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CHAPTER ONE

VIOLET BARRINGHALL HELD the thick envelope in her hand, e up a thin s her apartment door

She knew its sender without peeking inside Its weighted richness shrieked wealth, and its creaold-eht-hand corner was distinctive enough without her years-long exposure to the faetic arrogance

But more than that she encountered an even purer strain of that pride and arrogance on a daily basis in the forova—the sender of the envelope in her hand

It wasn’t a highbrow invitation

No, this was a summons

She knew this because she’d been responsible for sending out those invitations for his latest fundraising event herself, in her role as his long-suffering dogsbody for the last twelve weeks

Three , of pure hell Of relentless commands and impossible expectations of perfection from a man—no, a prince—who demanded the very best of himself and therefore of everyone else around him as well

As Director of the House of Montegova Trust, a foundation that dealt with everything froovan business interests abroad to charity and conservation work all over the world, the trust had gained international acclaidom

Together with his brother, Crown Prince Reova, and their do over a decade ago

Where others would’ve grown content at achievingrespect and reverence, and rested on their laurels, Zak was even , breakneck work ethic inexhaustible Heck, every facet of his life was lived in high octane

Right down to the revolving-door speed of his personal liaisons

Violet didn’t want to think about that Right now, she’d give anything to coova from her memory At least for the next twelve hours

But she couldn’t

She’d co at his beck and call In fact, that clause was specifically stated in her contract with the trust While she had several reservations about the ree in community development and her personal career ae boost with a stint at the trust on her CV It hy her deliberations about accepting the secondment offer in New York had been woefully short but immensely painful