Page 30 of Redemption of a Prince

He thought the day had gone fairly well, though he didn’t understand why the questions were directed at him. He thought they’d made it quite clear that Nikki was in charge of everything, and he was simply along for the ride.

When they reached the mountain residence, Nikki disappeared up the stairs.

Zeke went to the kitchen to discuss the dinner meal with the cook. She informed him that Nikki had already requested something light in her quarters.

Had he missed something about the difficulty level of the day?

He told the cook to prepare enough for two, and he’d take it up to Nikki when it was ready.

Since he wanted to change into something less formal than a suit, he went to his quarters while the cook finished preparations. The question was how casual should he go?

Pyjamas were out, of course. He didn’t have any sweat pants, but he did have a pair of track pants. Surely that would work. He put on a long-sleeved t-shirt to go with it and some trainers.

By the time Zeke had dressed and called his father to check in on him and how he was feeling, the food was ready. Someone, though Zeke didn’t see who, left the cart outside of his room on the fourth floor.

He wheeled it through the family side of the fourth floor then around the upper level of the ballroom and into the guest side.

When he reached Nikki’s door, he rapped twice and waited.

The door opened. “Thank... What are you doing here?”

He managed to keep the smirk off of his face as he realized she had changed into pyjamas, though she wore a robe over them. “I wanted to talk to you about how you thought today went and strategize for tomorrow.”

Nikki opened the door wide enough for him and the cart to enter.

That’s when he noticed she’d also scrubbed her face and pulled her long, golden-brown hair up into a messy bun.

“I’d planned to make some notes while I ate,” she said as she closed the door behind him.

Her laptop sat open on the table in front of the lounge. Papers were already scattered around it.

“Then let’s get to it.”

Working together, they cleared enough of an area to put their plates down.

“So,” he started, picking up his sandwich. “How did you think it went?”

Nikki shook her head. “I want to know what you think first.”

He chewed while he thought it over. “It could have gone better, but it could have gone a lot worse, too.”

“Agreed.”

Something in her voice made Zeke look at her more closely. “What?”

She sighed. “You didn’t notice, did you?”

“Notice what?”

“The mansplaining. That everything was directed at you whenever possible. They ignored me as much as they could.”

He nodded. “I did notice that, at least some. I didn’t think it was as bad as you seem to think, but I wasn’t looking for it. I did notice they gave me more attention than they should have. I figured it’s because, as far as they know, I’m the next king.”

“That might be part of it, but I think far more of it is because I’m a woman.”

Zeke stopped mid-chew. “Really?”

She didn’t look at him as she gave a single bob of her head.

---