Thank you

She had come so close to exploring that soft side of him and then her big mouth had to open and ruin the moment. That side of him no one had even seen before.

Harold sat on the other side of the table. It was a six member meeting. Kain didn't think it would be a good idea calling out all his staff, especially for a lost cause like Harold.

"I hear you want to expand your fashion ." Harold started to say. Kain chuckled.

"You seem to have a thing for rumors. It must be the secret to your success." He faked a cough at the end. 

Esmeralda stifled a laugh. Harold narrowed down his eyes on Kain.

"Well, when people mistake currency for rumor mongering, you leave it to them to figure it out themselves." Harold said proudly. 

Oh, the man thought too highly of himself.

"We have thought about your offer, Sir Harold." Esmeralda took it upon herself to put a stop to their exchange of words.

"And we have weighed our options. Don't you think you should concentrate on smaller fashion houses instead?" Esmeralda's question caught him off guard.

"Don't you think that's what I'm doing?" He retorted."

"No. Price And Prize is the only fashion house to have successfully launched nine fashion shows in a row. We need either sponsors or partners, not competitors." 

"And as you said earlier, we are expanding our fashion house."

Kain was grinning from ear to ear. He waited for the willy man to say something, and when he didn't, he decided to take over from Esmeralda.

"On this note, we will end the discussion. It was nice, discussing business prospects with you, Sir Harold."

Harold came alone, so he left alone.

Esmeralda heaved a sigh of relief. No drama, no argument. Harold was not a prospective business partner. He was not very honest, and he was economical with the truth.

"The land survey team will resume officially in a month's  time." Kain said to Esmeralda as soon as they had the conference room to themselves.

Esmeralda wondered why he was telling her now. She had heard the rumor too, and she thought he just didn't want to confirm or deny it.

"What you saw back in my suite-"  He looked away from the glass panes to face her.

"I have an animal inside of me." He continued.

"When you put it like that, it sounds so unreal." He smiled at her remark. A genuine smile.

"A beast." He added. He drummed his nails on the glass table. The old table he destroyed the last time had been replaced.

"Do you wish things were different?" Esmeralda asked. 

This was the first real conversation she was having with the prince. He looked at the glass panes again.

"I only wish I knew why I had been cursed." Esmeralda's heart went to him. She felt guilty, extremely guilty. They had one thing in common. He had no idea why he was cursed, and she had no idea what the king must have done to warrant her mother's curse.

"Sometimes the answer to our questions comes at the end."

"Not when there is no end in sight. Everyday looks like the beginning."

"Because you think about it all the time." She argued. Esmeralda thought she heard him chuckle. Maybe he did.

The prince offered to give her a ride home since her car wasn't available. Esmeralda waited for him in the VIP lounge. Their conversation in the conference room gave her mixed feelings. She wasn't sure of her next move anymore. A child was not supposed to pay for the sins of his father. 

Why couldn't her mother resign to fate? Esmeralda had thought of derailing once. Now that she was thinking about it again and weighing her options, she resolved in her mind to stay neutral. She was earning a fat salary, working as the prince's personal assistant.

She would keep her neutral stand until she had enough money to leave Havana.

"Esmeralda." 

She turned her head to see Ravina coming towards her. Ravina sat down next to Esmeralda and crossed her legs.

"We need to talk." She announced.

"Why?" Esmeralda asked.

Ravina looked around to make sure no one was watching or listening.

"You're derailing. This wasn't the plan."

"Why do you think so? Keeping tabs on me?"

Ravina looked unimpressed, as if she had been expecting more from Esmeralda.

"I was stationed here to help you. I'm here for the money. You have to do this for your mother so I can get my full package."

Esmeralda chuckled dramatically before responding.

"So this is about the money?" Esmeralda asked disappointedly. That explained Ravina's overzealousness.

"You and I know you would have done the same thing if you were in my shoes. Your mother gave me a chance, and I seized it. For the future enchantress your mother has been grooming you to be, you don't look cut out for it. This mission requires you to bring him down to his knees, and not sleep around with him."

Esmeralda found it hard to reconcile the woman who had shown her around on the first day of work with the mean one sitting beside her. Her words stung Esmeralda.

Just then the prince and his orderlies came into view. 

"Are you ready?" He asked her.

She nodded, rising on her feet to leave Esmeralda.

"He'll discover who you are in the long run and then you will pay heavily for the sin of your mother. Your sweet romance will come to a pathetic end and the royal family will hunt you down." 

Ravina's words frightened her. She had told the truth. Esmeralda kept her facial expression in check and walked on.

Esmeralda looked back only once when she got to the prince's car. Ravina was smirking. What was she up to? Esmeralda wondered for a moment why her mother feared the Zander's bloodline. If her mother's descendants steered clear out of the way of the Zander's pack, no one would hunt them down.

As it was, there was no pack. The prince was supposed to start a new generation of the Zander wolves in the royal family. There had to be more to the cause of the Mondes war of twenty eight years ago. The books she read did not tell the whole story. There were missing lines and hidden links.

The drive home was quiet. There was no sexual tension. Twice, their hands met by accident. The first time she had wanted to wind down the glass windows. She was used to having her car windows wound down. But the prince was a public figure and never let his car windows down for security reasons.

Instinctively, his hand shot out to stop her from winding it down. His fingers on the back of her palm sent jolts of electricity through the whole of her arm. He seized his hand instantly, realizing she wasn't going to put the windows down.

The second time, her work tablet vibrated on the seat between them and they both reached for it at the same time. He smiled at her, and her insides melted into a watery goo.

"I live at Lakeshore." She announced.

"What avenue?" The prince asked.

She was surprised to hear him ask what avenue she lived on. She didn't think he would know places with their names offhand.

"Third Vilton's avenue." 

"Hmmm. Sergio, tell the driver to stop at Third Vilton's avenue when he gets to Lakeshore.

"We're here." The driver announced fifteen minutes later. Esmeralda got ready to get out of the car. She leaned back to whisper to him.

"Thank you."

"Your car should be fixed by tomorrow. I'll pick you up in the morning."

Esmeralda blushed red. It was just a kind gesture, but coming from the prince, it made her feel special even if she didn't have the right to. He would go back to his cocky self as soon as he recollected himself.