CHAPTER 2

Pamilerin glared with fury at the security guard, stopping her from going any further into the palace. "I'm telling you that I have an appointment with the king today"

"I'm sorry, but I was not notified, so I'm going to ask you to leave young lady." Dismissing her.

She was not intimidated with the way the guard was trying to stare her down, "look I'm sure it must have been an oversight. Why don't you talk to whoever put you here or even the King to verify? I am sure you will get your answers." She declares, shifting from one feet to another, her patience running thin.

"Fine hold on while I verify your claim."

Pamilerin paced around in the garden, waiting for the security to verify her information, furious with herself for agreeing to come to the palace in the first place.

She surveyed the area, basking in the beauty of the palace. It was a far cry from her notion of how a palace should look, not that she had been inside any before. She had just assumed it would look traditional, but this place was anything but traditional.

It's designed more like a Spanish-style dwelling, situated on a 47-acre estate, 20 miles south of Lagos, State, Nigeria. The property is a mix of natural landscape and formal gardens, with a pool, separate apartments for the guests and staffs of the Palace. She tries to imagine the number of rooms inside. "wow this place looks like all those fairy tale castle" she mutters to herself in amazement.

She suddenly felt as if she was being watched, she looked around to know where the vibe is coming from, her gaze landed on the glass window overlooking the garden area, and from the distance noticed that indeed someone was staring at her. Pamilerin felt the intensity of his gaze and she couldn't look away. It was like being burned after getting too close to a fire; she quickly averted her eyes.

She could not really see the person face clearly, but Pamilerin was sure it was a man staring at her. She wondered who it could be as she slowly lifted her eyes up to see if she could get a closer look, but nobody was there. She was so focused on trying to check if the man was still there when the guard called her.

"Madam I am sorry for keeping you waiting, his royal highness is waiting for you"

She followed him into the Palace as he leads her towards the east wing. Pamilerin tries not to drool at the beauty of her surrounding, but she couldn't help herself, as she was ushered into an office area.

"This is amazing" she whispers, eyes roving around to take it all in. Stepping into a spacious room that she imagines must be the waiting room. Her feet sunk into the plush Persian rug. Custom-made sofas, upholstered in a great plains fabric, graced the cream-coloured room. A pivoting glass panel functioned as the front door.

"Well I'm glad you think so..." She heard a voice drawl right behind her, and she turned abruptly to find out who it belonged to, but in the process, she bumped her knee on one of the chairs, causing her to whimper in pain. "Your highness " the guard quickly bowed. Alexander dismissed him as he rushed to Pamilerin's aid to check her leg. "Pardon me for startling you," his voice was laced with concern as he steered her towards one of the sofas. But her eyes seemed to have developed a mind of their own; she just kept staring at him, her vocal cords refusing to work. She noticed he looked so different from the pictures she had seen on the internet. This man was more intense, more intimidating. Pamilerin also noticed the scar on his left cheek, as if it was carved by a knife on his face, right from under his eyes straight down to his jaw, but it did not succeed in taking away his raw maleness, but rather add raw sexuality to his look, giving him this bad boy vibe.

Pamilerin knew she was staring, but she couldn't seem to help herself. "Y-yes, you did...I mean, no, you didn't...your Majesty." It's like the saliva in her mouth has thicken up, causing her difficulty in swallowing well. It's like a burning sensation is coursing through her body from where he had touched her, causing her to flinch from him unconsciously.

"Your highness..." He corrected her with a hint of arrogance.

"No, I'm not a royalty" she replied not understanding why he is saying your highness to her.

"You know what? never mind" he snaps, suddenly irritated with the way she was staring at him, and he did not miss the way she flinched from him. I'm sure the scar is what caused this much staring, he thought with bitterness. "I believe you are the temp? Right, follow me," he literally barked the order has he led her all the way into his office, not even waiting for her response.

She was taken back with his obvious dislike and arrogance towards her, and wonder why he is behaving as such, when she has not done anything to deserve that. She poked her tongue out, at his back, while he led the way to his office, she quickly looked around to be sure she was not caught making face at the back of the king.

"What was he even doing at the waiting room anyway?" She mumbles silently.

She has already made up her mind that she didn't fancy his arrogance and she will not allow herself to be intimidated, even if he is the king, and if not because she hates going back on her promise, she would have turn back there and then, but Pamilerin rein in her irritation, following behind him into his office.

He gestured towards one of the black swivel chairs facing his own seat with the huge table in between, this time she tried not to get carried away with the beautiful art work that graced the wall, in his office. A book shelf stand occupies one end of the room, with a flower vase placed beside the foot.

Alexander had done a staring of his own, right before she came into his office, when she was kept waiting at the garden area. She is beautiful, he concedes to himself reluctantly, that is if you like the chubby cherubic look, he likes his women tall, but that does not mean he did not admire her curves. The black pencil gown she wore hug her luscious curves, she compliments it with a low black heels.

