Shantra shook her head. “Ciala and I don’t fight,” Shantra countered. “And we don’t argue with my sisters-in-law either.” She smiled smugly, waiting for Joline’s next verbal challenge.
“I doubt that,” she said under her breath.
Shantra laughed. “Don’t you have some place to be?” she suggested, looking pointedly at the note.
Joline looked at the words again, then set it to the side. “No. We don’t have time for whatever it is that he wanted to discuss with me. We have work to do. Besides, Keith and I have to head back to New York tomorrow and if we’re ever going to open the London store, we have to get things moving. There are too many loose details right now.”
Keith shook his head. “You know darn well that you’ll have everything ready ahead of time. I think the biggest decision is to just settle on the location. Most of the other problems will disappear once that is finalized.”
“You have no idea,” she muttered. “I’m still not going.”
Shantra leaned back, tossing her pen onto the table. “You have to go.”
Joline looked at her friend and cringed, worried about offending someone in a royal family. “Is it a royalty thing?”
Shantra laughed. “No. It is a male-female thing. You either go see what my brother wanted to discuss with you, or you admit that you’re too afraid of meeting with him because he’s the hottest thing on two legs.”
Joline turned to Keith, knowing that he’d support her on ignoring the summons. But the traitor lifted his hands into the air, palms up. “Don’t look to me on this one. You need to get laid.”
Joline couldn’t believe he’d just said that! Her mouth fell open and she couldn’t form words for several moments while both of them laughed, nodding in agreement. “I do not!” she gasped in horror.
Shantra nodded her head emphatically. “You really do. You’re way too uptight.”
“That’s just ridiculous and both of you know that sex doesn’t work that way.”
Keith rolled his eyes. “Oh yes it does! And don’t look to Shantra for an answer because you two are the last virgins on earth. So you’ll just have to listen to me about this. Take my advice. Go to him. Let him show you what sex is all about and then tell me that sex isn’t relaxing.”
Her mouth snapped shut and she huffed for a moment, trying to come up with a valid argument but nothing came to mind. In the end, Joline simply shook her head. “No way. You know my history. I’m not going there.”
“That’s not your history, dearie,” Keith came back gently. “That’s your mother’s history.”
She still wasn’t going there. “I don’t do casual sex.”
Shantra’s smile widened. “So don’t be casual about it. Have a love affair. Let yourself fall in love with him and just enjoy the man.” She laughed again. “I haven’t ever heard his mistresses mention that he left them unsatisfied.”
Joline was panicking and trying hard not to show it. “You two are ganging up on me and I’m not going to let you.”
Shantra knew that her friend was digging her heels in out of stubbornness now so she changed tactics, determined to get her way on this issue. She’d never seen her brother act like this around a woman before so something significant was going on. “Okay, so then it’s a royalty thing. He’s your host and has asked to speak with you. Go now!” she said, waving to Joline. “Keith and I will work on all of the details that you hate, like colors and fabrics.”
Joline cringed inwardly. She really did hate things like that. Keith or Shantra told her what to wear and how to accessorize, otherwise, she’d wear jeans and a tee-shirt all the time. Which was why this team worked so perfectly. Each of them had their own areas of expertise and no one stepped on the other’s toes. The business was thriving because they all worked so well together.
“Fine!” she grumbled. “I’ll go find out what he wants. But I’m not having an affair with him!”
And she stormed out of Shantra’s private suite, irritated that they were even suggesting something so outrageous. Besides, she had so many business issues to deal with, a summons by an arrogant prince was just a nuisance! The man was distracting her which she never allowed men to do. She’d have time for falling in love later, when the business was better established and she had more time on her hands. Right now, every moment of her time, not to mention all of her energy, was focused on getting the business to run smoothly and successfully.
As she basically stomped down the hallway toward the man’s office, she alternately berated herself for being weak around him and nervous because she couldn’t seem to find her gumption when he touched her.