Page 14 of Once Upon a Prince

“Ella. This is a partnership; I wish you would call me Dax.”

“I’m working on it, sir. I like to be professional.”

“Your professionalism and excellent work are why I called you in here today. I was hoping that we could change your job duties. It would require you to work longer hours and take on more responsibility. I would, of course, compensate you for your time.”

“What are the duties and what does it all entail?” she asked.

“As you are aware, I’m going to need to do some traveling in the coming months. I will be in Buenos Aires, Argentina for a little over a week. Most of it will be spent looking at the factory and meeting with their staff. I think it would be beneficial if you were to come along and help to coordinate the trip and my meetings. Also, there will be some dinners that I will need to attend and I think your presence will be a welcome addition.”

“Are you asking me to go on your business trips as your, what, date?” she asked.

“No, absolutely not. I wouldn’t be paying you to be my date. You would act as you do here, as my assistant, my right hand. If you would like to go to the dinner meetings with me, you would be welcomed and appreciated. The dinners can be long and boring and I think you could add some needed color to an otherwise boring evening.”

“Color?” she asked.

I put my head in my hands and shook my head. I was normally very good at talking to a woman and getting her to do what I wanted. I had no idea I could botch something up so horribly as I was with Ella.

“You have a way of talking to people. You put them at ease. You seem to know things about them that no one else does. I don’t know if you research people better than anyone I ever worked with or if you have some strange instinct when it comes to people. Whatever it is, you’re good with people.

“This trip is very important to not only me and my future, but to the company. I want to do whatever I can to make sure it is a success. I think having you there will help me achieve that goal. You have done an excellent job working with me the last couple of weeks. You can anticipate a crisis and divert it before it even occurs. You can multitask better than anyone I’ve ever seen, and your attention to detail and how well you retain information is uncanny. All attributes that would be beneficial for me and the company in Buenos Aires.

“I never meant to imply that you were going to be my date or that you were expected to do anything inappropriate with the people I would be meeting. Most of the trip will be very boring, full of meetings and tours. There will be some evenings where we will be at some very nice restaurants. You are free to have the evening to explore the city yourself, but if you like food at all, and unique experiences, you would not be disappointed by having dinner with me.

“The decision is up to you. I don’t know what your home life is and if you can even take the time. We would be gone for a week, but if you needed to go back sooner, I could have my pilot take you back.”

“Pilot?” she asked.

“Yes. We will be taking my private jet down there.”

“Jet?” she asked.

I smiled and realized what I was telling her and what she was trying to comprehend. I had grown-up with money and privilege. I had only flown on a private jet. It was easy for me to forget sometimes that others don’t have the same luxuries. Though she had made travel arrangements, she knew I was taking a car to Teterboro to fly to Buenos Aires. It mainly was used for private jets. She must not have put the two together.

“Yes. Do you have a fear of flying? We could drive or take a boat but it might take a bit of time.”

“No. I just, um, can I think about it?”

“Yes. Absolutely, take all the time you need. If you do decide to go, you have all my travel information. Just add another room to the hotel reservations. You will need a passport if you don’t have one. We could get one expedited if you need to.”

“I can figure all that out if I decide to go. When do you need my answer?” she asked.

“Soon as possible. No later than the end of the week.”

“Okay,” she said.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I was waiting for her to give me any more questions and I realized she was waiting for me to give her more instructions.

“Unless you have any more questions for me, that’s it for now. Have a good night,” I said.

“You too, sir,” she said and walked to the door. When she opened the door, I called out her name.

She turned and gave me an expectant look, as if she was waiting for me to say something more. I wanted to tell her that I hoped she would come, that I loved the city and wanted to show it to her. I wanted to tell her there were so many things I wanted to show to her and do to her.

I didn’t. Instead, I said, “Please, call me Dax.”

She nodded and said, “I will try, sir.”

She closed the door silently behind her and I stared at the door long after she had left. I wasn’t sure why I was being so benevolent when it came to Ella, but there was something about her that made me want to. It also made me excited and worried about how it was going to be when we were traveling alone together.