“If all goes well with the trip, I might hire you as needed on a contract basis for specific, smaller events down the road. Would that interest you?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
She nodded and looked through her list of questions. There were still some left on her list, but she’d gotten a good indication of him from this initial meeting. “Do you have any questions for me?”
“Just one, Your Highness. With all due respect, are you at all worried about the optics of having me as your stylist? I do self-identify as a man.”
She smiled, glad he asked the question, though she’d alluded to it earlier herself. “There are lots of male fashion designers and no one bats an eye at that.”
“Yes, Your Highness. However, there’s a difference between a man designing a dress for a woman’s body, and a man actually dressing a woman. Even though I wouldn’t be physically dressing you, the perception and press may twist it differently.”
“That’s a very good point. Yes, I’d already thought about this to a degree, but I enjoy your work and what you’ve had to say here today. You may be an unconventional choice, but I don’t necessarily agree that it would be a wrong one. We’re still conducting interviews over the next several days, but we’ll let you know within a few weeks either way.”
She stood and he immediately rose with her. “It was lovely to meet you, Mason.”
He bowed. “It was an honour to meet you, Your Highness. Thank you for the opportunity, and I wish you luck on your tour either way. I’m sure it will be a resounding success.”
She shook his hand. “Thank you. Are you heading back to Vollywood today?”
“No, Your Highness. I thought I’d stay a day or two, get some shopping in while I was here.”
“Well, I hope you enjoy yourself. We’ve had fabulous weather lately. Safe travels back when you do go.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Mara?”
Mara had been waiting by the open door and, after a final bow, Mason picked up his portfolio and walked out with her.
Yes, Rebecca liked him and his work, but she’d see what the other candidateshad to offer.
ALEXANDER
“We heardfrom the U.S. on the threats,” Marcello started in the Situation Room. “They’re from home-grown terrorists who have aligned with the same group who disrupted the Global Climate Change festival where Ethan and Anda were targeted.”
The attack had once again put Valleria on the world stage and not in a good way. The coordinated attack wasn’t directly only at Valleria, however, and several other nations who had been hosting the festival on the same day had been targeted too. The organization behind the threats now—End All Monarchies or E.A.M.—advocated for an abolishment to monarchies worldwide.
They weren’t dealing with only country-specific terrorists any longer, but a well-connected network of anti-monarchists and terrorists that spanned the globe.
Alex frowned. “Didn’t we arrest everyone involved in the festival attack? At least the Vallerian branch involved?”
“We did,” Marcello confirmed. “But this sort of thing doesn’t end because we arrest some people. Others from the organization shift to take their place. I wouldn’t doubt they’ve got more people in Valleria already.”
“So what does this mean for the trip?” their father asked. “Are the Americans suggesting we cancel?”
Marcello shook his head. “With so many nations coming in, the U.S. doesn’t want to seem weak. They suggested increased security. They’ve had some small incidents—break-ins, vandalism, things like that—near some of the sites Alex and Rebecca will be going to, as well as sites with planned visits by some other visiting dignitaries. While it could be a coincidence, the U.S. is running under the assumption that they’re linked, that people are testing security and response times prior to the state visit. Maybe they’re trying to plant someoneon staff, or plant devices that could be remotely triggered even days later.”
It seemed a stretch to Alex, but he trusted Marcello. If he thought this was a true possibility, Alex would heed his words. “I still don’t understand why a group based in the U.S. is interested in abolishing monarchies in other countries.”
“They’re not.” Marcello tapped some screens and brought up several photos. “This is some of the intelligence the U.S. sent. We confirmed the photos weren’t doctored or altered in any way. This is one of the men who sent the threats, meeting with the head of E.A.M., who’s just given him crates of guns and explosives.”
“Why didn’t they arrest them both when they saw this?”
“The photos were taken by someone undercover with the U.S. terrorists, and it wouldn’t be enough to convict them. Not to mention, at least five global agencies, though likely more, are after the head of E.A.M., along with Valleria and the U.S. Then you have various U.S. agencies after the other terrorist group too. Jurisdictionally, it’s a shit show, and it makes everything more fucking complicated.”
“And what does E.A.M. gain by abolishing monarchies? I understand the general reasons people wouldn’t want a monarchy, but how do they think they can take advantage of the situation when a monarchy falls? Do they want power?”
“In a way,” Marcello said and brought up a new set of pictures of the E.A.M. leader meeting with leaders of political parties in various countries. “Personally, though this isn’t verified yet, I don’t think the leader wants power for himself, but he wants to control things behind the scenes. He’s met with the leaders of monarchy opposition parties—various Parliament members, or even members of our Royal Council, for example—sowing seeds of discord and prepping the next person to take control once the monarchy falls. He's in it for the long-game. He has interests in a variety of dirty businesses, and having powerful friends would make it easier for him to sidestep the law.”
