“Quit kidding around. I don’t have time for this.” I tried slipping my hand over his shoulder to press the button, but he grabbed my wrist and held it tightly.
“Here’s the truth, Zoe: I didn’t come back to Fairyland this summer to work my way up the corporate ladder. When I was an intern last year, I got wind that they were planning to expand into the Pinelands, and I decided I would do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.”
He let go, and I had to shake my arm to stop it from tingling. Was he messing with me? RJ was Mr. Fairyland, the star former intern who knew the rules and lectured me to learn them, too. This couldn’t be for real.
“I won’t go into all the environmental degradation they’ll inflict with this expansion, but trust me when I tell you the damage will be permanent and severe. Rare forms of amphibians, birdlife, and reptiles like the spike-nosed hornbeam turtle will lose their nesting grounds. I was outraged, and you should be, too.”
“I’m sure I will be outraged,” I said. “Right now, I need to—”
“Give me the report.”
Please, this was getting ridiculous. “Are we done now?”
“The Mouse is the only one that can stop the project,” he said. “Fairyland’s their closest competition, and, for the most part, a pretty wimpy one. But it will move heaven and earth to make sure Fairyland doesn’t expand.”
We exchanged stares, and I saw this wasn’t a prank. RJ was being totally straight. He really was outraged by the 1,001 project, and he really wanted the plans that were currently burning a hole in my bag.
Every breath you take . . .
I shuddered and snatched my phone.
“Where are you, Zoe? This is embarrassing.” The Queen was beyond peeved.
“Coming!” I slid the phone to Off. “RJ, I’ve got to—”
He took the phone out of my hand and started inputting numbers. “Here,” he said, handing it back to me. “This is the number to my secret cell phone. If you change your mind, call me, and I’ll take care of everything.”
I gaped at what he’d done. “I can’t believe you just did that. Do you know what will happen if the Queen sees this? She’ll stroke out.” I tried deleting it but couldn’t. RJ must have locked it somehow.
“The Queen is not your friend, Zoe.”
“Uh-huh.” I started riffling through my bag looking for a hairbrush or lip gloss. If RJ wasn’t going to let me pass, then at least I could make myself presentable until he did. “The Queen might not be my friend, but she’s treated me just fine. Look, as a favor to me, she made Jess a princess!”
RJ chuckled knowingly. “As if that matters. To the Queen, Jess is a joke, and so are you—except that you’re a joke who does her bidding, which is why she keeps you on. When you’re gone she laughs behind your back at how she can make you do anything she wants with just the snap of her fingers.”
I slapped my hands over my ears, wishing he would quit saying all these nasty things. The Queen was a tough customer, sure, but deep down I liked to believe she had a good soul.
“She wants you to think that you’re in the running for the Dream and Do, but that’s a lie,” RJ continued. “She knew from the get-go who was going to win. . . .”
I quit brushing. “Dash and Valerie?”
He nodded. “Dash and Valerie have been bred for Fairyland corporate since they were children. They’re out for themselves, and they don’t give a damn about who they have to step on to get ahead. Not like you, Zoe. You look out for Jess, and Jess loves you. It’s touching, your relationship. That’s why you two don’t stand a chance. You guys are too soft.”
It can’t be true, I thought, so unnerved that I was getting a headache. I didn’t even hear my phone blaring “Every Breath You Take” over and over again until RJ plucked it out of my hand and put it on mute.
“Look, as soon as I have that report, I’ll call the Mouse, and within an hour a limo will arrive to whisk you away from here. You and Jess will be compensated with double the Dream and Do money so that Jess can go to college and you can pay off your mom’s medical bills. In the process you’ll have saved a precious part of the Pinelands for generations