Highness (17 page)

Chapter 16

Before Michael could arrive back at Hope’s house, the story had already broken and a complete media frenzy had quickly ensued. RQL had released not only the location of Michael’s whereabouts but also Hope’s name and photo. 

Her face was plastered all over the front of RQL’s webpage and had been picked up by 25 other national outlets, not to mention the story being shared over 100,000 times on Facebook and Twitter.

Radio stations were reporting on it as well as blogs. 

Hope Daniels’ name was on the lips of everyone who had a phone or a computer. She was being discussed in office buildings, gyms, hair salons, gas stations, homes and dorms across continents. 

On top of what was going on in the media, her cellphone was blowing up every few seconds.  Text after text came in from random people that she had not talked to in years.  They wanted her to know that they had seen the story on her, and her photo, her story.

As soon as the madness began, the first thing she did was go online and cancel all of her social media pages.  She couldn’t take one more friend request.  On top of that, she had received at least 600 friend requests in the last few minutes.  Madness.

She was holding it together as well as she could, but when she turned on the television and saw her photo as the news broke on local media, she had to sit down.  Photo after photo of her popped up on the screen as people literally gave commentary about her life.

“Oh, my, Lord!” she exclaimed.  “Do these people have no respect for people’s private lives?”

Her five seconds of fame had begun and she couldn’t wait for it to be over.  She knew that being with Michael would be a battle, but she did not expect it to hit so abruptly.  Is this what he had to deal with every day of his life?  It was pure chaos.  No wonder the man was hiding out in Mississippi.  This was enough to drive someone insane.

Seeing Bree’s number cross her phone, she picked it up quickly and stalked out of the den where Michael’s bodyguard stood by the window watching her every move.

“Hello,” Hope said, running a frustrated hand through her hair. She didn’t drink but she felt like she could use one at the moment.

“What the hell is going on?” Bree asked, closing the door to her office so no one could hear her. 

“They found out,” Hope said, shaking her head. “It’s all over everywhere.”

Bree plopped down in her chair and looked at her computer screen. “I know. I read the RQL article online.  They interviewed that son of bitch, Sean.  He spilled the beans.  Told them everything.”  She took a deep hesitant breath. “They called me too.”

Hope froze in her tracks.  “They called you?” She frowned in confusion. “How did they get your number?”

“Girl, it’s the media.  They can find you if they want to. I just told them I didn’t know what the hell they were talking about.  My question is, what are you going to do?”  Bree knew that her best friend was not a very public person.  So while this would blow some girls’ skirts right up, this would only make Hope back off.

“I don’t know what to do,” Hope said, frantic.  “I’m waiting for Michael to get back.  He text me and said he was on the way from seeing his brother.”  She paced in the hallway.  “My face is all over the damn television.  And people are literally trying to get in my driveway.”  She walked back to the living room and looked out of the window at the security guards cutting off media trucks as they lined up down the road. 

“Do you need to come here for a while?” Bree asked sincerely.  “You can hide out for a while until this dies down.”

The idea of leaving Michael scared her.  Plus, she had her work to finish. “I don’t know,” Hope said, hearing her phone beep. She looked at it and saw another blocked number. “Girl, I may have to change my number.  So, I’ll text you if I do.”

“Okay.” Bree sounded defeated for Hope. “If you need me, I’m here.”

“Thanks,” Hope said, closing her blinds.  “For now, I’m just going to wait for Michael.  He’ll know what to do.”

“Okay, call me later.  Love you.”

“Love you too,” Hope said, hanging up her phone. She turned to see the guard standing behind her.  That was another thing that she was not used to – someone lurking around like a ninja-but maybe he could be useful. “How far away is he?” she asked, throwing her phone on the sofa table.  She was done with that thing for the day too.  It was annoying hearing it ding every few seconds.

The suited man tried to provide her as much comfort as he could. Touching his earpiece and listening, he stoically answered Hope. “He’s on his way momentarily, ma’am.”

Hope blinked. “What does that mean?” she asked, voice strained.  “Is he five minutes away? Ten?” She hunched her shoulders waiting for a real answer this time.

He repeated the same answer as before in the same monotone British accent. “He will be here shortly,” the man answered, going to the window.  “I need you stay away from the windows and doors.”

“Why?” she asked, as he physically guided her away from the large bay windows.  She snatched away. 

“For your safety,” he answered, even though he knew she was frustrated. He couldn’t say in her situation that he blamed her.

That was a new one for Hope- her safety.  Was she in danger now?  Moving out of the view of the windows, she threw her hands up in the air, suppressing her rising nervousness.  “You know what, I’m going to my room.  When Michael gets here, tell him to meet me there, please.  I need to talk to him about my face being all over the news.”

“Yes ma’am,” the man answered like a robot. Standing by the door with this hands resting in front of him, he quietly stood his post.  He had learned from many years of training and serving Prince Michael to keep his answers short, concise and keep all of his opinions to himself.

Confounded, she turned and stalked toward the stairs, exhausted mentally by the media combat she had experienced.  “I don’t know how you people deal with this day in and day out.”

The man smirked as he watched her make her way up the stairs.  “You’ll find out soon enough,” he said under his breath.

***

Getting Michael onto the property undetected was going to be tricky, especially with his security detail.  As they approached the property on the narrow road, the police literally had to go before them and clear the way.  Reporters ran alongside of his SUV, trying to get a shot of Michael in the back seat, or the man that they thought was him.  Others stood out in the weedy vacant lot across from Hope’s home giving reports and pointing toward the convoy.

