The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1763

Jack continued with a brotherly fervor, "Look, I'm just sayin', God forbid, if you guys ever have a spat after the wedding, or if that Mr. McMillian ever dares to give you a hard time, we will be ready to roll up our sleeves and throw down. No mercy. You'll always be our boss. We've always got your back."

"He heard you," Arabella interjected, her tone light and teasing. "He's not looking too pleased right now."

Jack's heart skipped a beat. "Hey, boss, what's that? You're breaking up. I'll give you a ring later."

"Oh, call this number next time. My phone's busted."

Jack's despair deepened.

"Your phone? That thing's as tough as a brick, cutting-edge like a stealth jet, and it's broken? How?"

He suspected his boss was pulling his leg, just trying to get him to call Romeo, but the thought made him nervous. He was scared to make that call.

"Even the toughest brick, if it falls from the eighteenth floor, is bound to shatter, let alone survive an explosion."

"That bad, huh?"

Just a few hours earlier, Arabella had used Romeo's phone to ask him to send extra guys to keep Reflections Villa secure, not letting any bad guys take advantage. She hadn't mentioned what she and Horace had actually gone through.

At this point, Jack felt a twinge of jealousy that Horace had been through thick and thin with the boss, and his voice took on a slightly sour tone.

"Why'd you bring that dunce Horace back? What about me?"

"It's all good! But we were too late, Erik slipped away! It's below zero out here, and me and the boys are freezing our butts off standing guard."

"Have people take turns. You don't need to be out there 24/7."

"It's almost holiday time, some of the guys have gone home, we're short-staffed." Jack was quick to show his devotion, "But not me. I'm an orphan. I'm available 365 days a year, not like some people."

"Enough with the guilt-tripping," Arabella cut in. "That's it. I'm hanging up now."

Jack heard the call end with a beep and was surprised his boss hadn't given him a hard time. Was Arabella giving him a pass on accepting Mr. McMillian's gifts? Arabella still had a soft spot for them.

After all, Mr. McMillian was the richest man in the world. The little they accepted from him didn't even amount to a day's interest in his bank account.