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

Nate reaching when he thought Tim or Byron or both could be involved in this mess? Was it their underlings who were really responsible?
     
    As Nate glanced at the piles of papers across his desk, the two monitors filled with never-ending numbers, and a sky that had already begun to darken in the early afternoon, he felt despair. When his phone buzzed, he huffed a sigh of frustration again. Katya. He didn’t want to deal with her anymore, or all of this intrigue. He needed a break.
     
    Perhaps he could go to the kitchens and take advantage of a succulent pastry, and maybe also take advantage of Charlie. Seeing her, however, would only remind him of the tough choices he needed to make, and force him to once again put the benefit of all above the benefit of a few.
     
    When it came to a kingdom, one person never meant more than its citizens, not even the King himself.
     
    Nate took a deep breath, asked his assistant to bring in some fresh coffee, and set back to work.
     
    ***
     
    Charlie finished arranging the sampling tray. The state dinner to be held in a few days was for the Australian Prime Minister and his wife. Though Charlie had never been to Australia, she’d spent a great deal of time researching what sorts of desserts and sweets they may want to eat.
     
    For today’s sampling, she’d made Pavlova, a typical Australian dessert. Other local favorites included a version of lamington, a type of sponge cake, and Anzac biscuits for their tea service.
     
    After her research, she’d also discovered the Prime Minister was a native of South Australia and, since he was also bringing his young daughter, thought they may enjoy a native dessert called frog cake, which was essentially just sponge cake covered in fondant made to look like a frog, and served like petit fours with individual servings. Charlie wasn’t sure what the Queen would like, but she hoped she liked some of it, anyway; it would be tough to start from scratch again.
     
    Charlie added a small menu describing the items to the tray and asked one of the other waitstaff to take it over to the dining room where Coco and the Queen were meeting. When it was carried away from the kitchen, Charlie let out a deep breath.
     
    Glancing around at the mess and pots piled high in the sink, she contemplated what to tackle next when her stomach let out a very unladylike growl. Despite the fact that she worked in a palace kitchen, Charlie often forgot to eat during the day. A quick glance at the clock let her know that her late-night picnic – if she went – was still hours away.
     
    She walked into the main kitchen, smiling at the frantic energy in the room, which was actually a carefully coordinated dance. “Behind you,” one sous chef called as she made her way between the row of stoves and the backs of others chopping nearby. “Flame up,” another called as they poured alcohol into a pan, sending bright reddish-orange flames shooting high into the air until the alcohol burned off and the flames died down.
     
    Charlie made her way around the kitchen to a small dining room set up for palace workers. Not everyone on staff took advantage of the free palace lunches, and the dining room was mostly empty due to the time of day. Staff usually filtered in and out, eating quickly before running back to finish their tasks for the day. Having such a large palace meant that some staff had to travel quite a ways to get their food, so they often brought their own lunches instead.
     
    As Charlie loaded a bowl with a thick beef stew, she wished she could make it easier for the staff. The palace actually boasted four kitchens – one essentially at each corner of the palace – but the other three had fallen into disrepair. Perhaps, if she did get Coco’s job, she could work to reopen at least one of them.
     
    Charlie was lost in thought, absently eating her meal, so she didn’t hear her name being called. It wasn’t until one of the waitstaff shook her shoulder that she