The King's Queen

"Your highness."

What now, I think.

"Come in, Godfrey."

The middle-aged man walks in, splendid hair neatly gelled, and looking neat and pompous as always, "Your father is here to see you."

I roll my eyes, "I'll be down in a moment."

"Okay, sir," and he turns around and leaves, I consume the rest of my whiskey, and throw on my silk Gucci robe before making my way downstairs. As he reaches the foot of the stairs, his father gives him a disapproving look.

Here we go.

I turn back around and sit down on the couch, and he sits across from me, and Godfrey bring in two glasses of whiskey, giving on to my dad and then me.

"Father please, we've had this discussion before," I sigh, walking past him to the lounge.

"Henry please."

I turn around and look at my father, challenging him to go on.

"Never mind," he sighs.

I turn back around and sit down on the couch, and he sits across from me, and Godfrey brings in two glasses of whiskey, giving on to my dad and then me.

My father gulps his drinking before letting out a sigh, "We have important business to discuss."

"If it's about the court case, I've sorted it out," I reply, sipping on my whiskey.

My father looks at me in surprise, "And what was the outcome?"

"I paid the fine."

"Goddammit Henry!" my father yells.

My father has always been this temperamental, after years of getting emotional about it, I finally got used to it, and now I just roll with the punches, and sometimes diffuse it before he goes off on me."

"You weren't supposed to do that; you were supposed to cut a deal with them. We talked about this."

"You talked about it; I listened, and with all due respect father, your idea wasn't going to work," I reply calmly.

My father pinches the bridge of his nose, "Explain it to me, please."

"Well first off, their business was going bankrupt, so what deal were we going to cut with them apart from putting them out of their misery by giving them a generous sum of money they were going to blow again. Paying the fine was the only way to avoid a drop in shares and unnecessary drama."

He remains silent for a few moments, I knew, he knew I was right.

"You're right son, excellent job."

I can't help but smirk, "Try to smile next time when you say it."

My father chuckles, "You are not out of the woods yet. You need a wife."

I cringe, he always had to use the term, 'wife'.

"Father, we've spoken about this."

"Frankly I don't care, you need to start settling down Henry, you're a king for god's sake," he says furiously.

I shake my head, "Yes I am a King dad, but I don't want some trophy wife who will sit beside me on the throne with no brain, I need a real woman father,"

My father sighs, the poor man, I'm going to kill him before his time.

"Look, Henry, get yourself a real woman but do it quickly before I put your brother as a temporary king."

Hell no.

"You wouldn't."

My father chuckles, "Believe me, Henry, I would."

I examined him closely, and his stern look made me believe that he was serious.

"Okay, I'll make a plan."

"Good," my father smiles, "I know you'll make a great king Henry but behind every great king is an even greater queen,"

I sigh, "I know dad, and mum was a great queen, she still is, and I want to marry a woman just like her.

"I'm glad."

He walks towards me. I stand up, we share a hug and I walk him to the door, I open the door for him and I watch him as he walks back to his Rolls Royce and drives out of my yard.

Good riddance.

I close the door and make my way back upstairs to my bedroom.

"I do apologize for my dear for keeping you waiting," he says to the skinny brunette lying naked in his bed.

"It's okay my King," she replies with a smirk.

"Now where were we?"

She giggles, "You were about to devour me."

I take my pants off, revealing myself to her, she immediately gasps.

"I don't think I can take that," she stutters.

I grin, "Of course, you can baby, I'll be gentle."

She hastily scrambles off the bed and picks up her clothes, "I have to go."

I observe her as she bolts out of the door, I let out a frustrated groan before putting my pants back on.

Fuck her cave-like pussy, I think to myself.

Knock, knock.

"What do you want?"

"Sir it's Lord Montgomery, he is on the phone" Godfrey replies.

I pick up the phone that's on my desk, "Hello."

"Dude it's that time of the week."

"Archie, is it Tuesday already?"

Archie laughs, "Well duh dude, Ashby and I will be there in an hour to pick you up."

"Awesome, I'll be ready." and I hang up the phone.

