Page 44 of Once Upon a Prince

“We’re getting it settled. Casey was able to get about five different employees to come forward and talk about the harassment they received from Tanya and Diana. Tanya seems to be more of the ring leader, big surprise, and Diana just went along with it. From what I’ve gathered from the preliminary report, this went on for years.”

“Jesus. I hate hearing that.”

“You and me both. Casey is trying to track down a few former employees to see if they quit because of them. As it stands right now, we have a clear case of harassment and are prepared to terminate both Tanya and Diana Monday morning. I wanted to talk to you about it and make sure you were okay doing that.”

“If we could have fired them before I even left, I would have. I know we needed proof of what they were doing. Tanya is a bully but she’s smart and I don’t want this to blow back on the company or cause any more stress to our employees, past or present. The sooner they are gone, the better everyone will be.”

“I couldn’t agree more. I will handle the firing with the outside PR and HR teams I hired. You won’t need to be around and it probably would be best that you’re as far away from this as possible.” Trent said.

“Then it’s a good thing that I’m going to be staying in Buenos Aires for a few more days,” I said.

“Everything going okay? I thought all the contracts had been signed? Did you hit a snag?”

“No. It went great; everything is all set. I just wanted to take a few more days before I headed back. Um, Ella is going to be staying as well.”

Trent laughed. “Ah, I understand now. Good for you. Have fun. I got this taken care of. When you get back, Tanya and Diana will no longer be working for your company.”

“That is the best news. Thank you for taking care of all of this. You did great work.”

“Just doing my job and happy to help. Ah, there is one other reason why I called you. I wanted you to know there was a woman who has been making calls and asking questions about you and Ella. A Cheryl Romano.”

“The name sounds vaguely familiar but I can’t place it. Should we be worried? You said she was asking about Ella?” The hairs in the back of my neck started to stand up as I wondered what this woman would want with Ella and why she was asking questions about her.

“She made a few phone calls to the front, even got to Casey’s desk. She was looking for Ella and then tried to pump Casey for information about you. Casey looked into her and said the woman was apparently married to Ella’s father.”

“That’s where I know her from. She was asking questions, you said? Was she in New York? Has she come to the office?”

“Not that I’m aware of. It has been nothing more than questions but she was very persistent and I thought you should know.”

“Ella hasn’t said much to me about her stepmother but I get the impression they aren’t close. Keep an eye on it, obviously don’t give her any information. If she comes calling again, please let me know. I want to be kept apprised of this situation.”

“Absolutely. Of course.”

“Great. Thanks. Have a good rest of your weekend,” I said.

“You too. Enjoy Buenos Aires; from what I understand it’s very romantic,” Trent said.

“It is. I’ll see you when I get back.” I didn’t say anything more and ended the call. I walked out to my balcony and thought about the conversation with Trent. My gut told me that Cheryl was up to something I just didn’t know what it was. I did know that I wasn’t going to let her or anyone hurt Ella, not if I could help it.

Chapter 25

Ella

“Dax is coming to my hotel room. He’s having the hotel chef make something special for us. Then we’re going to watch some fireworks and then I’m sure we are going to have sex. I have no idea what I should wear or how I should be. Help!” I said to Ara in our video call.

“Well, hello to you too. I take it your trip to Buenos Aires has been going well? I’m doing great by the way. My project was hell but what’s a girl to do?” Ara asked.

“I’m sorry. That sucks. Do you need any help? Do you want me to look it over? Have you asked Layla?” I asked.

“Ella, seriously. I was joking. You didn’t call me to talk about my project. I turned it in yesterday morning, everything is fine. You’re about to get some with a hot guy you've been lusting after. The only thing we need to be talking about is what you are going to wear.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make it all about me. I’m just freaking out a bit. The charity event last night was incredible. He had this whole team of people come and help me get ready. He had found this most amazing dress for me to wear and I felt like I was in some sort of fairy tale. He looked so sexy in his tuxedo and we had the best time.”

“But no sexy sexy time?” Ara asked.

“It was late when we got back to the hotel. I was bummed but it was for the best. He took me horseback riding today.”

“Oh yeah, how was it?”