Chapter 10 – Marcella
MARCELLA
Rowan leaves the room without another word, his threat hanging heavily in the air. I listen as the echo from his shoes on the floor grows quieter and dissipates into nothing. Once I’m positive he’s gone, I stand and tug at my scratchy gray uniform as I debate my next move.
I slip my work phone from my pocket and stare at the dark screen.
I decide not to notify the Signoria or Antonia of my new position.
Something has me waiting, and I hold to it.
I pull up the housekeeping group messenger app.
I have no clue if the king or anyone else will make an announcement, but no doubt the gossip mill is already churning.
If I’m temporarily taking over for Emily, I need to let it be known.
This should go over well.
Yet as I start to type, a message comes through.
Emily: Some of you may have heard that I fell this morning or saw that I was taken out by ambulance.
I’m at the hospital and will be having surgery in the next few days.
I’ve asked Marcella to take over my position until I’ve completed my rehab and am able to return to work.
I’ve spoken with King Sebastian and have the royal family’s approval of my choice.
Emily: Marcella has my utmost confidence, and I expect you all to help her out and make this transition as easy as possible for everyone. I will update you on my condition as soon as I have more information.
I blow out a breath. Well then.
I send Emily a private text.
Me: Thank you so much for your message. I sincerely appreciate your faith in me, and I promise not to let you down.
She replies instantly.
Emily: I’m positive you’ll do a fantastic job. I spoke to Prince Rowan and King Sebastian, and you have their confidence as well.
I can’t stop the snort that climbs out of the back of my throat and nose. Right. I have no doubt they do.
Emily: Javier will send you a link to everything you’ll need to manage the team and learn their assignments. There is also an iPad in my office on my desk. Everything is already logged in on it. The code is 4-5-9-0 to unlock it. It’ll have everything you need.
Me: Perfect. This means so much to me. Rest up and get better. You don’t need to worry about a thing.
I go back to the group chat.
Me: I appreciate Emily’s and the royal family’s confidence in my work and am grateful for this opportunity. I hope we can work together and make this brief change a smooth one for all of us.
Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I head out of the parlor, down a flight of stairs, and across the palace to Emily’s office. I’ve never managed this many people before, but I know how to read people, how to tell them what they think they want to hear, and how to work them if necessary.
I enter Emily’s office and find the iPad she mentioned sitting on top of her desk.
“Stealing from the top already?” A voice comes from the door.
I don’t glance up. It’s Esme, a guest staffer like me who was on the short list of candidates.
She and I were friendly until Emily approached me about the position.
She was one of my main sources of gossip.
She and the two people who are flanking her were.
It’s amazing how fast the three of them turned on me over this.
I’ve never had friends before, so I honestly don’t know how this all works, but the reality is, I don’t care all that much. I’m not here to be their friend.
I get it. They’re jealous and upset. They sort of have a right to be.
They’ve been here longer than I have. But unlike them, I’m not known for being a gossip.
I’m discreet whereas they’re not. I also do double the work in the same amount of time as all of them.
Call it a byproduct of getting the shit whipped out of me if I didn’t work quickly and efficiently enough or that I wanted to appear as the model employee. It doesn’t matter.
The facts speak for themselves, and when Emily and I were discussing the position before she fell, she hinted at her reasons for including me in the pool.
“I heard she pushed Emily,” Raul claims.
I don’t bother to acknowledge his comment. He’s testing me to see if he can get a rise out of me, and that’s not something I’m known for. Thus far, the only person who seems to exacerbate me and ruffle feathers I didn’t even know I had is the fucking prince.
I unlock the iPad and look over everything that I need to familiarize myself with.
“You’re not even going to gloat?” Marsha, an American with an annoyingly nasal voice, goads. “Little Miss Perfect got the job. How nice for you. Too bad no one will take orders from you.”
“That’s so wild since Emily and Prince Rowan made it clear that I can let anyone who doesn’t go.”
They obviously didn’t give me that power, but these assholes don’t know that.
I search through the schedule. “Hmm. Marsha, you’re supposed to be on the family side, tending to the children’s rooms.” I glance up at her.
