After all, besides her father, they were the only other people in the world she could truly trust. They were her life. So betrayal cut quick and painfully.
“I told you what you needed to hear in order to do your job,” Kris stated. “We were handling the rest.”
“‘We’? As in you, Dad and Roland. The men of the family. Let me guess, you were all protecting me, keeping the bad stuff from the youngest child, so that she could continue to smile prettily for the cameras. Keeping the tourists coming onto the island no matter what danger they might encounter?”
Because her hands threatened to shake, Sam clasped them tightly together, concentrating on holding them calmly in her lap. She knew he was staring from where he sat in the chair beside her. She could feel the heat on the side of her face from his glare.
Gary had started this conversation off by declaring that they would continue to act as if they were involved. Sam had been ready to disagree with the plan, despite her own part in instigating it, but Kris had taken the opportunity to drop his little bombshell.
“We are here to keep our people safe,” her father countered. “It is our priority. As Kris stated, we have instituted a complete overhaul of our security program. In addition, we’ve had several meetings with Captain Briggins. As a result of the rise in tourism, we had money in the budget to hire additional officers for his battalion, as well. We are keeping everyone’s safety in mind.”
“You’re also keeping secrets from the island’s goodwill ambassador,” Sam countered. She’d wanted to scream this point to her brother and her father because it seemed as if they weren’t getting the severity of their error. Of course, she didn’t raise her voice. It wouldn’t have been respectful and Sam knew how imperative it was for her to always show respect. She’d watched her mother do it so gracefully that she’d taught herself how to handle difficult situations with the same finesse.
“It was no secret, Sam,” Kris added. “We handle business every day that you know nothing about.”
“Yet you insist on keeping that royal calendar so that you always know where I am and who I’m with. So it’s fine for me to be under your thumb, but I shouldn’t worry about the things you feel I don’t need to know?”
“We each have a job to do here,” Rafe stated, his voice a little louder than it had been before.
“And what’s his job?” she asked without looking over at Gary.
She couldn’t. Not without feeling that eerie stirring in the pit of her stomach that had begun the moment her lips had touched his last night.
“My job was to examine Grand Serenity’s infrastructure and to assist in implementing new security protocols,” he replied.
Resisting the urge to look at him wasn’t going to work this time. Sam turned to him then. That dark gaze of his already engulfing her.
“You work for us and now you’re suggesting that you and I act as if we’re having an affair. That’s the recommendation we paid for?”
It sounded cold and harsh, and so unlike the person Sam really was, that she flinched inwardly at her words. Her emotions were getting the best of her and that was never a good thing. She was taking a deep breath and getting ready to release it slowly when he spoke again.
“If you recall, Princess, you put this play in motion. I’m only suggesting that we capitalize on an event that might otherwise bring unwanted negative attention to the family at the moment.”
He was right and that was perhaps what she hated most about this situation.
“I do not like it any more than you, Sam,” Rafe admitted. “I was not pleased to see my daughter running up to this man and kissing him so wantonly in public. Very unlike you.”
As if embarrassment wasn’t enough, now her father had to add his disappointment to the pile of burdens on her shoulders.
Sam sighed. She couldn’t keep it in and she couldn’t get up and run back to the safety of her room, either.
“Morton Javis has been coming on to me for the last year. In the past few months he’s decided to push a little harder. Last night he was following me around, touching my shoulder, trying to hold my hand. He wanted to do exactly what I ended up doing,” she admitted. “With someone else, that is.”
“You mean he wanted to make everyone believe that you two were a couple?” Kris asked.
Her brother had relaxed his stance only slightly as he looked at her. As for Rafe, his scowl had come as quickly as his hands fisted on the desk blotter where they rested. Her father was a broadly built man with a dark, chocolate-brown complexion and a stern look. To say he was visibly pissed off would be an understatement.
She swallowed and continued. “Yes. I believe that’s what he wanted. He’s told me on many occasions that an alliance between the royal family and a top member of the monarch’s staff would show the people of this island that we see ourselves as one of them.”
“Bullshit!” Gary rebutted before muttering a quick, “Pardon my language, Your Highness,” to Rafe.
“I agree,” Kris immediately replied. “How dare he impose on you in such a way?”
“You should have said something sooner,” Rafe added. “I want him in my office before the day is out and then I want him as far away from this palace as possible.”
“No,” Sam insisted. “That will only play into his ploy. If we fire him now he’ll go straight to the press. He’ll tell whatever he may know about the inner workings of our government and our family. He’s sleazy and he wants attention. We cannot give it to him.”
When they all remained silent, no doubt thinking of a way to go behind her back and handle this on their own again, Sam stood.
“I had hoped that if he saw me with someone else, he would think his chances were lost. That’s why I kissed...um, that’s why I did what I did last night.”
“And that’s why this plan makes sense,” Gary stated. “We can give the press something else to talk about, something better to focus on besides any still-lingering questions about the explosion. At the same time, we’ll be thwarting any attempts on Morty’s behalf to try to discredit or disgrace the princess or the royal family.”
Kris was nodding his approval while Rafe still frowned but did not verbally object. As for Sam, she hated how logical Gary’s plan sounded and more so the fact that she had no one to blame for this new predicament she was in but herself.
Again.
Gary nodded to Phillipe Montenegro, Samantha’s driver. He’d already requested Samantha’s complete schedule for the day and was discussing the route Phillipe would be taking into town. It was almost noon and already the humidity was high enough that the idea of taking a dip in the glistening nearby turquoise sea was more than a little appealing.
There was a breeze that Gary noticed weeks ago when he’d arrived on the island. It could be downright blustery at times, aiding slightly in the cool-off, but this was ultimately air-conditioner weather in Gary’s mind.
He’d already rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and knew his sunglasses protected his eyes from the intense rays of the sun as he stood outside the palace.
In the eight weeks since he’d been on Grand Serenity, he had made a point to know every corner of the royal palace, without becoming too overwhelmed. It wasn’t as easy as it appeared, but Gary had been trained for assignments such as this one. He’d also left all that behind him years ago when he’d walked away from the United States Army.
When in the midst of the conversation, Phillipe suddenly stood a little straighter, his shoulders squared, almost like a soldier coming to attention, Gary knew who