A Royal Payne Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Royal Payne

  Copyright

  Thank You!

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Books by Pixie

  Royal Payne

  By Pixie Chica

  Royal Payne

  by

  Pixie Chica

  Cameron Harley

  I left my life in Small Town USA for a dream job in an exotic country. My life was going to be fabulous. Only...it didn’t quite turn out that way. Five years later, I’m not only stuck working crazy hours as an executive assistant, but I have a hot and cold boss. Queen Helena Payne. The Royal Pain in my A… You get the picture. This is my life day in, day out, until one call changes everything.

  I’m heading back home. Even if I’m madly in love with her. It’s time I set my sights on reality...like someone who actually sees me as more than the help.

  Queen Helena Payne

  She thinks I don’t see her, but there’s nothing further from the truth. I see every inch of her, and I love riling her up just to see her storm off. She’s my assistant, the best one that’s ever existed. She’s also off-limits. As the queen of my country, there are expectations about who I should marry. Cameron Harley is not it.

  I may not be able to touch, but I can watch. I’ll keep her by my side for as long as I can. Only it seems my time is up. Now, I’m on a wild goose chase after the one I can’t let go.

  ***This is a fun, F/F read full of Insta-love goodness! Come celebrate Spring Love, with a little mischievous fun!***

  Copyright

  © 2020, Pixie Chica

  Royal Payne

  Cover Art by Pixie Chica

  Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

  Thank You!

  Thank you for your purchase of Royal Payne.

  I hope you enjoy the story and will consider leaving a review or telling a friend about the book.

  I love hearing from readers! To keep in touch and follow my news, please visit me on my website at Authorpixiechica.com.

  Dedication

  This one goes out to everyone.

  Surviving 2020 deserves a dedication.

  I can’t believe it’s only April.

  Chapter One

  ~ Cameron ~

  “Did you fix—”

  “The date for the duke to come by? Yes, already changed it in your calendars as well as called his PR Manager about photo ops,” I blurt out.

  “What about my paren—?” she tries again, but I’m too quick.

  “Told them you were recovering from a horrible cold,” I interject. “They’re staying away.” Moving over to the side of her enormous desk, I reach for the filing cabinet. I pull out the pink file. Thankfully, I had the bright idea to color coordinate everything years ago. It’s proved invaluable in time crunches like today.

  “Good, good. The—”

  “Right here. I’ll be leaving for lunch now,” I inform her. “I’ve ordered yours. It should be up any minute.” I open the file to the page Helena will be working on for the next three hours.

  “Turkey on rye, two oranges, and a black coffee with two Splendas. I added a bottle of water because your doctor said you need to stay hydrated.”

  Queen Helena finally looks up at me, her mouth turning up at the sides, baring her perfect pearly whites. “Always two steps ahead aren’t you, Cam-Cam?”

  “With the amount of work, you have me doing, two steps ahead means I’m ten steps behind at any given time,” I reply, stretching over her to reach the top shelf of her desk.

  She stands, startling me as she closes in from behind. Her taller frame towers over my own by a few inches, the subtle scent of her lavender and jasmine perfume hitting me. My breath catches at the proximity. She proceeds to lean forward, and I feel the heat from her warm body at my back. Fuck, too close.

  “What’s the matter, Cameron?” she whispers against my ear.

  Shivers run up my body that always reacts this way to her. She knows what she’s doing. It’s a little game she loves to play. See how far she can push before I demand she back up.

  As with every other time she gets this close, I get a bit lightheaded. My attraction for her is unmistakable. After working so closely together, I’ve broken the capital rule. Don’t fall in love with your boss. But that’s exactly what I’ve done. Now, I’m in the ninth level of hell because of this attraction. The fact that, most days, I also want to kill her is the tenth. But her lack of respect for personal space is the icing on the proverbial inferno cake.

  “I asked you a question,” she demands her tone low as her hand grazes my wrist.

  “I know,” I murmur unable to form another word. If I do, I might trip up and finally say something I won’t be able to take back. I swallow hard, looking anywhere but at her, my resistance slowly fading.

  For a moment, we both stay in this position. Her question goes unanswered, and I don’t dare move. It’s moments like these I feel there’s a connection between us. An imaginary hope that makes my heart skip a beat. I let my fantasy wander, if only for a second. Maybe this time, she won’t back away. Or worse, she’ll end this torturous moment as if it’s a joke that proves how easily she can provoke a response from me. For just a moment, I don’t have to acknowledge this is a cruel hoax she plays against me, knowing full well I’m the one she takes out her curiosity on.

  “Well?” Her thumb grazes my pulse point.

  I have to stop this now. Clearing my throat, I break the spell. “Well what?”

  I pull the binder I’m looking for and try to move. Her hand wraps around my forearm keeping me hostage. This isn’t good. I need to find a way out. Gathering all the strength I can, I pull her hand off me, smirking at her.

  “I’m just peachy. Are you okay?”

  “Yup. Just peachy, too. As you Americans say. Such an odd use of the English language. You even get a bit of…what’s it called?” she mocks, straightening herself. “Oh yeah, twang.”