“And yet you’re here.” I turn to Raul. “And you’re responsible for the library today, along with the third-floor guest quarters.
And you”—I shift to Esme—“are supposed to be on the second-floor guest rooms. And yet you’re all standing here. ”
“You’re a bitch,” Esme snaps.
“Right.” I roll my eyes. “I’m the bitch.”
“This isn’t done.” Raul points at me like the tough guy he’s not. “Don’t think us going back to work is a sign of that.”
God, he’s a moron.
“Noted.” I smile sweetly at them.
Shockingly, they leave, though I take them at their word when they say this isn’t over.
It would be nice to have someone in my life other than Jaqueline that I didn’t hate or was adversarial with.
I had two people, and they’re both dead.
Maybe this is just how it is in the world.
I can manage being alone. It’d be an improvement.
I only wish I could bring Jaqueline here.
With all this set, I get myself to work, and the rest of the day goes smoother than I was anticipating.
For the most part, there are no major fires to put out or attitudes to manage.
Most people are friendly and eager to help in Emily’s absence.
Esme, Marsha, and Raul, from what I can tell, get their jobs done.
Not all of the staff live in the palace. Some do, but many commute from Tourin, which is about a thirty-minute drive from here, or Aosla, which is about forty minutes away. It makes the evenings quiet, and I like that. Evenings have always been my only breath of air, and I take them gladly.
I spend it going over staffing and schedules. Emily said I should be on the family side, tending to the family’s suites as well as their studies. Tomorrow is going to come with a lot of eyes on me.
My phone rings on my nightstand, and I wince only to relax when I see it’s Jaqueline. For the first time all day, a smile lights up my face.
“Hi,” I answer. “How’s it going?”
“It’s going,” she chirps. “I studied English for most of the day.”
“That’s great.” Even if the reason they have her learning English isn’t to make her more worldly. It’s to turn her into someone like me. Yet another assassin.
“When do you come home?”
I move to the edge of my bed and look around my small quarters. There’s barely anything in here, and it’s still a million times nicer than any place I’ve ever slept before.
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “I wish I could come home and see you. Or better yet, have you come here.”
“I wish for that too. I hate sleeping down here by myself.”
My eyes close. “I know. I don’t blame you. How has this week been with Signoria and Antonia?”
She’s quiet for a very long time. “Fine, I guess.”
“Don’t lie.”
She sighs into the phone. “The reason I did English all day was that I think they broke a rib or something.”
I hiss a curse under my breath.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you.”
My lungs seize with fury and guilt. “I always want you to tell me.”
“They won’t live forever,” she whispers, and I laugh. It’s our saying. One day we’ll have freedom. The problem is, with no identity, it’s damn near impossible to make it in this world. We’re slaves to them with no other options.
“You’re right. They won’t. I’m in a new position now. One that gives me direct access to the family. Hopefully things will move along faster and I’ll be back home in no time.”
Only I don’t want to go home. Rowan aside, I want to stay.
The thought of going back to that palazzo gives me nightmares and makes my insides shudder.
On the flip side, I hate leaving her there alone.
More often than not, I’ve been able to take the brunt of their force and keep it off her.
Without me there, she’s got no one to protect her.
“How’s the prince? Still dreamy? Did you finally talk to him now that you got that promotion?”
I smirk. She loved hearing about my wild night with the prince, and though I kept the details PG, she still swooned. “Wow, you didn’t even put any bait on that reel, did you?”
She laughs. “Nope. Tell me.”
“Yes. He’s still dreamy. He’s also an arrogant jerk and very suspicious of me in this new role. I have to be extremely careful with him.”
“He didn’t recognize you though, right?”
“No, but today was the first day I interacted with him. Hopefully, I can keep that to a minimum.” Even if he did threaten the opposite.
She sighs wistfully. “Imagine if you and the prince fell in love and got married. Then I could move into the palace with you, and we’d all live happily ever after.”
I snort. “I wouldn’t hold your breath on that fairy tale. The prince already doesn’t like me, and the feeling is mutual.”
“Don’t burst my bubble. A girl can dream. Especially when that’s all we’ve got.”