Scandal With a Prince (43 page)

“Shall we be seated for lunch?”
 
Natalie asked, corralling the group.
 
“We’d like to get to know you better, Megan.”

For the next hour, after asking a few general questions about Megan’s background, Natalie and the other committee members discussed the construction of the center, the planned technologies, the center’s current budget, and the types of events they anticipated hosting.
 
The hotel representatives discussed their facilities and plans for coordinating with the new center.
 
Megan gave input where appropriate and asked all the right questions, demonstrating her knowledge of both the new facility and its importance to the country’s economy.
 
Finally, Stefano was asked to give an overview of the country’s transportation upgrades.
 
He managed to sound professional, though he wondered if others at the table could see his emotions written on his face.
 
He wanted nothing more than to pull Megan aside and ask her when she’d decided to interview for the position and, more importantly, why.
 

Had Jack Gladwell changed his mind?
 
If the bastard hired someone else while Anna was in the hospital….

No, he wouldn’t have.
 
From the moment Stefano opened the folder with the job offer, he knew Gladwell was determined to hire Megan, and Gladwell wasn’t the type to change his mind.
 
And the flowers he’d sent to the hospital meant that Megan was on his mind a full two weeks after the offer had been extended.

He was dying to know what happened.

Laughter filled the room as one of the hotel managers described a fiasco involving a sick bird that had made its way into his hotel’s lobby.
 
The sound of Megan’s distinctive, lilting laughter illuminated his soul.
 
What did it matter if Jack Gladwell rescinded his offer or not?
 
Megan was here.
 
He could tell from the subtle looks shared amongst the committee that they liked her.
 
She’d get an offer, he was certain.

He wanted to kiss her into oblivion and beg her to stay.
 
To tell her he couldn’t promise her a life of complete privacy, but he could promise her his undying devotion and love.
 
On the other hand, he knew he wouldn’t.
 
It wouldn’t be safe for her or for Anna.
 
And frankly, he knew the job here, while challenging, wouldn’t give her the paycheck Jack Gladwell could afford.
 
If she wanted the best for Anna, she should accept that position rather than this one.

The waiters cleared the last of the luncheon plates, signaling the end of their interview time.
 
Natalie handed her empty glass to a waiter, then leaned forward to address Megan directly.
 
“You accomplished a great deal at the Grandspire.
 
I hope it’s not improper of me to mention, but you were fairly young to take on such a huge task.
 
I’m sure it was quite intimidating.
 
If we were to offer you this position, it would be even more substantial and would have a higher profile.
 
This isn’t simply one hotel in a chain, it’s our country’s center for business.
 
Our economy will be greatly impacted by its success or failure.
 
What have you learned from your experience at the Grandspire that makes you believe you’d be a success here?
 
Do you have any concerns when it comes to that success?”

Megan’s eyes lit at the question.
 
“I won’t lie.
 
I was scared witless when I accepted the Grandspire job.
 
But I was also more excited by it than by anything I’d experienced to that point.
 
I like a challenge.
 
But what I learned from the experience there is that it’s not all about me.
 
I built a family at the Grandspire, and as with any family, we all have our strengths and weaknesses.
 
It takes getting to know your family to know who is best at which tasks.
 
If someone is talented but struggling with their role, perhaps that role needs to be adjusted.
 
Perhaps the person needs more education or training to meet the challenge.
 
But to do that, you need a foundation built on mutual trust.
 
That’s what created the success at the Grandspire.”

Megan’s gaze took in the committee members one by one, lingering on Stefano before she turned back to Natalie.
 
“When an undertaking is larger than life, even when it seems impossible, trusting those around you makes facing that challenge a lot of fun and ultimately, very rewarding.
 
That trust enables you to leave your fear at the door and work with the belief that everything will fall into place.”

A muscle twitched in Stefano’s jaw.
 
Megan meant for him to understand the deeper meaning of her statement.

She hadn’t come for the job.
 
She’d come for him.
 
And she wanted him to trust
her.

Natalie consulted her notes, then said, “In that case, we’re about done here.
 
You should know that we have one more candidate for the position, whom we’ll be interviewing later today.
 
However, if we were to offer this position to you, would you take it?
 
Or are you considering other offers?”

“Technically, that’s two questions” —Megan’s full lips twitched in amusement, but her voice remained serious— “but they have one answer.
 
This is the offer I want.
 
It gives me a chance to help develop a brand-new facility and put my own mark on it, and that’s rare in this business.
 
In fact, I turned down a very good offer when I learned that this position was available.
 
It was a risk, but I couldn’t ask for anything better than a life and a career here in Sarcaccia.
 
It’s a risk I was willing to take.”

That earned Megan a satisfied nod from Natalie, who pushed back from the table to stand.
 
“Thank you.
 
You’ve given us a great deal to discuss.
 
We’ll make our decision by tomorrow, so expect to hear from me soon.”

A flurry of activity ensued as the committee members’ chairs squeaked back from the table, though Stefano sat riveted, his heart in his throat.
 
He watched as Megan made the rounds, shaking committee members’ hands and thanking them for their time.
 
Only when two men beside him began whispering about how the other job candidate would compare did Stefano shake himself to the present.

She turned down Gladwell.

Still, no matter how well she’d done today, as she’d told him in the hospital, there were no guarantees in life.
 
Ever.
 
