Royal Seductions: Secrets: The Duke's Boardroom Affair. Michelle Celmer

into his office in a snit about her employment duties. And he’d bet his ample net worth that she’d forget to call first.

      For a woman with her education and experience, the backward step from managing a five-hundred-room hotel to the duties of a personal assistant would be tough to navigate. If it were up to him, he’d have found her a position in the hotel. But it wasn’t his call. His cousins, King Phillip and Prince Ethan, were calling the shots.

      The Houghton Hotel hadn’t been acquired under the best of circumstances—at least, not for the Houghton family—and the royal family needed to know if Victoria was trustworthy before they allowed her into the fold. The logical way to do that was to keep her close.

      He could see that she was still distraught over the loss of their hotel and property, but, sadly, the buyout had been inevitable. If not the Royal Inn, some other establishment would have swooped in for the kill. At least with the royal family they were given a fair deal. Other prospective buyers, with less interest in the country’s economy, might have been far less accommodating. But it was possible that Victoria and her father, Reginald Houghton, didn’t see it that way. But at the very least, she could show a little bit of gratitude. The royal family had saved them the embarrassment of both professional and personal financial devastation.

      He’d barely completed the thought when his phone rang. Three short chirps, indicating the call originated from Victoria’s office. She remembered.

      He glanced at his watch. She was early. Only three and a half minutes.

      He answered with a patient, “Yes, Victoria.”

      “I’m ready to discuss my duties,” she said, and there was a distinct undertone of tension in her voice that made him grin.

      “That was quick,” he said. “Come on in.”

      The door opened a second later, and she emerged, a look on her face that could only be described as determined. For a woman her size, barely more than a nymph, she had a presence that overwhelmed a room. A firestorm of attitude and spunk packed neatly into a petite and, dare he say, sexy package. He usually preferred women with long, silky hair—and typically blond—but her shorter, warm brown, sassy style seemed to fit her just right.

      He wasn’t typically drawn to strong-willed women, but Victoria fascinated him. And he wouldn’t mind at all getting to know her better. Which he would, despite what she seemed to believe. It was a simple fact: women found him irresistible. It was exhausting at times, really, the way women threw themselves at him. He didn’t help matters by encouraging them. But he just couldn’t help himself. He loved everything about women: Their soft curves and the silky warmth of their skin. The way they smelled and tasted. In fact, when it came to the female form, there wasn’t a single thing he didn’t adore.

      This time, he had his sights set on Victoria. And he had yet to meet a woman he couldn’t seduce.

      “You have questions?” he asked her.

      “A few.”

      He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “Let’s hear it.”

      She seemed to choose her words very carefully. “I assumed my duties would be limited to more of a…secretarial nature.”

      “I have a secretary. What you’ll be doing is handling every aspect of my private affairs. From fetching my dry cleaning to screening my e-mail and calls. Making dinner reservations and booking events. If I need a gift for a friend or flowers for a date, it will be your responsibility to make it happen. You’ll also accompany me to any business meetings where I might require you to take notes.”

      She nodded slowly, and he could see that she was struggling to keep her cool. “I understand that you need to fill the position, but don’t you think I’m a little over-qualified?”

      He flashed her a patient and sympathetic smile. “I realize this is quite a step down from what you’re used to. But as I said before, until the second phase opens…” He shrugged, lifting his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “If it’s any consolation, since my last assistant left, my life has been in shambles. There will be plenty to keep you busy.”

      For a second she looked as though she might press the issue, then thought better of it. It wasn’t often anyone outside of the family contradicted him. It was just a part of the title.

      She spared him a stiff, strained smile. “Well, then, I guess I should get started.”

      He was sure that once she got going, she would find managing his life something of a challenge. He wished he could say the same for seducing her, but he had the sneaking suspicion it would be all too easy.

      Charles hadn’t been kidding when he said his life was in shambles.

      After a quick tour of the building with Penelope, who had the personality and warmth of an iceberg, Victoria started at the top of his to do list. Sorting his e-mail. She had to go through his personal account and first weed out the spam that had slipped through the filter, then compare the sender addresses on legitimate mail to a list of people whose e-mails were to be sorted into several separate categories. Which didn’t sound like much of an undertaking, until she opened the account and discovered over four hundred e-mails awaiting her attention.

      There were dozens from charities requesting his donation or endorsement, and notes from family and friends, including at least three or four a day from his mother. A lot of e-mails from women. And others from random people who admired him or in some cases didn’t speak too fondly of him. Cross-referencing them all with the list of addresses he’d supplied her would be a tedious, time-consuming task. And it seemed as though for every e-mail she erased or filed, a new one would appear in his inbox.

      When eyestrain and fatigue had her vision blurring, she took a break and moved down to number two on the list. His voice mail. Following his instructions, she dialed the number and punched in the PIN, and was nearly knocked out of her chair when the voice announced that he had two hundred and twenty-six new messages! She didn’t get that many personal calls in a month, much less a week. And she couldn’t help wondering how many of those calls were from women.

      It didn’t take long to find out.

      There was Amber from the hotel bar, Jennifer from the club, Alexis from the ski lodge, and half a dozen more. Most rang more than once, sounding a bit more desperate and needy with each message. The lead offender for repeated calls, however, was Charles’s mother. She seemed to follow up every e-mail she sent with a phone call, or maybe it was the other way around. No less than three times a day. Sometimes more. And she began every call the exact same way. It’s your mum. I know you’re busy, but I wanted to tell you…

      Nothing pressing as far as Victoria could tell. Just random tidbits about family or friends, or reminders of events he had promised to attend. A very attractive woman from a good family she would like him to meet. And she seemed to have an endless variety of pet names for him. Pumpkin and Sweetie. Love and Precious. Although Victoria’s favorite by far was Lamb Chop.

      His mother never requested, or seemed to expect, a return call, and her messages dripped with a syrupy sweetness that made Victoria’s skin crawl. How could Charles stand it?

      Easily. By having someone else check his messages.

      She spent the next couple of hours listening to the first hundred or so calls, transcribing the messages for Charles, including a return phone number should he need to answer the call. Any incoming calls she let go directly to voice until she had time to catch up. Between the e-mail and voice mail, it could take days.

      “Working late?”

      Startled by the unexpected intrusion, she nearly dropped the phone. She looked up to find Charles standing in the doorway between their two offices. She couldn’t help but wonder how long he’d been standing there watching her.

      “I’m sorry, what?” she said, setting the phone back in the cradle.

      Her reaction seemed to amuse him. “I asked if you’re working late.”