Annalise Stark, orphaned after losing her parents in the military, is desperate to find a way to pay off her sister's medical debts. She finds work at the palace, home to the infamous Prince William. Despite her efforts to ignore him, Annalise soon...
"Trust is earned when actions meet words." ~Chris Butler ********************
Stepping outside of my apartment the day after Will's call was as bad as I thought it'd be, if not worse. I could hear the clamor of the paparazzi the second I woke up, all waiting for Mia or me to exit my apartment building. I even called my boss ahead of time to explain the situation and that despite leaving early, there was a possibility I'd be late for our one p.m. meeting.
Somehow, I made it to work on time, but not before being accosted by a reporter shouting, "Miss Stark! Did you have anything to do with the downfall of Lorraine? Are you glad to see her out of the picture?"
I gritted my teeth and swallowed my annoyance. "I did not have anything to do with the downfall of Lorraine, and while I'm glad the throne is safe from the usurper, that doesn't mean I'm happy about the situation. A lot of people were hurt because of her, including William. I know he loved her, and this betrayal can't be easy for him. If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend to."
I pushed my way through the reporters into my building; the security guard blocked any of them from following me. My boss, Mrs. Trifle, sat in her office. She smiled at me when I arrived. "I see you survived the chaos."
"Barely. I might be deaf from all the shouting," I said, setting my bag down. "I'm sorry I'm causing so many problems. I'll figure something out, so the paparazzi leave-"
Mrs. Trifle held up her hand, silencing me. "I've had my fair share of scandalous events. Before I went into event planning, I worked for a PR firm with a CEO who liked sleeping with everyone that showed them the smallest amount of interest in them."
"Alex Kringle?" I said, remembering the media firestorm from my high school years.
She nodded. "But that's not why I've called you in. I wanted to discuss this baby shower you're doing for Miss Ward. How's it going?"
"Very well. One issue I've run into is the venue. The last place canceled at the last minute, so I'm searching for another. Also, Everly and Mrs. Ward had a huge argument, and they're not speaking right now, so I'm having to avoid setting Mrs. Ward off whenever I mention Everly's name, hard to do when it's her daughter's baby shower."
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"Don't you love the politics of royal families?" Mrs. Trifle joked lightly. "I'm only asking to see if you needed any help, but you seem to have it all under control, as usual."
"I do."
"Wonderful! Then we can move on to the next topic of discussion," she said, pulling out some papers from her drawer. "You've been here just under a year, but you've shown incredible tenacity, quick wit, and you've had nothing but happy customers. We started you out at a lower salary than the others because of your inexperience in this industry, but I want to change that today. I am giving you a promotion today. One of our senior planners just retired, so the person moving into their spot has left their old spot vacant. It comes with a higher salary than what you're making now, and if you do well in this role, I'm expecting another one of our employees to retire soon as well. If that's the case, you'll be in the running for their position. I have the papers here for you to sign if you'd like to have the promotion."