I go into my bathroom and get into the shower after five minutes I get out and prep my hair before stepping into my walk-in closet, I'm sure you'd expect me to have a stylish, but I don't need all that, I can dress very well if you ask me.

I pick out a pair of black dress pants and a white shirt, leaving the two top buttons undone, with a formal dress shoe before putting on my Rolex watch. I walk out of my wardrobe, grab my phone and wallet before heading downstairs.

"Godfrey," I call out.

Godfrey then walks out of the kitchen, "Yes sir,"

"I'm going out for the night, make sure that everyone leaves here on time and that security is airtight before going to bed," I explain.

"Yes, your highness." he nods.

"And I'm sorry for lashing out at you earlier, I should not be taking my frustration out on you."

He looks at me and smiles, "It's alright sir, apology accepted."

Beep, beep!

"The boys are here; I'll see you later Godfrey."

I leave the house and find a limo parked outside my door; they are going all out tonight. The passenger door opens and Archie steps out.

"Look at his royal highness." he grins.

"Hello to you Goldilocks."

Archie has long dirty blonde hair that reaches past his broad shoulders, I've been begging the guy to get a damn hair cut but he says his hair has magic powers, idiot.

Archie's twin brother Ashby then steps out of the limo.

"Well, well, well, Rapunzel decided to join us this time," I tease.

He too possessed long hair just like his brother, but he kept it clean and well washed, unlike his caveman brother.

"Shut up Henry. You're the one that had me on guard duty last week," he replies with a laugh.

"Are the other two joining us tonight?"

They both nod and reply, "They are at the club already,"

I smile, "Sweet, let's get going then, we don't want to keep the ladies waiting."

We all get into the limo, and we leave. Ashby pours me a glass of whiskey which I gulp down in one swig, he eyes me cautiously.

"Dude, are you okay?"

"I'm frustrated man, I'm hoping to take a girl home tonight."

Archie chuckles, "I told you hiring sex slaves were a bad idea."

"And I should have listened to you," I sigh, "The last girl didn't even last."

Archie laughs, "Not tight enough."

"No, she said it was too big."

The twins can't help but laugh at my predicament.

"You poor soul, you must have the worst case of blue balls," Ashby laughs.

"That's not all, my dad shows up giving me the marriage talk."

"Again?" Ashby questions, "That's like the fourth time in the past two weeks."

"I may have someone for you," Archie says looking at me with a sly grin.

I raise an eyebrow, and I wasn't excited, but Archie and Ashby knew a lot of women and I am keen on what he had to say or show me.

"Penelope Harding."

She sounds charming.

"I'll get her to come to the club with her friend Sophia, and you'll like her."

"Are you sure about this Archie, she's our best friend, more like our little sister" Ashby objects, "I don't want this fool here, messing with her."

"I'm right here you know."

"I'm sure," Archie replies but that didn't help put Ashby at ease, why was he getting so protective over her? I must meet her.

The limo comes to a stop, and we hear music playing, we had arrived at the club. The door opens, and we step outside the limo and all the women scream, calling out our names as we make our way into the club, this was the best feeling in the world, knowing that all the women loved you and wanted to be with you, best feeling ever.

We walk to the back of the club to our usual VIP area, and I can already see Sebastian and my younger brother Chris in a deep conversation.

"Hello, boys, why so serious?" Archie says, sitting beside Sebastian.

"We were talking about you three stooges." Sebastian laughs.

"We do apologize for being late, Henry here took time to put his make up." Ashby teases, winking at me.

I roll my eyes, "Very funny."

We call for a waiter and he take out drink orders, a bottle of whiskey, vodka, gin and rum and water for Ashby because he was on a diet, which wasn't going to last long knowing him, he can't resist the taste of Russian bear.

I look round the elite club, seeing if there was any girl worth taking home and then a beautiful afro captures my eye, chocolate brown skin, plump lips and she looked beautiful under the disco lights.

"Henry," Archie calls out.

"Uh yeah," I instantly reply not taking my eyes off the attractive woman.

"What are you looking at?" he asks curiously, squinting his eyes looking in the same direction I was.

