Page 19 of Tech Prince Troubles (Runaway Prince Hotel #6)

Chapter Nineteen

ADRI

no more hiding

N estled against the soft pillows of Layla’s couch, I held myself still as Sam laughed—nerves crackling through my system—my eyes down, so no one could see how I felt. I couldn’t see their reaction, either. What if they were laughing, too?

Laughing was better than being angry, even if I didn’t understand why. He mumbled, “Sorry,” a few times, in between breaths and hiccups, only to laugh again.

Someone pushed a glass of water into Sam’s hand.

“Get a grip, Sam.” Layla’s voice had a fierce edge to it. “You’re spooking our visitors. Not to mention Adri. He’s been through enough.”

Sam’s head jerked up, and he stared at me, wide-eyed, red splotches on his cheeks. His laughter fizzled out with coughs, heaves, and more hiccups. He tried to say something, but shook his head and sipped the water instead.

Someone pinged me. My family. Not a single ping, but a series of them. I hadn’t expected them to locate me so soon. It looked like the glitchy energy had interfered with my shielding and rerouting. I sighed. If I didn’t answer, they’d keep pinging me until I did.

I rested my head against the pillows and opened the line.

::Chkchk. Finally,:: Min-Tess sent. ::Where have you been?::

My mins’ nickname made me smile more than ever, despite being nervous.

::What's going on?:: That was Min-Oliver, of course. ::We talked to Kin-Bertie, but he said he hadn’t seen you on the island after Frank and Kaia’s party.::

::I’m sorry.:: Even exhausted, sending didn’t take much energy.

Being among humans all this time, having to talk, I’d forgotten how easy it was to send with my mins—no voice, no trying to figure out what an expression meant.

Our feelings were clear in our energy exchange.

::The party was too much. Too loud. Someone handed me a card that led me here.

I just wanted to be alone for a while.::

::You didn’t need to go through the effort of shielding and rerouting.::

::You were already scheduling more meetings for me at the engagement party.::

The line fell silent. I’d gone too far.

::We would not have forced you to come home, but we all have duties. You know this,:: he replied after a long time.

::I do. But?—::

::The party was too much. We underestimated its effects on you. We have, of course, moved all meetings until after the wedding.::

::We all need a break sometimes,:: Min-Tess added.

::Thank you.::

::We love you, Chkchk. And it pains us you felt you needed to take such drastic measures.::

I savored the warmth flooding our connection. I sent them my gratitude. ::I love you, too, Mins.::

::So. How long are you planning to stay in this… Princedelphia?::

I sighed. ::You’ve found me, then?::

::Oh, please. Your shielding was excellent, but what made you think we’d believe you were traveling to all these places. A new country every week. Japan. Hawaii. Alaska.:: The line crackled and sparked, showing Min’s displeasure.

Alaska? I’d have to pay more attention to my rerouting next time. Of course, they’d never believe Alaska.

::You’d freeze in Alaska, Chkchk. Though, that would explain why your signal is weak and frizzing. Are you not feeling well?::

::I was hit with a burst of electricity. A glitch.::

Anger stuttered across our connection. ::Who did that to you?::

I swallowed. If I told him the truth now, nothing would stop him from retrieving me. That was not what I wanted. ::It was an accident. My system’s been purging the effects. I’ll be fine.::

::Of course you’ll be fine. Our systems are robust.:: There was still tension on the line. ::Rest. We will contact you again. If you do not accept our ping, I will send someone to fetch you.::

The tone of his message made it clear that someone would be Min himself.

::There’s not much sense in hiding, now you know where I am.::

::You’d better remember that.::

The intense concern did nothing to diminish the harsh flash of his threat. I had better not forget. ::The hotel is hosting a charity masquerade ball here on Labor Day to support the local vocational center.:: I hoped it would smooth things over, adding a link to the center.

::Excellent. Of course, we’ll make an appearance. Frank and Kaia will be delighted to publicly support such a charity.::

I hadn’t even thought about that. ::Thank you.: :

::You’re very welcome, Chkchk. Did you find what you were looking for in Princedelphia?::

::You’ll be pleased to hear that being here taught me some valuable lessons.:: I couldn’t tell Min about Sam. We needed to talk first. He deserved the truth, despite his odd behavior.

::I would love to hear more about that.::

::After Labor Day,:: I said.

::Yes. After Labor Day. And remember, no more hiding. And certainly no more shielding or rerouting.::

::I promise.::

The line closed, and I opened my eyes. Sam—cheeks still red—looked at me with concern.

“Hey.” His voice sounded rough. “You had us worried for a moment. I thought you’d fainted.”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. My mins… my parents pinged me. I couldn’t ignore them.”

Sam blinked. “I’m not sure I understand how, but I’m glad you’re fine. And I’m really, really sorry.” He gave me an embarrassed grin. “I was rude.”

“You were… a bit.”

“More than a bit. It’s just…” Sam gestured to the others with his head. “Can I tell you later?”

I frowned. “Will it involve yelling?”

His eyes widened. “No. I have questions, but only if you want to answer them.”

That sounded fair. Of course, he had questions. “Later, then.”

