An American Cinderella:A Royal Love Story(21)

I stared after him, his kiss still sweet on my lips. I felt warm and  loved. I glanced over at the brown bag, knowing that my coworkers were  going to be thrilled. I was going to be the hero of the office and he  was giving me all the credit.

He really was the best part of my day.





Chapter 12





I worked until I couldn't keep my eyes open. There was just too much for  me to do and not nearly enough time to do two jobs. I managed to grab  five hours of sleep at home before returning to the office the next day.  I was coming up short with my research and behind on my scanning all at  the same time. It was like doing two full time jobs at the same time  and my brain hurt with the effort it took.

I worked the entire day, juggling research and my real job. Luckily,  Henry kept texting me and making me smile as I worked. Yet again, he had  found a way to bring sunshine into my day.

I ate leftovers from the day before for lunch. Henry had brought enough  food to feed the office twice over. I just munched on amazing macaroni  and cheese instead of worrying about finding an actual lunch. It was  obviously made from scratch and probably going to clog my arteries, but  it was free and tasted good.

Five o'clock came and went. I watched from my window as the worker bees  filed out of the various buildings around mine and disappeared into  buses or walked to the train station. I was staying late. Again. I'd  already informed security that I'd be working.

I sighed and turned away from the window.

I had managed to almost get ahead on the scanning. Since I'd basically  worked through lunch, I was ahead of schedule. I wondered if I should go  out and grab something for dinner, or maybe have it delivered. There  was enough macaroni and cheese that I could eat that all night, but I  wasn't sure how good that would be for my heart.

I looked around at the boxes. I still had so much work to do here, not  to mention the research for Anastasia. It looked like a sleepless night  of working for me. If I stayed here, then I wouldn't have commute time.  It seemed like a good idea to stay the night.

I set my shoulders and settled down to work my butt off. The work came easily tonight and I found myself cruising through it.

"Knock, knock."

I looked up from my computer, still in a daze of concentration, to see Henry standing in my door.

"Henry?" I was sure he had to be a mirage. I stood up, needing to touch  him and make sure he was real. "I didn't know you were coming."

If I had, I would have worn something prettier. I would have fixed my  makeup and run a brush through my hair. I would have worn sexy  underwear.

"I managed to convince my brother to give me the night off," he replied.  He held up a picnic basket that looked heavy. A blanket rested beneath  it. "Would you like some dinner?"

I kissed him. "You are truly my knight in shining armor."

He grinned. "I figured you were just eating leftover macaroni because  you seem to forget to eat unless I'm here to check in on you."

I chuckled. "This is true." I smiled at him. "You may have just found the way to my heart."

"Through your stomach?"

I could smell the scent of food coming from the basket and my stomach rumbled. "Yup."

Henry chuckled. "Where should we eat?" he asked, looking around at all the boxes.         

     



 

"Um, give me one second." I quickly stacked up my scanned boxes and  lined them up on one end of the room. Henry helped me stack the  unscanned boxes of documents near the table, leaving us with a nice size  spot on the floor.

"Perfect," he said, pulling out the blanket and setting it on the floor.  He put the basket smack in the center and began pulling out food items.

"You really did bring me a picnic," I said, watching as he pulled out a  roast chicken, bread, cheese, veggie sticks, a bottle of wine, and some  sort of delicious looking potato salad.

"The weather was so nice the other day that I wanted to eat outside with you," he explained. "But, I couldn't get away."

I looked around at the private picnic he had just created for me. "This  is perfect," I told him. "Plus, we don't have to worry about weather or  bugs."

As if hearing my words, a peal of thunder shook through the building. We  both froze for a moment, waiting to see what would follow. The steady  beat of raindrops on the roof began not long after, filling the room  with a comfortable white noise.

"Definitely better than outside," Henry agreed. He held out a hand for  me to join him. I took it, and together we sat on the blanket.

"What exactly are you doing with all these boxes?" Henry asked, handing me a paper plate.

"I'm scanning trade documents into the computer system," I explained.  "It's not glamorous or exciting, I promise. Once I finish, I can go back  to my real job."

"Being the assistant to the senator, right?" Henry took a plate for himself and began putting food on it.

I nodded. "Yup. Someday, I will be a senator. Or a house representative.  I want to be a part of government and make things work."

"President Ritter," Henry mused. "It doesn't sound too bad."

"Oh no, not president," I assured him. "I don't want the responsibility.  I want to be a part of government, but I don't want to be the leader.  I'd rather be behind the scenes than being the face of a country."

Henry smiled. "Like me then."

"What do you mean?"

Henry looked up at me as if surprised. He thought for a moment before  answering. "My brother is the leader. I'm second born, and as such,  expected to do all the behind the scenes work as you called it. Some  have asked me if I would trade places with my brother, and I've always  said no. I like my position behind the scenes."

"That's it exactly," I agreed. "I didn't know it was like that in business, too."

"Our company is rather unique," Henry replied. "It's a family thing."

I nodded, and then frowned. "How did you get up here? I'm not actually sure I can have you in here."

"Relax," he said, holding up his hands. He reached into his pocket and  handed me a US government ID card. "I have permission. I already had the  background check. I have a friend in government who I like to visit, so  I have access."

"Oh, okay." I let out a small sigh of relief. I didn't think that Gus or  any of the other security guards would let Henry up if he wasn't  allowed, but I also didn't want to get him in trouble. I smiled at him.

"My dad was going to run for president someday," I said, going back to  our original conversation. "I never understood the appeal, but he would  have been good at it. Me? I just want to make things better and I think I  can do more on the sidelines."

"What kind of things?" Henry asked. He made himself comfortable on the blanket, his eyes focused on me as he ate his meal.

"Everything," I said with a laugh. "I want to make people safer,  healthier, and kinder. I think the world could be an amazing place for  everyone."

Henry smiled at me, and I blushed.

"I know it sounds idealistic, but I think it could happen. I want to  believe that most people are good and that we can make the world match  that," I said with a shrug.

He sat up and kissed my cheek. "I love it," he said. "We need people like you in the world."

"Naive?" I asked, making a sour face as he put more vegetables on my plate.

"No." Henry shook his head. "Hopeful."

I smiled and took another bite of food. "This is really good. Thank you for bringing me dinner."

"Thank you for bringing me hope," he replied.

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "I'm stuck here for a bit," I reminded him. "So, don't get too hopeful yet."

We continued to eat, talking about what we each wanted to change in the  world. Our conversation drifted to the future and then to our pasts. I  found myself wanting this meal to never end. It was so easy to talk to  Henry. Our conversations flowed and he kept me laughing, even if we  didn't always agree. I loved hearing his viewpoints as they were  different than mine and made me think.         

     



 

He had a formality to his patterns that I found endearing. He was always  polite, even when it was just the two of us, though he made his  position on things clear. I thought he would have made an excellent  ambassador or diplomatic entity. He seemed to have a natural ability for  it.

Outside the storm continued to rage. Thunder echoed through the empty  building and every once in a while the lights flickered. I could hear  the rain beating at the windows and the wind howl through the alleyways.

When we'd eaten most of the meal, Henry pulled out a bag of soft-baked  chocolate chip cookies. Together we ate them, savoring every bite. We  sat with our knees touching. I couldn't help but notice everything about  him. The way the light hit his hair, the strong movement of his  muscles, the easy smile he kept just for me.