Page 9 of All Hale the Queen

“Oh, that sounded convincing.”

I meet her soft eyes. “It feels wrong to date someone who is Remi’s employee.”

“Your son’s a billionaire who owns a considerable amount of property and runs one of the largest businesses in Texas. Half of the people in Houston are probably employees of his in one aspect or another.” She quirks a brow. “Do you really want that to be a factor in who you can or can’t date? Because honey, that will severely limit your dating pool.”

My teeth work the corner of my lip. “I am very attracted to Antonio, and I think the feeling was mutual.”

“Then go for it, Ophelia. Damn, woman. You’ve been single for over two decades.” She shrugs. “Or at least have a little fun with a hot man.”

“I have his suit at my house. Maybe that could be—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa…” Claudia says, waggling both hands at me. “Back the hell up. He left clothing at your house? Like a screwvenir?”

I burst into laughter. Claudia is the friend who got me addicted to Urban Dictionary, as she used it when Ronnie was a teen and she had no idea what he was saying half the time.

“Not at all. I already told you there was no screwing involved. Antonio drove me home as a favor to Remi, and there was a busted water pipe. His clothes got wet when he helped me out, so I had it dry cleaned for him.”

“Well, okay then. We can work with this. You just call and ask him to come pick it up. Then, when he arrives, you answer the door in some sluttified lingerie.”

I smack her arm indignantly. “I most certainly will not!”

“Why not? You’re a hot babe. All your body parts are still in the same place they were twenty years ago since you do yoga and pilates several times a week. You look good, Ophelia, and not just for a woman in her fifties. You could hold your own with most twenty year olds.”

“Okay, that might be pushing it,” I scoff. “Nevertheless, I’m not answering the door in… what did you call it?”

“Sluttified lingerie,” she replies with confidence.

“Yeah, that. But maybe I could offer to cook for him again. He seemed to like my lasagna because he ate half the pan.”

Claudia’s smirk curls her rosy lips up at the corners. “Oh honey. We do love a man who likes to eat our… lasagna.”

She’s so ridiculous, though the idea of that beast of a man eatingmeis now implanted in my brain as we formulate a plan…one that includes only some mild flirting, much to Claudia’s dismay.

And absolutely no lingerie of any kind.

Chapter 4

Antonio

“Good morning, Your Royal Grumpiness,” Mindy Espinoza says sweetly as we enter Remi’s office one morning. She winks at me. “Hi, Antonio.”

I wink back. She is a cheeky one, and I fecking love it. Seven years ago Mindy had a one-night stand with my boss and then ghosted him. Even with my vast contacts, we were unable to locate this mystery woman—who my boss was obsessed with—but when Remi recently returned to the U.S. to take over as CEO of Hale Cosmetics, there she was in his office. As his executive assistant.

Long story short, he got angry and tried to fire her, and she refused to leave, and now they’re in some kind of verbal battle of wills every minute of every day. Watching it happen in real time is the best entertainment I’ve had in years.

Except for that evening with Ophelia last week. I’ve never had that much fun with a woman. It was unexpected, to say the least.

A vibration from my phone distracts me as I sit down across from my boss, and when I see who’s calling, I shoot up like I sat on a giant spring.Ophelia Hale.

I have her contact information in my phone in case there’s ever an emergency with Remington, but I don’t recall a time when she’s ever called me before.

“Everything okay?” he asks, looking concerned, and I school my features. For some reason, I don’t want him to know this is his mother calling. Nothing inappropriate happened with Ophelia, but I can’t deny there was an underlying simmer between the two of us. I didn’t miss her eyes on my thick body and bare, tatted forearms, and I’m sure she noticed my eyes on her as well, though I did my best not to be blatant about it.

“Yes, everything is fine. I’ll just take this out here so you can get to work,” I say, heading for the door we’d just entered. I swipe on the screen and say, “Good morning. Just give me a moment to get somewhere I can talk.”

“Okay, Antonio,” comes her soft reply, and goddamn, she even sounds beautiful with her fluid southern drawl.

I stride swiftly down the corridor until I find a small janitor’s closet and step inside. “Ophelia, are you still there?”