All the better, I thought. It was going to make my job a lot easier over the next two weeks. The man might be hot as hell, but he was an arrogant ass. The kind who needed his woman to look a certain way before he deemed her acceptable.
Hah.
Madame Jackie stepped forward and coaxed my long black hair into a smooth line over my shoulder as she met Mr. King’s gaze.
“Better?” she asked.
“Much,” he replied in a rough voice. “We should probably get going.”
Katia hugged me with instructions to call her anytime I needed to. I thanked her and Madame Jackie and then stepped towards Mr. King.
“Your bags are already in the car,” he said gruffly. “Do you have everything else you need?”
I nodded.
Whatever hunger I’d seen in his eyes the moment before had vanished, and now his face was a carefully composed mask of neutrality. He didn’t look altogether pleased about this whole situation, but he ushered me towards the door anyway. I took one last look at Katia and then stepped outside.
***
The car ride was uncomfortable to say the least.
Mr. King still hadn’t spoken to me, and that might have been alright if he was actually driving. But of course a man like him had a driver. So that left him sitting right beside me.
I spent some time fidgeting with the hem of my dress and staring out the window. I couldn’t glance in his direction for fear of the disappointment I might find in his eyes. I knew they were on me because I could feel them.
“Harper?”
Oh, God. He was trying to talk to me. He’d probably changed his mind. He was going to pull over and kick me to the curb before we even got there.
“Yes?” I croaked, still unable to look at him.
“Do you mind facing me when I speak?”
His voice was firm and exuded authority that I felt compelled to obey, so I turned towards him slowly. For a moment, I allowed myself to get lost in his endless dark eyes. They really were beautiful.
“What I said earlier…” He rubbed his fingers over his jaw. “It was nothing personal.”
“Of course.” I gave him a tight smile. “It’s just business, right?”
He seemed uncomfortable with my observation. “I don’t often do this,” he admitted. “Actually, I’ve never done this. So I think it’s important I explain what it is I need for you to do.”
“Okay.”
I folded my hands in my lap to keep them from shaking. It was hard to concentrate on his words when he was staring at me like that. His face was still composed, giving nothing away, but his eyes were warm and filled with what I could only describe as curiosity.
“When we’re around my family, I need you to act like a doting girlfriend. Nothing too dramatic. They just need to buy into it.”
“Alright.” I nodded. “I think I can manage that.”
“But there will be some special events,” he continued. “Dinners, parties, things of that nature. And there may be a time when I need you to take it up a notch.”
“Okay.” I swallowed. “So will you tell me beforehand?”
“I might not know,” he said. “So I thought we could use a code word. And if I say it, then you’ll know what I need from you.”
“A code word?”
This sounded more like some sort of spy operation by the minute.
“Anything you want. Something you could drop into casual conversation, but nothing that would be used too often.”
I furrowed my brow as I rummaged around my brain for a word that fit that description. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded. I thought of some of the code words Katia often used to describe her dates, and those were way too obvious. Something simple was what I had in mind. Something that would catch my attention when he said it.
“How about…” I worked to keep my voice smooth and in control. “You just call me a pet name when you want me to kick things into high gear.”
This response made his eyes flare, and I wasn’t quite sure if it was surprise or something else entirely.
“Like a term of endearment?” he blinked. “That’s good. I never thought of that.”
“Thanks.” I lowered my lashes and shrugged. “So do you have anything in mind? What do you want your family to see me as?”