by Cate Remy
“I knew you would say something like that. I had Keisha on standby in case.”
“Have fun with your friend.” Shae plucked out a magazine stuck between the couch cushions. She glanced at the cover. It was a tabloid with the headline Royal Ruckus spelled out in neon green letters across the top. The cover photo showcased a fuzzy image of a man with red hair and a beard laughing with a group of friends as they stumbled out of a pub. Shae read the caption: Donovan’s 30th Birthday pub crawl. Is Severn’s royal family finally fed up with the playboy prince?
She almost snorted with laughter. The way the caption was written could be interpreted as Donovan was celebrating his thirtieth birthday or he actually went to thirty pubs on his birthday. After seeing the crazy pool party of his yesterday, she didn’t find the latter hard to believe.
“I thought you didn’t read that trash,” Chelsea’s teasing voice cut into her concentration.
“I don’t.” Shae tucked the tabloid under her arm. “I was just checking the date to see if I needed to put it in the recycle bin.”
“Uh-huh, sure.” Her roommate took the dog-eared tabloid away from her. “Admit it, Shae, you like to read a little bit of this, too.”
“It’s just a gossip rag. I’m not going to use my student ramen budget to make the tabloids rich.”
“You say so while you stare a hole into the prince’s head on the cover.” Chelsea studied it herself and sighed. “Prince Donovan could go clubbing with me anytime.”
“He probably would enjoy Atlanta nightlife.” Shae recalled whether she put down a few famous nightclubs on the prince’s itinerary.
“How would you know what he likes?”
She heard a loud vibration come from her backpack. The secure phone was going off. “You’re right, Chelsea. I don’t know.” She hurried to pick the backpack up from the floor.
“Hold on, Shae, I didn’t say you were wrong.”
“I have to take this call. Have fun tonight.” She hauled her pack full of school and work gear into her bedroom and shut the door. The phone still vibrated. She fished through the lower compartments of her backpack until her fingers closed around the phone. The screen flashed green with an incoming call from a foreign number. She touched the screen to accept the call. “Hello?”
“Did I catch you at a busy time?” Donovan’s smooth, accented tenor poured into her ear.
“No, I just got home. How can I help you?”
She heard his soft chuckle. “No need for formality. I wanted to trade ideas if you have a couple minutes.”
“I can spare a few.”
“What do people use the hotel’s grand ballroom for? I noticed it’s under lock and key.”
“It hasn’t been used in a while, but we usually reserve it for wedding receptions or galas.”
“What about fundraisers?”
Shae took off her shoes, thankful to freely wiggle her toes. “There was one during Christmas last year.”
“I want to put on a fundraiser for one of my family’s charities. I’ll hold it at the Kleghorn to also draw interest in the hotel.”
It sounded like a good idea. She knew it’d require at least a couple weeks of planning. “When do you want to have the fundraiser gala?”
“Three months from now, once the hotel has the new fixtures and internet access installed.”
Whew. She had time. For a moment, Donovan made it sound like the Kleghorn staff needed to be called into a planning meeting stat. “The hotel preps for large-scale events in stages. I can show you an example and put together a template for you next week.”
“Do you have the weekend off?”
“No. I’m acting manager until Mr. Hightower returns. He’s still with his family. She kept her explanation short, figuring it was enough to explain why she was acting hotel manager without airing all of Mr. Hightower’s personal life.
“In that case, I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night, Shae.”
“Good night.” She put the phone down on the bed. She wondered why Donovan asked if she had the weekend off. Did he want her to start planning for the gala event immediately, or did he have something else in mind?
Donovan woke up at two in the morning. This jet lag was really doing him in. He was tired by day and restless by night. It was times like these when he wished Severn didn’t have a six-hour difference from Atlanta.
He flipped on a light, got up, and changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Might as well burn off energy in the hotel gym if he couldn’t sleep. He laced up his sneakers while he considered if it was worth notifying his security that he was about to do a few bench presses and run on the treadmill.
Best to let Giles and Murphy get some shut eye. They worked hard enough. Besides, he was getting a little tired of being shadowed everywhere by those two.
He took the elevator to the third floor where the gym was located. As he suspected, it was empty. Good. If most people were up in the wee hours of Saturday morning, it was to party, not work out. He swiped his guest key card and went straight to the weight rack.
Donovan pushed out a couple sets of bicep curls to warm up his muscles for the bench press. As he grabbed a fifty pound plate off the rack, a light flashed from the window. He blinked before he looked out to see two college-age women. They were dressed like they were either coming or going to a party. They aimed their phones at him and used flash again to take pictures.
“Stop.” He dropped the plate. It landed with a dull thud on the rubberized floor. “No pictures.”
The women couldn’t hear him through the glass and soundproof walls. He doubted it would matter anyway. They took off on their stiletto heels, laughing all the way down the hall.
Donovan grunted. He could pretty much count on those snapshots showing up in the tabloids within the week, along with a made-up story for why he was in the gym. Prince Donovan pumps iron to lift sagging spirits after celebrity breakup. Or worse. Prince Donovan can’t sleep…secret illness exposed.
