Alexander: Prince (Members From Money Book 14)

by Katie Dowe

  “You and Deloris are always giving me things. Thanks, love.”

  *****

  Alexander was bored out of his skull. The place was crowded with people of means and the women glittered like so many Christmas ornaments. His eyes strayed to Leesa Wellington and stayed there for a moment. Pity she was not single, he thought cynically as he accepted the glass of champagne. She was quite a beautiful woman that he could not believe had grown children! He looked at the other women around and recognized them as some of the wives of the members of the club he belonged to. They had been called the ‘beautiful wives who made things happened.’ And he could well agree. He downed the champagne and made to go and mingle when he felt a touch on his arm.

  “Alex,” Liana’s sultry voice murmured. He had had a brief affair with her some time last year but had gotten bored by her constant clinginess and her need to get married. “How are you?”

  “Well and you?” He had to admit that she looked sexy in a dazzling see through cobalt blue dress that looked great against her alabaster skin. She had large green eyes and pouty red lips that had been very skilful in giving him pleasure down his pubic area.

  “I miss you,” she said throatily as she moved closer to him. She was not wearing a bra and he could see the outline of her nipples in the dress.

  “You moved on quickly enough from me. I have seen you with Alistair a few weeks ago,” he told her dryly referring to the son of the mayor.

  “We broke up.”

  “Too bad.” He made to move and she stopped him.

  “Could I talk to you for a few minutes?”

  He hesitated and then with an elegant shrug he followed her from the crowded room. She pulled him into a vacant room of the hotel and before he knew what she was doing she launched himself into his arms. He tried pushing her away but she curled her hands around his neck and held on! He managed to untangle her hands and she busied herself pulling down his zipper and reaching inside for his penis. “What the hell!” He had every intention of pulling away from her but before he could do so a flash went off!

  *****

  “Would you mind explaining this?” Amelia Costa asked her son stiffly as she flung the paper towards him. It showed his startled expression and Liana’s hand on his pubic area. The captioned read: ‘Prince Alexander giving in to his baser needs.’

  “She only got to touch it.” He looked at the paper in amusement, noticing his startled expression. “If the photographer had waited a few more minutes then I guess they would be charging me for public nudity.”

  “You think this is a joke?” his mother asked him furiously.

  “No, Mother. I think it is not anyone’s business what I do. I was not into her; she more or less took me by surprise. I was actually trying to get away from her. These people feed off rich and famous people like leeches. How was I supposed to know that there was a photographer lurking around the corner waiting to snap our picture?”

  “We are running a respectable company here, Alexander, and I fully expect you to behave accordingly. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Perfectly,” he said, standing to his full height with his shoulders pushed back and his head held high. For a minute he looked so much like his father that she felt the tears shimmering in her eyes.

  “Please go. I have work to do,” she said quietly.

  “Of course.” With a regal nod, he left the room.

  Amelia slumped into her seat and closed her eyes briefly. Something had to be done about him!

  Chapter 2

  Debbie kept telling herself that she had no cause to be nervous! The woman was a queen in her own right but in the good US of A the playing field was leveled and she had never allowed herself to be intimidated by anyone no matter their status in life but she needed this job. She had been out of work for the past month and her funds were depleting rapidly. She had expenses: rent to pay, not to mention utility bills which kept creeping higher each time.

  She looked up as the secretary motioned to her and got to her feet immediately. She had dressed for the part choosing to wear a brown and tan pantsuit and had pulled back her thick hair severely from her face which gave notice to her high cheekbones. She had put on a minimum amount of makeup not wanting to be very obvious.

  “They will see you now,” the woman said with a smile.

  They? Debbie almost asked her about the ‘they’ she referred to but with a straightening of her shoulders she continued pushing the door open. He was the first person she saw. Maybe it was because he was leaning on his mother’s desk and had an insolent expression on his darkly handsome face. She knew who he was. She had seen his pictures in the papers recently almost caught with his pants down. He was Prince Alexander Costa and from what she had seen of him frequently on social media and in the society rags, he thought of himself of God’s gift to the lowly women of the states.

  “Miss Williams, lovely to meet you,” Amelia Costa said, coming from around her desk and holding out a hand to her.

  “Please call me Debbie.” At least the mother was nice and charming. The man still leaned against the desk and stared at her insolently.

  “This is my son, Alexander.”

  He nodded his head regally without saying a word and Debbie bristled.

  “Please have a seat.” Amelia indicated the chairs behind them and Debbie took one. Amelia sat opposite to her with a sheaf of papers in her hand. “I have asked my son to sit in on the interview as you would be working closely together.”

  Debbie looked up sharply and her eyes met his. A small smile quirked his lips and she looked away. “You are hiring me?”

  “I am impressed by your resume and your ability to react in a challenge. I think you will be perfect for the job. I must warn you though that I am very demanding and I might require you to work some weekends. Whenever I need to get something done. I am afraid I lose track of time.”

