7 His Royal Highness of Doucheville

"And we could then..." I was sitting in Jordan's cabin once again on a brand new day, waiting for him to get done with his conversation.

It had been five days since that unfortunate first day at this office and so far, it was just as unfortunate as it had been the first time.

The past week with Jordan wasn't easy. It was every bit as annoying as the first day but I was getting the hang of it. Jordan Parker was everything the tabloids had presumed him to be.

Obnoxious? ✓

Insufferable? ✓

Arrogant? ✓

Irresistibly hot? ✓

Each time he walked into a room I was in I could feel the air get thinner. He had such an impactful presence that the sense of him being around lingers even after he has left the room.

Each time I see him I feel the blood rush up to my ears.

Each time he opens his mouth to address me my blood turns cold.

Jordan might have the smarts and the looks to keep him sailing through the ocean of society, but the man enrages me with his pomposity and disregard for people he considers to be beneath him.

Every day that I had been here I had to fight for his attention every time we got together to work on the magazine.

Just as always, Jordan was making me miserable right now as well.

He had been speaking to someone on the phone for over an hour while I waited for him to get off it.

I played with the pen in my hand as I waited impatiently for him to continue telling me about his first year as a fresh entrepreneur.

We were in the middle of a session when his phone rang and he picked it up saying it was more important than what we were doing.

"Mr. Parker," I lifted my watch and pointed at it.

Jordan looked at me once before turning his chair to face the large windows and continued his conversation.

I failed at understanding the make of this man's fabric.

What baffled me, even more, was why he had offered to drop me back home the other day. He had shown no interest in me whatsoever the entire week after. We had bickered a bit about his unprofessionalism towards me but other than that the past week had been full of nothing but work.

And I was glad. The sooner I got done with this, the better. I didn't want to keep wasting such precious hours of my life by spending them in the agonizing company of Jordan Parker.

"Kill. Me. Now." I mumbled to myself.

*How's the torture?* A message popped on my phone.

It was from Maddy.

Me: *Torturous.*

Her: *I'll bring donuts. You deserve it.*

Me: *If I eat junk each time Jordan Parker made me want to kill myself then I'll weigh so heavy, the scale will break.*

Her: *So, no donuts?*

Me: *Obviously donuts, Maddy!* (insert angry face)

"Are you done yet?" Jordan's voice reached my ears and I looked at him.

He was sitting up straight and his phone lay screen-down on the table.

"Umm... Yes?" I heard my phone ping but I slid it into my pocket.

"Where were we?" he asked, folding his hands together on the table.

"You were on the phone and wasting my time. I was waiting for you to get productive," I retorted.

"Rose, you don't get to be catty with your boss," he smirked.

"Well that's perfect because you are not my boss," I smiled sarcastically.

Jordan cleared his throat, "I believe you didn't want to waste time."

"You were telling me about your first year in the business," I rolled my eyes and opened my laptop on my lap.

Jordan continued telling me how he set up his empire and answered my questions as I clicked the keys on the keyboard, typing the words I heard.

He told me some already known facts and then some unknown facts. Things were limited to his work. He didn't speak of anything on the personal front. It was quite impressive, I somewhat grew a bit of respect for him as he told about his initial days. He never fell weak on his tone. His patented stern voice recited me the entire journey. Almost an hour passed by and this session was still incomplete.

"And what about those rumors?" I blurted even before I could realize what I said.

I bit my tongue and pursed my lips in realization.

I had not intended to ask him about the rumors in the media about him being a playboy but as I got into the flow of asking him questions, this one doubt tugged at my mind loosely.

"Rumors?" Jordan lifted one brow as he looked genuinely puzzled for a second.

"Nevermind," I said and averted his stare.

"What rumors are you talking about?" he asked again and something in his voice forced me to look directly at him.

"Well, I mean.. the... that—" I licked my lips nervously.

Jordan leaned back in his chair and the corner of his mouth titled upwards. "You want to know if I sleep around much?"

My eyes widened at his blunt reply.

"I don't... I mean, I didn't—" I stuttered.

DAMMIT, USE FULL SENTENCES SKYLAR!

"That's something personal, Rose. I don't think that magazine requires a piece of this information." He still hadn't lost that slight smirk. "But, do you care to find out?"