Used to the media bedlam, Michael had jumped in an unmarked police car with tinted windows. He slipped on a Memphis Grizzlies baseball hat, taken off his suit jacket and rode with one of his personal guards.  While everyone was looking for him to jump out of the Yukon, he had slipped right pass them in the long convoy and was pulled around to the back of the house.

Running in with Geoff quickly to get out of the madness, Michael pulled off his hat and called out for Hope.

“Where is she?” he asked the guard.

“She’s upstairs, sir,” the man answered quickly.  “She asked for you to meet her up there - alone.”

Geoff grabbed Michael by the arm, making the other guards tense up.  He swallowed hard.  “You don’t have much time.  You need to get her to decide.”

He nodded in understanding. “I will,” Michael said, looking at his watch.  “Have one of the men grab my things.”

“They already have,” Geoff assured Michael.  “We just need her.”

“Well tell them to stand by and be ready to grab her things,” he said while running up the stairs. 

Normally, Hope kept the bay windows of the bedroom open this time of year to soak up all the natural light and enjoy the fresh clean air, but with media outlets doing live shots from only a hundred feet away, she opted to close her windows and pull the curtains. She wanted privacy.  For two seconds, she wanted to be left alone.

Perched on the end of her bed, she slumped over and held her head in her hands.  This was a bit much.  Only, she didn’t want to scare off Michael by looking as worried as she actually was. 

“Hope!” Michael screamed out as he rounded the corner into the bedroom. 

Hope quickly stood to her feet.  “Hey,” she said, wiping the grimace from her lips before he kissed her. 

Holding her tight, he rubbed her back. “Are you alright?”

“This is crazy,” Hope said in a huff.  “They’ve basically splashed my entire life on the screen in a matter of hours.”

He tried to make light of their situation. “Yeah, the 24-hour news cycle can be vicious.  I’m sorry about that.” The look on his face confirmed his sincerity.  “Look, we need to talk.”

“Okay,” she said, as he led her back to the bed.  Sitting down with her, he took a deep breath.  How did he say this in a thoughtful way?

“This
situation
has become a security concern for my family and as an indirect result, a concern for my country.  I’ve been…” He bit his lip in frustration, still breathing hard from his run up the stairs.  Pausing, he realized that he didn’t have time to go into full detail.  The men were waiting. “I have to go back.”  Staring at the floor, he shook his head. “I’d stay here for the rest of my life if I could, but…”

Hope stopped him, eyes watering at the sides. “I understand. You have to leave.”  She shook her head and fiddled with her fingers. “It couldn’t last forever, right?”

Michael looked up and frowned.  “Wait.  No, I’m stuttering. My apologies. I don’t think that I’m making myself clear.  I want you to come with me.”  He turned to her and grabbed her soft hands, holding them in his own.  If she only knew how much this meant to him, it might scare her.

“Go with you?” Hope was lost for words.  She wasn’t expecting this.  A break up maybe, but not this.  She swallowed hard, trying to hide her complete awe.

He smiled. “I can’t leave you here.”

“Because of the media attention?”

His eye lashes fluttered. “That’s only one reason, yes.  The biggest reason is that I don’t want to be alone without you again.” Moving a strand of hair from her face, he rubbed her cheek with his thumb.  “I have some things to take care of back in London.  Come with me.  Please.”

She could barely process his request.  “What about my work?”

“I’ll have it flown to us.”

She tilted her head. “What about my house?”

“I’ll have a security team watch it until we return?”

The word
we
had never sounded so sweet as coming from his lips.

Her voice grew softer but her eyes more serious. “What about my life?”

He lifted her chin with his finger. “It’s with me.”

She couldn’t help but blush.  “Do you have an answer for everything?”

“No, but I want to protect you. I want to keep you near me.  Unless…”

“Unless what?” she asked, back rigid.

“Was this just a fling for you?” His heart nearly stopped beating. 

Hope bucked her eyes. “No.  God no!  Was this a fling for you?”

“No,” he said softly. “Not at all.”

Resting her shoulders slightly, she looked around her room.  “London, huh?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve never been to London.”

He could tell she was close to saying yes. “I know. But you’ll love it.”

“When?”

“Now,” he said, standing up.  “Right now,” he clarified.

“Now?” her nervousness peeked. 

“It’s sudden. I know, and I’m sorry.  But we have to leave now.”

Hope had always been a smart woman.  She had chosen her life path very carefully.  And very deliberately, she had come to live in this home instead of selling it and jetting off to a city that would be more adequately suited for her profession like New York or Los Angeles.  She had not had children out of wedlock, although at times she considered artificial insemination or adoption, simply to keep from being alone.  She had kept her finances in order, never taking out unneeded loans or indulging in credit cards. 

She had worked out religiously and gone to annual doctor visits on time to make sure that she was healthy as possible, and she had resisted temptation, especially when times were hard. These had been the tenants formed by the parenting of her grandparents.  Their teachings through the years had kept her safe from many of the pitfalls of being young and spontaneous.

And because of that, she had become spontaneous-adverse.  It was an odd thing to call it, but that was what she had coined as being safe. 

Until she met Michael. 

After meeting Michael, she had never felt so free and alive, and it wasn’t because he believed in jumping out of airplanes or climbing mountains or any other crazy things.  In fact, he was a pretty mellow man in all.  It was because of how he made her heart feel.  It was because he made her feel like she was the only woman in the room.    

And she’d never had low self-esteem about herself.

She’d never second-guessed herself…much.

But here she was in this room, trying to decide if she should leave her home and jet off to another country with the Prince of England.