"Take a seat while I will brew some coffee." He pointed at the stool by the counter.
He wondered what was about this girl that made a grown-up Prince like him feel like a nervous kid. He generally never acted like this before.
He could not deny he was still attracted to her. Seeing her again earlier, he could not take his eyes off her. He realized she was everything he did not expect to want from a woman.
Yet, she was not the right woman for him.
She had no title, no prestigious name, and no wealth and influence under her belt. She was a nobody but a commoner. She would never be fit to be his Queen.
Still, he could not stop thinking of her.
"Why am I here?" She took one of the stools at the far left, seemingly anxious about something. "What is it that you want to talk about?"
He had debated what he wanted to say to her while they were in the car. Several ideas came to mind. But one thing was for sure. He still wanted to see her again.
"Did you know I'm Prince Elijah that night we slept together?" He had to know. But would she give him an honest answer?
Was she just another gold digger trying to hook him into her trap? Another one of those women who only see him as an opportunity to climb the social ladder.
"No!" She agitatedly responded as she fidgeted with her fingers on the counter. "I only learned of your identity when..."
"I mean, no. I honestly thought you were Hunter. I mean, I thought you were a driver." She continued after a brief hesitation.
To him, she appeared to be hiding something. But what it was, he had no clue. But could he believe her? Could he trust a woman like her?
"Hmm!" He turned to the brewing coffee, thinking about what she said. "You already know I have you investigated, right?"
He watched her grow restless in her seat, appearing uncomfortable while she waited for the coffee. But he wanted her out of her comfort zone.
He wanted her defense to slip so he could see the real side of this woman who had been playing him that night. Who was this woman who impersonated Princess Jasmin?
Who was this Charlie sitting before him?
Was that even her real name?
"I gather as much. You did not seem surprised to see me earlier." She answered as she fidgeted with her fingers on her lap. "What about you? Did you realize that I'm not the Princess that night?"
Upon discovering that the woman he had spent the night with was not who he thought she was, he contemplated the situation at length.
"I thought you acted differently from the Princess I heard so much about. But it never occurred to me that you were an impostor." He admitted.
Again, that was on him for letting his guard down. He got caught up in the moment. For a brief instant, he allowed this woman to penetrate his highly secured defenses.
Trust was not something he gave to just anyone easily. One had to earn it the hard way. So far, nothing this woman said made her worthy of that.
But here he was, wishing he could believe her.
"I'm sorry about that. I was only doing a job." She quickly stated, looking as guilty as hell.
A job?
He already knew that the Princess hired her, but what else did the Princess ask her to do? Did she also get paid to sleep with him?
"It seemed both of us were hiding our true identity that night, but probably for different reasons." He concluded as he grabbed the boiling coffee and poured two cups.
He never intended to use his driver, Hunter, to substitute in his place. But that night, he had run late from his earlier meeting.
He had no choice but to send someone else before he offended the Princess by not showing up. But in her case, he wondered what was her excuse.
"Then, why did you say that you are Hunter?" She stared at him, appearing curious as she held tightly to her cup.
"I was curious. When I saw you and assumed you were the Princess, I wondered why you ran away." That was initially his only reason.
"However, I realized that it was my chance to see who the real Princess was. I wanted to get to know her. Unfortunately..." He did not know if he regretted it or not.
Now, he was stuck with this fake Princess.
"Unfortunately, the Princess you met that night was me." She finished the sentence for him. "I'm truly sorry for that night. Someone hired me to have dinner with you. That was it."
She let go of the coffee, still untouched, stood up, and started pacing the floor, clearly frantic. "After getting paid, it was supposed to be over. But you suddenly showed up in your car."
Pacing some more, she continued. "I was terrified that you would discover what I did and send me to jail, so I kept up with my act. I continued to pretend that I was the Princess."
Then, she paused and gazed at his face, staring him in the eye. "I did not mean it to go too far, but we were having so much fun, and one thing led to another." Then, she abruptly stopped.
"Then, you slept with me. But that was not supposed to happen. That was not part of your job description." He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the tension between them.
He wished she would tell him the truth. But then again, could he trust her? When he had hundreds of reasons not to.
Damnit, Eli, she is a con artist.
She made a living by acting and lying.
So, how could he even consider hearing her version of the truth?
"No, of course not." She adamantly denied getting paid to sleep with him. "Dinner date was the only arrangement." She made it clear.
So far, he believed she might be telling the truth. Besides, it was he who had pursued her. If he did not follow her, they would not have met.
Moreover, he was the one who made all the first moves. They would not have ended up in bed, sharing an intimate night, if not for him.
Still—
"Was everything about that night just an act?"