  “I have no problem with that.”

  “No social life to speak of?” Alexander asked cynically.

  “Alex-”

  “It’s okay, Mrs. Costa. I don’t mind,” Debbie told her with a smile and then turned to the man lounging against the desk. “That’s none of your business.”

  He straightened up and his nonchalant expression vanished as he looked at her. Amelia had to hide the smile curving her lips. The girl would suit very well indeed!

  *****

  “I don’t think she is suitable,” Alexander said with a pout of his lips. Debbie had left half an hour ago armed with details of the company and her job description. She had also been given a job letter with her salary laid out. She had found it hard not to gasp at the number. It was far more than she had expected. She was starting tomorrow!

  “Why, because she did not bow down at your feet?” his mother asked him mildly. She wanted to give the girl a medal. She had turned her head back and started a conversation and totally ignored him which had peeved him royally.

  “She was rude.”

  “You were rude,” his mother pointed out. “You are used to women falling over themselves to please you and this woman is not doing so. Thank heavens for that.”

  “You expect me to work with her?”

  “I expect you to work with her and improve your image. Your father-”

  “My father would expect me to be the man now that he is not around,” he finished bitterly. “How would you know that, Mother? How would you know what Father expects of me? He has not been around for the past eighteen years, so how do you know?”

  “Because I know him,” she said gently, seeing the hurt and pain on his handsome face. “And I know he wants the best for you and so do I. I am sorry of the circumstances, darling, but it will be resolved one day.”

  Without another word, he walked out of the room leaving her staring after him, her expression somber.

  *****

  Debbie danced a jig! She had stopped at the local store on her way back and bought herself a bottle of Merlot. It was not high end but it was something
at least. She had locked her door and kicked off the tan colored heels she had worn, taken off her jacket, and went straight into the kitchen to pour herself a full glass of wine and now she was doing a jig to celebrate. She was gainfully employed and had the letter to show it. Her expression became sober as she remembered the sullen man who had been mostly silent throughout the interview. But that’s okay, she told herself firmly. He was a man and she knew how to deal with annoying men even if this one was a prince, literally!

  She drank off the wine and went to get her cell phone.

  “You got the job,” Deloris said the moment she answered.

  “I got the job and you will never believe the salary! I will be working late some evenings and on most weekends but I don’t mind. I like her. The son not so much but I can work around that. How is my niece?”

  “Keeping me up at nights,” Deloris said in amusement. “When do you start?”

  “In the morning. Can you get a sitter at such short notice? I want to take you and Mom out for dinner to celebrate.”

  “Clyde’s sister is feeling like crap for the lack of parenting from her brother so she is available.”

  “Good. I will call Mom.”

  *****

  “This is a fancy place. How much does a meal like this cost?” Delia asked, looking around the muted lighting of the restaurant in slight distaste.

  “Don’t worry about it ,Mom. I can afford it. I was just offered a job,” Debbie said in a deliberately pleasant voice. She had not wanted to come, but Debbie had persuaded her.

  “And the food is really nice. I am super happy to be out of the apartment. I love my daughter but having a baby is not all it is cut out to be,” Deloris said with a sigh as she sipped her fruit cocktail. “To just dress up and come out is a blessing.”

  “I cannot understand why you did not invite your brother. Isn’t he a part of this family?” she asked churlishly as she dug into her braised beef.

  “I did invite him, but he said he did not want to come,” Debbie said patiently, wondering how much more of this she could take.

  “Can you blame him? After the way you treated him?” Delia looked at her younger daughter accusingly.

  “Derek is a grown ass man and I am not going to take my hard earned money and support him. If that is treating him bad then so be it!” she hissed.

  “You have no right to talk to me like that!”

  “I have every right. You have always favored him over Deloris and me. It’s always poor Derek this or poor Derek that. Let him go and allow him to grow some balls, Mother!”

  The silence around the table was palpable and for a moment Debbie was sorry she had been so frank.

  “You never liked him,” Delia said tearfully. “You always thought you were better than him.” She pushed herself away from the table and got up to leave.

  “Mom-” Debbie began, but her sister stopped her.

  “Let her go.”

  They watched her leave without looking back at them.

  “What’s a family dinner without drama?” Deloris asked wryly.

  “Do you think she will be okay?” Debbie asked anxiously.

  “She will be. She needed to hear it and I am glad one of us had the balls to tell her,” she said with a laugh.

  “Not funny,” Debbie said darkly and then burst out laughing too.

  *****

  The club was his solace when he needed a place to unwind and forget about the issues surrounding him. He had never discussed his father with his mother or anyone, always keeping it bottled up inside him. With a deliberate smile, he went towards the tennis courts swinging the racquet in his hand. There was already a match going on and he stood by and watched Jerome and Paul battle it out on the court, his expression amused. He was quite good at tennis and most sports himself and he admired a good match.

