Royals (A Prince Harry Fanfiction)

Chapter 16

"Stay calm," Jackie whispered. She opened her laptop, and just typing a 'J' brought her name to the top of the search suggestions.

On the top of the news list, fresh from the Daily Mail, was a story published 1 hour ago. And it had only been- Jackie checked her watch- 2 hours since she had called Emily with her fake story. Kate had gone back to Kensington Palace, leaving Jackie to read the story alone.

'Jacqueline Baker- The Novel?'

'According to a source, Prince Harry's longtime friend and current girlfriend, Jacqueline Baker, has agreed to a book deal with BBC, which will narrate her life up to this point.'

'Hopefully, the book will offer a glimpse into the somewhat mysterious period of Jackie's life between her years in university, where mutual friends, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, then Prince William and Kate Middleton, kindled a friendship between Jackie and the Prince.'

'Their romance that went public about 7 months ago began around the engagement of Prince William and Catherine Middleton last year. There is no word from either Ms. Baker or BBC to confirm the deal, but details will be printed as they arrive.'

Jackie let out a long sigh. There was no book deal. It was a story she had fabricated and told only to Emily, in order to catch her in the act. And the story had been printed only about an hour after Jackie had spoken to Emily. It was blatant now that her friend had been betraying her, and that she could no longer be trusted.

Jackie picked up her cellphone and dialed Emily's number, which she knew by heart. The phone rang only once before Emily picked up. "Hey, Jackie!"

"Emily, did you see the article?" Jackie asked.

"What article?" Emily asked. Jackie's stomach clenched. Emily must think she was an absolute fool.

"About the book deal! BBC will be furious with me, they wanted it to be kept a secret, for better ratings. I signed a contract that it would be kept a secret, and now that it's leaked- they may sue me!" Jackie didn't have to fake the sadness in her voice.

"Oh, Jackie, that's terrible," Emily said. "What did the contract say?"

Jackie's chest grew hot. She imagined Emily grabbing a pen to write all the details down. Such a story was probably worth quite a bit of money. "It said that if the news of the deal leaked to the press before they announced it, I owed them the expected capital the book would bring in." The idea of signing such a ridiculous contract was absurd, but Emily must thave been buying it.

"Jackie- how awful! What's the name of the executive you signed the deal with?"

Jackie clenched her fist. "Why don't you just tell the Daily Mail it was with the President of BBC, I'm sure they can look up the name."

There was a pause. Then, Emily spoke. "What are you talking about?"

"I know what you've been doing," Jackie snapped. "I know that every word I've said to you has been repeated to the press. I just want to know how much you were getting as a source, was it worth it?"

"Jackie- I don't know what you mean!" Emily said, but her voice wasn't convincing.

"How could you?" Jackie asked, her voice catching. "After all we'e been through together, you go off and try to make money out of betraying me?"

"I'm sorry!" Emily suddenly gushed. "They kept calling and calling, and eventually, I just gave in. I have such huge student loans, and my rent was piling up-"

"Why didn't you ask me to borrow some money? I'm your best friend, I would have lent it to you." Jackie had to bite her bottom lip to keep from crying. "But now you've gone and ruined a friendship." She straightened up. "And, you've lost your income. Once BBC and I tell the Daily Mail there isn't a book deal, you'll have made them and yourself look like complete fools. They'll never want another story from you again."

Jackie could hear Emily's sobs. "But I'm your best friend! You aren't going to let a guy come between us!"

"Harry isn't just a guy," Jackie said, her voice low, and words began flowing out of her mouth without a thought. "He's my best friend. He means everything to me. I can't imagine being without him, and I'll do anything to make him happy."

"I'm sorry," Emily croaked.

"I accept your apology. I've written down the number of a reporter at The Sun, and I'm sure they would love to work with you. But, unfortunately, I'm never going to speak to you again, so it'll be hard for you to get a story." And with that, Jackie hit end, laying her phone down on the table with a satisfied sigh.

Her moment's victory was suddenly darkened by the empty void in her chest. How could she have ever told Harry she didn't know what she wanted? She knew exactly what she wanted- him. And it didn't matter what she was doing to occupy her time, because none of that mattered. Her job, her apartment, all of that was arbitrary. Harry was her life.

Jackie leapt from her couch, yanked her coat from a hook by the door, and rushed to her building's car park as fast as she could. She put her car in drive, and pealed out of the lot before the waiting paparazzi had enough time to take a single photo.