A Royal Internship | Complete

Chapter Nine

I could see by Janet's shaky hands that her request was the part of this conversation she'd feared since the beginning, so I repeated myself. "I said, what would I be doing exactly?"

She sighed. "Clarence's father is upset by his appearance at clubs and how his photographs with women are being portrayed in the media. His solution is for Clarence to find a suitable girl to date seriously so the tabloids have no choice but to show him acting as he should, with only one woman at his side. A woman who is a suitable queen-type, you know?"

"That doesn't sound fair." I furrow my brow.

Janet shrugged. "Nothing's fair, I guess. But the point is, they're also looking for a public relations intern to help coordinate the whole thing."

"Really? So you want me to find your cousin someone to date?" That doesn't seem like something to freak out over. I sat forward in my chair. Was she about to offer me a job in a palace?

She took a deep breath. "Well, that's where the ask comes in. I was thinking we could wrap them up in one package."

It took a second for my brain to catch up to her words.

"Oh, no." I stood up and crossed my arms. "He was definitely right. That's insane! I'm not going to, like, marry him just so I can afford Law School. I'd rather starve."

I heard Clarence's laugh ring out from the top of the stairs.

"No, not wife, well, yes, but not like-" Janet let out a sort of yelp in frustration. "I mean his father wants him to pick a girlfriend who could, you know, be a queen one day. Or just count past ten, honestly."

"High praise." I stared at her, but sat back down. "So what would that entail, exactly? Just parading around and pretending to date him?"

"Not exactly." She flinched in anticipation of my response, so I gave none and waited for her to continue.

"I mean, you don't have to actually date him, obviously. I wouldn't have suggested that. But you just pretend to date him, you know? You live at the palace and host some formal events. There's honestly a lot of party planning and photo opportunities. It's all pretty boring. You're like perfect for it, though. I bet we could get His Majesty to title your internship however you wanted."

"But I'd have to work with him." I pointed up the stairs. "All day, every day, all summer."

Janet wrung her hands and grimaced. "Yes, but you'd also get to work with me?" Her face turned into a slight smile.

"That wouldn't be so bad." I was trying to be diplomatic, but this whole thing sounded like she was pulling my leg.

"Clarence, I know you can hear us," I called towards the stairs. "You wanna have some input into your future or shall the two of us just let Janet decide everything?"

"I do not deci-"

Clarence stepped into the living room far too quickly to have come all the way from upstairs. "I do want a say, but it seems my handler and my father have conspired against me. I either have her find someone suitable to my father, or he'll pick someone for me. I'm not sure who he'd pick, but I'm pretty sure she'd be worse than anyone Janet could come up with."

"And you can't just say no?" I asked. This all seems so outrageous. How can anyone force you to date anyone?

"Have you tried saying no to a king before?" Janet answered before Clarence could. The look on his face said he agreed with her assessment.

"So, let me see if I have this right..." I put my hand up so they don't interrupt me. "You could try not to cooperate with him, but no matter what you do, there will be a girl parading around behind you acting as your almost-fiancée whether you like it or not?"