Page 2 of Princely Agreement

“I’m not going.” I push the paper invitation to the side and go back to typing. Who the hell sends paper invitations these days anyway?

“You have to. It’s the yearly Cinder Financial celebration,” my mother insists.

“Great, that means I can go to the next one.” I don’t look up, but I can almost hear her eyes rolling as she sighs. “You go. Take Zelly. It will be a good excuse for her to leave the house.”

“Your sister’s activities are none of your concern.”

When I finally glance up from my screen, I see the expression on my mother’s face that means she’s fully resigned to getting her way, and I don’t stand a snowball's chance in hell of getting out of this tonight.

“Why is it so important that I go?” I ask even though we both know she’s going to win this battle. She doesn’t ask for much, so in moments like this I know I have to give in and play the role I’m expected to.

“Because you are Leo Prince, CEO of Prince Enterprise and the head of this family. It’s your duty to attend the most important events, now more than ever. Your sister enters society soon, and you’ll need to name her husband.”

“Mom—” I start, but she cuts me off.

“No, you’ve ignored this long enough, and I won’t hear excuses now. Since your father died, it’s fallen to your shoulders to initiate the contracts of her betrothal. I have a list of eligible bachelors from the top five families, but you’ll need to meet with their heads of houses to negotiate.”

“Negotiate? Really, Mom, is this not archaic? Have we even asked Zelly how she feels about this?”

“She will do as she’s told to secure her financial future and legacy for this family.” My mother’s words are direct, but she’s not angry or mean as she says it.

The facts remain that Zelly comes from the kind of power and influence that could be used against her or us if she were to marry the wrong man. It’s in our best interest that we vet her future husband to ensure that she’s protected along with her children. My father was supposed to be the one to do this, but he died suddenly last year and left me to take over.

I’d started learning the business as soon as I could walk, but I wasn’t ready to lose my father and mentor. There was no time for me to mourn before I was suddenly thrown into the deep end alone, and since then I’ve been trying to keep my head above water.

“This is the first year without him,” my mother says softly as she touches the invitation, and I realize that she used to attend all of these with him.

They were an arranged marriage, but they fell in love and ended up being best friends. They had fun going to parties, and he loved dancing with her at all of these events. I can only imagine the pain of losing someone you cared for that deeply.

I’ve been so busy with work that I often forget about my mom losing a husband and my sister losing her hero. It’s left a hole in our family, and she’s not wrong: This falls on my shoulders now.

“Tell Avery to lay a suit out for me,” I say and offer her a smile. “And my most comfortable dancing shoes.”

“I’ll see you downstairs in an hour.” When I open my mouth to argue, she shakes her head. “One hour, Leo.”

“One hour,” I agree, and she smiles happily as she leaves my office.

I lean back in my chair and stare out the window onto the perfectly manicured grounds. Our family has owned this land for centuries, and at one time the castles on the property were lived in by my ancestors. When my great-grandfather got married, he had a modern estate built which serves as the main house today. But Zelly refuses to live in the main house with my mother and me even though we are separated by immense wings that are practically their own houses within the house. She could have her own space, but still she prefers the solitude of the castle to living with us.

I'm busy thinking about how the hell I’m going to choose a suitable husband for my sister when an alert on my phone shows a text message from my best friend.

Flynn: Are you going tonight?

Me: Unfortunately my mother has insisted.

Flynn: Good. Now we can talk shit about the Vault twins taking over Cinder Financial.

Me: Speaking of talking shit, save a dance for my mother.

Flynn: She hates me.

Me: I know.

Flynn: You’ll owe me. Big time.

Me: Don’t I always?

Flynn: Yeah, but I mean it this time. If I’ve got to sacrifice my pinkies to your mother’s stilettos, I deserve something good in return.

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