The other candidate was solid, too.
 
Megan could be hunting for a job again just as Anna was about to start a new school year.

Without speaking to those seated near him, he shoved back from the table and threaded his way through the room, determination propelling him forward.
 
Trying to reach her in the crowded room reminded him of his thwarted attempts to get her alone on the Grandspire roof the night of the fireworks.
 
He couldn’t be so patient this time.
 
He was only a few feet from Megan when Natalie signaled that she’d escort Megan to the front of the restaurant.
 

“I can call a taxi for you, if you like,” Natalie offered, pulling a cell phone from her handbag.
 
“Are you headed to the airport?”

“My flight’s not for a few hours.”
 
Her gaze flashed past Natalie to Stefano, then back again.
 
“But a taxi to the city center would be great.”

“I’m heading that direction,” Stefano said, inserting himself in the conversation.
 
“I’d be happy to give you a ride.”

“Your Highness?”
 
The room quieted at the shock in Natalie’s voice.
 

Stefano’s eyes didn’t leave Megan as he said to Natalie, “I’ll be back before the next interview.
 
In the meantime, I’ll show Megan what Sarcaccia has to offer.”

He imagined tongues would wag the moment he left the room.
 
It was a risk he had to take.
 
He had to know what she was thinking.

His heart leapt at the mixture of hope and surprise that passed over Megan’s face before she squelched it in favor of a more professional demeanor.
 
“If you think that’s possible, Your Highness, I’d love it.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

“You know, the polite thing to do when visiting is to call first.”

“Who says I wasn’t planning to call when I finished the interview?”

Megan settled back against the soft leather seat of Stefano’s car.
 
She hadn’t expected him to drive a plain sedan.
 
Something more along the lines of a Ferrari or perhaps a James Bond-type Aston Martin seemed more suited to a wealthy bachelor prince wishing to hug the curves of Sarcaccia’s mountain roads.
 
Then again, she hadn’t considered that he’d drive himself at all.
 

His laughter echoed through the car.
 
“Of course you were.”

“I wasn’t told you’d be there,” she replied.
 
When Natalie said the interview would consist of the committee plus a few representatives from the hotel and transportation sectors, the words ‘one of whom is royal’ weren’t spoken.
 
She stole a sideways glance at Stefano.
 
“I also had no idea Mohamed Said recommended me for the job.
 
Or that Natalie Costa is a cousin of Ilsa Jakobsen’s.
 
Did you?”

“I did.”
 
His hands glided over the steering wheel as they turned from the hotel’s tiny parking lot onto the two-lane highway skirting the cliffside, heading toward the marina and modern hotels she’d spotted earlier from the restaurant patio.
 
No other cars were on the road, it was only the two of them, the warm air, and the sunshine.
 

“You didn’t say anything,” she pointed out as she rolled down the window a crack to enjoy the seaside air.

“I needed you to trust me when I said I wasn’t the one who gave the committee your name.
 
I wanted you to know that, for once in my life, I wasn’t trying to control the situation.”

She smiled at that.
 
“And I interviewed for the conference center job without telling you because I needed you to trust
me
.”

“Trust you to…what?”
 
His eyes went to the rearview mirror.
 
He squinted as if searching for something before focusing once more on the road ahead.
 
“Make a stupid decision and turn down a great job in a place you love?
 
A place that’s perfect for Anna?”

“No.
 
I needed you to trust me to make the choice to come here even if you’ve convinced yourself that the situation is impossible.”

“Because if people trust each other, anything is possible?”

She grinned at his mimicry of her interview answer and raised a finger in the air as if she were a schoolteacher.
 
“That was only part of what I said.
 
I also said that everyone needs to understand each others’ roles and adjust accordingly.”

His gaze flicked to the rearview mirror once more before he cut to the left, taking a rutted road off the highway.
 
Her fingers curled around the armrest as her purse bumped off her lap.

“Even I know this isn’t the way to the marina or to central Cateri.”
 
She drew in a sharp breath as the car skirted the side of the cliff.
 
The road looked more suited to sheep or horses than vehicles. “One wrong turn will take us into the sea.”

“Hang on.
 
You’ll see where we’re going.”
 
The car jostled downhill for a few hundred yards until they reached a flat area set into the side of the cliff that offered just enough room to park two or three cars.
 
Stacked stones framed the end of the space and separated it from a small beach.
 
Stefano rolled to a stop and cut the engine.

“I’m not dressed for this,” she noted.

“Me, either.
 
But no one followed us, we’re completely shielded from view, and I thought you might want privacy.”

“With you?
 
On Sarcaccia?”
 

“With me.
 
On a beach.”
 

“Impossible,” she teased.

“Being on a beach with me, or the privacy?”

“You tell me.”

That drew a slow, sexy smile from him, one that made her pulse jump.
 
He opened his car door and signaled for her to do the same.
 
“Come on.”

She followed him to the front of the car.
 
He extended a hand as she approached the stacked stones, helping her to step over them, then brushed off the top so she could sit without ruining her suit.
 
The breeze was light here, with the cliffs protecting them, yet it was enough to keep the air cool and comfortable.
 
Better yet, the water in the cove was calm.
 
The waves lapped the shore in such a gentle rhythm even a child could wade out without fear of being pulled under.
 
How Stefano found this hideaway, she couldn’t imagine.
 
“This is gorgeous.”