Page 11 of Some Like It Deadly
Armand laughed. “Enjoy it. Anna’s been talking to Peterson again, and Gretchen. I have three nights in each week. No events.” The genial tone declared the prince had no problems with his fiancée’s decision making.
“Have you two finally set a date?” Richard accepted the glass and stretched his legs out in front of him. They were supposed to be going over the latest corporation paperwork, but neither man reached for the stacks in front of them.
“Fall. She wants an autumn wedding on her parents’ farm.” The smug grin couldn’t have anything to do with the Middle American, rustic setting Anna desired. It was about as far from European royalty as the couple could get.
“Have you told your mother?” Richard lifted his brows. The matriarch highly approved of her future daughter-in-law, but he doubted she’d be as delighted with a hayfield wedding.
“Oh, that was my third call.” Armand laughed. “I had to tell Sebastian and George first, so they would have time for duck and cover.”
“What about your great-aunts?” The dowager duchesses were a canny old pair. Richard made a point of never being in their line of sight if they were expected. Unfortunately,Armand’s wedding would make them unavoidable—particularly since he would be best man.
“Bring a date, unless you want to be Rose’s latest conquest,” Armand advised. His royal cousin had earned her share of notoriety since reaching her majority and she was wild as her twin sister was calm. “Hell, bring two. I’ll get you some numbers.”
Unable to cover a grimace, Richard considered whom he could take to the official wedding. “How much of a circus are you two planning?”
“A small wedding actually. This one will be very intimate, family and friends only.” Which immediately eliminated about three-quarters of the people Armand did business with, and it wouldn’t make them happy.
Unhappy business partners meant meetings to soothe ruffled feathers and more. He’d have to plan ahead for that eventuality.
“You’re never going to pull that off, not after the press already had a taste with Alyx’s wedding.” Armand’s long-lost cousin had made a splashy, royal debut and her wedding to a California software developer had turned into a public relations dream come true—right down to the royal attendants at an American wedding. The ridiculous feeding frenzy that followed had continued to dog Armand and his brothers. Rekindling his relationship with his college sweetheart kept the machine so well fed, Sebastian and George might never come out of hiding.
“We might.” Armand’s sly grin suggested he’d already found a way to resolve the issue. “We’ll be announcing a spring wedding during our late summer fundraisers. First in casual conversation and then with an official announcement when we award the first Princess Alyxandretta Scholarships.”
“Spring. The press will start digging to see where you’re having the wedding.” It might work. They’d be looking in themost logical of places—France, Norway and Los Angeles. “Who’s handling the wedding planning?”
“Anna and her mother. They will do all the ordering and use multiple vendors from around the country. They’ve already started. A small shipment here, a large shipment there—very innocuous and always timed with a charity event. If all goes as planned, we’ll be married with just forty or fifty of our closest friends.”
“That’s a perfect blend of ingenuity and deviousness,” Richard mused, impressed.
“All Anna.” Pride filled Armand’s tone.
Richard approved. He’d had to pick up the pieces when Anna had left Armand all those years before and something inside of his friend had changed, broken and hardened. Armand hadn’t laughed as loudly or smiled as bright. His humor had taken a slightly darker bent and he’d thrown himself into work and foundation projects. In recent months, Richard had seen his old friend re-emerging.
Hell, from his hospital bed and hopped up on medication, Richard had enjoyed a front row seat to the conflict Armand fought with himself over bringing Anna back into his life. Thank God he’d finally forgiven her, and more—fallen in love with her again. Richard wasn’t a romantic—far from it. But Anna and Armand gave him hope.
They fit each other. After all the pain they’d put each other through, they’d found a way to be together, and Armand appeared happier than he’d been in years.
Win-win-win as far as Richard was concerned, even if it did mean a hell of a lot more work.
“Well as much fun as picking colors and plate patterns would be, we should go through all of this.” Sparing a glance at his watch, Richard sighed. “In about forty-two minutes, Kate willpoke her head in here to gently remind me that I have a dinner engagement at six.”
Armand didn’t disguise his amusement. He was all smiles today. “You have your assistant’s timing down that perfect?”
“Hey, you sent her to me. I figured it had something to do with keeping a royal schedule.” Richard appreciated the hell out of Kate’s dedication—she never failed to pull him out of his distractions and always seemed to know exactly what to say to get him moving. He’d discovered that if he occasionally dug his heels in, he could make her frown.
And he liked the feel of her biting wit.
He flipped open the top folder and eyed the language. In addition to opening up new revenue streams, the contracts would include the first European awarded contracts for Spherecast Technologies, courtesy of three corporations that Armand maintained the controlling interest in. Both men wanted to make sure Daniel’s assets—and thus Alyx’s—were wholly protected as he sliced into a market that had formally been closed to him.
“I’ve read the first two and didn’t find a problem.” Armand sobered. “It’s the third one I have some questions about.”
“Reading.” He ignored the urge to hurry. Richard had faith in Armand’s business savvy, but it was Richard’s job to protect the family’s legal interests—and that now included any negotiations with the princess’s husband’s company. Not that anyone would tell Daniel or Alyx until they’d made sure all thet’swere crossed and thei’sdotted—that was how Armand worked.
It’s always easier to ask for forgiveness than it is for permission.
“Doyou know how to play golf?” They were on their way to his club. Richard had swung by her apartment spontaneously to pick her up. He hadn’t been sure whether to be disappointed or pleased to find her dressed and ready for the day when he knocked on her door at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Kate was always so put together, so in charge, he hadn’t called ahead on purpose. He’d wanted a peek at therealher. Instead, she wore jeans, a golden polo shirt and a pair of comfortable running shoes.
“I’m familiar with the game.” It was the most casual he’d seen her since she came to work for him. Though he’d developed a certain fondness for her cocktail dresses. The woman possessed a killer pair of legs. “Although, I’m not entirely certain why you felt the need to conduct business during your tee time.”
