Royally Benevolent (Resplendent Royals #4)

10. Mr Mayor

10

MR MAYOR

WYATT

“ H e’s going to want snacks. Don’t give in,” I said. “He won’t eat actual food. I don’t know how to fix it, but it became… a crutch. How do you fix that?”

“You don’t,” Mom laughed. “Sweetheart, you ate two foods between the ages of two and six—bologna and hot dogs.”

“That couldn’t be good.”

“You made it where you are just fine. Children are picky. His choices aren’t a mandate on your parenting, okay? He’s been through so much. If he wants nothing but apple slices this morning, he will get them.”

I grumbled, wishing he’d be the adventurous eater his mother swore he’d end up if we just kept trying.

“It’s not your fault. Some kids are picky. Some aren’t. By the time they go to college, they all eat whatever,” Mom said. “Go, you have an important meeting. The more you drag it out?—”

“He won’t mind me going if you’re here,” I said. “He has been losing his mind over you coming, Mom.”

She rolled her eyes. “What is it that has gotten you all wound up?”

“Nothing,” I lied.

I still waited to hear from Odette as the next board meeting loomed. We needed to strategise if she would do me a favour and attend. Instead, it was radio silence on that front. I didn’t know why it bothered me so much.

Mom patted my back. “Go say goodbye and head out, Wyatt.”

I entered Theo’s playroom and sat on the floor.

“Papa!” Theo raced over. “I was building a train track!”

“I see that.” I wrapped him in a big hug.

“It will have two engines!”

“Even better,” I said. “We can play with it when I get home. I have to go.”

“Why, Papa?” Theo whined.

“Because I have business. Grandma will stay with you. That’s fun, right?”

“I miss you, Papa.”

“I know,” I said. “And I would much rather stay here and play trains with you, little man. But right now, I have to go meet some people?”

“Who?”

“The Mayor and a prince,” I sighed.

“What is a major?”

I chuckled. “May-or. He’s like the president of the city.”

He’s a real piece of shit .

“Can I go?”

“No, sweetie. It’s not that type of day. What about we go to Legoland this weekend—just the two of us? Is that something to look forward to?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Theo groaned.

I gave him a big kiss on the cheek and hopped up. “Be good, buddy.”

Today, I had to converse pleasantly at a ribbon cutting for Neandia’s first smart bus rapid transit system station. It was the first of a dozen to be deployed in the next two years. This bus highway was designed based on data we mined, and it was meant to adjust over time to user needs and behaviour.

Prince Rikard—known to most as Rick—waited for me. Secretly, I’d hoped Rick would be replaced by his sister-in-law. The Mayor was deeply invested in a conversation with cronies. So, as awkward as it was talking to a prince, I sucked it up and approached the other stakeholder I needed to impress. Yes, they’d paid us for this. Yes, we’d done it for less than I might have charged any other government. But at the end of the day, it was a contract with much meaning. I cared about this relationship.

“Mr Worthington!” Prince Rikard gave me an incredibly firm handshake. “How are you?”

“Fine, you, Your Royal Highness?”

“Oh, doing well, thanks. My wife sends her regards. She’s still a bit under the weather.”

“Apologies,” I said. “And thank you. What are we waiting on?”

I was hoping it might still be his sister-in-law.

“Mayor Blowhard,” The Prince whispered.

I snickered. “That’s a good one. I’ll remember it, but remind myself not to call him that.”

“Yeah, I shouldn’t, but I must,” Prince Rikard said. “He asked me if my youngest sister-in-law was single. She’s twenty-one. I told him that’s not my business, and he asked me for her number.”

I shuddered. Mayor Bouchard was a tall, thin man in his seventies. His face drooped like a Saint Bernard’s might. Given his many spottings at live sex shows across the Low Countries and noted history of being thrown out of said shows, it was safe to assume the Mayor wasn’t beyond hitting on a twenty-one-year-old princess. I suspected she’d never consider it, but also that Rick would have physically ended the old man over any advances made to his younger sisters-in-law.

“Appalling.” I shook my head.

I didn’t dislike Prince Rikard. He was affable, fairly casual, and nothing like his wife. She was what you might expect from a queen—quiet, controlled, formal. Rikard was the life of the party, but hanging with any royals was awkward.

“The bastard never reads the room. Well, anyhow, enough about that dickhead. How are you?”

“I’m good, thanks. I’m ready to see this project finally underway here.”

“Me as well. Even Blowhard didn’t stop it.”

I laughed and shook my head. I looked down the street to see a woman in head-to-toe pink winter riding gear flying by on a Dutch e-bike. I knew it was Odie. I smiled and tried not to think about her.

Rick followed my gaze. “There she goes. Odette probably would have enjoyed being here today but had other things to do.”

Other things . Either she did have other things, or she was avoiding me. I grimaced. She never emailed back, and there she was out in the world. I worried maybe I frightened her by being too insistent. Perhaps it was pointless? I was a little annoyed. I’d thought there was something there—a hope for progress, possibly. I shouldn’t think about her, but she was so positive. I’d wanted to believe her.

He knew we’d met. By the look on his face, he suspected this caught me off guard.

“She said you all talked the other night,” Rick explained. “She’s taking over that patronage and got Alexandra and me up to speed.”

Oh, really? Then why did she blow me off ?

“So, will she be around at future events?” I asked.

“Yes. Today, she had a long-booked appointment that wouldn’t have given her enough time to make it. I know she is much more charming than I am.”

I coughed nervously. “Oh, that’s not what I meant. I meant… she’s passionate about bikes! I appreciate her interest in fixing that intersection. It’s dangerous. If she is supportive, a charm offensive might get the Mayor on board with allowing a traffic survey for that junction?”

Or has she allied herself with the old asshole?

Rick stared off and shrugged. “If our family can be useful in a charm offensive, we’ll try. The place needs to be safe for us and our children. Odette shares in that.”

“I appreciate it,” I relaxed a bit.

Rick patted my back. “We’ll get the bastard one way or another if it kills me.”

Maybe she hadn’t blown me off? Maybe she was just busy? After all, she was a princess. I wasn’t sure what they did, but it must have been a busy life. I’d have to wait around to figure it out. Either way, I couldn’t give up on the intersection—Odette or no Odette. It was an irrational fixation I couldn’t quit. Watching her fall, nearly smashed and terrified as she searched for her dog, I knew the time for inaction was over. I could bring this small, positive change if I stayed the course.