Charlotte & Nate (Royals of Valleria #4) by Marianne Knightly

flash, knocking his chair out from under him in the process. “Rebecca’s father? You want to fire the father of my fiancée and the future Queen of Valleria?”
     
    Nate winced. “I know it’ll not ideal, but he qualifies for early retirement.”
     
    Gabriel, with a similarly upset expression on his face, interjected; Gabriel was very good friends with Ettore, Rebecca’s father, who was also the Head Groundskeeper for the palace. “Are you sure this is necessary, my son?”
     
    “It’s cheaper to pay younger people, Papa. You know that as well as I do. Do either of you honestly think I want this to happen? That I want the people we know and love and see every day to be out of a job?” Nate ended his passionate plea by burying his head in his hands; even Charlotte’s position would suffer. What had barely started between them would end quick enough when he warned her what might happen.
     
    A steady hand fell to Nate’s shoulder, then another. Nate looked up to see both Alex and Gabriel providing him comfort. Gabriel ran a familiar hand over Nate’s head, the warmth and weight of which brought a sense of peace to him. The power of a father’s hand was unmatched except, perhaps, by a mother’s.
     
    “It’s all right, my son. I know this is difficult. I had no idea how difficult this position would be for you when I asked you to step into the role. None of us did. You’ve done very well, and I have no doubt you’ll handle this with the same courage I’ve seen you tackle other things in your life.”
     
    ‘Courage’ wasn’t the word Nate would use when he thought about the past. “Thanks, Papa. I don’t know how you two deal with things like this all the time.”
     
    “Practice,” Alex said and gave Nate’s shoulder a last squeeze before letting go. “You’re still new to it all.”
     
    “I’ll probably always feel new to it,” Nate responded, a little too honestly. “I’m going to work on this some more. Let’s meet before dinner to discuss.”
     
    Gabriel gave Nate a kiss on the forehead. “This time we’ll meet in my study. See you in a few hours, my son.” Nate gave his father’s hand a squeeze and he and Alex left.
     
    Nate barely had a chance to gather his thoughts before a knock came and the door opened. Two other ministers on the Royal Council entered without waiting to be asked inside; it was a blatant disregard for protocol that was meant to be noticed.
     
    Nate’s assistant followed them in and bowed quickly, his square face twisted in apology. “I’m terribly sorry for the interruption, Your Highness.”
     
    Nate waved him back; he knew his assistant wasn’t to blame for this visit. “Gentlemen. What an unexpected surprise. I’m quite busy, as I’m sure my assistant warned you. You’ll need to make this quick.”
     
    Neither minister bowed in deference to his title – another obvious ignorance of protocol.
     
    Byron, the Minister of the People, took a seat first, gently placing his small, slim body into the chair, as though it were covered in something slimy and disgusting. His bright blond hair was kept military short, though he had never served in the Vallerian Armed Forces. It was his job to manage Valleria’s various social services, housing initiatives, and manage immigration. The last, however, would likely be moved under Marcello’s domain as a part of the budget and restructuring Nate was planning.
     
    Timothy, the Minister of Labor, sat down next, though with none of the fuss that Byron had exhibited. His tall, lanky frame was topped with a mass of curly brown and graying hair, and a pair of functional glasses were perched on his long nose. If he’d been quite a bit heavier, Tim could almost double for Gerald, one of his father’s cousins, currently living in Switzerland.
     
    Nate worked closely with Tim, and they had often got along well. Although, after the current budget was released, his team would take a tough hit. Tim must know what’s