  “I don’t have a twang, but bless your heart.” I grin, placing my hand over my heart and batting my eyelashes.

  “Aw, that used to be a lot cuter when I didn’t know what it meant.” She sits back down and sighs. Once again, unamused and ready to keep working the day away, she opens the pink file and reads. She’s shutting me out again, her temperament going from hot to cold in a matter of seconds.

  I’m grabbing my bag from the floor when Lorenzo, our lead security guard, comes flying in.

  “The queen is here,” he says in a weird whisper-shout.

  “Of course, I am.”

  “No, the other queen. Your mom!” he exclaims, before backing out the door again.

  “Fuck! Stall her!” she demands right before the door closes. Then she turns to me. “I thought you took care of this,” she murmurs through gritted teeth.

  “I did, but maybe, you should listen to me when I tell you not to avoid your mother for a whole month.”

  Her tactic for attack not working, she moves to empathy. Her whole face transforms giving me her best puppy
eyes, and I almost feel sorry for her, but given that it’s Marion Payne who’s arrived, I’m out.

  “Help me!”

  “Nope, you’re on your own with that one.” I blow a kiss to her just as the door opens, earning me a scowl from Satan’s spawn.

  I greet the woman, but as always, she doesn’t bother to glance my way. Instead, she takes her seat in front of Helena’s desk. Dramatically falling into her chair as if it was the royal way to do so. Sitting there, with her overly tanned skin and mink coat, she looks more like a stuffed potato than the ex-queen. Rolling my eyes, I close the door behind me.

  The woman is a horror, something I found out the very first day I came to work here. Back then, I was a fresh-out-of-college twenty-two-year-old from the middle of nowhere USA. I’d arrived at the castle with the clothes on my back and two-hundred bucks that would barely get me a room for the night. Having already secured the job before taking the plane trip over here, I was ecstatic. That lasted all of ten minutes. Marion Payne had approached me with a crocodile smile as I left Lorenzo’s office.

  “Oh, you must be the new stable girl,” she’d said, looking me over from the bottom up. I’d quickly corrected her, informing her I was the new Executive Assistant to the queen. Her tone condescending, she’d told me I reminded her of Jack, their often dirty but efficient foreman. All I could do was bite my tongue. Considering I was in a foreign country and at the mercy of its government, I knew better than to speak back. But as the Lord as my witness, that woman could make a preacher cuss. At a loss for words from her insult, I’d walked away, mentally giving her my two middle fingers.

  Since then, I try my best to avoid her. That isn’t hard since Helena barely sees her to begin with. Unfortunately, impromptu visits like today always messes my boss up. She’ll be stuck in there for two-to-four hours, depending on how long her father was out golfing, and afterwards, she’ll be in a foul mood.

  I prepare myself for the hell to come, including the extra hours I’ll have to pull tonight, to make up for the visit. It’s the hardest part of being the assistant to a woman who runs a whole kingdom—lack of down time. Most days, I pull sixteen hours shifts, only taking one day off a week. Even then, I’m often on-call most of the day.

  Entering the kitchen, I wave to Delci, who comes over with the lunch I called down. The knowing look on her face is hard to miss as she places my warm clam chowder and grilled cheese before me. I keep my eyes on the kitchen island, not ready for another lecture on the importance of a meal I don’t inhale. Unfortunately, that’s never been a deterrent before.

  “What is it now?”

  “Don’t really have time to talk about it, Delci.”

  “She’ll work you to the bone. You’re thinning away to nothing,” she says pinching my arm between her fingers. “You’ve lost over thirty pounds since you came to work here.”

  “Now, you’re just exaggerating, and you know it,” I argue. While I’ve lost a few pounds from often forgetting to eat, it’s nowhere near thirty pounds.

  “Stop lying to yourself, my dear. You know very well Adeline keeps having to take your clothes in.”

  “Fine, fine, I lost a couple pounds. I’ll sit here and eat this lunch without interruptions if you—”

  The Sweet Home Alabama ringtone interrupts our conversation as my sister, Marni’s number flashes across the screen. I hold up a finger to Delci, excusing myself to take this call. Leaving my shoes in the kitchen, I go barefoot to the side hall reserved for the dining staff. At this hour, no one is around, and it gives me the privacy I need. Fear creeps up my body as I answer the call, wondering why my little sister is calling. I have a standing phone date with them, so this is out of the norm.

  “Yello,” I greet her as always.

  “Oh, thank God! I wasn’t sure you’d pick up since you’re always so busy around this hour,” she shrieks from the other side of the line.

  The sound of a celebration in the background hits me in the middle of my chest. I distinctly hear my uncle Joe hollering Red Solo Cup louder than the Toby Keith song blaring through the radio. I can picture it perfectly from here. He’s probably had one too many, my Aunt Paula hoping to stop him by threatening to withhold pleasures. My dad’s sitting in his chair, getting a laugh at it all. Then there’s Mama, who as the perfect hostess, is making sure drinks and food are plentiful. God, I miss them.