“Later.” Sam’s smile softened. He hoisted himself up to sit next to me. “Are you sure you’re fine?”

Layla snorted. “Yes. He’s fine. His parents would have been here already if he wasn’t.”

Would Layla knowing these things ever stop surprising me?

“Now,” she continued, “can we move on, please?”

I nodded, while Sam mumbled, “Yes. ”

“Finally,” said Rick, though he didn’t sound happy about it.

Riley said nothing as she sank onto the couch next to me and wiped her tears. Her beautiful chandeliers. She’d worked so hard on them. I put my hand over hers.

“I was just about to ask Jim here to explain to my friends from the Vocational Center why we might not be able to host the charity ball this year,” Layla said, her voice hard as steel.

I didn’t want to see the look on Jim’s face and kept my eyes on Layla instead. She seemed more relaxed than her voice implied.

“That’s not what I was doing. I was trying to stop them. These goddamn royals playing at being poor while we work ourselves to the bone.”

His hatred hit me like static across my skin. The legs of his chair thumped against the wooden floor as if he was struggling to get free.

I flinched.

Sam wrapped his arm around my back and whispered, “He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Layla tsk’d and took a step forward. “Those files are on my personal server. Only Rick and I have access to those.”

I stared at Rick. He knew?

Rick shook his head. “He couldn’t have accessed it from the hub.”

Only if it was protected by a NiraTech package, but I didn’t think Rick wanted me to point that out.

“Ha!” Jim burst out. “You just need to know where to look. Didn’t expect that from a vocational hire, did you?”

Layla’s face showed no reaction. “What I expected from you was to do the job I hired you for. Instead, you’ve been hacking my server, snooping around in other people’s private matters, and sabotaging my business.”

How did Layla stay so calm ?

“Fuck privacy. There’ve been rumors you’re harboring royalty buzzing around for years. All I did was find the proof. This whole place is crawling with royals hiding behind aprons and keyboards. I bet you that pool boy was one of them, too.”

“What I do with my hotel and whom I hire is none of your business. There is room for everyone at the Renversé Hotel—royalty or otherwise.”

“Room for everyone? Do you know how many of us struggle to get jobs while they get everything they want served on a platter? They put my family on the streets to build their high-end flats. They worked the dangerous low-paid jobs no one else wanted to keep us fed. Yet, you give them shelter!”

His words hit me just as hard now as they had earlier.

“Jim.” Layla dragged a chair closer and sat down. “I understand you’re angry, but that doesn’t explain why you wanted to stop the charity ball.”

“The Masquerade Ball? No. Why would I do that?”

“Yes. Why?” One of the visitors stepped forward. “The charity ball allows us to help so many people every year. People like you. We were so proud when you got your certificate. When Layla hired you.”

“No. No. I did it to help you. Why would you want money from someone who offers free rooms to spoiled royalty?”

The visitor shook his head. “Layla has always done right by us. She has a knack for finding the biggest donors. And she never charges for the use of her hotel. We can’t afford to book another venue if we can even find one on such short notice.”

Layla put her arm around the visitor to keep him steady as he wobbled.

Jim’s face went pale as he looked from Layla to the visitor. “I didn't mean… That can’t be true. I just wanted to help.”

“Without the charity ball, we’ll have to cut courses and reduce staffing. Which means limited opening hours and access to our computers, and less assistance with job applications and résumé building. How does that help?”

“I thought if I stopped her from taking in spoiled royals then?—”

“Then what, Jim?” Layla folded her arms. “I’ve hired over sixty percent of our staff through the Vocational Center.

The amount of alleged royalty on the premises at any time makes up ten, maybe twelve percent.

And for that, you sabotaged the chance for others to enjoy the services the Vocational Center provided for you. No, Jim. You didn’t think at all.”

Jim's breathing quickened, his voice ragged as he whispered, “What if I can fix it?”

“You?” Layla shook her head. “You’ve caused enough damage.”

I doubted he could fix it. But perhaps I could. The grounding system maintenance scan I’d saved to my internal system should at least give me an idea of where to start.

The readings were a mess. No wonder the outer wall of the ballroom had been brimming with energy.

Jim had created a bypass in the grounding system by connecting the grounding outlet beneath the ballroom to the one beneath the plaza.

Which explained the fountain glitches and the ones at the café.

He must have thought it would disrupt the energy flow in the ballroom.

Instead, he’d created a continuous, unpredictable energy leakage that was slowly reaching boiling point.

But he was right. We could still fix it.

I sent the scan to the server and turned to Rick. “I know what he did.”

A chorus of “What?” bounced off the walls.

“The scan I just sent to the server will explain it. If Layla doesn’t mind using her computer?”

“Go ahead.”

Jim seemed to go even paler, but I ignored him. My system stuttered as I rose to join Rick; sparks went off in my head, and I lost my balance. Arms wrapped around me, lowering me to the couch.

“I’ve got you,” Sam whispered.

“Maybe you should take him to his room,” Layla suggested.

“Not yet. I need to…” My head pounded. Perhaps I underestimated the havoc the glitchy energy had wreaked on my system. I took a breath. “Rick will have questions.”

“Rick certainly does,” Rick said. “But let’s focus on sorting this mess first.”