Once Upon a Prince

Chapter Three

The next morning, I woke up bright and early, like 4am bright and early, dressed in one of the nice outfits I owned, and left with classified section of yesterday's newspaper. I started out hopefully but eventually grew depressed. The higher paying jobs, the ones I wanted, called for heavy duty labor and I've been denied on sight for all ten of them.

As I sat in a park, depressed and hungry, my phone rang, the display reading 'Chris'.

"Hello." I answered.

"Morning, gorgeous, how's the job search?"

I let out a heavy-hearted sigh. "No luck I'm afraid. At this rate, I'll never be able to move out of my father's house."

"I may have a solution to your problem." Chris said brightly.

"Speak to me."

He laughed. "Grandma needs an assistant."

"Why does she suddenly need an assistant? If this a ploy created by you just to help me out-"

"It's not, I swear. Grandma fired her personal assistant yesterday night and now she needs a new one."

"How do you know I can do the job?"

"Because you're not stupid and you seem put together."

"Based on what! I was a mess when I met you yesterday!" I shouted.

"Raylynn, relax, I know you better than you think I do and I can tell you're gonna do a great job. Your interview is a 2pm at St. Victoria's, don't be late and remember to smile." With that, he hung up.

I looked at the time on my phone, it read 1:37pm. I hopped up from the bench I was resting on and drove to St. Victoria's.

"Hello, Ms. Raylynn, Mrs. St. Victoria has been waiting for your arrival, follow me." George, the host, said and escorted me to the back of the restaurant.

"Hello, my dear, so glad you could make it." Grandma stood and hugged me.

"Mrs. St. Victoria-"

"I thought I told you to call me Grandma?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, you did but this is an interview isn't it?"

"Oh please, you've already got the job. This is a meeting to go over your duties, have a seat."

I sat beside Grandma as she went over the do's and don'ts of working for her, I took out my notebook and pen, ready to jot everything down. "If someone calls and wants a meeting, don't put it on the schedule, make a note and tell me what they want, if I approve, I'll tell you, then you can pencil it in. If it's family, put it on my schedule. If it conflicts with another appointment, come talk to me and I'll decide if anything needs to be moved. You have your license, right?"

"Yes."

"Good, if I need something, you'll personally go and get it because I wouldn't ask you unless it was important. If I ask you and you're doing something important, ask George. If George can't do it, he'll send someone he trusts to do it for him. Understood?"

"Absolutely." I responded. "But there's something I need you to know. I only have a high school education."

"Do you plan to go to college?"

"With the money from this job, after I get a place and can stand on my own two feet, yes."

"That's good enough for me." Grandma said.

I smiled in return.

"I need an assistant because things are going to get crazy. I'm expanding the business and a lot of people from different people are going to want a piece." Grandma explained.

"Different people like who?" I asked.

"Food vendors, land developers, drink vendors..."

I gulped. My father owns the beverage company Copepli, I pray he doesn't want a piece.

"That's all. You can go today but tomorrow I want you here at 9am sharp and ready to work."

I stood up and offered my hand for a handshake. Grandma ignored my hand and went in for a hug. "Welcome to the family, my dear."

Why did I sense a double meaning in that statement?

"Thank you, Grandma, sincerely, you don't know how much this means to me."

The hug tightened. "I think I know more than you think." She whispered back.

The embrace ended and I went to the front of the restaurant to leave, my path was blocked by a smiling Chris.

"Hey, gorgeous, how'd it go?" He asked as he hugged me.

"Good, I got the job and I'm looking forward to starting."

"When do you start?" He asked, leading me to an empty table in the middle of the restaurant.

"Um, tomorrow, I don't think we can just choose a table, I think we need to be seated."

"I was seated but I saw you so about to leave so I stopped you."

"Ok." I laughed. "Why did you stop me?"

"We have to celebrate, you got a job!"

"Wait! If we're celebrating this, I need to invite someone." I said, taking my phone out of my bag.