Sam looked out over the beautiful countryside. “I don’t understand why you want me to take over. I already have my own security company.”
“That’s exactly why we want you to take over. Your company is arguably the best in the world. Your services are requested by just about every important family and company. You’ve built it up through hard work and common sense. But you also have a strong military background. You’re the ideal candidate to take over as Minister of Defense because you understand both the commercial and military side of all the issues.”
Sam looked out at the horizon, silent for a moment as he took in everything Prince Maximilian was saying. “Basically, I’ve done it all so you now want me to give up the easy life of a CEO who can pretty much come and go as I please in order to serve my country and become embroiled in the security of an entire people as well as the royal family of Cordova.”
Max smiled cheekily. “That about sums it up.”
“So what’s in it for me?”
Max laughed. “Don’t be coy, Sam. I know you better than that. You’re chomping at the bit for a new challenge. You’re company is successful and has a great reputation but you’re bored out of your mind, aren’t you?”
He had a point, Sam thought. The day to day responsibilities of running a large company were starting to bore him. He knew he’d been looking for a challenge, but he was pretty sure it didn’t involve playing politics. “You’re still not giving me any good reason to take the job,” he said.
“You’ll have lots of new toys to play with,” Max said, as if that would entice him.
“I can buy all the new toys I need,” Sam countered. “Not good enough.”
Max watched his friend and considered his next words carefully. “There’s trouble brewing in the military. The training is falling below standards, recruits are starting to get slack, the Navy, although small, is being utilized poorly and the commanders are getting rowdy. The only thing holding the military together is my father’s authority. But he has too many diplomatic obligations right now. We need a strong leader to take over and set things back to rights. That man is you, Sam.”
Sam didn’t move in his saddle and his thighs held the horse still. He considered all the things Max was saying and knew that those were the only words that would have convinced him to take the job. Sam loved this country and knew he would have to step in and fix things. He couldn’t let his beloved country flounder. It was small, but strategic and the strong military and diplomatic finesse of his king were the only two things that kept Cordova from becoming a puppet in the world theatre. He knew he would do anything to keep that from happening.
Sam sighed and, without looking at Max, said, “When do you need me to take over?”
Max smothered a smile of satisfaction. “Tomorrow?” he joked.
Sam glanced over at the prince and raised one eyebrow. “That bad, huh?”
“It’s getting there. How about if you start to look into the situation immediately? Let us know what needs to happen and what kind of support you’ll need. I know Admiral Chennok is ready to step down immediately and head for retirement but after your assessment of the situation, you can determine your own start date. That will also give you the time needed to find a successor to your company.”
Sam nodded and watched as the image he had been hoping to see finally appeared. The woman on the black horse raced across the valley, her red hair streaming out behind her. Although he couldn’t hear her, he knew the moment she laughed in delight. The sun glittered and followed the gorgeous creature as she rode her horse through the tall grass.
He was watching her leap and play, putting the horse through several difficult maneuvers when all of a sudden, the horse took a long jump. Sam knew instantly that the rider was not well positioned. And sure enough, she fell off behind.
Sam’s stomach leapt to his throat. Max had seen the fall as well. Obviously Max was not overly concerned with his sister’s welfare since he laughed at her fall. “I’ll get the horse,” Max called and rode off towards the forest. Sam was already kicking his horse into action to find Marabeth and ensure that she was not hurt from the fall.
By the time he was halfway down the hillside, he breathed a sigh of relief. She was standing up and dusting off her bottom from the dust. He watched as she looked around and picked up something from the ground beside her, then started walking in the direction her horse had run off.
Marabeth picked herself up and looked around, disgusted with herself. She hoped the two men who had been up on the hillside had already ridden off, but she knew her luck wasn’t holding out lately.
And sure enough, the man she’d been thinking of trotted up to greet her.
“Hello,” Sam said, walking his horse up beside her. “Mighty rough fall there.”
“Yes. I know about that.”
“Are you okay?” he said, easily keeping up with her angry strides from atop the horse.
“Yes. I’m fine, thank you for asking,” she said stiffly. Marabeth had been showing off, trying to impress Sam. But hadn’t done a very good job of it obviously. That’s what she got for showing off, she told herself. She’d seen the two men on the hillside and had wanted to show him that she wasn’t just some idiot princess who proposed to sleeping men during balls. Now she’d only reinforced his opinion of her as an idiot. Well, just as well.
“Would you like a ride?” he asked.
“No. I deserve to walk back. And maybe my brother will find Beauty.”
“Beauty? You named your horse Beauty?”
She looked up at him and wondered where he was going with that. “Yes. What’s wrong with the name?”
He smiled at her upturned face, admiring the crystal blue eyes. “It’s a male horse, in case you hadn’t noticed,” he teased her.
Marabeth gritted her teeth. “Yes. I’d noticed. I may conduct embarrassing interviews and fall off horses, but I’m not that dense,” she said and turned back towards the forest to continue walking.
“Well, that explains everything,” he said and sat up straight in his saddle.
Marabeth looked back up at him. She wasn’t going to ask. She wasn’t going to ask. She repeated that phrase to herself several times, walking faster in the vain hope of losing him. In the end, her curiosity won out. “What does it explain?” she demanded, finally asking the question she hated herself for asking.