  I used to be the life of all the parties, celebrating with the best of them. Being a Harley, through and through. What happened to me? Oh yeah, I wanted an adventure. The thought itself would be laughable, if it wasn’t for how sad and pathetic my life actually turned out.

  “Sis, you there?” Marni calls out to me, bringing me back to the here and now.

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry. Everything okay? You don’t usually call me on a Thursday afternoon.”

  “Where is your brain, Cameron? You know it’s the middle of the night here!”

  “Right, right. Sometimes, it slips my mind,” I countered, sitting on the floor and tucking my feet underneath me. The pressure feels good on my sore feet. “Anyway, was there a reason for your call? I’ve got about ten minutes left of my lunch.”

  “Tell that boss of yours to shove it where the sun don’t shine. She works you too hard. Besides, your ass will be on the next plane out of there!”

  “Marni, are you drunk?” I ask, puzzled at her statement.

  “Not a single drink. Okay, no, that’s a lie. I had a couple shots, but that’s beside the point. Cam, I’m getting married!” she yells, causing me to pull the phone away from my ear or risk damage. “Josh proposed tonight. I’m getting married this weekend. An Easter wedding, what could be sweeter?”

  “Whoa, Marni, that’s not enough time to plan a wedding. I can’t just up and leave here. I’ve got a busy schedule for the next two weeks.”

  “Well, I don’t know. Figure it out, Cam. I’m your only sister, and I need you as my maid of honor,” she demands, her voice rising a few octaves. There’s no way she’s rescheduling. Marni Harley does as she pleases no matter what.

  “Wait! Maid of honor? Really?” I squeal, realizing what a big deal this really is. My little sister is getting married, and here I am, trying to damper on her parade.

  “See, you want to be part of this. Come on, sis. We all miss you. It’s been five years. Five long years, let that sink in,” she reasons with me. “Besides, I need a bachelorette party! One for the ages, the Harley sisters wreaking havoc on our small town.”

  That sounded like heaven right now. A whole week away from this place, where I spend day in and day out worrying about the next fire I need to extinguish. Memories of my carefree days at home, where all that mattered was having fun, play through my head like a beacon. I’m fucking doing this. Cameron Harley was taking a week off.

  “I’m coming, baby sis. You tell that Josh boy of yours he better be ready. The Harley sisters are gonna paint the town red.”

  “Fuck, yeah, that’s the Cam I know!” she celebrates on the other side of the phone before announcing to everyone I’m coming. Loud cheers erupt with various expletives being shouted in excitement. Hearing how happy they are about seeing me makes it hard to keep tears at bay. So many nights I’ve lain awake, second guessing if they even want to see me again. Their happiness squashes those fears.

  I talk with my sister for a bit longer, while she goes through a list of must-haves. I stash away the information in my brain for the plane ride home. By the time I get to the ranch, I’ll have half of it done. Looking down at my watch, I realize I’ve overextended my lunch break.

  “Fuck, Marni, I got to go. Helena will kill me. I’m supposed to be done with the calls about the palace’s Easter dinner as of twenty minutes ago.”

  “Fine, but you better be on a plane tomorrow,” she warns.

  “I promise. I wouldn’t miss my best friend getting married. And Marni?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m very happy for you. Josh and you are made for one another. I love you.”
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  “I love you too, sis.”

  Chapter Two

  ~ Helena ~

  “Mother, for the hundredth time, I don’t need to get married right now. Do not bring any of your so-called suitors to the Easter dinner,” I growl out, having enough of this conversation.

  “No one will take you seriously, Helena. I don’t know why your father left you in charge. You have plenty of uncles who are more than happy to take the position,” she snarls, impatiently tapping her nails on my desk.

  I massage my temples, trying to ease the headache she’s brought on. Every single time she comes to see me, it’s to criticize my choices. From my clothes to the fact our kingdom is kingless. If she only knew just how kingless I plan to keep it. No amount of suitors can ever change my mind.

  That’s because of Cameron, my assistant. While I’ll will never be able to cross that line, it doesn’t change the fact my heart belongs to her. I’ll remain faithful to her forever. She’s the definition of perfect. Brains, beauty, a heart of gold, and a mouth that went from professional to smack talk in seconds. A mouth I want nothing more than to ravish.

  “Helena, are you listening to me?” my mother snaps, whipping her cane against the wood of my desk.

  “No, Mother, I’m not. I have a lot of work to do.”

  Needing a moment, I stand and walk to the window. “Why are you even here? You’re supposed to be on vacation with father.”

  “I am on vacation. I came by to say hello and see how your fake cold is coming along. This is still my house. You’re merely a guest until you find a husband who can rule it,” she throws back, unhappy with my lack of amusement where her plans are concerned.

  Fire courses hotter through my veins the more she speaks. I want her out, and right now. Pulling my cell phone from my pocket, I discreetly text Cameron to come save me. It goes unanswered for minutes that feel like hours. With each resend I push through, my annoyance level rises. I will have more than a few choice words for her when she finally answers. What is she doing anyway?