The Vampire Prince graduates High School (Book 3)

Henry

From that day forth, I didn't have a moment of rest. It was, 'Rin, take this to the venue.' or 'Lady Hargrave wants these napkins now.' or my favorite, 'we're going with a different theme. You can take those back.' I would set the room up, dismantle it, and set it up again with different decorations, but it was never good enough. It didn't matter if I was an intern or not. It was easy to tell Lady Hargrave was setting me up.

Camellia came and went as she pleased. My parents began to get used to having her around. Even though I had posted posters, no one had come looking for her. It made me think that maybe the mafia didn't know what her cat form looked like.

One such afternoon, I was carefully but quickly shoving maroon napkins into a plastic container when a familiar set of heels appeared at the corner of my eye. The ballroom was almost set up. The decorations for the tables would be placed until the day of the event, but the seating chart, layout of the event, and schedule were all finished.

Miss Melanie and Lady Hargrave had taken care of all the small details. I chose to focus on my job, which was to (basically) carry boxes back and forth from the venue to the warehouse.

I finished packing the container and closed it before I casually glanced up. A frozen smile was on Lady Hargrave's face.

"Hello dear," she said. "I'm so glad you changed your mind and decided to help with my charity dinner."

"I am an intern at Royal Prints," I reminded her, loud enough for the eavesdroppers. "Even if I weren't, I'd be happy to help. You're basically my mother-in-law."

Her eye twitched. "I hope you'll attend."

"I'll talk to His Highness," I told her.

We exchanged polite smiles. Mr. Adams would be proud of me. I wanted to speak my mind, but I shouldn't humiliate myself because Lady Hargrave wasn't an easy opponent.

"You've talked to him lately?" she asked.

Usually, she would have left after a few words. This was unusual for her.

"I have," I replied. "Did you need something? I can tell you when he's available."

Her eyes narrowed. She did not like that. A part of me regretted that. Maybe she was trying to be nice, but I wasn't too sure. She wanted something.

"Nothing of that sort," she replied smoothly. "When I talked to him, he hadn't mentioned you."

I wasn't surprised. Alexander didn't talk about me to anyone concerning me (though he wanted to). It was one of the personal life aspects he wanted to give me.

"He must be busy," I said. "The reporters chased every lead down about the Extremists and the gas bomb at the Embassy."

"You must have some thoughts?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Sorry. I'm at work. I don't make it a habit to discuss political views at work." I lifted the container off the table. "Excuse me. I need to get this back to the warehouse before it closes. Interns don't get keys."

I tried my best to curtsy before walking away.

Joseph waited for me in the garage. He wore his suit despite my permission to wear warmer clothes. As soon as he saw me, he grabbed the container from me. The back of the car opened at his approach, and he placed the container in the back.

"Where to?" he asked.

"Back to the storage warehouse," I said, reaching for my phone.

Except, I didn't have it. Sighing, I jabbed my finger back to the building.

"Let me grab my phone."

If I remembered correctly, I'd left my phone on the table. As I walked back into the ballroom, I spotted it on one of the tables at the far end of the room. I looked around. Lady Hargrave wasn't around. I breathed easier. As soon as I picked up my phone, I headed to the door. I was halfway there when I spotted Lady Hargrave by the doorway. Her back was turned to the room.

I didn't think twice. I took the employee exit out there. The small hallway circled the ballroom and led to various rooms. The exit I looked for was the one closer to the main door. As I approached, I slowly walked to the door and opened it. The way was empty, but I couldn't lower my guard down. Unfortunately, the ballroom Lady Hargrave had requested was in front of the garage elevator and main entrance.

Keeping my head down, I walked to the elevator. I paused around the corner. Lady Hargrave was still at the doorway, talking to what looked to be one of the venue's staff. There was something familiar about his build. I pulled my phone out and used my camera to zoom in. I pretended to take a selfie before aiming the camera at the pair.

The staff member was thin, with curly blonde hair. I zoomed into their profiles as much as possible and took a few pictures. Finally, Lady Hargrave walked into the ballroom. I took one last picture of the man as he turned around before turning away. This time, I did take a few selfies. The man's steps faded away.

Once the coast was clear, I booked it to the elevator. Joseph waited in the car by the entrance.

"Sorry about the wait," I said, opening the door. "Let's go. I'm ready to go home."

Once we were on the road, I looked at the pictures. A few of them were blurry, but there were some good ones. I looked at the last picture I took and felt the breath rush out of my blood. My hands shook.

"What the f*ck?" I whispered.

"Rin?" Joseph asked.

"Stop the car!" I said.

Joseph hit the hazards and stopped on the side of the private road.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"This bastard," I said, showing him my phone screen. "I need to know everything about this man. Everything."

Joseph took my phone and sent himself the picture.

"Who is?" he asked.

"Henry," I practically growled out.

"I don't follow."

"He used me as bait so the Extremists could shoot Alexander," I told him. "No matter what, I'll make him pay for his involvement."

"I'll notify the police," Joseph began.

"No," I said. "Not yet. Dig some dirt on him first. I want to know why Lady Hargrave is talking to him. Check on their relationship."

"Yes ma'am," he said.

I grabbed my phone and glared down at the picture. I was not going to let him escape this time.

A/N:

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