Love For Hire

Chapter 18: 18

Kinsley sat on the couch in her shorts and tank top, hugging a pillow and eating a tub of Häagen-Dazs and watching the news. It had been a week since Nicholas sent her home, and she had spent most of the time crying. Her friends wanted her to go out, but she chose to stay home. Her heart was broken, and she did not feel like socializing.

A knock at her door drew her attention from the TV. She put the ice cream down and stood up, tossing the pillow to the couch. She walked barefoot across her small apartment and opened the door. She was shocked to find Prince Matthew on the other side smiling at her. “What do you want?” She asked, surprised to see him. Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

“Is that what passes for American hospitality?”

“I am sorry, Your Majesty, please come in,” Matthew stepped into her apartment but gestured for his two security guards to remain outside the door. He shut the door for her as she made her way to the kitchen. “I’d offer you a drink, but I am afraid I do not have anything but milk and OJ.”

“I am not thirsty.”

“Ok,” she stood in the kitchen, not knowing what to do now. Her initial question still in her mind. “I am sorry I do not mean to be rude, but why are you here?” Suddenly her mind began to spin with horrible possibilities. “Oh god, did something happen to Nicholas?”

He laughed. “No, Nicky is fine. In fact, he is doing as he always does, draining the liquor cabinet and fucking the whores that come to the palace,” the news that Nicholas had gone right back to screwing prostitutes made her heart ached all the more. She was missing him terribly, and he was already in bed with other women. His thin lips curved in a cruel grin. “That cannot have been a surprise to you. After all, you are just one more prostitute to pass through his door.”

She was shocked. How did he know they had met that way? “How…?”

“Did I know?” He laughed. “The whole family knows. You were not fooling anyone with that girlfriend bullshit. Nicky’s never in his life had a girlfriend. He only likes prostitutes. Fuck them and send them packing is his MO. However, I am curious why he kept you around? What was so special about you?” He asked, eyeing her like a predator. “I must confess I am eager to find out. So, what is your price?”

“Excuse me?” She snapped, offended.

“You are a prostitute; you have a price. Name it. I will do you one better. You tell me what Nicky’s price was, and I will match it.”

“You have some nerve,” she snapped.

He seemed all the more interested by her refusal. “Interesting. Perhaps my father was right about you. Maybe you were aiming a little higher than monetary compensation. Maybe you are a social climber. Is that was it is? Were you hoping for a Pretty Woman ending” He laughed? “This is the real-world doll. Nicky is not Richard Gere, and you are not Julia Roberts. But if you want to enjoy the high life for a little while, do not count me out. I am a prince, same as Nicky; I have all the same resources. Only there is one difference, unlike Nicky, I will live long enough to be King.”

He spoke of his brother’s demise with eager anticipation. “That is callous.”

He shrugged. “It is the truth. Of course, Nicky is first in line for the throne. As the first-born son, it is his birthright,” he then grinned, almost giddy. “But since he is dying, he will never live long enough to be crowned. And since he will never sit on the throne, my father’s only other heir is me. So, first, Nicky will die, and then my father and I will inherit the kingdom. I just have to be patient,” he said, taking a few steps toward her. “So, if you really want to live a charmed life, you would do better to fuck me, and in all truth, I am really curious to know what it is you do that has got my brother all twisted up,” he said, reaching up and stroking her hair.

Kinsley slapped his hand away. “Do not touch me.”

He chuckled with amusement. “A whore that does not want to be touched. Is not that bad for business?”

“Get out of my apartment.”

His smile faded. “Hmm… alright, because I am so intrigued I will double whatever Nicky’s offer was.”

“I would not fuck you for a million dollars,” she seethed.

His eyes widened. “Is that what Nicky offered you? Well then, I am all the more fascinated. You must really know how to suck a cock,” Kinsley’s hand flew up and slapped him hard across the face. She was livid. He took a moment to collect himself after the assault. “I see you play rough. I like playing rough,” he said, grabbing her by the arm.

