Page 109 of The Bad Boy Prince in Love
Chapter 59: Terry’s Ultimatum
Hallie probably wouldhave told him not to meet with her, but Luke wanted to find out what was going on and try to disarm this bomb before it exploded.
He wanted to protect Hallie because her feelings got easily hurt when it came to Terry.
They met at a café farther away from the office than the one where he usually had lunch.He didn’t want to risk accidentally running into Hallie and having to explain why he was meeting with her sister.
“Terry, you’re looking fabulous, as always,” Luke began as she approached his table with resolute steps in her cowgirl boots.
“Save your compliments for those naïve girls you seem to like,” Terry replied, keeping a cool façade.
“Like your sister, you’ve got a strong resistance to my charm,” he said, trying to weaken her defenses in any way he could.“I’m going to have to work on that.”
“The jig is up, Luke,” she began, “We know about you.”
“Oh?”he said calmly.“What do you know?That I’m an alien?”He suddenly felt a rush of nostalgia for those first few days he spent with Hallie when she thought he was an alien replica because of his sudden sobering up.
“That’s you’re the royal prince of Sarkadia.”
He leaned back in his chair, rocking back and forth a few times pensively.“Terry, you are pretty smart to have figured that out.Or did you have help?Who’s ‘we’?”
“Doesn’t matter.I’m willing to keep your secret, but only if you help me.”
“Well, why didn’t you just ask?”he replied.“I’m always happy to help you.But I’m not exactly intimidated by your suggestion that my secret could be revealed.Hallie already knows the truth about me.”
“Does she?But our parents probably don’t.What would they say if it was revealed to them rather suddenly?Don’t you think it would sour your relationship with them, which would rather ruin your bargaining chip with Hallie?I don’t know what benefit you get from this setup, but I’m guessing you would lose that benefit if mama and daddy don’t like you anymore.”
“Once again, you impress me with your skills at manipulation,” Luke said, “Okay, let’s hear what you want then.”
“I don’t want Hallie to get the ranch.Now, I know the two of you have some kind of deal where you pretend to be her boyfriend to help her get into mama and daddy’s good graces.But I need you to convince her she doesn’t need the ranch anymore.She’s got a job here now at your company!”
“I don’t know...she can be pretty hard to convince.”
“She can still be the favorite daughter if that’s her jam, but the ranch is mine!”Terry said, putting her fist down.“Otherwise, I’ll reveal your secret and ruin your relationship with my parents, and with Hallie.I’m guessing you like her more than you let on.”
Did he actually like her enough to care about all of these machinations?It was easy to pretend that Terry’s words hadn’t affected him, but he wondered for a moment if she was right.
“Let’s say I refuse—”
“I don’t think you will.You’ve come this far.You even hired her to work for your company.You wouldn’t be willing to take the risk of compromising your position with the family.”
“Okay, Godfather,” he smirked, “let me think about your proposal.”
“Think fast,” Terry warned, “This offer is not going to last long.”
There was one thing he knew for sure: he would simply be bored out of his mind without Hallie.He had to keep her in his life.
Yet, he hated the idea of being controlled by Terry of all people.
“What if I ordered my royal guards to arrest you?”he said, mostly joking, but feeling a little desperate.
“Yeah, right.Your guards can’t do shit here in Texas.And besides, I heard you were kind of a bad prince, so you probably don’t get access to guards or a lot of other perks.”