  He saw when Jerome slammed the ball towards Paul who ducked just in time and called an end to the match. “You in for a round, Prince?” Jerome called out to him as he wiped the sweat from his face.

  “Sure, why not?” he said laconically. Paul passed him with thumbs up sign and went jogging off the court.

  “Sure you don’t want to cool off a little bit?” Alexander asked him with a thick brow lifted.

  “You sound scared,” Jerome taunted.

  “Let’s play,” he said grimly.

  *****

  Debbie did not like him. She always tried to get along with people in general but this time she found that he rubbed her the wrong way. She had arrived at the office on the dot of eight and had found that Amelia was already there. “You are an early one,” she had exclaimed in pleased surprise and had set her up in an office not far from her. “You will be handling everything from personal to business and you will be taking over all my appointments and filtering my calls. Deal with stuff when you can and answer emails. I don’t expect you to come to me for every little thing. I am very busy and I want to lighten my load. Is that understood?”

  “Of course.” Debbie nodded, liking the office she had been assigned.

  “My son can be difficult, but please don’t mind him.”

  “I know how to deal with difficult men. I have a brother who is the bane of my existence,” she told the woman with a straight face.

  Amelia looked at her for a moment and then nodded. “Lunch is provided from the kitchen and will be sent up and also dinner when you are working late.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I have a meeting so I will see you later.”

  Debbie had been so absorbed in what she was doing that she had not heard him come in. She had a system when she was working and it had always suited her fine. She would put things into perspective and sort them into piles and that was what she had been doing when he came in.

  “So what are we working on?” His deep cynical voice caused her to jump a little bit. Her eyes skimmed the obviously expensive charcoal grey vest he had on over his crisp slate grey shirt and matching pants. His jet black hair was combed back from his face and he looked too attractive for his own good. She glanced at the clock on her desk and saw that it was after ten.

  “I am working; I am not sure what you are doing,” she told him coolly and went back to what she was doing.

  She stiffened as he came into the room and leaned against her desk.

  “What bug do you have up your pretty little ass now?” he asked her in a low voice.

  She looked up at him and deliberately put an amusing smile on her face. “My pretty little ass is just fine, Prince; it’s you I have a problem with.”

  She could see the anger in the tightening of his face but did not care. He needed to know she was not afraid of him.

  “Are you working to get fired on your first day?”

  “Are you working to get slapped by a sexual harassment suit?” she countered. He stared at her and for a moment she wavered at his cool stare.

  He leaned off the desk and sauntered away. “If you need me I will be in my office.”

  Debbie settled back against the chair and let out a breath. She had always been told that she talked first and thought later, but she had never been able to stop. She was going to have to dial it back a notch and remember that he was the boss’ son so technically he was her boss as well. She grimaced at the thought and went back to work.

  *****

  Alexander was furious! No one had ever spoken to him like that before and by rights he should have told her to pack her things and leave. How dare she talk to him like that? He moved things around on his desk a little bit and could not help but remember how he had noticed the red dress she was wearing and the curves of her breasts. She had looked up at him and he had noticed that her makeup was minimal. She had looked at him as if he did not matter and no one looked at him like that! His mother had told him to get the details of the meeting from her but he had been so furious that he had left without doing so.

  His intercom sounded and he pressed the button. “The meeting is being held in the conference
room at twelve and you are to take in the report that has been prepared with you.” Her voice sounded sultry over the box and he felt his body tightening.

  “Is that all?” he asked her coolly.

  “The marketing department needs your input as well. I have been going through your mother’s emails and someone sent something for you to her by mistake.”

  “And you read it?”

  “I did.” Her voice was amused. “‘Darling, it has been too long. I have tried to get you by phone but you are not responding. I need to see you.’ End of message. She stressed the need so I guess it is very important.”

  “You think this is funny? You reading my mail?” he asked her furiously.

  “Well, technically, I was reading your mother’s mails. You should tell her to make sure she has the right address before pressing send. It could have been more personal.”

  He disengaged the button and cut her off, his heartbeat racing. How dare she talk to him as if he was an idiot? If her mother did not fire her then he would!

  *****

  “I am afraid Prince Charm- I mean Prince Alexander is quite upset with me,” Debbie ventured later that evening. She had not seen him for the day and suspected that he was avoiding her.

  “You were going to say Prince Charming weren’t you?” Amelia asked her in amusement.

  “I am sorry if I sound insubordinate,” she said with a small smile. “I am used to speaking my mind.”

  “And that is one of the reasons I hired you,” Amelia said with a wave of her elegant hand. Her son had come complaining to her about invasion of privacy and insolence and how they should fire Ms. Williams, but she had told him in no uncertain terms that she had no intention of doing so and he had stormed out.

  “My son has been spoiled all his life and I am happy that there is someone who thinks he does not walk on water.”

  “I had a feeling he thought that,” Debbie said in amusement, causing Amelia to laugh. The day had continued without further incident and when she was leaving at a quarter past six she had not seen him.