My father used to ask me, “How can you rule men if you act like one?”
The answer was simple: you can’t.
Like the Pharaohs of the past, you must be half-man, half-god.
“Sebastian,” I spoke into the phone in my hand, pouring the rest of the wine into my glass, “we’ll be returning home in twenty-four hours.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
Hanging up, I took my glass, walking out on to the balcony, unable to stop the grin on my face as I looked up at the flickering light of the Wilson Bank logo.
“Soon,” I whispered and drank. Soon they’d all be on their knees crying tears of blood, begging me to spare them.
And I’ll place my heels on their heads so they can drink their own tears.
TWENTY
“If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse.”
~ Jim Rohn
DONATELLA
When I came out of the bedroom the next morning, dressed in an ash-gray, off-the-shoulder, cocktail dress and butterfly Louboutin heels, there were many more people within the suite, all of whom were buzzing around Gabriel like bees. I was surprised at his appearance, his choice of clothes. Since he’d arrived in Chicago, I had only seen him in casual, laid-back clothes designed and worn for comfort. Never looking bad, but still not as stylish as he was now; dressed in a slim fit, perfectly tailored, beige suit with a light blue shirt and gray tie and brown spectators. His hair had been freshly trimmed and styled.
Hearing me walk in, he turned to face me fully, and when he did, everyone else automatically stepped back, giving us space.
“Good morning,” he greeted with a smile.
“Depends on who you are,” I replied, looking him over before reaching for his tie and pulling it down so I could take it off easier. Looking over to the rack of clothes, I walked over and picked out another one. He lifted his collar up for me as I put it over his shoulder.
“You aren’t going to tie it for me, too?” he asked, lifting his hands up to finish tying it.
“According to my brothers, I don’t know how to tie a tie well,” I admitted, crossing my arms. “And seeing as you’re all dressed up for some reason, I’m sure you didn’t want me to try and perfect it now.”
“Your Highness,” the same woman with tan skin, long brown hair, and the big hazel puppy-dog eyes came forward, handing him a box.
“Who is this woman and why is she always in my line of sight?” I asked him sweetly, which made him give me a look.
“This is Amelia du Bellay, who, for all intents and purposes, is your first assistant. She’ll help you get acclimated once we arrive in Monaco tomorrow,” he answered, taking the box from her hand.
“Good morning, Madame,” she directed at me.
“Madame? That makes me think of a brothel-keeper,” I made a face and laughed. “Call me Donatella; that is, until you call me Your Highness. And when we are together like this,” I pointed between myself and Gabriel, “please make sure to be three steps away.”
She stared at me like deer frozen in the middle of the road. I lifted my fingers up and said “Un. Deux. Trois.”
Blinking, she took three steps back, and I faced Gabriel again. He was holding a red carnation brooch, the stem of the flower made of white diamonds, and a red teardrop diamond on top of second row of white diamonds. Brushing my hair to the side, he leaned in and pinned it on my dress and whispered, “Try being tad less combative.”
Leaning forward, I whispered loudly, for them all to hear, “I’m giving her a chance to prove herself. If I get to Monaco tomorrow and find out there are rumors of me being mean or bitchy, I’ll blame her. And let my second assistant take her place.”
“Second assistant?” he asked, straightening up to putting on a tie bar with the same carnation design engraved on it and ignoring everything I’d just said. Then again, it wasn’t a message for him.
“You’ll meet her when we leave. I don’t trust your people. I barely trust you. Of course, I won’t go alone,” I told him, already walking to the door. And when I moved, a few of his guards moved with me. To them I said, “Gentlemen, where I come from, guards will gladly die for the person they are protecting. They live and breathe for that person. Their wives are jealous at the degree of their devotion. I tell you this because today you will be tested. Your prince,” I pointed to Gabriel, “is going to face my brothers and explain why I’m leaving them and the city we all grew up in for…” I paused as the words hit me again, “for the rest of my life. I’ve made up my mind and there is no going back unless they kill him, so…make sure he lives through the next twenty-four hours.”
“I’m sure I handle my own,” he said, walking up to me.
I laughed. “Do you have a sister?”