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“Make a change, Elin. Get your girl back.”
“She’s not my girl, Lillian.”
“Not yet,” Lillian said, standing up. “Just remember, you’re in charge now. If you really want to make a change at secretary, you can. Ingrid can keep her new office or move into Markus’s if you want. You’re Queen. Screw seniority, and screw Dad if he’s trying to interfere.”
“So, I just tell Markus what?”
“I don’t know. You’ll come up with something.”
“I love working with Ingrid; she makes me better. But I don’t know if I can work with her and not tell her. I don’t know if I can work with herandtell her, either. It’s probably best for her to work with Mari.”
“She’ll leave, Elin. We’ve talked about this before. Mari isn’t enough for her. Ingridissmart. She’s ambitious, too. She wants to really work. Mari can’t give her that. I guess I can, and if you really want me to have Katrin work with Mari, I can. That would at least keep Ingrid here, I think. I just hoped you’d be brave enough to forge your own path. Whether you tell her how you feel or not, you should at least make sure she knows that you want her back as your secretary. If you honestly can’t work with her anymore, though, I’ll tell Katrin she’s moving in with Mari, so to speak, and Ingrid can be my secretary. That would at least keep a great secretary at the palace and still give you a chance to see her sometimes.”
Lillian left her there with all the options. Elin could do nothing; keep Markus and, likely, lose Ingrid altogether if she left the palace. They’d have no excuse to see one another then, and while Elin thought that would probably be best for her, her chest tightened at the thought of never seeing Ingrid again. She could take Lillian up on her offer and move Ingrid’s role again, but that would make her seem indecisive, and she didn’t like that idea much, either.
Of course, she could tell Markus to work with her father and Steven again and take Ingrid back as her own secretary, which was what she knew she really wanted. She just wasn’t sure she could keep working alongside Ingrid and not tell her how she felt. If she did tell her, and Ingrid inevitably told her she didn’t feel the same way, they’d have to work together amidst all that awkwardness. Elin didn’t know what to do. When she didn’t know what to do, though, she usually just tried to listen to her instincts, what her father always called his gut, and tried to make a decision that way.
“This might be a big mistake,” she said to herself.
CHAPTER 17
“The Princess can make that work, but she’ll need to leave shortly after. She has an appointment at the children’s hospital.” Ingrid listened to the person on the other end of the line and then ended the call once the arrangements had been made.
Mari would be having tea with a family friend prior to visiting the hospital, andthishad been the most exciting day for Ingrid as Mari’s private secretary thus far. It had consisted of two phone calls to make the arrangements. That was it; two phone calls. She was already bored, and this should be the busiest time for her with all of the transitions.
“Oh, sorry. The door was open. Did I interrupt–”
“Your Majesty,” Ingrid greeted when she realized Elin had just taken a step into her office unexpectedly.
Then, she stood instantly and bowed her head.
“I can come back later, if you’re busy,” Elin said.
“No, I’m not busy at all,” Ingrid replied, feeling a bit flummoxed.
Elin was wearing a pair of black slacks with a gray-and-white striped button-down, and in lieu of a blazer, she was wearing thin suspenders;actualsuspenders. Her blonde hair was pulled back into two braids that fell over her shoulders. Her blue eyes seemed searching or deep in thought, and Ingrid wished she could know those thoughts.
“Mari is probably a lot easier to handle than me, huh?” Elin said, walking farther into the office.
“Ma’am, you were always a pleasure to work with,” she replied.
Elin smiled at her and tucked her hands into her pockets, looking casual and not at all nervous, which suited the Queen well.
“The office looks nice,” Elin noted.
“Yes, Ma’am. The designer did a great job. Thank you again,” Ingrid replied.
“Do you have a moment? I was hoping to talk to you about something.”
“Of course, Ma’am.” Ingrid walked to the door and closed it.
Elin sat down on the new sofa that rested against the wall opposite Ingrid’s new desk and between two lamps that brought light into the space and a few plants that brought life into it. Ingrid wasn’t sure if she should sit behind her desk, move her chair to the front, or sit next to the Queen on the sofa, which was just large enough for two people to sit on comfortably. She stood instead, clasping her hands in front of herself, and realized she was actually nervous right now.
“Are you going to sit?” Elin asked her.
“I could use a stretch. I’ve been sitting all morning,” she said, lying to her Queen.
“I’d really like it if you could sit down. We could go for a walk or something, if you’d rather stretch your legs, I guess.”
