Page 53 of The Doctor Prince and the Outsider

Read on for the first chapter of Prince Malik and Ellery Monson’s story -The Ninja Prince and the Investigator.

Hugs and thanks for the support,

Cami

Sweet Royal Romance Suspense

The General Prince and the Nerd

The Brave Prince and the Teacher

The Doctor Prince and the Outsider

The Ninja Prince and the Investigator

The Charming Prince and the Single Mom

The Crown Prince and the Traitor

The Police Chief and the Musician

The Royal Major and the Personal Trainer

The Impulsive Princess and the Soldier

1ST CHAPTER - THE NINJA PRINCE AND THE INVESTIGATOR

Chapter One

Ellery Monson kept one eye on Prince Derek August of Augustine as she worked her way through pull-up after pull-up after pull-up. Her arms trembled, her grip threatened to give out, her fingers cramped around the metal bar and she wondered if they’d ever straighten fully again. She could not quit and she prayed she didn’t look and smell as sweaty and disgusting as she felt, because he was walking her direction.

“You’ve got this,” Derek encouraged as he reached her side, ever the encouraging cheerleader for their crew of American Ninja Warrior trainees and hopefuls. Hoorah was an easy job for the ninja prince as he was the top ninja in the world currently, everyone liked him and wanted to be around him, and he must take sunshine pills for breakfast.

“You’re so impressive, my Beloved Boston Beauty,” he said, teasing her with the nickname the ninja warrior commentators had tagged her with. “Give me two more.”

She adored his lyrical accent, though she’d never tell him that.

Ellery was too spent to even give a teasing reply like the prince had come to expect from her. After Derek had gotten to know Ellery and her boss and fellow competitor Jason during the American Ninja Warrior finals throughout March, April, and May he’d moved to Boston and trained in their gym them.

She’d been initially and intensely drawn to him but though she loved to flirt and tease she’d maintained an emotional and physical distance, turning down every date and focusing on a professional relationship between them, despite the rumors around Boston and on social media.

She hoped they could push each other to even greater speed and success at the finals next year, not date like she secretly longed to. She didn’t have time to date anyone, she’d heard from Derek’s own lips, “Ellery is a challenge, and one I will win,” so she knew he was only after her for the win and he won at everything.

She couldn’t let him win her heart. She was no match for a prince. From her social status to her lack of higher education to the way she spoke and dressed she would think Derek would realize he should be pursuing any of the other thousand women chasing him around Boston.

She cranked out one more pullup, slowly, slowly pulling her body weight up. She lowered, letting her arms blessedly straighten and … she was spent. She couldn’t have pulled herself up if her mom’s life depended on it. Horrifically her mom’s life did. Ellery worked twelve hour days as a personal trainer, front desk girl, cleaner, whatever she could do to earn a buck at the exclusive ‘Warrior Gym’, fitting in her own training for America’s Ninja Warrior early in the morning and every spare minute she found.

Beating the Ninja Prince next May and winning the million dollars would mean she could pay off several medical bills, credit cards her mom didn’t know she’d used for medications they couldn’t afford, and stash away extra for her mom’s expensive MS medications, the seventeen-thousand dollar for ninety day BTK inhibitor was the worst hit and their crappy insurance definitely wasn’t paying for it.

She made great money when she had personal training clients but no trainer at the gym was booked twelve hours a day. She’d even been paid to do a couple of commercials during the ninja finals, which had helped a ton as she’d had to take work off, live in a hotel during competitions, and pay a neighbor girl to check on her mom when Aunt Elise was at work at the diner.

Sadly she’d been horrific at the commercials—too stiff and awkward—and nobody had asked her to do any more. Her mom thought she was so ‘beautiful, hard-working, and inspiring she should be a social media influencer’. That was all a laugh. The times she’d tried to do selfie videos were amazingly even more awful and uncomfortable than her commercial experiences. At least with the commercials somebody had told her what to say and they’d held the camera.

As it was, she could barely pay she and her mom’s rent in low-income housing in Chelsea, five miles north of the exclusive Beacon Hill area where the gym was, pay for her mom’s medicine and doctor’s visits, keep up on credit card and medical bills, and buy food. She’d never be able to save enough for the experimental treatments that might keep her mom from a wheelchair, and their health insurance didn’t cover nearly enough.

And the absolute stud of a princely man who won the million dollars in May, and donated it to Mothers without Borders without a second thought, was standing next to her as the weight of the world, and the weight of her own body, bore down on her. Discouragement weighed so heavy on her that her grip started to slip. She was going to drop and not complete the last pullup. She was going to fail. Her mom wouldn’t receive the treatments she needed and they’d be booted out of their apartment. Aunt Elise would let them live with her but in a one-bedroom it would be tight.

Firm, manly hands wrapped around her waist. “Come on, Ell. You don’t know the meaning of the word quit.”

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