"Not what, who," I eagerly say is pointing in the direction of the mystery woman.

"Oh, she's here," he says excitedly.

"Who?"

"Penelope," Archie replies with an infectious grin.

Oh, my royal balls, she's one hot mamasita.

Disco lights, neon lights, and music the one place I hated with every fiber of my being, and that is not normal for a 24-year-old. I prefer to staying indoors and watching Netflix or reading a good crime novel while some Lo-fi chill music played in the background, that's who I am but not today. My best friend Sophia dragged me out of the house, on Tuesday night, a workweek. I don't know why I'm still friends with her, because I love her, that's why.

"Having fun?" Sophia asks wiggling her eyebrows.

I frown, "No."

Hopefully, that will convince her to take me home.

But she only rolls her eyes, "You are such a drip, let me go get us some drinks, maybe that will help lighten you up."

"Okay," I shrug, and she nods and gets up, disappearing into the crowd, leaving me all by myself.

I should have gone with her.

I look around the club, seeing bodies grinding on each other, people kissing and men grabbing on women, I cringe.

For what seemed like hours, Sophia returns, her little black sparkly dress is shimmering, her long perfectly straightened hair, long light chocolate legs, her light chocolate skin glowed, I am envious of her, she is beautiful, whereas I am thick and curvy, my big mane got in the way of things, I am shy and awkward at times, but she is bubbly and confident, outgoing, and free-spirited.

She places two cocktails down and smiles at me, and her eyes widen, and she says she's forgotten her purse, she leaves me once again and I'm nervous.

I sip on my cocktail, and I immediately relax, I start looking around again and I spot a pair of eyes looking in my direction, it was the King.

Oh no.

I watch as he licks his lip and then calls for a guard and whispers something in his ear, pointing in my direction. He wasn't looking at me, I think.

I sure hope not.

A few minutes pass and a tall man is standing beside me, it's the bodyguard. I look up at him, and give him a nervous smile, he leans down and whispers in my ear.

"Your highness would like to buy you a drink."

"I'm good thanks, already have one," I whisper back.

The guard stands up straight and shakes his head at the King, who stands up and walks towards us.

This can't be good.

He looks at the guard and tells him to keep watch, and he sits down across from me in the booth.

I shift uncomfortably in my seat. This guy is beautiful, curly hair, and blue eyes, but I couldn't be with a guy like him, I'm barely his type.

"Don't be nervous," he says loudly, "I don't bite unless you ask me to."

I roll my eyes, typical.

"I'm sorry, I'm Henry," he says, reaching out his hand across the table.

I swiftly shake it, "I know, you're King Henry."

He chuckles, "Please call me Henry."

"Penelope," I reply.

"You're very beautiful Penelope." he smiles nervously.

I blush, "Thank you."

"Why don't you come to join my friends in the VIP area and me?" he asks.

I shake my head, "I can't, I came with someone."

He raises an eyebrow, "Who?"

"A friend," I look around and spot her walking towards us, "There she is."

Henry looks to his right and sees her walking towards us.

Sophia smiles and gasps, "Your Highness."

"This is my friend Sophia," I say, she reaches out her hand and he takes it and kisses the back of her hand, making her grin.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sophia," he smirks.

She sits beside him and smirks, "The pleasure is all mine."

He chuckles at her, "I had asked your gorgeous friend here to come and join my friends and I in the VIP area and she said -"

"Of course, we'd like to join you," she cuts in.

"But your friend..."

"Forget what she said, we'll join you." she interrupts again.

"Great, you know where to find me." he winks, Henry stands up and walks away with his guard.

I roll my eyes, and I can't believe she is forcing me to go hang out with them. She grabs my hand and pulls me out of the booth and pulls me towards the VIP area.

"Sophia stop," I say, pulling my hand away.

"What Penny?" she groans.

"I don't think this is a good idea. This is the king we are dealing with here."

Sophia groans, "There you go again with you boring-ass, live a little girl damn."

I must admit I am being a little too cautious, he didn't give me any bad vibes and we are in public, what could go wrong.

"Fine but if things get out of hand, I'm leaving."