He has never been one to be bothered about his facial scar, when there are other more painful things to think about, so he wonders why it affects him, that she finds it offensive.

"Let's get started, as to why you are here." He said with a gruff, taking his seat.

It was sheer force of will not to give him a piece of her mind. After all, it wasn't like she had come here to beg for a job. This was a favour she was doing. But years of discipline caused her to reply him politely. "I'm Oluwapamilerin Henshaw, and I'm here, as you must know, to fill in temporarily for the open secretary position." She explained, staring at his bent head, going through something on his computer.

He took another minute before he directed his intense gaze back at her. "Well, based on the recommendations you have, it's alright for you to start work immediately."

Pamilerin almost scoffed at him because she knew it wasn't like there were any other qualified candidates lined up at the moment. She was the one doing him a favour, not the other way round. But who was she to put his royal arrogant majesty in his place?

"Alright Sir, just let me know what you expect from me so I can deliver it properly." Putting on a fake smile.

He drew out a document with her job description and also explained in full detail what he wanted and the amount that she would be earning. She almost dropped her jaw. That figure was unbelievable. She wanted to ask him if it wasn't too much pay, but she decided against it. After all, he was the king; he could afford it.

"Okay your Majesty, will start work on the details, if there is nothing you need sir at the moment can I familiarize myself with my work space?" She asked.

"No there is nothing at the moment—by the way, it is your highness not majesty" he said with amusement.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not really conversant with the royal ways" she replied with mortification.

"It's okay I know, I am sure you will get the hang of it with time. In the main time I will call one of my staffs to show you around, and also to your office, so you won't lose your way" dialling on the intercom to call the person. Pamilerin is sure he is enjoining watching her squirm in embarrassment.

He watched her leave. His instincts told him she would deliver on the job, even if he felt as if he was making a mistake by hiring her. "She looks younger than twenty-seven," he mused, and he had to admit, she was really beautiful.

"Maybe getting to know her will be fun after all," he said with a wicked grin as he placed a call through to Adebayo on his mobile. His friend picked it up on the second ring.

"My king! How are you? " Adebayo's voice fills the other end.

"I'm very well, I want to let you know that the lady you recommended has resumed"

"Oh that's good your highness, I hope you like her." He asked chuckling.

"Well, time will tell, my friend. That aside, how is the water project coming...?" He asked as they switched to another matter.

Pamilerin, waited for the gentleman showing her around, to leave before spinning around in her chair with glee, "well...well he really does have a good taste" she mutters basking in the ambience of her office. She started up her brand-new laptop and fired a series of questions into the search engine, in an attempt to gain more knowledge about her new job. She knew she could not afford to disappoint her father. Even if she was doing this as a favour, Pamilerin had already decided to excel in her temporary position. Nothing gets done using half-measures. Her gut feeling told her the king would be a tough man to work for. Again, she wondered if it was the accident that made him this difficult or if he was just like this.

The google search she did on him, says he is thirty-eight. "He would look a whole lot younger if he learned to smile more," she thought to herself.

She went through her job description and the other documents she has being given as well. Pamilerin knew the job would entail sitting down in one place for a while, hard but not impossible. She continued with her perusal for a few hours, stretching to work out the tight kinks in her neck and back area.

She glanced at the digital clock on her table and sighed, she has spent three hours with the documents she is sorting out and also familiarizing herself with. Pamilerin decides to stretch her leg a bit, leaving her seat, pacing around in her office, hoping to stretch her legs as well. She came to a halt when she heard a knock and Alexander came in.

"Your highness"

"Hello, I hope you are settling down well in your new office, just came in to check on you" noticing she is a bit flustered.

"Yes Sir."

"If there is anything you will need to make your work more comfortable do inform me, I will leave you to get back to your work now, please excuse me" sauntering out of her office.

She rolled her eyes at his retreating back. It must be the royalty thing, he can't help being all macho and arrogant, Pamilerin mutters to herself, the fact that he is handsome too must be an addition. Even with the scar and all she is aware that he affects her in a way she can't put her finger on.

Pamilerin checked her slim black wristwatch and wondered where the time has gone. She quickly packed her belongings into her carry-on bag and stepped out in a hurry. It won't do to appear overzealous. In her haste she ran straight into Alexander's entourage, they were escorting him out of the office area. She tried to step back, to hide in a shadowed corner, but he had already seen her. He signalled to one of his bodyguards, whispering something into his ears, before he entered his waiting car.

The bodyguard came over to where she was, "Hi Miss Henshaw, his highness has instructed me to take you home, this way please" gesturing towards another car, a jeep that was pulling up into the drive way, helping her into the waiting car. She enters, accepting that it is of no use declining the offer without sounding rude.