"No!" I exclaimed. I felt something drop into my stomach.

"Let me know when you change your mind," he said.

"If," I corrected him.

"Uh-huh. We'll see about that," he smirked confidently.

I felt a sensation in my stomach as my heart pulsed at an abnormal rate. A tingly feeling spread through my lower region and my palms felt sweaty.

What was that feeling?

Before I could make more out of it a voice cut through the uncomfortable silence in the large room.

"Mr. Parker, Mr. Andrews is here. He is waiting for you in the conference hall," a female with a thick French accent spoke.

Jordan broke his eyes away from mine and I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I turned to face the voice.

It was Andrea— Jordan's secretary. She stood a few steps away from the door looking tall, pretty, and awfully blonde. She was dressed in a white shirt which was tucked neatly into the tiny waistband of her charcoal trousers.

"I'll be there in two, Andrea," he said and she left.

"Mr. Jordan, we just got started on our work for today and—"

"And I have an important meeting to attend." Jordan got up from his chair. "We'll go over the rest tonight," he said and started walking towards the door.

"Tonight?" I turned to face him.

"Dinner at 8. I'll pick you up," he said but even before I could find my voice to object to his impromptu plans, Jordan was already out the door.

I gaped at the heavy glass door as it closed behind him in confusion.

Dinner?

I detest that guy but I'm a slave to my endocrine system much like every other human being.

I hate the idea of being alone with him. It was already so difficult to gather myself and sit in front of his stare, forcing myself to stay calm and avert his green orbs. Something about the way Jordan looked at me turned my insides to mush.

"Jordan says you can go home." Alec walked into my line of sight but my mind was engaged elsewhere.

I frowned. "He said we'll go for dinner tonight," the words escaped my mouth as my brain tried to seep it in.

"I'm sorry, what?" Alec asked and I darted my eyes to meet his confused face.

"He just asked me out." Alec blinked his eyes as he tried to make something of my words. "I think."

"Asked you out?"

"He said 'Dinner at 8. I'll pick you up.' What does that mean? Why would he— Um, I don't understand."

I was rattled.

"I think that means he wants to eat food with you and talk," Alec said. "Although, in all the years that I have known him he has never had dinner with anyone but his business associates."

"No one?"

"Well, he doesn't enjoy the company of women outside of a bedroom," he chuckled.

The gap between my eyebrows bridged. "I don't want to have dinner with him. The man is insufferable." And extremely irresistible.

"I can't say I know what this is about but I can assure you he won't bite," he said. "At least not literally."

"Huh?" I felt like a nervous wreck inside.

Alec chuckled. "Metaphorically, he can chew your head off. He's a bit—"

"Obnoxious?" I filled in.

"I was going to say complicated but we can put it that way." Alec seated himself in the chair next to mine.

"Tell me one thing," I arched towards him, "What is his problem?"

He frowned.

"I mean, apart from the fact that he's excellent at what he does, there is not a single thing about that man that I could even say is tolerable."

"You just don't know him well enough," Alec replied. "You've only been here a week."

"Exactly," I said. "I have only been here a week and he has been nothing but a bi-polar pompous ass."

A laugh escaped Alec's throat.

I stared at him. "How was is that funny? I don't like the way behaves. It is as if the world works according to him."

"This world does."

"Not mine!" I looked at him in disbelief. "I don't want to have dinner with his Royal Highness of Doucheville."

Another laugh erupted from his mouth. "'Royal Highness of Doucheville?' Oh, man. This is the first time I'm seeing a woman repulsed by Jordan."

"I'm not wrong," I said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Skylar," the playful smile lifted off Alec's face and he sighed deeply. "I can't decide this for you but I can assure you resisting him will get you nowhere. I don't know how he'll fare in the face of rejection considering he's never faced one. At least not when it comes to his advances towards women."

"That is not reassuring."

I felt an uneasy feeling envelop me whole.

"Well," Alec stood up straight and looked at me. "If you're going to make that dinner you should get going."

I smiled mildly and nodded. My insides were bundled up in a tight knot.

Jordan's voices echoed in my head, his words bouncing against the walls of my brain. If I thought any harder, I'd fry my circuits.

Lost in thought, I gathered my stuff and prepared to leave for home.