Sophia smiles, and we walk to where the King and his entourage are seated, the guard lifts the velvet rope and we are greeted by five good looking men.

I hated this; all eyes were on me, and my tight-fitting jumpsuit was not helping me at all. Sophia takes her seat next to the King, and I move to the other side on the couch, where Ashby, my childhood friend was seated with his twin brother.

"Penny, I'm glad you made it." he smiles.

"Hi Ashby, and it's not like I had much of a choice," she says looking at Sophia, who was getting too damn comfy with the King.

I look down and my clutch bag and Ashby lifts my chin, "Still having anxiety attacks?"

I nod shyly, gosh, I hated that he knew me so well.

Ashby is my closet friend, we grew up together, our mothers were good friends but when he and his brother went into the army and became noblemen, I started seeing less and less of him, today is the first time I had seen him in a month and I don't blame him, he has a busy life.

"When was the last time you went for therapy?"

"A month ago, work had me swamped."

Ashby frowns, "I thought I told you to quit that job Penny."

"If I quit, who is going to look after Aunty Linda?" I question.

He sighs, "I told you that I would look after you both don't you trust me."

I couldn't believe we were having this argument again; I didn't want to depend on him, I am responsible for my aunt, he isn't.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," I mumble.

Ashby nods and gulps down his drink, look up and find Henry glaring at Ashby.

Great, now I've upset the King.

Ashby puts his glass down and he stands up and leaves, I wanted to follow him, but I knew that wasn't a great idea.

"Everybody, leave." Henry commands and everybody looks at him.

"I said leave," he says loudly, I stand up to leave but he stops me.

"Penelope sit. The rest of you leave," he says.

Sophia grabs her purse and leaves with the boys. As soon as everyone is gone, Henry stands up and sits next to me.

My palms start to sweat and I wipe them on my clothes.

"Penelope."

I look up at him, and his eyes are dark and tense, he is angry.

"Is Ashby your boyfriend?"

I shake my head, unable to speak.

"Words," he commands.

"No." I stutter.

"Then why were you getting cozy with him?"

"He's my friend," I reply slowly.

He seems taken aback by my statement, and his eyes begin to soften.

"How long have you been friends?"

"Since we were kids, we grew up together."

He sighs, "I'm sorry for getting so worked up over this. I wasn't aware of your relationship."

"It's okay, Ashby has always been overprotective of me." I chuckle lightly, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Of course, a woman as beautiful as you should be protected."

I blush, glancing over at him.

"Why don't we talk somewhere less noisy?"

I nod and he stands up, taking my hand into his and he leads me up the roof, the spark between us is evident but I know I should not act on it, it would not be right.

We get up to the roof, and it is stunning, the moon is overhead, the stars are twinkling, and the city lights are illuminating the city, I can see Crawford castle up the hill, I look over at Henry, and his blue eyes are glowing underneath the moonlight, he chiseled jawline and curly hair make him look almost angelic. He looks at me and smiles and I can't help but smile back.

We remain quiet for a few minutes enjoying the summer night sky and view before Sophia interrupts us, I groan internally, wishing she could just disappear.

"Henry, I've finally found you," she says in her high-pitched voice.

"Sophia, what are you doing here?" he asks trying not to sound annoyed.

"Looking for you silly," she giggles.

Wow, she's so fake.

"Let's go dance," she says, grabbing his hand.

"I'm busy Sophia, maybe some other time," he says pulling his hand away.

"Penny, you don't mind do you,"

I don't respond, I can't say no, nor can I say yes.

"See, she doesn't even care, so let's go."

I watch as she pulls him away, he turns to me and gives me a sympathetic look and mouths an apology, but I look away instead.

Not only am I envious of Sophia, I hate her sometimes. She can be very annoying and fake and pisses me off, but I can never gather the guts to tell her that, I don't think I ever will. She is the only friend I have, and I don't want to risk losing that over a guy I'm not even dating.

I leave the roof and go back to the VIP area. I grab my clutch and quietly leave the club not bothering to say goodbye.

"Penny, the boss wants to see you", Mara, the boss's assistant says as she stands by the doorway.

