Page 5 of Once Upon a Prince

It would annoy me that she got to be a professional partier, and everyone thought it was wonderful what she did but I did the same thing and I was a player and a bad boy. I knew it was different and there was a lot more that she did than just party and pick someone up. She was in numerous organizations that did wonderful work. She was also one hell of a fundraiser and had been able to exceed all the organization's goals anytime she had been on a committee. She was a woman who knew what she was good at and did everything she could to make sure everyone knew it. It would be annoying if she wasn’t also such a good person.

Even without her wanting to be the chairman of the board there were still others who were not excited about me taking over the position. Some thought I was too young, too inexperienced, too full of myself. Some of those might be true, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t run my family’s company as successfully, if not better, than my father did.

He had taught me what I needed to do from an early age. No one could have more hands-on experience in running our company than me. Just because I might have enjoyed my youth, just because I knew how to have a good time and wasn’t afraid to do it, didn’t mean I couldn’t do my job.

Working with Ella, putting the company and this project first and foremost would show to them that I meant business, both literally and figuratively. It might not get me a seat at the table per say but it would at least get them thinking I could have one eventually. My father was years from retiring or at least from stepping down as CEO. He wanted to have me as his successor in place as soon as possible. It would be best for the stability of the company and his own mental health. He wasn’t getting any younger and I knew he was concerned about not only the company’s future, but mine as well.

I didn’t want him to worry, I wanted to show him that I could and would be the best man to take over for him. If it meant I had to babysit the daughter of a dear friend of his, so be it. It wasn’t something I was looking forward to. I was sure it was one of many things I wouldn’t like doing that I would have to do for my company and my future.

There wasn’t much that I remembered of Ella except she was quiet and not much to look at. She was five years younger than me and certainly hadn't hit puberty yet when I met her. I had hit mine in full-force over that summer and had been hoping to have my first kiss while I was down there. I had wanted it to happen before I left, but my father taking me on the trip had caused Cassie Reynolds to break up with me. I thought it would be the perfect revenge to come back more experienced with girls than when I left.

It hadn’t happened. Instead, I had spent the week bored out of my mind, sitting with my father as he talked to his friend and wondering if I was ever going to see a bear or a girl I could kiss. I never saw either. From what I remember of the few times I saw Ella; she had shied away from me as soon as she saw me. My father told me she had just lost her mother and was grieving. It hadn’t mattered, I hadn’t been impressed with her then and while it had been years since we had seen each other, I couldn’t see her being much more now.

But if my father wanted me to work with her, if this was what I needed to do, then I would do it. I couldn’t see him giving me someone who was completely incompetent. Still, I would have to train her, something that I didn't have time to do but I would have to make the time.

It was probably a good thing I had sworn off partying and women for a while. I wasn’t going to have any time for either. It was helpful that I was going to be working with a woman that I had never been attracted to. The last thing I needed was to have a distraction from a sexy assistant when I was working to secure my future and happiness.

Chapter 3

Ella

“Are you sure you can handle working with Mr. Moore? There’s nothing wrong with admitting you’re out of your league and getting someone else to take your place,” Tanya, the head of Human Resources, said to me.

The woman didn’t like me. She might have tried to hide it with smiles that didn’t meet her eyes or insincere words of concern, but I knew better. I had spent the better part of my teenage years being around women who hated me. I could see it from a mile off. Tanya thought she was hiding it but she wasn’t fooling anyone, especially me.

It probably hadn’t helped that I had overheard her talking to her assistant, Diana, before I had come into their office. She had been complaining how she had to train me to do a job she should have had. I wasn’t sure why a person who was the head of Human Resources would want the job of an assistant except if she was looking for a way to get closer to Dax Moore. I knew Dax was one of the most eligible bachelors in the city but I couldn’t respect a woman who thought the only way to get ahead was to sleep her way to the top, or to just marry the richest man she could find.

I had made a bit of noise so they would hear me approaching and they had been all smiles when I stood in their doorway. Diana looked at me as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. As her eyes roamed over me and she covered her mouth to keep from laughing, I could tell that I hadn’t picked the right outfit for the day.

The outfit was simple and what I considered classic but the look that Tanya and Diana had given me told me it was more outdated. I told myself the women didn’t know me, they didn’t know my story, they didn’t know how hard it had been to even get to the city. I knew it didn’t matter to them and Tanya only saw someone who was less than her getting a job she wanted.

She had been friendly enough as she did my orientation, giving me my login passwords and setting up my benefits. She kept looking at me sideways as if she couldn’t understand why I was there. She would ask me questions that really weren’t questions at all, like “Nebraska? Really? “Aren’t you a long way from home?” or “New York must be such a change for you. Are you coping with everything okay?”

The more questions she asked and the more annoying she got, the more determined I was to do an excellent job and shove it in her face. I might not have been from New York City but I did know what I was doing and could more than handle myself working for Dax Moore or anyone for that matter. Just because my clothes might not be as nice as hers or I wasn’t from New York City, didn’t mean that I didn’t belong there.

Though that was exactly what I thought as she had taken me to my desk and all but asked me if I wanted to turn tail and run. It wasn’t exactly what she had said but it was close. I had expected to get some adversity from moving to the city. I hadn’t counted on it being so blatant and from the company I worked for.

Her tone was friendly but I knew she wasn’t being friendly. She was telling me she didn’t think I should have the job and she didn’t want me to have it. I could see her easily putting herself into my place if I were to fail or said I didn’t want the job. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. I had worked too hard and done too much to get where I was. I wasn’t going to let her or anyone else take it away from me. She wasn’t the first bully I had to deal with in my life and I knew just what to say to her.

“Tanya, that is so kind of you to ask. Being from the Midwest, we’re used to everyone being so neighborly and helping each other out. I was warned that people in the big city of New York only cared about themselves and what was best for them. I even had people tell me that I should be careful what I wore because New Yorkers could be so cruel.

“It will be so great to tell all my friends back home that they have you completely wrong. You really do care about other people who are less fortunate than you. Bless your heart and all that you do.”

Tanya smiled but the hatred behind her eyes waivered just a little bit. She thought she had been coy with her comments but now she knew she hadn’t been.

“As Mr. Moore, Dax’s father, is an old friend of my father. I’m sure he will be so happy to hear how kind and helpful you’ve been to me through the entire process. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to come down and thank you personally for all that you’ve done.”

I wasn’t one who would name drop. It wasn’t like I knew a whole lot of names to drop, but I wanted to shut Tanya up, immediately. It was petty, it wasn’t like me, and I hated myself for even doing it. But I wasn’t going to let this woman push me around or think that she was better than me.

When I finished my speech, I smiled the same fake smile she had been giving me all morning. She took a small step back as if she had been slapped. I saw her face go a little white as she realized I was talking to her in the same way she had been to me. She didn’t believe a word I had said any more than I did.

“Welcome to Moore Enterprises. We all hope you’re happy here, Ms. Taylor. If you need anything else, please let me or Diana know,” Tanya said.

“If I need anything, I do know where to find you. Thank you for your time,” I said as I stood next to my desk and waited for her to leave.

Tanya knew she had been dismissed and could do nothing more than nod and walk away. I waited until she had gotten on the elevator and no one else was around before I whispered, “Bitch.” It made me feel better and with a sigh, I put my purse down and sat down at my desk.

The computer system was fairly basic and like many I had used before. I hadn’t liked that I had to work since I was fifteen years old or that the money I made was what paid for my college or went to support my stepmother and sisters. Now I was happy that I had worked and done so much in different jobs and seen what it took to run a company.