Page 7 of Royally Knocked Up
She went to the window and looked out. She could see skiers in the distance, soaring down the slopes of La Fantasia. Hailey had never skied in her life and hoped she wouldn’t be expected to try it while she was here — it seemed like a likely way to break a leg. Still, there was something beautiful about this view, and she knew she would spend her evenings in front of the fire watching the skiers for as long as she was here monitoring the prince’s behavior.
But where was the prince?
There was definitely something suspicious about the fact that he hadn’t arrived yet. He had left long enough before her that he should have been here by now. One of two things had to have happened — either there had been some sort of car accident, in which case he might be injured, or else he had made a voluntary detour.
Based on the press clippings she’d read, Hailey was pretty sure she knew which one it was going to be.
But that wasn’t her problem. Her job didn’t start until the prince arrived. She stepped into the bathroom, which was large and luxurious, and after a moment’s thought, began to run a bath rather than the shower she had originally planned on. She couldn’t think of any better way to relax, after everything that had happened.
She put a soothing playlist on her phone and sank into the warm water, closing her eyes, planning to stay here until her fingers shriveled. Afterward, she would put on one of the thick bathrobes that hung on the back of the door and go sit by the fire to dry off. It sounded idyllic, after the day she’d had.
But it wasn’t to be.
She had barely submerged herself in the water when she heard the sound of the phone ringing in the other room.
Hailey closed her eyes and suppressed a groan. Even now, she wasn’t going to get to relax. She heaved herself up out of the water and hurried into the main room to grab the phone.
It was Isla. “I’m awfully sorry,” she said. “I know you were just starting to relax. But the prince has arrived, and he’s insistingon meeting the whole events team right now. Everyone is getting together in the lobby, so you have about five minutes to come and join us.”
As annoyed as she was, Hailey knew she needed to get off on the right foot. “I’ll be there,” she said. “I just need to get dressed.”
She raked a comb through her hair — there was no time for the dryer, so she was just going to have to meet the prince with a damp head. It wasn’t what she would have wanted, but then, what that had happened today had gone according to any sort of plan? She wrapped her hair into a tight bun, pulled on a fresh change of clothes, and hurried back out to the lobby.
She spotted the group right away, gathered in a tight circle at the front of the space, and she hurried to join them. Isla had begun to go around and have everyone introduce themselves, but she paused as Hailey hurried up.
“Ah,” she said. “Here’s our other newcomer — Hailey Jones. We’re thrilled to have Hailey joining the team all the way from America.”
“I’m really excited about having the opportunity to work in Monteverde,” Hailey said, wishing she’d had time to plan a more elaborate sentiment.
“Hailey, you’ll be working closely with the whole team, including your fellow new member, Prince Enzo.” Isla nodded in his direction.
Hailey’s eyes widened in surprise.Thiswas the prince?
She mastered herself quickly, not wanting him to see what her initial reaction had been, but she couldn’t help the shock that had momentarily coursed through her. He wore faded jeansand a plain white V-neck that had clearly seen better days. His sunglasses, on the other hand, had probably cost more than her month’s rent — she recognized the designer logo on the side of the frames. Did everyone in this country wear sunglasses indoors?
No — he was probably drunk. That would fit with everything she had read about him on her way up here. That would explain why he had stopped on his way, making him late to arrive even though he had set out before she had. He had stopped at a bar for a drink. Of course he had.
This was going to be more difficult than she had bargained for.
“All right,” Isla said. “Now that we’re all introduced to one another, why don’t we step into the events room for some lunch? Enzo’s father, the king, has been kind enough to arrange catering for everyone.”
Enzo smirked but said nothing.
Hailey noticed people glancing curiously at him as they made their way into the events space, but no one said anything. That was a shame, because it meant that she couldn’t speak to him either — not unless she wanted to stand out among the crowd, and she very much did not want that. She didn’t want him to notice her. Not yet. Blending in was vital if she was going to be able to do her job effectively.
There were trays of food set up in the event space. Everyone formed a line — but as they watched, Enzo walked to the front of the group, picked up a plate, and began to fill it with food.
No one said a word. No one tried to stop him or send him to the back of the line.
He thinks he can do whatever he wants, Hailey thought.He thinks that because of who his father is, and because his family owns this resort, rules don’t apply to him and he can just treat us all like we matter less than he does.
And then she thought,That’s probably entirely true. He probablycando that. What’s going to happen? He won’t lose his job, and everyone here knows that. No matter what he does, he isn’t going to face any consequences.
She took her plate and went through the line, collecting food.
As the group split up and chose tables to eat at, Hailey made her first move toward completing the assignment she had been sent here for. Instead of choosing a seat at the table closest to her, she followed Enzo over to his table and put her plate down across from him.
He didn’t even look up. He began to eat voraciously, as if the food was the only thing at the table that mattered — as if getting to know his new team members wasn’t the point of this whole exercise.
