Page 6 of Redemption of a Prince

“Nicolette?”

Nikki stood and took a deep breath as she grasped her attaché case. “That’s me.”

The woman smiled at her. “Please come in.”

Inside the conference room sat Prince Gideon and his wife, Karsen Roberts, heiress to the Trilunium estate, along with several others.

Gideon gave her an odd look, but they’d only met once or twice well over a decade earlier.

“Please have a seat.” The princess took control of the meeting. “Tell me a little bit about yourself.”

Nikki told them a bit about where she grew up and went to university then relevant work experience, skipping over most of her teenage years.

For nearly an hour, they talked, inserting random questions about Trilunium lore and trivia as they did.

She knew most of the answers. There were one or two obscure ones she admitted aloud to guessing on. The admissions made the princess hide a smirk, but not a mean one.

Finally, the princess closed her folder. “Thank you very much for coming in. We’ll be in touch soon.”

Nikki stood and shook hands with the people gathered there, wishing they’d had name tags. They’d all introduced themselves, but she didn’t remember who they were.

The same assistant walked her back into the waiting area. “Do you need an escort out of the building?”

“No, thank you. I know my way from here.”

The woman nodded. “I do have to remind you not to deviate from the exit route, something we have to remind everyone of.”

Nikki nodded.

“Have a wonderful rest of your day.”

“Thank you. You, too.”

The butterflies weren’t going to go away until she was through the gates. Until then, a chance always remained that she’d run into the reticent crown prince.

She neared the garrison portico and looked down to pull her phone out of her attaché case.

In her peripheral vision, she could see someone walking in the door. She stepped to the side to let them walk by, but the person stopped.

Nikki looked up. As she recognized the crown prince, she noticed recognition quickly replaced by a blank look on his face.

He nodded. “Good afternoon, Ms. Major.”

“Good afternoon, Your Royal Highness.” Was there snark in her tone? She didn’t mean for there to be.

“What are you doing here?”

She glanced over her shoulder. “I had a meeting.”

“I see.” He looked toward the hall. “Well, I hope it went as you wished. Have a pleasant day.”

It took everything in Nikki not to turn and watch him walk away. Instead, she stared at the floor until his footsteps retreated. With a deep breath, she decided it was time to hold her head high. She’d done nothing wrong.

Not really.

Once out the door, she thanked the attendant who brought her auto to her and drove home on auto-pilot.

The cozy flat offered a slightly obscured view of the harbor, but mostly it offered Nikki refuge.