He swiped a towel from the rack and wiped his brow before heading out. He hoped if the pictures did get published, his parents wouldn’t hear about them. The king and queen of Severn made it clear this trip to the United States to revitalize the Kleghorn Hotels was his final opportunity to prove himself a worthy heir. If he failed, the Cabinet in Severn could vote to remove his family from the throne and pass it to rival distant relatives in Europe.
Donovan had this one last chance to show he was mature enough to inherit the crown someday. He could not fail.
Chapter Four
Shae came into work and checked voicemails on the staff line in the concierge’s office. One of the housekeepers was down with a stomach bug and the lounge bartender would be an hour late this afternoon because of a doctor’s appointment. Mr. Hightower called while she was finishing the messages. He told her things were improving with his newborn daughter, but he was going to take the next week off to be with his family. Seven more days to hold the fort, but Shae was glad the baby was doing better.
“It’s so good to hear she’s going to be alright,” Shae said. “I’ll make sure to tell everyone.”
“Sorry I forgot to tell you about the guest in the royal suite.”
“I know you were in a hurry to see your little baby.”
“Prince Donovan contacted me to ask how my family was doing.”
“That’s thoughtful of him.” She created her schedule for the day while she chatted.
“He also said he made you his personal concierge.”
She twirled the landline phone cord around one finger. “I’m still handling my other duties as concierge to the other guests.”
“Shae, I have no problems with it. He owns the hotel. Do what he wants.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“One more thing. Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone about the prince staying at the hotel. Only you and the hotel security knows.”
“I won’t. Have a good day.” Shae got an idea to see if the staff wanted to chip in and
have a gift basket delivered to Mr. Hightower and his family. While she drafted a staff email, a valet knocked on the door and stuck his head in. “Shae, did you know?”
“Know what?”
“Prince Donovan’s staying at the hotel.”
Uh-oh. The news somehow leaked. “Who told you?”
“Here, look at this.” The valet took his phone from his back pocket and showed her a couple grainy photos of what appeared to be a guy sitting on a weight bench. “Someone posted pictures of him in the gym last night on social media.”
Shae pursed her lips. There was no denying Donovan’s signature ginger hair, or that the gym was part of the hotel. Black letters with the hotel name decorated the window of the gym. Not only that, the person who took the photo hashtagged the hotel name and Prince Donovan in the same sentence when describing the picture. Shae saw how the window in the picture reflected two women who appeared to be about her age. “This is bad. Guests aren’t supposed to know he’s here. I’ll call a quick staff meeting.”
The valet took his phone back. “Secret’s out. What’s a meeting going to do? People are waiting across the street now in case the prince comes outside.”
Shae inwardly admitted he was right. “I better get hotel security on the phone first. Let me know if it gets crazy out there.”
She called the Kleghorn’s security manager and asked them to be ready to direct traffic and watch out for people trying to sneak into the hotel who weren’t guests. Afterwards, she called the staff meeting in the hotel’s larger conference room.
She stood at the front of the room, clasping a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other to keep her fingers from shaking. Since she started working at the hotel, she had always been one of the employees sitting in the conference room, never the one initiating the meeting. “I know you were all busy getting started this morning, but I had to call an emergency meeting.”
“Is this about Mr. Hightower?” Nina asked.
“No. As a matter of fact, he and his family are doing much better. I spoke with him this morning.”
The staff smiled and murmured among themselves with relief. Shae continued. “We can have flowers delivered to the hospital today. I called the meeting because of the social media pictures of Prince Donovan working out in the hotel gym.”
“How cool is that?” a member of the kitchen staff exclaimed. Her outburst was met with affirmation and laughter.
“Not cool.” Shae tried to gain control of the meeting fast. “We have to follow the rules to protect the privacy of our guests. That means no pictures, no loitering around the hall outside the royal suite, no talking to the other guests about the prince.”
Nina raised her hand. “What if they keep asking?”
“If they badger you, tell them we have a strict confidentiality policy and you can’t say anything.”
“What if we see him?” A member of the kitchen staff interrupted.
“Continue with your work and act like he’s any other guest. Don’t stop to talk to him or watch him. Any other questions?”
No one raised their hand or spoke. Shae spotted movement near one of the conference room windows. Murphy was trying to get her attention. What did the prince’s personal security guard want? She hurried to adjourn the meeting. “If there are no questions, let’s get back to work. I’ll update you if anything changes.”
Murphy stepped aside and meandered down the hall as the staff filed out of the conference room to the lobby. Shae exited and went through the opposite hall to find him staring at some decorative wall art. Despite his burly build, he managed to blend in, looking like he was a businessman in a suit, idling for a moment to take in the scenery. “I saw you standing outside the conference room.”
“I was canvassing the main floor to see how many people were in the lobby and waiting outside to see the prince.”
“I can ask hotel security to stand by while a car comes around to the front to get him.”
Murphy refused. “It won’t do. Donovan will have to leave the hotel through the back.”
