There was pettiness in me that still wanted to yell at her, to demand her job or something. But I did what I always did when something like this happened. I let it go...for my peace.
“I guess it happens to the best and worst of us. Excuse me.” I nodded at the manager before going to the elevator.
When I turned back, I could see the manager was face-to-face with them both, and their heads hung as if they were children. I shook my head. If only every black person had a Mr. Wallace, who was the director of Etheus here. It was so sad I had to bring in backup just to get a room. But if I had it, I would use it. I tried to be as grounded as possible. However, people didn’t understand that just because I wasn’t wearing designer clothes or dolled up every day, didn’t mean I wasn’t an heiress.
“This is why it won’t work,” I whispered to myself. It was good I experienced this early. It was a reminder, just like my mother had told me, it wasn’t possible between Gale and me anymore. I needed to keep to my goal. I needed to remember I was here to get a divorce. I was here to be free of him.
I would rest now.
And then tomorrow, I would start the painful process of untangling myself from the web I was in.
It was against the rules for a royal staff member to run in the palace, so I walked quickly, not making eye contact with anyone. I tried my best not to smile, even though I really wanted to, keeping my arms at my sides and my head down just in case my face gave anything away. Finally! There was good news, and I just needed to get down the hall.
“Wolfgang?”
Damn.
Slowly, I turned to see the dark eyes of Iskandar fixed on me.
“Iskandar.” I nodded at him.
His eyebrow raised as he looked me over. “Why are you walking like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you are trying not to run?”
“How do you do that?” I gaped.
“So, you are.” He stepped forward. “Why? What is going on?”
I did not want to tell him but knowing Iskandar, there was no point keeping him in the dark because he would only press on more. I checked around us before stepping closer. “I just received word that Odette came into the country this morning.”
He did not react, and once again, he didn’t look surprised or alive. What was the point of having a face?
“Did you hear me? Odette—”
“Exactly how did you come upon this information?” he interrupted me.
“Does that matter?”
“Yes, because for you to receive word means you have been requesting word. And the only people you could request such information from is immigration. And you do not have the power to do that. So, either you were ordered to do so by someone who does, or you used your influence and took it upon yourself to break the law. Which is it?”
“I will not answer that question—”
“So, you took it upon yourself, then,” he answered. “And now that I know, you have incriminated me as well.”
“It is not that serious.” How could he be stoic and a drama queen?
“Under federal statute EM 332, disclosing or receiving private information on members of the public is a—”
“Sometimes, there are gray areas in law and protocol, Iskandar.” Now I was annoyed. Not only did he know all the palace rules and ethics, but he also kept up with federal statutes? Give me a break. What did they do to him as a child, hook him to a supercomputer?
“Not for us. We do not work in the gray. You should know this as your family—”
“Please do not bring up my family, the code, or the order or whatever. Some things go beyond the book. I may not be part of the guard, as the rest of my family is, but I take my duty and service just as seriously as you do. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to—”
He stepped in my path. “You are not going to tell the Adelaar about this.”
“You cannot stop me.”
“Yes, actually, I can. Because you are staff, I am his guard. No one enters without my permission, not even you. That is my duty.”
“Why are you doing this?” I hissed under my breath. “You know what state he is in. I may not be as smart as you, and I may not take