spend this time going over any pertinent facts regarding the celebrity whom I might interview. I always wanted to go into battle fully armed with all the little details others might overlook. It was my job, and my specialty, not to overlook them.
But for Augustine Seamus Whitley Quinn Agassi, aka Auggie, aka Prince Augustine of Alasdair, The Duke of Iver, aka The Duke of Mayhem, I had already spent many years learning everything I could know about him.
Who hadn’t?
It’s not often that a prince in line for the throne will give it all up to pursue a career as a rock god, but that is exactly what Auggie had done.
He was first in line to the throne of Aldayne, an island country off the coast of Ireland, but after both his parents had died, he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with the restrictions of royalty. He took what money he saved, and his royal title of Duke, and turned it into an empire, as one of the most gifted musicians in popular music. He was a beast on the guitar, one of twenty different instruments he played—and played well. He used the curiosity everyone naturally had about him to his favor. Everything he did was newsworthy, from the women he dated to the music he made, which ran the gamut from pop music to heavy metal. He even composed music for a Broadway musical, about a prince no less.
No one understood branding better than The Duke.
Likewise, no one could predict what he might do next. Like hiring a news outlet to do a full expose on his life right before his grandmother celebrated her 25th year as Aldayne’s monarch, for example. I had an inkling that he was doing this on purpose to make sure he never got pulled back into that world, considering the Queen was doing everything she could to hold onto their country so one of her own might rule it after she was done.
Without Auggie, the House of Quinn would fall after a nine-hundred-year reign.
Thanks to one of their rules, a male heir, either by birth or by marriage, had to take her place. There was Princess Gisele, Auggie’s paternal aunt, but she hadn’t yet married. The only way she could rule is if her husband had died, which was how Queen Maeve got the honor.
Sure, it was sexist and antiquated; but Aldayne had the goods to back it up. It had one of the top economies in the world, landing at the top of the list for the World Happiness Index year after year. No one really saw fit to change how things were done.
Yet, Auggie had done everything to make sure he was unfit as could possibly be to lead. He dated women in the adult entertainment industry, he made loud, obnoxious, sexy, inappropriate music. He was an irresponsible playboy with no desire to settle down, and no one fit to marry him if he had.
Mayhem indeed.
As such, this Bad Boy Prince was one of the most desirable bachelors in the world. Monica had been right about his auburn tresses and those piercing eyes. He was one of the most beautiful men on the planet, with a penchant of seducing every single person in his path.
Frankly, I was kind of glad that I had to put so much energy into keeping my nausea under control. It would keep me focused on the job, which was the only way anyone was going to get it.
At least, that was the lie I told myself as I approached the limousine, wishing I had another barf bag handy to stuff inside my purse. Instead, I pulled out another candy before reaching Auggie’s rather intimidating assistant, Countess Audra Tremwell.
One of the most impossibly beautiful women I’d ever seen stood next to the open door of the limo, her hand outstretched to mine. She had long braids and smooth onyx skin, with a devastatingly brilliant smile. “Peaches McPhee?” she asked as I approached.
I nodded and took her hand.
“My name is Audra. It’s so lovely to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well,” I greeted warmly.
“I’ve never met anyone named Peaches,” she said. “This is quite a treat.”
That she accepted my given name so readily immediately endeared me to her. But then again, it wasn’t like they hadn’t vetted me thoroughly already. For the first time in my career, the celebrity I interviewed would likely know even more about me than I did about them.