Page 119 of Prince Charmless
My what has been requested where?God, his family is so weird.
I look out my window to the sidewalk below. A bald man in a black suit is standing right outside my door. When he looks up, I pivot out of view.
I press the button again. “Taylor wants to see me?”
Why couldn’t he just text instead of sending this goon? Probably because I wouldn’t text back.
“No. His Royal Highness, Prince David.”
A pit forms in my stomach. What would he have to talk to me about? Do I have to go? It’s not like they can force me, right?
“Ms. Ramirez.” Somehow, the voice sounds even more stern.
I glance down at the T-shirt I’ve been wearing for the last three days. The rag is adorned with the face of Justin Timberlake and embellished with a coffee stain. “Uh, could you give me a second?”
––––––––
Baldy takes me to the palace’s south side entrance in a royal Mercedes-Benz. On the way, we pass tourists taking pictures of the architecture and teenagers filming TikTok dances in front of the centuries-old statue of Queen Agnès. Our landmark limestone building uses miles of columns and windows to form its beauty, but I’ve driven past the place so many times I don’t even bat an eye anymore. I’ve never gone inside because I was sick the day my school did a field trip, and I still haven’t gotten over it.
It feels like I’m the prime minister when we roll under the carport. The feeling heightens when my door is opened for me, and my immediate step is onto the carpet. I’ve seen this part of the palace photographed many times before, featuring whatever statesman or woman the royal family invites over, people with issues way bigger than mine.
In front of the French doors stand two military guards in black uniforms, each with a sword attached to their belt. Real swords! What’s their plan if there’s an intruder? Swashbuckle them to death eighteenth-century style?
“Hello,” I say to one of them.
He doesn’t say anything back. I guess they’re just for decoration.
When they open the doors, a small woman immediately appears at my side. I almost jump.
“I can take your coat and scarf, Ms. Ramirez,” she says with a smile. The woman wears pearls, a black dress, and a graying updo.
Does everyone here know my name?I want to ask her.
I shrug my coat off, never taking my eyes off the ceiling. The rotunda is held up by eight green marble columns. Small windows surround the base of the dome so natural light can illuminate the molding. The place is a work of art.
“You can follow me,” says another suited gentleman, this one with Mark Ruffalo-esque salt and pepper hair.
As my heels echo against the tile floor, I admire the chandeliers, Victorian-looking furniture, and the giant gilded-edged portraits of past nobles along our way. Periodically, I crane my neck to gawk at the high ceilings in a manner that might look a tad gauche. Sometimes I forget this is Taylor’s normal. He talks about his life so casually.
We pass by a man clutching a leather notepad in one hand and a phone in the other. It’s Alex. When we make eye contact, his brows shoot up to his hairline. Before I can wave, he turns on his heel and walks as fast as he can without running in the opposite direction from me.
What world have I entered?
Eventually, I’m taken into a small room at the end of the hallway. It’s maybe about the size of my living room. There sit two gold-colored couches that face each other with a glass coffee table in between. This must be the reception room one must endure before they can see the Crown Prince. I faintly hear him and another man talking on the other side of the double doors.
“... press secretary liaison. Mara’s retiring soon.”
“But, sir, that’s a demotion, a large one. It’s traditional that the senior advisor position is for life.”
“You know I like you, Antoine. Maybe a little too much, actually. I just need some new blood.”
Their voices get quieter when my escort tells me to have a seat.
“It should only be a minute. Can I get you anything?”
A Ferrari,I want to say, but don’t. I wonder how crazy I could make my request and it still be fulfilled.
He slinks inside the office, keeping the door gap closed as much as possible.