“Release her,” a woman’s voice barked. They both turned to see Naya standing in the hall with two security guards flanking her. She looked regal and commanding in her designer clothes and expensive fur coat.

“Mother,” Matthew said with strained respect, “what are you doing here?”

“You never mind what I am doing here. I said, release her,” she commanded.

Kinsley looked at Matthew, who looked back at her and then let go and ran his fingers through his copper hair as he regained his composure. “Another time then.”

“I suggest you leave,” Naya ordered her son. Matthew said nothing, but he obeyed and left the apartment. When they heard the door close behind him, Naya shook her head. “I apologize to my son. He can be…” She trailed off.

“An asshole?” Kinsley offered her the word she was trying not to say.

“You do your best as a parent, but sometimes nurture can not suppress nature,” she stepped closer. “No parent wants to admit that their child is a…” She trailed off again. “Well, all I can say is you should do your best not to be alone with Matthew.”

Nicholas had given her a similar warning about his brother, and she was starting to think there was something behind it. “Not that I do not appreciate what you just did, but why exactly are you here?” She understood why Matthew had come, but she did not understand why this woman was standing in her apartment.

“Might I sit?” Naya asked as she gestured to the kitchen table. Kinsley nodded, and the two of them took a seat at her tiny table.

“Would you like a drink? I have milk and orange juice,” she offered.

“No, thank you, dear,” she rejected the offer as she removed first one silk glove and then the other. “I shall get right to the point. I understand that you are a… um…” Kinsley was pretty sure she wanted to say prostitute but could not bring herself to utter the word. “Well, it is not important. What is important is that from what I hear from the son’s staff is that no one has seen my son happy in years,” Kinsley could see Naya was struggling with what she wanted to say. “Nicholas was diagnosed when he was. He was ten. I have not seen my son smile since he was ten. But when he walked into the parlour with you, he was smiling. It was the first smile I’d seen on my son’s face in fifteen years. As a mother, I do not normally agree with his choice of women. But it is clear to everyone that you…” She choked back the emotion she was clearly feeling. “You make him happy. Since you have left, he has been miserable. He locks himself in his room. He never comes out. He just drinks and the women… It is heartbreaking to see him destroying himself again. Without you, he is lost. He has such precious little time left. If we cannot save my son’s life, then I at least want his final days to be happy ones,” she reached across the table and took Kinsley’s hand as she looked at her with pleading eyes. “Please come back to him. I will pay you anything… anything at all. Just name it.”

“Your Majesty, I never wanted to leave. He sent me away. He does not want me there,” she said, trying to make the grief-stricken woman understand.

“But that is just it. He does want you. He misses you terribly. He is just so stubborn he will not admit it.”

“He will just send me away again.”

“Then come stay at the palace as my guest. He cannot send you away if you are there at my request. He may be a prince, but I am a Queen… frankly, I outrank him,” she smiled playfully, which made Kinsley giggle. “Please tell me you will come back with me. And together, we will wage war on my stubborn son.”

“But there is also the King.”

Naya made a noise like she understood Kinsley’s misgivings. “Yes, my husband. I apologize for his harsh critique. He is not a bad man; he is actually a very loving man. He just wants what is best for our son. Unfortunately, generations of conditioning have left him out of touch with today's world. He will be more receptive to your relationship; you have my word.”

“How can you be sure?” Kinsley asked.

Naya offered her a wicked grin. “Because behind every great man, there is a woman who knows how to make him purr. And if he wants to purr any time in the next decade, he will be polite,” Kinsley snickered. It was nice to know that even Kings were ruled by their desires. “Please come back.”

“But everyone knows I am….” She could say it; she could not say the word prostitute.

“It does not matter,” Naya said quickly. “As long as Nicholas is happy, you will be treated with the utmost respect. I will see to that. You have my word,” she then smiled warmly. “Please do not make a Queen beg.”