The Elite (Romantic Suspense)

Daphne: The Proposition

Daphne blinked at her father, willing her brain to make sense of everything that he was saying. "So, you're saying that I - " she swallowed hard to get the second half of the sentence out - "am going to work with him," she nodded at Jacob. "For a secret organization that I know nothing about - " 

"Technically you will be an asset to Mr. Marchant's investigation. Mr. Marchant will be on special assignment as your PPO and answer directly to me." Her father smiled slightly as he looked at her. "As an asset, your role will be to help Mr. Marchant get access to people, places, and information that will help his investigation."

She nodded carefully, resuming pacing. "And our primary goal is to..."

"To figure out exactly who the mole is. And, if we're lucky, who the owner of that account is," Jacob said. 

An incredulous laugh slipped out before she could stop it. "I have never done anything like that in my entire life. I've never even wanted to do anything like that. I will be no help at all." 

She looked at Jacob, willing herself to calm so he didn't misunderstand what she was trying to say. "I am sure that you are lovely to work with, Jacob, but please know that I am doing you a favor. There is absolutely nothing I could offer you. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Morgan knows more about me and my family than I do."

Her response made Jacob uncomfortable. It wasn't anything about his face — he had mastered being totally opaque — but she had spent enough time around him to notice his energy shift. He glanced at her father, apparently expecting him to respond.

When the king didn't, Jacob took a deep breath. "More than anything, you get me into places that I can't otherwise go. You can talk to people I can't without drawing suspicion. All you have to do is be yourself and live your normal life. I can take care of the rest."

So Jacob bought in to the idea. At least enough to try and persuade her to go along with it.

Daphne took a deep breath and forced herself to stop spinning the signet ring on her finger. "What if I say no? I'm sure that if you are really a part of this top-secret organization, you can figure out how to get the information you need."

King Frederick cleared his throat, drawing her attention away from the man sitting calmly in front of his desk. Daphne's stomach lurched when she realized father's face looked older and more lined than she remembered.

"Daphne, I've always prided myself on being able to protect you and your siblings. I have gone to incredible lengths to ensure your safety even as the threats seem to multiply every year. That extends to this situation. If I could think of a way to avoid involving you in this, I absolutely would. Unfortunately, the incident this evening revealed real flaws in what I thought was an impenetrable system." 

And placed me directly in the middle of things.

Daphne bit her lip. "Okay." For the first time since she had entered her father's office, she checked the time on her phone. It was almost five in the morning. No wonder the world felt a little blurry around the edges. "Can I think about it?"

The two men glanced at each other for a long moment.

Daphne tried to push away feelings of being a disobedient child while she waited for a consensus. 

"Time is of the essence," Jacob said carefully. "But given the circumstances, I don't think anyone would begrudge you getting some sleep and reconsidering later today. Obviously, the sooner we start working on this together, the sooner we can ensure you and your family are safe. But a few hours shouldn't make too much difference."

Daphne doubted she would sleep much, but she needed time to think. "In that case, I'll say goodnight...er...good morning. Thank you very much for all of your help today, Jacob. You don't know how much I appreciate you being there when I needed you." Something about meeting his eyes as she said the last bit made her cheeks heat. She prayed he didn't notice.

The sooner she went to bed, the sooner she could spare herself any more embarrassing or otherwise life-altering experiences.

She was almost to the door when his voice cut into her thoughts.

"Your Highness."

The use of the formal title stopped her. She turned around to face him, bracing herself for another attempt to persuade her to help him.

"Whether or not we end working together, I hope that you'll think about everything that your father told you. Someone in the palace, who may be in your inner circle, is not to be trusted. Just... be careful who you reveal sensitive or private information to."

The snarky part of her brain wanted to ask if information like the fact that her fiancé had cheated on her with a supermodel was included on that list, but she refrained.

It wasn't Jacob's fault that Gus didn't love her.