SHEIKH DENIED - completed

Chapter Twelve

Manicured, pedicured, and now having her hair done, Lottie felt truly pampered. The princess advised her to let the stylist, shape and style her hair to her feature, reluctantly she agreed, though said she wasn't going short. 

She liked her long hair, never styled before just cut.

"Won't you get behind in your work?" Amelia asked thoughtfully since they had nearly been together for a week. Her sister arriving tomorrow.

"Not really, it's all done for me. I sort it, and write out a schedule for his highness."

"And your his what?"

Good question. She had for a while thought she was someone special, but obviously not. "Social secretary."

"Really, how strange. My social secretary does it all. She does all the hard work, and the actual schedule is the last thing she does. I bet she would love your job. Mine is very demanding on her sometimes."

"His Highness's schedule is very demanding," she defended. Just not hers.

"So what do you do a month in a week?"

"No, a week for a week." The look she gave her of utter disbelief, would have been funny if it hadn't made her realise, she didn't have a real job again. Before the gofer girl now what? Paper pusher, who doesn't even book or RSVP anything. Didn't he trust her? While Christine runs off and does all her own stuff, the perfect little assistant. 

All she was good at was seeing his coffee and making sure he eat, so she was a glorified nanny to a prince.

"You know you are very good at what you do," Amelia noted, eyeing her sideways. "Look at what you have organised for me at such short notice. I think you would make a great secretary. If you ever want a new job. I would have an opening for you."

"That's very generous of you Amelia, really it is, but I could never leave his highness." Which was true, but at the moment she was just peeved at him. "I just wish he wouldn't play these games with me," she said mainly to herself.

Amelia eyed her with interest. "Do tell."

She hesitated. "I couldn't, they would kill me, actually his highness would. Okay, let's say, if someone played one against another just to get a reaction, what is that?"

"Sounds interesting."

"Damn, frustrating. Moved around like a chess piece on a chessboard," she snarled. "Why all those games, when all that has to be done is tell the truth."

"Maybe because they can't especially royalty. Protocol and all."

"I did threaten to leave. Had this huge hissy fit, and boy did he make me pay. He threatened to take my job away, he threw her into my face all the time. It was horrible." Sadly, she shook her head, having a hand placed on top. "Sorry." She had forgotten they were cutting her hair.

"Yet you're still here. I'm beginning to see what is happening. Let's push this to a head, and you might get to do your real work if that is what you want?"

"I want to be taken seriously. I want to do what I'm paid to do, not just paid to sit around," she blinked back sudden tears. "It's different now, I was always at his side, running around making sure everything was in place. Made sure he ate. If it wasn't for me, he would never eat, always so engrossed in what he is doing."

"So you were looking after his needs." She nodded and missed it so much, now shut off in her own office. Who needed one? She certainly didn't and would be happy to hand it over to Christine. "Men and their silly games. Well, this is what you're going to do."