Chapter Ten
Grayson
H i, welcome to Tremaine’s — ”
The hostess looks up at my face and stops short, the words dying on her lips .
“...Diner, how can I help you?” she finally finishes, her voice sounding a little dazed .
It’s a reaction I get pretty often, being the prince and all. I smile at her .
“I’ve actually got a meeting with the manager,” I say .
She just nods .
“Right. Of course, let me go see if Diane is here right now, I’ll be right back can I get you coffee or water or anything? You can please feel free to sit at the bar and someone will be right along .”
The words tumble nervously out of her mouth, and I give her my best royal smile .
“I’m quite all right, thank you,” I say .
See? I know my manners sometimes .
“Be right back,” she whispers, and then scurries off .
I wander to a display case full of pies and stand there for a long moment, peering in. They look okay as far as pies go: apple and banana creme and coconut and cherry, but my stomach is clenching inside me anyway .
The diner search hasn’t turned up shit .
I’m starting to think that I hallucinated this girl, because no diner’s got an employment record of anyone who looks like her, not a single one in the entire city.
It feels like I’m on some wild goose chase, only someone changed the rules and I have no idea what they are any more .
The ball is tonight , so this is my last chance to find her. After the ball, my father’s decreed that I narrow the pool , starting with the women at the ball. And I can’t imagine getting married to someone else, only to one day find the waitress .
“Hi. Excuse me?” it’s the hostess again, and I turn. She’s wringing her hands together in front of herself, looking so nervous she might jump out of her skin .
“Hi, sorry, so Diane isn’t around right now but the owner is here? Livia Tremaine? Would you like to talk to her instead ?”
I smile at the girl, because she seems nearly terrified of me. Any other time, I’d probably try to seduce her, but the thought just doesn’t hold any appeal right now .
In fact, I haven’t gotten laid since I first met the waitress. Nearly a week. It’s my longest dry spell since I was a teenager, and it feels strange as hell .
“The owner would be just fine,” I say .
The girl nods and leads me back, apologizing again and again as we walk through the kitchen and then a narrow, hot hallway, since it’s the only way to Livia’s office .
Just as I’m about to step through her office door, something clicks. The Tremaine Diner must be the same Tremaine as Tremaine Holdings LLC, one of the biggest real estate developers in the city .
Gustav Tremaine, the guy who built the Tremaine empire from nothing, died about ten years ago.
I was a kid, and I don’t remember the details all that well, but it was something sudden and tragic.
A car accident, I think. I do remember there was a scandal because he hadn’t left a will, and after all the dust settled his second wife, who he’d only been married to for a few years, was in control of the company as well as all Gustav’s assets .
Livia Tremaine is standing up when I walk in, behind a big ugly metal desk, and she curtsies with as much grace as her tiny space will allow her .
“Prince Grayson, Your Highness,” she says. “Please accept my apologies for the state of the office, I didn’t know I was expecting you today — ”
I wave her off .
“I gave you no reason to expect me,” I say, my tone formal and official .
“It’s certainly an honor. Please, sit .”
I follow her hand and sit in an office chair that’s definitely seen better days .
“I’m looking for someone who I believe is an employee of yours,” I say. “And while we’ve combed through your employee records, we’ve never managed to find this girl .”
Livia’s smiling at me, her teeth big and bright white, her hair bleach-blonde and perfectly waved on either side of her face, her eyelashes fake and her earrings huge. Everything about her screams trophy wife .
“What’s her name ?”
I fold my hands in my lap and lean back, exuding an aura of authority even in this dingy place .
“I’m not actually sure,” I admit. “She wasn’t wearing a name tag when she served me last week .”
I could swear something in Livia’s face changes, but I don’t know what .
“Could you describe her?” Livia asks .
“Blonde hair, blue eyes. Heart-shaped face, about five-foot-four, I’d say. Very pretty, seemed a little shy. I’d like to make sure she’s at the ball tomorrow night,” I go on, trying to impress the importance of this mission onto Livia .
Her expression doesn’t change. Her face doesn’t move, not even the tiniest bit. Just a perfectly blank mask, which is strange .
“I don’t think I employ anyone who matches that description,” she says, and leans forward slightly.
In doing so, she displays just the right amount of cleavage for the situation.
“But, Your Highness, to be completely honest, I do have two employees who aren’t on the books. Could it be one of them ?”
I sit up a little straighter, my heart suddenly pounding. I’m close to finding her, I can feel it .
“Do they match the description?” I ask, trying not to sound too excited .
Livia pulls out her phone, giving me a coy look .
“I shouldn’t be telling you this,” she admits in a tone of voice that might work on another man, “but when employees call out sick, sometimes my daughters waitress under the table. This is them .”
She holds out the phone, and I nearly grab it from her hand. On it is two pictures of two girls, but my heart sinks almost immediately. Her daughters are fine-looking, almost pretty, but neither of them is the waitress .
I just shake my head and hand the phone back, even though I’ve got the urge to fling it out the window. I swear I thought this was it, this was how I found her .
“Your daughters are lovely, but I’m afraid neither is the girl I’m looking for. Thanks for your time, Mrs. Tremaine,” I say, and stand .
Her face still doesn’t change as she curtsies again and I leave. On the way out, I want to punch the walls, the doors, everything that’s seemingly standing in my way .
I don’t know anything about this girl. I don’t know why I want to find her so badly, but I do .
I want her. I need her .
And I’m going to find her, no matter what .