" Okay", I get up from my desk and make my way to the boss's office. I get on the elevator to the top floor and walk down the long passageway.

I knock on the door, and he tells me to come in.

"You asked to see me, sir?" I say as I walk towards his desk.

Mr. Goodwill scans my body with hungry eyes, and I can't help but cringe, he is in his early thirties and isn't that attractive.

"Take a seat."

I sit in the chair across from him.

"Well Penelope, I'm very impressed with your work lately, you've helped boost the company's financials with your marketing ideas."

"Thank you, sir."

"I'd like to give you a promotion," he says, with a smile, but it had hidden intent.

"I'd appreciate that Mr. Goodwill."

He smirks, "But I'd like you to do me a favor."

This isn't good.

"Go out with me for dinner."

I raise an eyebrow, "Like on a date?"

He nods, "Exactly."

"I can't do that, you're my boss, and that would be unethical."

"I am your boss, but I wouldn't see it as unethical."

I shake my head, "No I can't do it."

Mr Goodwill raises to his feet, clearly upset.

"You can't say no to me," he yells

I jump in my seat, he's tall muscular build towering over me, he stared down at me with his dark green eyes.

"I'm sorry," she stutters.

Mr Goodwill chuckles evilly, "I do apologize, Miss Harding, I didn't mean to scare you."

I look up at the man, and nod fearfully, not wanting to anger him any more than I already have.

He lowers down to his seat and looks at me, "Now I'll ask you again, will you go out with me for dinner Miss Harding?"

Crap, I think.

I can't lose my job over this; I need this job and the promotion to look after my sick Aunt. At the same time, I can't go out with him, this is my boss, what are people going to think of me?

I agree knowing full well that I am going to regret it later, "Okay, I'll go."

Mr Goodwill smirks, "Great, I'll email the details to you. You're dismissed."

I quickly stand up and leave his office, I close the door and dash to the bathroom to throw up, I felt sick to my stomach, that whole event made my stomach turn and twist all at the same time, it didn't help that I also suffered from anxiety.

I hate the man, the way he looks at me and makes rude sexual comments around me, he's a cocky, arrogant personality, just his entire existence and worst of all he is married.

After throwing up in the bathroom, I clean myself up and go back to the office, I love my job, being one of the top digital marketers for Vogue Magazine, it's fun and it pays well but I still need the promotion, my Aunts bills are piling up and the extra cash would help pay it off and this is the only way to do, so I have no other choice, and I have to be a big girl about it.

The day went by pretty quickly, and by five p.m., I am leaving the office, Mr Goodwill had sent me all the details of our date, it is going to be on Friday which gives me time to prepare emotionally and physically.

I get home at six o'clock and finds my Aunt Linda tending to her pots.

"Penny,"

"Hey mama," I greet as I walk into the kitchen, kissing my aunt on the cheek.

"How was work today baby?"

I sigh, "Good might get a promotion."

Aunty Linda gasps, "Oh my gosh, that is awesome."

"Thank you," I smile faintly.

"You don't look so happy to happy about it?"

"I am happy, I don't know if I'll get it through,"

"Oh, baby child, whether you get it or not, it doesn't matter to me. You're an honest, respectable and intelligent young woman, how'll succeed."

I hug her, "Thank you, mama."

"I love you, baby."

"I love you too," I say and pulls away, "Did you take your meds?"

"Yes, I did." she nods with a smile.

"Are they working?"

Aunty Linda looks at her, "Yes they are."

"Good, after three failed attempts we have hope."

Aunty Linda hums in agreement, after having two heart surgeries and two different sets of medication, there was hope that this was going to work.

"Now go get changed dinner is almost ready."

I exit the kitchen and make my way to my bedroom to get changed. We live in a small, two-bedroom house, it isn't much, but we both lived happily together.

I change out of my work clothes and walks to the dining room in my onesie, purple bonnet, and pink bunny slippers, I sit down on the couch and a few moments later Aunt Linda joins me with two bowls of Spaghetti and meatballs in her hand. She turns on the TV and there he is King Henry; he is at a charity event.

