A Royal Internship | Complete

Chapter Thirty-Nine

As soon as we got back to the palace, Semret and another woman greeted us at the door.

"Your Highness-" the other woman curtseyed. "There's been a development."

"Thank you, Penelope." Queen Adele turned to Semret. "I trust you can take Genevieve to meet the rest of the public relations staff."

"Yes, Ma'am." Semret smiled as she curtseyed. Queen Adele's shoes echoed around the hall as she followed the woman into a hallway under some stairs that I hadn't noticed before. What kind of development could be so urgent?

"So, we are supposed to go to the public relations office?" I asked Semret, who was now staring at her phone and scrolling frantically through something.

"Oh, yes. I will take you. Right this way." She slid her phone into the outside pocket of the binder she was carrying and took off down a hallway in the opposite direction of my room.

My cheeks warmed as I remembered the last time I had been down this hallway. If we made just the right turns, we'd find Clarence's private terrace. I wonder if he's there now. I pushed the thought from my mind and picked up my pace to keep up with Semret. I'm not supposed to be thinking about that right now. Plus, I'm supposed to be mad.

We made several twists and turns and went through an ornate door to another section of the palace that looked like it was straight out of the middle ages. It was like the doorway was a magical portal taking you from the opulence of the palace to an entirely unrelated location.

I would soon find out that the reason for this sudden shift was that we had entered the staff quarters.

"The rooms are still nice," Semret told me as she pointed inside an empty one. "But the hallways are rather bleak. Just follow me. You'll learn your way around in no time."

I would, if I weren't going to be off canoodling with a future king all the time.

"Here we are." Semret pulled on the heavy door and it squeaked on its hinges as the whole room turned to face us. A few people stumbled into curtseys and bows, a few people briefly glanced and returned to their work, but most people were looking at me like I had two heads.

It was only after I stepped inside that I put the connection together. I was still dressed for my outing with the queen. Everyone here was in business casual. No matter what I do, I am never wearing the right clothes! Who knew wearing clothes could be so hard.

"Hello." I stumbled over my words. "I'm Genevieve."

A severe looking woman with pointy toed shoes to match her attitude briskly crossed the floor between what I assumed to be her office and where Semret and I stood. "Hello, Semret. Please get to work."

Semret works in the PR department? I need a PR assistant? I couldn't tell whether to be offended they thought I needed her, or glad to have a friendly face at work.

"And you--" she looked me up and down. "You must be Genevieve. I'm Abigail. I received word from Her Royal Highness you were to start late, but I have to admit I didn't expect ten in the morning."

"I'm sorry." I couldn't remember how to interact with normal people anymore, so I instinctively started to curtsey before catching myself. "I'd love to get started, though."

"Your desk is there." Abigail pointed at a wooden table covered with paper. "You can start by filing all of that paperwork and getting us some more coffee."

"Okay." I tried to hide my obvious displeasure. I wanted to actually do work this summer, not file things and make coffee.

"Good." Abigail turned on her heels and marched back to her office, bopping one of the men on the back of the head as she passed him. "Owen, I know your daddy got you this job, but you will not keep it if you do not work. I expect to see the report on my desk before I leave tonight."

"Yes, Ma'am," the man grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

I sat down at the table assigned to me and started sorting through all the files. I had a little experience in public relations, but I'd never worked in an office this large and the only experience I had with the palace was a completely different angle. So, how am I supposed to organize these files?

I turned to the blonde beside me. "Hey, I'm Genevieve. Do you mind helping me out for a few minutes?"

She looked up from whatever she was doing as if I'd interrupted her attempts to solve world hunger or cure cancer. "I know exactly who you are," she spat. "And I have no desire to help you. I've been picking up the slack for you since I got here."

Pleasant. I walked to Semret's desk and crouched down beside her, hoping no one could see me, and taking the opportunity to practice getting my skirt to behave when there were no cameras around.

"Is there something you need, Miss?" Semret asked, keeping her eyes trained on the computer screen.

"I am supposed to make coffee, but I'm not sure where it is. Also, do they have a filing system in here? Because nothing, and I do mean nothing, is in any discernible order."

She smirked and a small laugh escaped her lips. "I'll take you to the coffee. As for the files, it's because there is no system and never has been." She stood up and motioned for me to follow her. As we made our way down a short hallway, she pointed to a room on our left. "There's the huge file room. I'm pretty sure the only discernible organizational structure is which year documents were filed in. So I guess you get to take this year and organize it however you'd like."

"That's comforting, in a way." I was trying to keep my voice level, but with everything else I had going on, organizing a filing system from scratch was not on my desired to do list.

"We'll figure it out." She stopped at the end of the hallway and pointed to an open area with chairs and tables strewn about. "And this is where the coffee is. Do you need me to stick around and help you make a pot?"

"No." I laughed at the serious look on Semret's face. "I think I can handle the coffee. I'll come get you if I need help."

With that, Semret curtseyed and took off down the hallway as I set about making a fresh pot of coffee, the whole time mulling over the filing system in my head. I had to figure this out, and fast. Working here only part time sounded like a dream when Queen Adele suggested it, but now it sounded like a curse. How am I supposed to do two jobs when I don't spend enough time at either?