eyes narrowed. “What would you suggest, Ms. Jackson?”
Oooh, she thought. The Ms. Jackson wasn’t a good sign. “I suggest you get Black assessed by the veterinarian, then get moving with providing his sperm, at a cost, to superior mares. Spreading his sperm is part of his purpose. I’m sure Black would agree with my assessment,” she said wryly.
Stefan lifted an eyebrow and paused. “Put out a press release saying the palace is having Black assessed for stud service. Be prepared for a deluge of calls. Keep records. We’ll return calls later,” he said.
Silence followed. “Will Ms. Jackson be remaining on as stable master? Or will she be moving on?” Franz asked.
“Ms. Jackson remains,” Stefan said and turned and left the room.
Eve stared after him, stunned and uncertain.
Franz glowered at her. “God help us. More records. More return calls. Would it have been so hard to recant your position?”
“Sorry,” she said. “But yes.”
Franz sighed again. “Double the workload,” he muttered.
“It will ultimately be double the money. Black will earn his way and make your job easier. Just give it a little time.”
“We don’t have a lot of time, Ms. Jackson,” Franz said. “Chantaine’s economy is in the loo. Our people are suffering.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Cyncad, but the world economy is struggling. Everyone is suffering. We’re all going to need to get creative to find a way to get Chantaine on the high road. I’m on your side.”
“Hmm,” Franz said, putting his glasses his face and returning his attention to the laptop in front of him.
Eve waited a long moment. “Do you need anything else, Mr. Cyncad?”
“Not now, Ms. Jackson. I shall contact you if I need to. You may proceed with your plans for the day.”
Eve paused, still confused. “Thank you,” she said. “Have a good day.”
Franz gave a short nod, and Eve left the man’s office, still unsure of her status. She hadn’t been fired. Still, what about her relationship with Stefan? Would she be meeting him tonight? Or not?
Chapter Five
After her meeting with Franz and Stefan, Eve felt at loose ends. She checked on the horses, but it was a day off for them, too. After the weeks of preparation, the royal horses seemed determined to laze their day away. She did busywork in the barns and returned to her room, but she didn’t know what to do with herself.
In the back of her mind, she wondered if Stefan still wanted to be with her, but based on his curt appearance this afternoon, she couldn’t imagine her phone ringing. Her cell rang, catching her off guard. Her stomach clenched. Was it Stefan? She glanced at the caller ID and felt a stab of disappointment. It was Bridget.
“Hello,” Eve said. “How are you?”
“Bored and irritated. I was supposed to go to dinner tonight with a friend, but she bailed because she’s not feeling well. You must come with me,” she said, sounding autocratic, then changed her tone. “Pleeeeeeeeeease.”
Eve laughed despite herself. “Sorry, Bridget, but I don’t think I would be very good company tonight.”
“Oh, why not? The parade was a huge success. I took a quick glance at the photographs in the newspaper. You should be flying high,” she said.
“You obviously didn’t read the entire front page. There’s been some controversy about breeding Black, and I was called to the woodshed by Franz Cyncad.”
“Woodshed?” Bridget echoed. “What woodshed?”
“It’s a figure of speech. The woodshed is where you’re taken for punishment, a spanking.”
Bridget gasped. “Franz struck you? Does Stefan know? This is totally unaccepta—”
“No, no, no,” Eve said. “Franz didn’t spank me. He’s just very unhappy with me.”
“Oh, well, Franz is always unhappy. It’s in his job description. If you had a meeting with Franz, it’s all the more reason you should come out to dinner with me. Put on a dress and I’ll have my driver pick you up in an hour.”
“Bridget—”
“I’m not taking no for an answer,” the princess insisted. “Oh, for goodness’ sake, this is getting insulting. Am I such horrid company that you won’t join me even when you have nothing else to do?”
Eve sighed, still full of conflicting emotions. “Okay, okay. Thank you for inviting me.”
“That’s the spirit,” Bridget said. “Ta-ta for now.”
Although she would far prefer a barbecue place where she could wear jeans and a T-shirt, she couldn’t fight the urge to get out. She took another quick shower and pulled on a black halter dress. Instead of putting up her hair, she blow-dried and fluffed it. Since she had time, she applied a little makeup, mascara, a little bronzer, lip gloss …
Her cell phone rang. She glanced at it, hoping desperately that it was Stefan. But it wasn’t. She picked it up. “Hello. Eve Jackson,” she said.
“This is Raoul, Princess Bridget’s chauffeur,” the man said.
Her heart twisting in disappointment, she took a deep breath. “Thank you. I’ll be right down.” Grabbing a sweater, she took the stairs down to the limo.
Raoul stepped outside. “Ms. Jackson?” he said as he opened the door to the backseat.
“Thank you,” she said and climbed into the limo.
“Welcome,” Bridget said, smiling as she held two glasses of champagne, one in each hand. “Girls’ night.”
Eve remembered last night and the champagne she’d shared with Stefan. She slid into the seat and closed her mind to the memory. She accepted the glass extended to her and clicked hers to Bridget’s. “Girls’ night,” she agreed, determined to forget her rotten meeting with Franz Cyncad and the fact that Stefan was clearly displeased with her.
They went to a restaurant in a swanky section of the capital of Chantaine. Eve felt self-conscious at first because they were seated in the center of the restaurant, but Bridget chatted constantly, distracting her. The princess was clearly happy to be away from the palace.
“Do you want to get married?” Eve asked, after Bridget had stared at a hot guy who passed by them.
Bridget shrugged. “Not too early,” she said. “There’s danger in marrying too young, and I’m determined to avoid it. No kids until I’m thirty years old. I want to have some fun. What about you?”
“I haven’t thought much about marriage. I’ve always thought
