Page 14 of Some Like It Deadly
“An introduction to Her Royal Highness.” Kate didn’t miss a beat. She had her phone out and quick typed the text to Mitch. “I think he’s supposed to be charming you, but he has a thing for breasts.”
Pivoting to face her, a quiet anger simmered to life in his blood. “Is he being inappropriate?”
“No, I think he’s going for charismatic or seductive.” The offhand dismissal in her remark didn’t alleviate his concern. Message sent, she tucked her phone into her back pocket and glanced behind them and then ahead to Kravitts taking his shot.
“About your breasts?” He wanted to be absolutely clear when he dealt with the man.
“Well, it started with my ass and moved to my breasts. I assume my lips will be the next topic of conversation if he can get his gaze above the neckline. For some reason he seems to be under the misapprehension that detailing his varied knowledge of anatomy will somehow coax forth an invitation to meet Her Royal Highness.” Kate shrugged. “He’s harmless. Ignore him. Kravitts, however, is not.”
Kravitts definitely wasn’t. The man had an agenda, but he’d dealt with sharks before. “I’ll take care of Bing. You don’t have to put up with that crap.”
Club bag in hand he started forward, irked beyond measure with the sleaze. Kate’s hand touched his arm and he paused mid-step. “Richard, seriously. Ignore him. He’s harmless.”
“He keeps touching you.” An unfamiliar violence surged through him. He didn’t care what the other man’s motivations were, Kate was not an option for manipulation or abuse.
Her expression fluctuated, surprise appearing briefly before it shuttered away and his unflappable assistant reappeared. “I didn’t realize that bothered you. I’ll take care of it.”
“Of course it bothers me.” Did she think it wouldn’t? He ignored the other three men who had begun to look back at them impatiently. They were waiting for Richard to finish his shot. They could wait. “You’re my assistant. I bring you along for your brain, not so others can paw at you like a piece of meat.” Their behavior bugged the hell out of him. It was one thing for businessmen to try and use Richard to get to Armand and his family, he wouldn’t allow them to use Kate that way.
The corner of her mouth turned up and Kate inclined her head. “I didn’t think you had, but duly noted. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Still aggravated, he glanced down the fairway toward the others. Kravitts was using Walsinger to badger him and his brother-in-law to pester Kate, which meant he wanted Richard’s attention divided and elsewhere. “Keep an eye on Kravitts, and if Cousin It touches you again, I’m going to break his hand.”
Another flicker of surprise—apparently his candorhadstartled her. She brushed his forearm, a light caress, soothing and electric in one. The unexpected sensation lanced through his temper. “He won’t. No worries. It’s your turn and they’re impatient. I don’t think Kravitts is done with his show yet.”
Grateful to be on the same wavelength, Richard focused his attention on the men waiting for them. Had Miranda ever suffered this type of treatment? He couldn’t recall—but then he’d never brought Miranda to the course with him.
So why had he brought Kate?
They’d wanted a casual game, to curry favor and win points so they could wheedle a deal, or at least open the talks to one. It was how business was done in higher circles—meetings at the club, a game of golf, a drink afterward and the promise of potential business. A little oily and sometimes more than a little corrupt, but how men played at these levels. But Kravitts should have leashed his pet actor and never involved Kate; it just pissed Richard off.
KATE
After the last hole, Kate had ridden with Richard back to the clubhouse. He’d left her to wait while he vanished into the locker room. She leaned against the wall. After watching him handle the three men on the course, she wasn’t worried about them in the locker room with him, but she couldn’t say the same for anyone else using the club.
Though the club was approved by Peterson because the grand duke often used it alongside Richard, so she suspected they had an inside man, or three, on the staff.
Walsinger appeared in the doorway and gave her a pleasant nod before heading deeper into the club. No sign of Richard or of Kravitts and his little puppy dog, Bing, either.
The next fifteen minutes passed in agonizing slowness. Spending her day off at the golf course hadn’t been on heragenda, but when Richard showed up at her door without preamble or warning she’d agreed.
Not that I needed to, and I could certainly have made a case for staying home.
So why hadn’t she?
Pushing aside that thought, she glanced at her watch. What was taking him so long? Worry ratcheted the tension in her spine. Maybe he’d taken a shower—not that he’d seemed overly warm from the game, but then she didn’t know about his club habits.
“I’m sure it was a misunderstanding.” Kravitts’s voice echoed down the hallway, alerting her a second before the man himself appeared alongside Richard. Bing followed, a half-frown on his face.
“Well then, clarify the part for me that I misunderstood,” Richard said smoothly, but something dangerous lurked in his too polite tone. “You scheduled a tee time with me to discuss business, but invited along Walsinger—a man you know will never be allowed at the table—and your brother-in-law who is only suited for a blackjack table. You then avoid any presumptive discussion of business while letting Walsinger hurl insults. In the meanwhile, your brother-in-law spent the majority of his time hitting on my assistant in an attempt to get information on Her Royal Highness, knowing full well that’s a breach of ethics and privilege at this club.”
Both men had gone very still during Richard’s recitation and Kravitts shot Bing an angry look before his expression smoothed. “I didn’t see your assistant rebuffing him or I would have certainly said something?—”
Richard lifted a hand. “I’m sorry, do you mean to imply that you have no problem with your brother-in-law pawing a woman and making sexual overtures during abusinessmeeting—or anyother kind of meeting, for that matter—provided she doesn’t complain?”
The temperature around them plummeted. Kate wasn’t the only one who noticed the icy force of Richard’s temper. Bing paled and actually took a step back, but Kravitts struggled to find a response, mouth gaping like a fish.
“Of course not, you have my apologies. It won’t happen again.” Without another word, Kravitts turned and seemed to notice her for the first time. With a brusque nod, he hustled his brother-in-law away and left her alone with Richard.