"He is so sexy", Aunt Linda says hungrily.

I can't help but blush when memories of him come back to me, "He is and he's awfully sweet"

Aunt Linda looks at her niece suspiciously, "Have you met him?"

Shit, girl, you finna wanna get caught!

"Uh, he looks awfully sweet is what I meant to say."

Linda gives me a once over, "Mhm okay.

I look down at my bowl avoiding my aunt's stare, I don't like talking to my aunt about boys, not because she doesn't like me dating, but because Aunt Linda gets a little carried away and that's why the only boy, I've ever brought home is, Ashby, he is my best friend and we grew up together, my aunt and his mother were friends.

After dinner, we clear up the kitchen together, and after that Aunty Linda goes to bed, leaving me all alone for the rest of the night, and I decide to go to my room to prepare for work, just as I am about done and slipping into my blankets my phone rings, it's Ashby.

"Hello."

"Penny, why haven't you been answering my messages?" he says frustrated.

I frown, "Sorry, I've been busy with work."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you" he sighs, "You know how worried I get about you."

"It's okay, why are you calling?"

"You disappeared last night, what happened?"

I lie down on my bed, "I had to get home, I do have a job I need to wake up to."

"Of course."

I remain silent.

"Henry hasn't stopped talking about you. It seems like you've left a mark," Ashby chuckles.

I grin, beat that, Sophia.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I think I might cut my ears off, everything is about you now."

"I thought he liked Sophia."

Ashby laughs, "Definitely not."

I didn't know why I was happy to hear that.

"Oh okay."

Ashby is quiet for a while, "Is everything okay at home? At work?"

"Yeah, everything is fine," I lie, I hate lying to people and I knew deep down inside that Ashby knew I was lying.

"Penny, come on, don't lie to me like that."

I sigh, "Okay, it's work."

"What about work?"

I let out a shaky breath, "I might get a promotion."

"That's great babe, but what's the issue?"

I gulp down the heavy lump in my throat with tears in her eyes, "I don't know what I'll do if I don't get it, Ash."

"Penny baby, you'll get that promotion."

I can't do this, and I break down in tears, not because of the promotion but because I'm lying to Ashby.

"I'll be there in five minutes", Ashby says and hangs up the phone.

I have never lied to Ashby before, not ever and today I did, I feel guilty lying to the ones I love. I get out of bed and go to the bathroom, to wash my face.

Girl, you need to be strong, you're doing this Mama, not for you, I say to myself.

I turn on the tap and bend down to wash my face and goes back into bed.

I hear a knock at the door and quickly rush, I look into the peephole and see Ashby standing outside with a tub of ice cream and chocolate and spoons in another hand, I quickly unlock the door and open it.

"Hey princess," he smiles, "I came as soon as I could."

I let him in and close the door before locking it, "You didn't have to come, Ash."

"You were crying and as your best friend, I have to wipe those tears and put a smile on your face."

I smile, "Let's go to my room."

We quietly walk down the hall to my room and sit down on the bed together, Ashby pops open the tub of ice cream and gives me a spoon.

"Now talk to me."

I dig my spoon into the tub and eat it, tasting the chocolate ice cream melt in my mouth, just pure bliss.

"I have everything riding on this promotion, but I have lots of competition, my fear is not getting the job because I don't perform well, and also get demoted at the same time," I explain, taking another spoon and shoving it in my mouth.

"Listen, you've been working for vogue for four years now, there is no way they are not giving you this promotion."

"But other women will do anything for this job and I mean anything," she says lowly.

Ashby licks his spoon, causing me to heat up a little, he made everything look sexy.

I wonder how Henry looks while licking a spoon, girl, stop it.

"You're a woman of integrity, and you shouldn't lower yourself by doing sexual favours or whatever to get what you want, hard work and determination are what will get things going" he explains.

Too late for those kind words.

"Thank you."

Ashby looks at me, there was something different in his eyes, something I had never seen before.

He picks up the tub of ice cream and puts it on the bedside table.

"Ashby", I pout but Ashby cups my cheeks into his hand and kisses me and surprisingly I kiss back.