“I see. If your driver goes through the parking deck, there’s a ramp that leads to a quiet street.”
“His Highness wants you to come with him.”
“Me? Where?”
“He didn’t say, but I told him that I would inform you when I came downstairs.”
Shae glanced at the time on her phone. “It’s already after nine. The workday is just getting started.”
“Miss, need I remind you of your position to His Highness who owns the hotel? And the agreement you made with him yesterday about becoming his personal concierge?”
She read between the lines of his stuffy tone. “I’m acting manager of the hotel. I can’t leave.”
Murphy started walking away. “His Highness is waiting for you in his suite.”
Shae could hardly believe it. So was that how Donovan was going to treat her, by having his guard relay a message, come or else? That wasn’t how things were done in this country. She was almost tempted to march up to the royal suite and let him have a piece of her mind.
Yet there was one little fact preventing her from doing so. He was her boss, plain and simple. He owned every part of the hotel. He called the shots and could fire her for any reason or no reason at all.
Shae found the closest elevator and took it to the top floor. If she couldn’t be direct with the prince, perhaps she could tell him in a nice way why she couldn’t leave the hotel. The doors parted, and she emerged on the thirty-second floor to see Giles waiting by the elevator, checking a weather app on his phone. Shae knew exactly what he was doing. These two didn’t mess around. He looked up from his phone, gave her a quick nod, and resumed pretending to be a busy hotel guest, agitated by the rain forecast. He started pressing buttons on his phone as she went by. Likely alerting Donovan of her arrival.
Shae assumed she guessed right, because the prince opened the door to her before she had a chance to knock. He was dressed casually in jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt that stretched over his muscled arms and trim, athletic torso. “Good morning,” he said. “Hope yours is going better than mine.”
“It’s been busy.” She walked into the royal suite. Housekeeping did a great job of getting it immaculate again. “I saw you got an early workout today.”
Donovan scanned up and down the hall before closing the door. “I didn’t know those two women took a picture of me until after I saw the flash. I’m sorry if it caused you and the rest of the staff trouble.”
Shae paused, not expecting to receive a humble apology. “It’s not your fault they got a picture. The gym’s open to all guests twenty-four seven.”
“I thought I’d be less of a distraction if I visited the gym at two in the morning. Plus, the fact I couldn’t sleep.”
“Jet lag?”
He nodded before covering his mouth to yawn. “I could use a strong cup of tea and something peachy for breakfast since I’m in the Peachtree State. Let’s go to brunch at the restaurant you recommended.”
Shae bit her lower lip. “I can’t leave because I’m still acting manager of the hotel.”
“It’s only for an hour or two. I promise I won’t keep you longer.” He reached for a set of keys on the coffee table and a baseball cap. He stuck the cap on his head. “We can talk more about the hotel renovation project while we’re out.”
“Well, if it’s business, then I guess it’s alright.”
“I promise you won’t get in trouble with your boss.”
She noticed the playful gleam in his green eyes. An odd sense of heat spread over her face. She touched her cheek. Had someone turned off the air conditioning? “I have to let the staff know I’ll be out for the rest of the morning. I’ll need to send an email from the computer.”
Donavon nodded and frowned at the same time. “You should have an office app on your phone to communicate with staff. Most businesses have them in Severn. I’ll start designing one for the hotel.”
“You bu
ild apps?”
He took out his phone. “It’s a little-known hobby of mine. I picked it up after I studied programming at university.” He appeared to send a text. “I just told my security we’re about to leave. I’ll meet you out by the service entrance.”
“See you in about five minutes.” Shae left the royal suite and passed Giles in the hall. He gave her another almost imperceptible nod. She rode the elevator downstairs and used the time to place an order with the florist for Mr. Hightower. When she got to the main floor, she speed-walked to the concierge office and churned out a short email stating her two-hour absence and how she could be reached by phone if there was an emergency. Please don’t let there be an emergency. She crossed her fingers.
She locked the office door and headed for the back of the hotel. She waved to the food delivery service, there to take supplies to the kitchen. She walked outside under a light drizzling rain to see a black Mercedes Benz pull up to the curb.
Its windows were tinted. She had to squint to see the outline of the driver. The passenger side window rolled down. Donovan leaned over from the driver’s seat and pushed open the door. “Your chariot, madame.”
She got in and closed the door. In the side mirror, she saw another vehicle with tinted windows pull up behind them. She guessed Giles and Murphy were following. “Why did I think you’d have a chauffeur?”
“Because it’s what most people in my position do. I like to drive, especially on your American roads where the speed limits are higher.” He steered the wheel away from the curb.
“You might not want to speed through downtown Atlanta. The traffic cameras could catch you.”
He wrinkled his nose. “Right. My gym shorts already broke the Internet with their own hash tag. The last thing my family would need to see today is my mug shot.”
Shae couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry. It’s just how you said it. Plus, the whole hash tag thing.”
Donovan smirked as he followed the directions on the car’s GPS. “You’d be surprised at what people follow on social media.”