Page 22 of Royally F*cked

Agnes grins and quickly prepares a plate while I wait.

“Here, I’ll carry both of them. If you could just help me open his office door.”

I insist on taking Jude’s plate from her and together we walk to his office. Agnes knocks and I call out, letting him know that it’s me.

“Come in,” Jude’s voice beckons from the other side of the solid wood.

Agnes opens the door and shuts it behind me once I’m inside.

“I need to make an addendum to our agreement,” I tell him the moment I cross the threshold.

Oscar chuckles from where he’s seated in front of Jude’s desk. A second man sits in a chair to Oscar’s right and is watching me carefully.

Jude looks up at me as I approach, removing a pair of black framed glasses and tossing them on his desk before running his hands over his face. “Then you’re just in time.”

“I, uh, brought your dinner, too.” And I suddenly feel very self-conscious with the other two men in the room. “I didn’t realize you were in the middle of a meeting.”

He leans back in his office chair and raises a brow as I set the plate on the only open spot on his desk. “Charlie, I’d like you to meet my…our lawyer, Harry Augustus.”

Harry stands and shakes my hand then sits back down. “We were just finalizing a few things for your review.”

“Oh?” I look to Jude for more information.

“Let’s hear that addendum first and then Harry can get to work on what we’ve discussed,” Jude says.

“Right. Well, this one is quite simple. I hope. Dinner. Together. Every night.”

Oscar speaks up. “While I can appreciate what you may be getting at, every night may be a bit much. The crown prince may occasionally have obligations that take him out of town. Or even state dinners which he must attend.”

“How about dinner together on the nights I am at home? With special inflection on seeing to it that I am home for dinner most nights. Would that be to your liking?” Jude offers in quick compromise.

“And breakfast together on the weekends,” I counter. In a lot of ways this feels like a whimsical dream and perhaps a little too much, but I refuse to back down. Even if our marriage is fake, we can at least pretend it’s real.

Jude nods. “Harry, please add those two items to the list.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

“If that is everything, I believe Harry has a draft ready for your review,” Jude says.

“Already?” For some reason I thought it would take longer.

“Indeed,” Harry responds.

“That’s everything then. Let’s have a look,” I hold out a hand.

This time it’s Jude who laughs at me. “Go ahead and email it to me,” he tells Harry.

He stands and offers me his seat.

Once Harry confirms that it’s been sent, Jude leans across and clicks a few buttons until the email in question appears on the screen. “You can look it over on here. If all is to your liking, I can print it and we can sign it today. Then, I’ll have Oscar call the palace to arrange a meeting with the king and then press secretary.”

“It’s that simple?” I question.

“Yes and no. But as long as you have no objections, that’s it. For this part of things anyway.” He says.

“Well, what are we waiting for?”

Jude excuses Oscar and Harry, encouraging them to help themselves to dinner while they wait.

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