Page 12 of The Problem with Princes
“Why do you think he works for Modern Ares?” Texie whispers as the doors slide shut.
“That big guy looks like one of his goons—although I’m not sure why he is asking to see us.”
Texie eyes me. “Not us, Gee. He wants to seeyou. What have you done now?” She takes a deep breath. “What if you are wrong? Can we even do anything now that we are on the elevator?”
I try to sound more confident than I feel. “If you are worried, we’ll just push a button and get out on another floor.” We both turn to the panel and sag in unison. There are no other buttons. I’ve never been in this elevator before and now I know why. It’s reserved for the penthouse suites.
I’ve mostly moved beyond scared. Mostly. Something about this whole thing feels odd, but not dangerous. Still, I don’t like meeting people without having consented to the meeting first. I like to have my ducks in a row, as it were. And I have nothing in a row—ducks or otherwise. No research to back me up in whatever is about to happen.
I hate it when that happens.Some might call me a control freak. But I just call it being prepared. It is why I am a good lobbyist. Or I will be, if my boss ever gives me the chance to actuallylobby.
“Uh, Grace, what is your back-up plan?” Texie shakes her hands at her side—something she does when she is gearing up for something big. She does it every time before she enters the courtroom.
“I guess we’re going to have to face whoever planned this meeting. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be on our guard.” I rotate my shoulders. “We’ve both done enough kick boxing classes to be able to hold our own.”
Texie puts her fists up in front of her and bounces side to side on the balls of her feet. “Are you going to hum the music for the punching rhythm, or am I?”
I chuckle. “Okay. That is a lame idea. But I just think we should prepare ourselves mentally, you know?”
We both take a deep breath just as the elevator dings and the doors, of course, open promptly.
ChapterFive
“This must be the presidential suite,”Texie whispers next to me as we peer into a large vestibule.
“Is it even called that here? They don’t have a president.” I murmur.
We stand there, neither one of us making a move to exit the elevator. It doesn’t ding, and the doors don’t automatically shut like most elevators do. Does that mean it won’t return us to the lobby if we stay in it long enough?
“Surely, no one would pay this much money just to kill us.” Texie mutters. She seems to take courage in that realization.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you.” I take a deep breath and poke my head out of the elevator.
She relaxes and leans against the back mirrored panel. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But do you really believe Modern Ares would go to this much trouble?”
She laughs. “That name still cracks me up. It’s such a spot-on description of him.” She puts her pinkie nail into her mouth and nibbles on it. “It really is not so big of a stretch to think this is him. Who else do we know here?”
I avert my eyes. I should have told her about MSG. But it feels less productive to tell her about him under these circumstances. All she’ll do is freak out. I’ll tell her when we go back to the room.
My stomach tightens slightly.We’ll be going back to the room, right?My head feels certain Modern Ares is behind this, but my insides are not completely convinced.
“But why does he want to see us? It’s not like we’re besties with him or anything.”
Texie takes a step to the side. “Uh, this is a you, not a we. I’m not a party to any of this. I’m just along for the ride.”
I smirk at her. “It’ll be a total bummer if you get murdered just by being along for the ride.”
She shivers. “Can we stop talking about being murdered? Please?” She rubs her hands up and down her arms.
“Please, come in, Miss Martindale. We have been expecting you.” A decidedly female voice drifts into the elevator. I look at Texie in surprise. “Do you think she heard us?” I mouth.
She shrugs. “That’s not Modern Ares voice,” she whispers.
I take the first cautious step out onto the travertine tiled entryway.
Texie comes up behind me and hisses in my ear. “Look at this place? Even the vestibule is over-the-top opulent.”
Couches line the wall on either side. I guess they are there in case the wait for the elevator is far too taxing and a person needs to rest while they wait?
