Page 15 of My Dark Prince
Eli collected my laptop from my hand, exchanging it with my phone. “You have about a dozen unread messages from your neighborhood watch, a missed call from the Germany office, and a horde of low-priority emails I’ve redirected to my inbox.”
“Take the jet to Texas and check on the remodeling efforts. We will not have another dust incident like in Paris.”
Outside the local branch, Eli served as my voice piece for much of my work at The Grand Regent. Officially, he heldthe title of COO. Unofficially, Dad hired him as my executive assistant to serve as my face, so to speak. Except for DMV management staff and board members, no one knew that I’d essentially taken over for my father.
“On it.” He slammed the elevator button, scratching the back of his neck. “Also, there was an incident in the West Wing.”
My phone pinged with a message, interrupting us. I fished it out of my pocket and scowled at the screen.
Frankie Townsend:hiiii can you pick me up?
Ollie vB:It’s only been two hours. What happened?
Frankie Townsend:idk. i guess you have to “get accepted” to a job before you actually start working. can you believe it?
Ollie vB:Shockingly, I can.
Ollie vB:Did you really crash a movie set?
Side note – I really hated that Frankie was a Zoomer who refused to capitalize words because, in her warped universe, she perceived it as trying too hard.
Frankie Townsend:omg no. i knew the intimacy coordinator needed an assistant. she accepted rudy, my friend from college. i figured she needed an extra pair of hands. i was just trying to help.
I screwed my thumbs into my eye sockets, exhaling. The Grand Regent shared a contract with the studio, which included total privacy from guests and interlopers.
Ollie vB:I have somewhere I need to be.
Frankie Townsend:omfg are you not going to help a damsel in distress?
Ollie vB:You are no damsel, and I assure you the people around you are the ones in distress right now.
Frankie Townsend:my heart is broken.
Ollie vB:I’m sure it’s just the drugs wearing off. Quick, go sniff some pink coke.
Frankie Townsend:rude. this aura is real, and it is glorious. you could have had a taste if you wanted to.
Ollie vB:No, thank you. Who was your heart broken by? The rejection of the intimacy coordinator?
It was such a ridiculous title I couldn’t type it with a straight face.
Frankie Townsend:actually, she was cool enough to let me intern.
Ollie vB:Then why ARE you leaving again?
Frankie Townsend:…
Frankie Townsend:promise not to judge me.
Ollie vB:Do I look like I’m in a position to judge anyone?
Frankie Townsend:i may have set a teeny tiny controlled fire.
Frankie Townsend:before you make a big stink about it, it only consumed parts of the furniture and blackened half a wall.
Frankie Townsend:your seamless silk sheets are FINE.
Frankie Townsend:(they’re not white anymore, tho)
