rich guys in the world, and that you fell for a gold-digger."

"I wish," Etienne muttered. Life would be a lot easier if money was the sole basis of his relationship with Spencer.

"A few others, they think you knocked her up, boss."

"Again: I wish."

Hearing this, Torv couldn't help but shoot a look of disbelief at his employer's direction, and through the rearview mirror he saw that the prince wasn't even smiling. It was true then? Etienne Hirsche actually wanted his woman round with his child?

Oblivious to the thoughts running through his driver's mind, Etienne's attention was fully focused on his phone, having seen a new message from Spencer come in.

Spencer : Hey.

Etienne : Hey back.

Spencer : *giggle*

A moment later, the message disappeared.

Spencer removed a message .

Etienne : *smirk*

Spencer : I can't believe how silly I'm acting .

Etienne : Must be something in the air .

Spencer : Yeah. I might be coming down with something.

Etienne : If you're having trouble breathing and your heartbeat's irregular...

Spencer : I might be lovesick?

Spencer removed a message .

Etienne : I was going to suggest heartburn. But that could work, too .

Spencer left the group.

Etienne threw his head back with a laugh.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a closed-door meeting with Domenico Moretti, and by the end of it, both men had successfully ironed out the conditions for an alliance between the old bloods and the packs under the Lyccan prince's leadership.

"I hear you've established the same alliance with the Souris as well?" Etienne asked.

"My sister-in-law, the current Panthera pack leader, also turned out to be the long-lost daughter of the Souris' royal family."

Etienne was incredulous. "You're one lucky motherfucker." While alliances were, of course, not easily broken, it was a different matter altogether when they were strengthened by filial ties.

"If you're in the lookout for a bride," Domenico drawled, " I do still have two younger sisters..." He paused. "Unless, of course, the rumors are true?"

Etienne grimaced. "So you've heard about it as well."

"The sound of hearts breaking over the news could be heard across the Everglades...or so my wife says."

Domenico's sardonic expression had Etienne fighting back a grin. From what he knew of the prince's mate, the words were exactly the kind the rather whimsical Misty would say.

"It is true then?"

Etienne didn't answer right away. It suddenly occurred to him that Misty, just like Spencer, was human, and - just like Spencer as well - happened to be a former employee of Domenico.

"How did you know?"

Domenico was puzzled. "How did I know what?"

"Misty," Etienne said stiffly.

"Ah." Domenico's lips pressed together. It used to be that people only sought his opinion on war and politics, but nowadays people had started seeking his opinion on relationship matters as well. And of course, he only had one person to blame for that.

Misty, my love, you never fail to cause trouble .

Turning back to Etienne, he said bluntly, "Before I give you any kind of advice, you should know that my reasons for marrying Misty in the first place were far from honorable. She had certain qualities that I found useful, and that was basically why I wanted her to be my wife and future queen."

When Etienne made no comment on this, Domenico continued, "She fell in love with me first, and while I didn't intend to return her feelings, it happened anyway."

"It happened ?" Etienne's tone was skeptical. "How does something like that just happen ?"

"There is no formula for it," Domenico said dryly, "if that's what you're hoping for. I can't tell you how, why, or when it happens, Hirsche. But one thing I can guarantee..." Domenico's green eyes darkened with remembered pain. "If you lose her..."

I almost did, Etienne remembered tensely. Although it almost seemed like an eternity ago, he still remembered with painful clarity the feel of his blood turning cold with fear when he came home to find Spencer gone and finding out that she had realized he had been lying to her.

"And you'd do anything to have your woman back..."

Domenico's words kept hauling out memories Etienne wished he could forget. He had always prided himself for his integrity, but when it came to losing Spencer, he always seemed to end up lying to her.

"You'll have your answer then."

Etienne's dark gaze swung sharply at the wolf prince, and a pair of green eyes stared back at him in quiet contemplation.

"Seems like you already had your answer for a while now," Domenico drawled. "Something was just holding you back from seeing it."