How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come Tr - By Sarah Strohmeyer Page 0,46

He sighed deeply. “Sure, some might call your interpretation, oh, I don’t know, whacked. But I prefer to think of it as genius.”

For that I gave him a punch, hard, in the shoulder. Staying mad at Ian Davidson was impossible and, in some ways, that made me resent him even more. You could tell he’d be the type to go through life charming everyone in his path, blissfully unaware of the havoc he wreaked.

The side door to the Queen’s private chambers opened, and she bustled in carrying Tinker Bell, with Andy following behind. Her Majesty must have been in a good mood, because for once her complexion bore the faintest hint of color.

“Ian, you look amazing. Promenade!” She sipped her tea while Ian, bold as brass, took long, exaggerated strides, head back, hand on hip, like he was on the catwalk in Milan. I had to bite the insides of my cheek to keep from laughing.

“Tell me you’re not going to go out there like that,” she said, the slightest hint of a smile playing on her lips, too.

“Of course not. I’ll be like this.” He bowed deeply before me and slipped to one knee, taking my hand in his and gazing with the perfect Fairyland combination of princely adoration and chaste love. Andy actually applauded, and even my own heart skipped a beat—which Ian must have felt because he squeezed my fingers gently.

“Am I forgiven, dearest?” he asked again, batting his eyelashes.

I mouthed, In your dreams!

The Queen nodded her rare approval. “That will do, Romeo.” She motioned for him to stand. “And the dance . . . ?”

At this point I had to interrupt. “Where’s Jess?”

“Pardon?” The Queen pondered an almond.

“Jess Swynkowski. She was supposed to be here as Adele’s replacement. We talked about her yesterday, remember?”

“Oh, that. Yes, well . . . there’s been a change of plans.”

My stomach lurched. No, this couldn’t happen. Jess was all ready. We’d stayed up until dawn practicing everything, even dancing to “If You’re a Princess and You Know It” while we walked Tink. In fact, I’d assumed she’d be here waiting and ready to audition when I got to work.

I couldn’t stop myself. I had to say something. “You promised yesterday that you’d make Jess Cinderella.”

The Queen nibbled the almond. “I did no such thing. I gave her permission to audition. Permission I have since withdrawn.”

“But that’s not fair. You didn’t even give her a chance!”

Andy cleared his throat in admonition. “Excuse me, Zoe, but you’re only an assistant here. You are not involved in personnel decisions.”

“It’s all right, Andrew. Zoe deserves to know, since this involves her, too.” The Queen retrieved a letter from her desk. At first I thought with horror that it was the Hansel’s, but as she started reading, I realized it was from Adele.

Dear Management:

This is in response to your totally unfair punishment.

As you know, I’ve done everything possible to stay within the Fairyland guidelines and the contract I signed. However, thanks to your backstabbing assistant, one Zoe Kiefer, who was in charge of charting my weight, you think I gained more than I did. Now she’s Cinderella just as she planned, and you’ve made me a Class B character.

I am hurt and offended.

So I’m out of here. But I’m not gone, okay? And Zoe knows why. Tell her that it’s only a matter of time until I use the ammunition I have against her to get my revenge. Then you’ll see that both you and I were wronged, that I didn’t gain any weight, and that this is all Zoe’s fault.

Yours faithfully,

Adele

I was shaken to my core.

A million thoughts ran through my mind: Adele definitely had the Hansel’s complaint. She was going to use it against me. My life sucked. Adele hated me and was ungrateful, too. My life double-sucked with a cherry on top.

Ian squeezed my arm. I was so stunned, I didn’t push him away.

“Nothing but rubbish,” the Queen said, stuffing the letter back in the envelope. “Adele is one of those recalcitrant types who never should have been allowed in the program.” She looked pointedly at Andy, as if Adele’s acceptance had been entirely his fault. “However, her absence means that we’re short one Class B character, so Sydney will have to stay as the Fairy Godmother while Jessica will have to remain as Red Riding Hood, since I need two. Simone is willing to do double duty as Cinderella if she doesn’t have to do the resort breakfasts and dinners, so