Page 42 of Royal Bosshole

I was determined not to cry. I was going to be the hardened woman who didn’t care about how men hurt her because they would continue to do so. I would just let it roll off my back, and I would hopefully never fall for anyone ever again.

“So, James is a prince,” I said quickly.

At their joint outcry, I breathed out. I knew there was no way to ease into that, so I just had to say it.

“What are you talking about?” April asked.

“Lenovia. He’s the prince of Lenovia. Look it up. I did, and it’s a tiny country close to Liechtenstein.”

“That bastard told me he was from Liechtenstein.” Stevie frowned. “Wait a minute, so is this like a fairy tale or something?”

“No, definitely not,” I said firmly. “This is the story of how James needs to find a lost princess of some family because it’s the only way for him to become king and save his country and blah blah blah. I don’t know all the facts. But he was just messing around with me. We couldn’t ever be together because of this woman that he’s got to find. So, he kept that from me.” I started counting on my fingers. “He ran away from me after sex, and I still don’t know why, really, and he also only hired me to get the pumpkin-spiced latte recipe. One of the employees told Jen’s cousin who just started to work there. No doubt, that was the only reason he seduced me too. To get that recipe, get me to sell my business, and then Coffee on the Go would be more successful than ever.”

I could feel the tears coming, but I swallowed them back. “I can’t believe I was so stupid. I was actually starting to fall for this guy. The date was so good. I swear, you guys, I’ve never gotten along with someone like that before. And then the sex.” I put my hands over my face, and both April and Stevie reached out to rub my back. “I thought I was over getting humiliated by guys. I thought I was smarter and better now.”

“You are great and smart!” April said, squeezing my shoulder. “But shit, this sounds terrible. I am so, so sorry that you have to go through this.”

“Me too, Lily.” Stevie looked at the bottle of wine between us. “I think we may need another one. What are you going to do about the job?”

I lifted my chin. “I signed a contract so I have obligations and I refuse to run scared. But I can’t face him every day, so, I gave him my two weeks’ notice, and I’ll fulfill it, and then I’m out of there. He’s probably got to go back to Lenovia anyway, and good riddance. I don’t want to see his ugly face again.”

I finished my wine, and Stevie poured me another.

“Geez, this guy sounds like a total dick.” April shook his head. “I wish we could go get him, you know? Make him pay.”

“Yeah, me too. But he’s probably got some big security team.”

Stevie leaned back on the couch. “It’s too bad he’s a dick. That prince thing would be the total perfect story, and it would even make a good song.”

I nodded, not looking at her. It would make a good song. In fact, I’d been writing something about that all day, but now I had even more fuel for the fire.

“Look, I don’t want to think about it right now. Can we get drunk and eat ice cream and watch movies?”

“Oh yes, please. To the ice cream part,” April said, going into the kitchen to dig in the freezer.

Stevie kissed my cheek and squeezed me. “I’m so sorry, girl. But you’ll get through this. You’re the strongest of us.”

Over the next two weeks, I avoided James like the plague. I went to work, did my shit, and then I was out. I could feel him watching me sometimes, but I was glad he never tried to approach me. He probably realized what a piece of shit he was as well. Or maybe he finally realized I wouldn’t cave, so he didn’t bother anymore.

The only good thing about the time was that I had a song written; I just needed to put it to music and put it up on Spotify. And the date for the coffeeshop’s karaoke night was coming up soon. It would be the day after my last day, and so it would be like a perfect celebration of my escape from the clutches of the dickhead.

On one of my last days, I was online, and I couldn’t help but look up the political situation with Lenovia. I’d just taken everything Sandy had said as truth, and I felt a little guilty for not letting James explain. When I looked it up, my heart softened a little more.

Shit.

Apparently, it was all true. His father had also been unable to find the right woman to marry, so he wasn’t king; he was just a prince as well. And he was dying of lung cancer.

Harden yourself, Lily. He’s a cold-hearted bastard, and you don’t need him. You are not in love, and you will never be in love again.

I quickly clicked out of the images, not wanting to look at his face on my screen. I opened my notebook and looked down at my finished song. It was going to be perfect. I’d called it “Cold-Hearted Prince”. I hadn’t known the truth at the time, but I guessed some part of me had known when I’d called him that for the first time on our one and only date.

Had that been a self-fulfilling prophecy or a premonition? Could things have been different if I called him something else?

Enough. I would worry about my music and move on. I had to, or I’d drown in my sadness.

* * *

JAMES

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